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The San Luis Canal flows alongside farmland in Huron, Calif. Some farmers in the region are leaving land fallow because water is increasingly scarce.
Jae C. Hong/AP
By Dan Charles, NPR
This story was originally published on npr.org on Feb. 26
A mammoth solar farm is moving forward in the heart of California. If built, which seems increasingly likely, it would cover 200 square miles of land and generate 21,000 megawatts of electricity, enough to power entire cities. Huge batteries will store some of that power until it’s needed most.
Farmers are among the project’s backers. They don’t have enough water to grow crops on big chunks of their land, and they’re looking for new uses for it.
“We’re farmers, and we would rather farm the ground,” says Ross Franson, president of Woolf Farming and Processing, his family’s business. “If we had the water to do it, we would farm it. But the reality is, you don’t. You have to deal with the cards you’re dealt.”
Franson is on the board of the Westlands Water District, a farmer-run organization that’s a key player in this effort, negotiating with solar companies and government regulators on behalf of its members. Westlands is an agricultural power and has long represented the interests of farmers in a large swath of land on the western side of the San Joaquin Valley, between the towns of Firebaugh and Huron. Decades ago, it helped persuade the federal government to build a giant canal to deliver irrigation water to this area from rivers far away in Northern California.
Jose Gutierrez, assistant general manager of Westlands Water District, on land that could become a solar farm.
Yet these farmers are now facing a new water crisis. The canal has been delivering less water in recent years because of droughts and competing claims on that water. Until recently, the farmers had a backup water supply: They could pump water from aquifers a thousand feet underground. Now, though, a new state law is coming into force that bans overpumping from the aquifer.
So farmers in Westlands have been leaving large chunks of land unplanted. Another large piece of land, now owned by the Westlands Water District itself, has been fallowed because irrigating it could release high levels of a mineral called selenium that can poison wildlife or people. The farmers, and the district, have been looking for new ways to put that land to use.
A solar developer called Golden State Clean Energy seized the opportunity. Several years ago, it presented Westlands Water District with a master plan for a collection of vast solar projects.
Patrick Mealoy, a partner at Golden State Clean Energy, says they had to propose a solar farm that would generate an enormous amount of power to make the case for new multibillion-dollar power lines to carry electricity from the San Joaquin Valley to Los Angeles and Silicon Valley. Mealoy says smaller proposed projects have stalled because they weren’t big enough to justify building those power lines.
“In order to actually have solar be productive, you need size and scale, a mass of projects that support the necessary investment in high voltage transmission lines to collect the electrons and move them,” Mealoy says.
Getting the managers of California’s electrical grid to approve construction of those transmission lines could be the project’s biggest remaining hurdle. If built, the cost of those power lines, along with the benefits of greater electricity supply, eventually will show up in consumers’ electricity bills.
Franson says his immediate reaction to the proposal was “Yes, we need to do this.” Negotiating the details and completing an environmental review took several years, but in December, the Westlands Water District’s board voted to move ahead.
Golden State is the plan’s architect, but other solar developers will build sections of it. Construction could take a decade. Even though the Trump administration has abolished some financial incentives for solar projects, Mealoy says it’s still a solid business opportunity.
“The state needs it. It’s permitted. It’s the right place for it. I’m excited about this,” he says.
Grace Wu, an environmental scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, says “this is a fantastic place for solar” because the fallowed farmland isn’t high-value habitat for wildlife.
About 150 farmers within the Westlands Water District, including Jeremy Hughes, have signed up to put solar on some of their land. “We look at it as a new crop. We’re harvesting electricity,” Hughes says. The guaranteed income from those acres makes it possible to keep farming the rest of his land.
“Because of solar, we can continue farming in Westlands. It’ll keep the farming community alive,” says Jose Gutierrez, assistant general manager of Westlands Water District.
In the small towns nearby where many farmworkers live, however, there are worries that local residents won’t see many benefits from the project. Among those towns is Huron, home to about 6,000 people. Rey León grew up here, working in his family’s restaurant. Now he’s the town’s mayor.
“I’m worried about Huron,” he says. This solar deal may be great for the landowners of Westlands, he says, but less farming means fewer jobs for people who worked in the fields and orchards. León wants some of the solar revenue to flow to this community for education and training, to help people find jobs in this new solar industry.
“We are shareholders,” he says. “We kept these communities alive, these economies robust. There’s no excuse to leave us out.”
Westlands and Golden State Clean Energy have been discussing what they call a community benefits package, but officials haven’t released any details.
Caity Peterson, at the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), says other farming communities in California may try to imitate what Westlands is doing. Because they, too, will have to stop pumping so much water from the ground as the new state law comes into force. “There’s going to be some kind of right-sizing of agricultural land in the San Joaquin Valley,” she says.
According to a study that PPIC carried out, farmers in the valley will have to stop growing crops on between 500,000 and 1 million acres. There will be a lot of dry, sunny land in California, just waiting for a solar developer
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The project involves developing over a thousand acres in southeastern Sacramento County and was meant to help SMUD reach its clean energy goals. But environmental groups and locals protesting the project say it would destroy sensitive habitats.
The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act brought more structure to the way California keeps track of and preserves water. Still, leaders say the state needs more infrastructure and support for water users.

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Quantica’s CFO Charlie Baker, right, talks about the company’s data center project near Broadview with Jess Peterson who is in charge of stakeholder engagement for the company.
Quantica Infrastructure plans to build a data center and renewable energy project on more than 5,000 acres of land for a project they call Big Sky Campus.
A map showing the approximate project area for the Buffalo Trail Wind and Solar project near Broadview.
The MTSun solar project north of Billings came on line in November 2022. This photo shows the project as it neared completion in August 2022.

When a little-known company called Montana Property LLC purchased 5,000 acres — around eight square miles — just south of Broadview in 2024, the acquisition didn’t necessarily make waves.
But roughly one year later, the purchaser’s parent company Quantica Infrastructure announced development plans for a sprawling data center that would be part of a larger campus there. 
While some may consider the 2024 purchase a simple real estate transaction, the reality behind how the land came to be earmarked for a data center is complex. Long before the parcel was slated to house a warehouse to fuel the booming artificial intelligence arms race and its skyrocketing demand for data storage and processing, there existed plans to build an expansive renewable energy project. 
What follows is a detailed summary of the about-face in proposed projects — a transition that showcases how far the developer’s Montana connections and roots go. 
Chicago-based developer Invernergy initially acquired most of the data center’s land and associated renewable leases more than a decade ago for a planned wind energy project. They requested a connection to NorthWestern Energy’s Broadview substation in 2015, with turbines set to spin by 2018. But that effort never materialized.
A map showing the approximate project area for the Buffalo Trail Wind and Solar project near Broadview.
Broad Reach Power, founded by Houston-based EnCap Investments, announced its purchase of the project from Invernergy for the project known as Buffalo Trail Wind and Solar in 2020, with a plan to have power put onto the grid by the end of 2022, which was then delayed. Developers described the nearby Broadview substation as a significant asset to the project. They also purchased some land surrounding the substation in 2020 for an impending connection. But that effort again never materialized.
Quantica Infrastructure plans to build a data center and renewable energy project on more than 5,000 acres of land for a project they call Big Sky Campus.
Broad Reach’s local developer was Billings Republican legislator Daniel Zolkinov, according to a press release. He resigned from the Legislature to take the position in 2020, with his wife Katie taking his spot.
Prior to his resignation, Daniel chaired the House’s energy committee — a position that was later occupied by Katie in 2023 and 2024.
In 2025, Katie Zolkinov sponsored a bill placing guardrails on wind farms including 1,500-feet setbacks from occupied residences. It garnered support from the wind energy industry amid a slew of more hostile Republican bills. She told the Gazette in October the bill’s intent was to offer a more stable regulatory environment in Montana for developers.
French multinational utility company ENGIE acquired Broad Reach in August 2023. Daniel Zolkinov’s time at Broad Reach came to an end that year, according to his LinkedIn. But when the company issued a news release announcing the acquisition, the portfolio of renewable assets across the Mountain West were omitted. It was then left to Broad Reach’s parent company EnCap, a private equity firm historically steeped in oil and gas investments, to decide what to do with the remaining, mostly undeveloped, portfolio.
John Chesser reached out to EnCap about assets remaining dormant thereafter. Previously, Chesser was the chief financial officer for Houston-based Talen Energy — the company operating the Colstrip coal fired power plant. He also spearheaded the development of a data center campus acquired by Amazon and a Bitcoin mining facility, both in Pennsylvania. He also led the company’s Montana unit and worked on mergers and acquisitions. 
Chesser left in July 2023 “to pursue other opportunities,” according to a Talen Energy news release. 
In July 2025, EnCap announced the creation of Quantica Infrastructure to build data centers across America with customers benefitting from “seamless integration of renewable energy,” according to a news release.
The data center was announced days later as Big Sky Campus, a noticeable change from the renewables projects that were intended to provide power to Western states a decade ago. Chesser is CEO of the company building the project. 
Using renewables is a rare approach for data centers that have brought their own power. It’s often used as a way to bypass the time it takes to be plugged into the grid to meet the voracious demand from tech companies. Most have used gas generators — sometimes brought by semitrucks. 
One past Broad Reach project that did get developed is MTSUN. Located north of Billings, it’s the largest solar facility in the state, online since November 2022. The plant is now owned by New York-based Greenback Renewable Energy. Still, it has a 25-year power purchase agreement with NorthWestern Energy.
The MTSun solar project north of Billings came on line in November 2022. This photo shows the project as it neared completion in August 2022.
Broadview Solar, a proposed solar and battery project also north of Billings, has been fought in court by NorthWestern since 2022 over concerns of its classification that would force the utility to contract for the power. The utility lost for a second time in federal court this September.
NorthWestern already appealed to the Supreme Court once in the case, before being directed back to the lower courts. NorthWestern could have appealed again, however, the utility decided not to. One possible explanation is a new contract it had signed. 
Two months before the lawsuit’s ruling, NorthWestern signed a letter of agreement with Quantica Infrastructure to provide up to 1,000 megawatts of electricity.
In the end, Broadview Solar, the developer with which Northwestern fought for years in court, ended up being the company with which the utility is now doing business — Quantica Infrastructure. Both were founded by EnCap. 
In 2025, Broadview Solar’s mailing address was changed to Damon Obie, a stated cofounder of Quantica. It’s the same mailing address as Montana Property LLC, where the data center and its associated campus are slated to go after years of mostly unmaterialized projects north of Billings.
In a statement to the Gazette, Jo Dee Black denied any correlation between the nonaction on the lawsuit and its business operations.
“NorthWestern Energy’s approach in all power purchase and regulatory matters is guided by one core responsibility: protecting our customers by securing reliable electricity at the best possible value,” Black said. “Decisions about whether to continue litigation or pursue additional appeals are made based on a comprehensive assessment of customer impacts, regulatory considerations, and the likelihood that further legal action would deliver meaningful benefits for customers.”
Quantica’s CFO Charlie Baker, right, talks about the company’s data center project near Broadview with Jess Peterson who is in charge of stakeholder engagement for the company.
Quantica began talks with NorthWestern in late 2024, according to Chief Financial Officer Charlie Baker in an interview with the Gazette. 
In February 2025, NorthWestern announced a new transmission line from the Shorey Road substation, less than 4 miles east of the MTSUN solar farm, to the Broadview substation that past renewable projects saw as a boon. The $25 to $30-million project includes upgrades to both substations alongside the 21-mile transmission line. The project is expected to be completed by 2028.
“This work will provide critical additional electric transmission capacity to serve Billings area customers and the region, ensuring continued safe reliable electric service is provided to support growing electric load and Billings area economy,” a February 2025 fact sheet on the project stated.
Similarly, the data center is expected to start drawing power by 2028, right around when the transmission project will conclude. 
Originally published on billingsgazette.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
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A man cleans solar panels at his house in Moron, Ciego de Avila Province, Cuba on July 25, 2025.
We have a few humble but powerful tools—the solar panel, the windmill, the battery—that make it easier to imagine something other than our current nightmare.
For what seems like the 50th time in my long life, the US, with Israel, has attacked another nation, as per usual without an honest debate in Congress and so far with the reported deaths of both Iran’s leader and 80 or so of its schoolgirls. I’m not going to pretend that I understand the workings of President Donald Trump’s brain well enough to gauge the casus belli, but I will note—because again I’ve been around a while—that Iran has the world’s second-largest reserves of natural gas and the third-biggest pool of oil (trailing only Saudi Arabia and, um, Venezuela).
As oil executives helpfully explained to Politico last month, they are generously prepared to be a “stabilizing force” in Iran should the regime fall—indeed, they’d rather do it there than in Venezuela because, as executives explained, “Iran’s oil industry, despite being ravaged by years of US sanctions, is still considered to be structurally sound, unlike that of Venezuela’s”:
In the meantime, our attack almost guarantees that the price of oil will jump, also good news for the industry that backed the president’s re-election so fulsomely. As Heatmap’s Matthew Zeitlin reported:
But this kind of analysis is almost too easy, because so much of the geopolitics of the last century has been about the control and the flow of oil.
What’s interesting is the lessons others are taking from it.
Let’s look for a moment at Cuba, which seems like it might well be next on the Trump hit list. The president said Friday that he was looking for a “friendly takeover” of the island nation, and it’s clear that the tool he’s using is energy: After cutting off Venezuelan supplies, he’s also pressured Mexico to stop sending crude to Havana. As a result, he explained, “They have no money. They have no anything right now.”
Which is largely true—things in Havana have grown desperate in the last few weeks as Washington has tightened the screws they’ve been turning for decades. As the Spanish newspaper El Pais put it in a story, the entire nation is on “the verge of darkness” as energy supplies dwindle. It quotes a young anthropologist, José Maria:
As it happens, I went to Cuba to do some reporting the last time the country was in such a fix, following the collapse of the Soviet Union and with it Havana’s economic lifeline. In those days the country’s biggest problem was food, and it survived in part with a fairly remarkable turn toward urban agriculture. I was endlessly impressed with the Cubans I met who were learning how to grow the food their neighbors needed, even as I was depressed by the police state they were inhabiting.
Now the overwhelming problem is energy, and it’s here that something else quite profound has been happening: an almost unbelievable surge in the production of solar power. As The Economist reported on Thursday:
With their help, life of a sort stumbles on. Here’s a Reuters report from last week:
Most people can’t afford their own panels, of course—unless they have relatives abroad who can send them dollars. But private businesses often can, and on Thursday the government offered new tax breaks for businesses that undertake new renewable energy projects. Perhaps in response, the Trump administration said on Friday that it would allow small oil sales to private businesses.
But it’s not the only lifeline. China has solar panels to sell, for cheap, and once they’re up your lifeline is the sun. And unlike the oil terminals we apparently bombed at Iran’s Kharg Island complex Saturday morning, there’s really no good way to strike at solar energy, because it’s inherently decentralized. Look at that picture at the top of this essay, of a small farmer washing off his solar panels; that’s a person set up to survive what the world has to throw at him.
That’s clearly the story from Ukraine, which has weathered Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assault on its energy infrastructure by building a new, harder-to-attack infrastructure. As Paul Hockenos reports:
It’s not just missiles, either. Iran, for instance, is widely regarded to have the ability to mount cyber attacks on centralized American infrastructure. As Rodney Bosch reported during the last round of US strikes on the nation:
(On days like this, I’m glad I have solar panels all over the roof. )
China has obviously figured out all these lessons. It foresaw the attacks on Venezuela and Iran, two of its big suppliers of crude, and began to dramatically increase its oil stockpile. But of course it’s done something much more important: build out the un-embargoable supply of electrons that come, most easily and cheaply, from the sun and wind.
None of this is about ideology. China, Cuba, the US, Venezuela, Iran—all suffer from democratic deficits at this point (a sad list for an American to have to compile). It’s about power, in both meanings of that word.
And it’s about survival, as the rest of us imagine rebuilding a world that might actually work for its inhabitants. We have a few humble but powerful tools—the solar panel, the windmill, the battery—that make it easier to imagine something other than our current nightmare.


For what seems like the 50th time in my long life, the US, with Israel, has attacked another nation, as per usual without an honest debate in Congress and so far with the reported deaths of both Iran’s leader and 80 or so of its schoolgirls. I’m not going to pretend that I understand the workings of President Donald Trump’s brain well enough to gauge the casus belli, but I will note—because again I’ve been around a while—that Iran has the world’s second-largest reserves of natural gas and the third-biggest pool of oil (trailing only Saudi Arabia and, um, Venezuela).
As oil executives helpfully explained to Politico last month, they are generously prepared to be a “stabilizing force” in Iran should the regime fall—indeed, they’d rather do it there than in Venezuela because, as executives explained, “Iran’s oil industry, despite being ravaged by years of US sanctions, is still considered to be structurally sound, unlike that of Venezuela’s”:
In the meantime, our attack almost guarantees that the price of oil will jump, also good news for the industry that backed the president’s re-election so fulsomely. As Heatmap’s Matthew Zeitlin reported:
But this kind of analysis is almost too easy, because so much of the geopolitics of the last century has been about the control and the flow of oil.
What’s interesting is the lessons others are taking from it.
Let’s look for a moment at Cuba, which seems like it might well be next on the Trump hit list. The president said Friday that he was looking for a “friendly takeover” of the island nation, and it’s clear that the tool he’s using is energy: After cutting off Venezuelan supplies, he’s also pressured Mexico to stop sending crude to Havana. As a result, he explained, “They have no money. They have no anything right now.”
Which is largely true—things in Havana have grown desperate in the last few weeks as Washington has tightened the screws they’ve been turning for decades. As the Spanish newspaper El Pais put it in a story, the entire nation is on “the verge of darkness” as energy supplies dwindle. It quotes a young anthropologist, José Maria:
As it happens, I went to Cuba to do some reporting the last time the country was in such a fix, following the collapse of the Soviet Union and with it Havana’s economic lifeline. In those days the country’s biggest problem was food, and it survived in part with a fairly remarkable turn toward urban agriculture. I was endlessly impressed with the Cubans I met who were learning how to grow the food their neighbors needed, even as I was depressed by the police state they were inhabiting.
Now the overwhelming problem is energy, and it’s here that something else quite profound has been happening: an almost unbelievable surge in the production of solar power. As The Economist reported on Thursday:
With their help, life of a sort stumbles on. Here’s a Reuters report from last week:
Most people can’t afford their own panels, of course—unless they have relatives abroad who can send them dollars. But private businesses often can, and on Thursday the government offered new tax breaks for businesses that undertake new renewable energy projects. Perhaps in response, the Trump administration said on Friday that it would allow small oil sales to private businesses.
But it’s not the only lifeline. China has solar panels to sell, for cheap, and once they’re up your lifeline is the sun. And unlike the oil terminals we apparently bombed at Iran’s Kharg Island complex Saturday morning, there’s really no good way to strike at solar energy, because it’s inherently decentralized. Look at that picture at the top of this essay, of a small farmer washing off his solar panels; that’s a person set up to survive what the world has to throw at him.
That’s clearly the story from Ukraine, which has weathered Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assault on its energy infrastructure by building a new, harder-to-attack infrastructure. As Paul Hockenos reports:
It’s not just missiles, either. Iran, for instance, is widely regarded to have the ability to mount cyber attacks on centralized American infrastructure. As Rodney Bosch reported during the last round of US strikes on the nation:
(On days like this, I’m glad I have solar panels all over the roof. )
China has obviously figured out all these lessons. It foresaw the attacks on Venezuela and Iran, two of its big suppliers of crude, and began to dramatically increase its oil stockpile. But of course it’s done something much more important: build out the un-embargoable supply of electrons that come, most easily and cheaply, from the sun and wind.
None of this is about ideology. China, Cuba, the US, Venezuela, Iran—all suffer from democratic deficits at this point (a sad list for an American to have to compile). It’s about power, in both meanings of that word.
And it’s about survival, as the rest of us imagine rebuilding a world that might actually work for its inhabitants. We have a few humble but powerful tools—the solar panel, the windmill, the battery—that make it easier to imagine something other than our current nightmare.
For what seems like the 50th time in my long life, the US, with Israel, has attacked another nation, as per usual without an honest debate in Congress and so far with the reported deaths of both Iran’s leader and 80 or so of its schoolgirls. I’m not going to pretend that I understand the workings of President Donald Trump’s brain well enough to gauge the casus belli, but I will note—because again I’ve been around a while—that Iran has the world’s second-largest reserves of natural gas and the third-biggest pool of oil (trailing only Saudi Arabia and, um, Venezuela).
As oil executives helpfully explained to Politico last month, they are generously prepared to be a “stabilizing force” in Iran should the regime fall—indeed, they’d rather do it there than in Venezuela because, as executives explained, “Iran’s oil industry, despite being ravaged by years of US sanctions, is still considered to be structurally sound, unlike that of Venezuela’s”:
In the meantime, our attack almost guarantees that the price of oil will jump, also good news for the industry that backed the president’s re-election so fulsomely. As Heatmap’s Matthew Zeitlin reported:
But this kind of analysis is almost too easy, because so much of the geopolitics of the last century has been about the control and the flow of oil.
What’s interesting is the lessons others are taking from it.
Let’s look for a moment at Cuba, which seems like it might well be next on the Trump hit list. The president said Friday that he was looking for a “friendly takeover” of the island nation, and it’s clear that the tool he’s using is energy: After cutting off Venezuelan supplies, he’s also pressured Mexico to stop sending crude to Havana. As a result, he explained, “They have no money. They have no anything right now.”
Which is largely true—things in Havana have grown desperate in the last few weeks as Washington has tightened the screws they’ve been turning for decades. As the Spanish newspaper El Pais put it in a story, the entire nation is on “the verge of darkness” as energy supplies dwindle. It quotes a young anthropologist, José Maria:
As it happens, I went to Cuba to do some reporting the last time the country was in such a fix, following the collapse of the Soviet Union and with it Havana’s economic lifeline. In those days the country’s biggest problem was food, and it survived in part with a fairly remarkable turn toward urban agriculture. I was endlessly impressed with the Cubans I met who were learning how to grow the food their neighbors needed, even as I was depressed by the police state they were inhabiting.
Now the overwhelming problem is energy, and it’s here that something else quite profound has been happening: an almost unbelievable surge in the production of solar power. As The Economist reported on Thursday:
With their help, life of a sort stumbles on. Here’s a Reuters report from last week:
Most people can’t afford their own panels, of course—unless they have relatives abroad who can send them dollars. But private businesses often can, and on Thursday the government offered new tax breaks for businesses that undertake new renewable energy projects. Perhaps in response, the Trump administration said on Friday that it would allow small oil sales to private businesses.
But it’s not the only lifeline. China has solar panels to sell, for cheap, and once they’re up your lifeline is the sun. And unlike the oil terminals we apparently bombed at Iran’s Kharg Island complex Saturday morning, there’s really no good way to strike at solar energy, because it’s inherently decentralized. Look at that picture at the top of this essay, of a small farmer washing off his solar panels; that’s a person set up to survive what the world has to throw at him.
That’s clearly the story from Ukraine, which has weathered Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assault on its energy infrastructure by building a new, harder-to-attack infrastructure. As Paul Hockenos reports:
It’s not just missiles, either. Iran, for instance, is widely regarded to have the ability to mount cyber attacks on centralized American infrastructure. As Rodney Bosch reported during the last round of US strikes on the nation:
(On days like this, I’m glad I have solar panels all over the roof. )
China has obviously figured out all these lessons. It foresaw the attacks on Venezuela and Iran, two of its big suppliers of crude, and began to dramatically increase its oil stockpile. But of course it’s done something much more important: build out the un-embargoable supply of electrons that come, most easily and cheaply, from the sun and wind.
None of this is about ideology. China, Cuba, the US, Venezuela, Iran—all suffer from democratic deficits at this point (a sad list for an American to have to compile). It’s about power, in both meanings of that word.
And it’s about survival, as the rest of us imagine rebuilding a world that might actually work for its inhabitants. We have a few humble but powerful tools—the solar panel, the windmill, the battery—that make it easier to imagine something other than our current nightmare.

source

Davis, CA – When homeowners in Davis, CA search for solar panel installation in Davis, they are often looking for clarity as much as cost savings. North Valley Solar Power designs and manages residential solar panel installation projects with a focus on proper system sizing, battery integration, and streamlined PG&E solar interconnection coordination.
As energy rates continue to shift under California’s NEM 3.0 framework, many solar companies Davis homeowners encounter still design systems based on outdated assumptions about exporting excess energy. North Valley Solar Power takes a different approach. The company develops solar and battery strategies that prioritize self-consumption, helping homeowners reduce reliance on exporting power back to the grid and better align production with actual household usage.
 
For many families in the Sacramento Valley, one of the biggest concerns is whether a system will be sized correctly. Oversized systems can reduce return on investment under NEM 3.0, while undersized systems may not meaningfully offset rising utility bills. North Valley Solar Power evaluates historical energy usage, roof layout, shading conditions, and future consumption plans before finalizing a design. The company coordinates installation through a licensed installation affiliate, while overseeing the project to support quality and performance from start to finish.
 
Another major question homeowners ask when comparing solar providers Davis residents have access to is how to keep the PG&E solar interconnection process on track. Delays at the utility level can disrupt timelines and create frustration. North Valley Solar Power manages documentation, submission requirements, and communication with PG&E, guiding each project through approvals and inspections. That hands-on coordination helps reduce surprises and keeps homeowners informed at every stage of their solar installation.
 
Choosing between solar panel installers Davis residents find online can feel overwhelming. Some Solar Power Companies focus heavily on sales, while others provide limited visibility once a contract is signed. North Valley Solar Power emphasizes process transparency. Homeowners receive clear explanations of design decisions, battery recommendations, and expected timelines before moving forward.
 
“Homeowners in Davis want to make smart, informed decisions,” said a spokesperson for North Valley Solar Power. “Our role is to design and manage each project carefully, coordinate installation through our licensed installation affiliate, and guide our clients through PG&E’s requirements so their system performs the way it should under NEM 3.0.”
 
With more than 2,500 residential projects managed across the region, North Valley Solar Power has built its reputation on communication, technical precision, and consistent oversight. The team includes NABCEP-certified solar professionals, ensuring designs reflect current code requirements and evolving utility standards. By focusing on right-sized systems and detailed project management, the company supports long-term performance rather than short-term sales.
 
To learn more about Davis solar panel installation services, visit North Valley Solar Power’s service page or call 530-564-3260.
 
About North Valley Solar Power
 
North Valley Solar Power is a solar design and project management company serving homeowners in Davis and throughout Yolo County. The company designs and manages residential solar panel installation projects from initial consultation through PG&E solar interconnection approval. North Valley Solar Power coordinates installation through a licensed installation affiliate and oversees each phase of the process to support quality, compliance, and performance for homeowners across the Sacramento Valley.
 
Media Contact
Name
North Valley Solar Power
Contact name
North Valley Solar Power Representative
Contact phone
530-564-3260
Contact address
720 Olive Dr d1 b
City
Davis
State
CA
Zip
95616
Country
USA
Url
https://northvalleysolarpower.com/location/davis-ca/

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SMA expands 2025 net loss on one-time costs  Renewables Now
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The China Energy Investment Corporation (CHN Energy), a state-owned mining and energy company, has started commercial operations at the remaining 2GW of the 4GW Lingwu new energy base in Ningxia, central China.
This latest portion was brought online last week, on 28 February, and means the entirety of the Lingwu new energy base is now operational. The Lingwu project is part of a larger 6GW Ningxia site, built on a coal mining subsistence area, comprising an additional 2GW facility in Ningdong that is currently under construction.
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CHN Energy announced that the operational parts of the project are supported by a number of other pieces of electrical infrastructure, including a 750kV booster substation used by “nearby thermal power plants” and 200km of transmission infrastructure, which delivers electricity generated at the project to China’s east coast. Alongside this “bundled transmission model”, as CHN Energy dubs it, the Lingwu project is co-located with a 400MW/800MWh battery energy storage system (BESS), which the developer expects to expand to reach a size of 600MW/1,200MWh.
The co-location of a BESS alongside a solar PV project is increasingly common in the renewable energy industry, but experts have warned that simply deploying the technologies together is not a “silver bullet” to generate revenue.
Speaking at last week’s Energy Storage Summit, held in London by PV Tech publisher Sola Media, Tom Smout, head of energy storage at consultancy LCP Delta, said that “co-location has a place, but I think it’s quite overhyped by a lot of people,” making the point that the solar and storage assets need to have compelling businesses cases, as individual assets, in order to be profitable.
CHN Energy has reached a number of milestones at large utility-scale projects in recent months, including the start of commercial operations at a 1GW floating PV (FPV) project off the coast of Dongying in China. This is the world’s largest operational offshore FPV project.
The company’s advancement of the Ningxia project follows the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) revising down its capacity addition forecasts for 2026. The trade body expects China to add 180-240GW of new capacity in 2026, down from 315GW in 2025, as industry players cut back on production in an effort to bring to an end the long-standing toxic price competition among the leading Chinese players; five leading companies announced earlier this year that they expect to endure losses of up to US$4.7 billion in 2025.

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Referendum vote on zoning in Stockton next step in solar farm fight  WKRG
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US
Urge govt to attract Chinese manufacturers, draw lessons from ASEAN solar boom
Experts have urged policymakers to introduce policy clarity in a bid to attract Chinese solar manufacturing under the Green CPEC Alliance.
The Pakistan-China Institute hosted a regional conference titled "Asean-to-Pakistan Pathways: Attracting Chinese Investment for Solar PV Value-Chain Manufacturing", aimed at drawing lessons from Southeast Asia's solar boom to anchor manufacturing in Pakistan.
Griffith Asia Institute Director Dr Christoph Nedopil called for focusing on the conditions that made Asean a preferred destination for Chinese solar manufacturing.
He emphasised the role of credible investment facilitation, execution readiness and the broader logic of China's overseas cleantech push, while guiding discussion on what Pakistan must prioritise first to compete for the next wave of manufacturing investment, including closing gaps related to policy stability, Special Economic Zones (SEZ) execution, logistics and investor risk protection.
Pakistan-China Institute Chairman Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, in his address, underscored that Pakistan's solar growth was increasingly tied to China's industrial power, citing imports of around 17 gigawatts (GW) of solar panels in 2024 and about 17.9 GW in FY25, taking total imports beyond 50 GW by September 2025, while Pakistan's share in China's solar exports rose to about 12% in 2025 from 2% in 2022.
He highlighted solar's impact on energy security, noting solar provided about 25.3% of Pakistan's utility electricity between January and April 2025.
He pointed to cheap Chinese solar as a one-time strategic window at a time when global solar installations reached around 597 GW in 2024 and module prices fell to $0.07 to $0.09 per watt in 2024 and early 2025. However, production cuts and policy shifts can raise prices by around 9%.
Mushahid Hussain observed that China enjoyed more than 80% of global solar manufacturing capacity, supported by over $50 billion investment and roughly 300,000 jobs.
He linked solar geopolitics with water and resource pressures, citing about 283,000 net-metering consumers in Pakistan by December 2024, around 2.8-4.1 GW of net-metering capacity, around 650,000 solar-powered tube wells and a 30% expansion in rice cultivation since 2023, with implications for water security and future dependence on batteries and critical minerals.
Minister of State for Climate Change Dr Shezra Mansab Ali Kharal, while speaking on "Pakistan's Solar Demand Shock: Why Manufacturing is the Next Frontier," highlighted that solar demand was import-driven as 51.5 GW of solar modules were imported from China by November 2025, following about 16.6 GW in 2024 and slightly over 10 GW in the first four months of 2025.
She noted that deployment was now largely behind the meter with estimates of about 27-33 GW deployed across segments, while official net metering reached 6.8 GW (September 2025), up from around 2.2 GW, and over 156,372 Prosumer facilities as of June 2024.
She mentioned that solar supplied 25.3% of Pakistan's utility electricity in January-April 2025, adding that emerging "negative daytime demand" signals in Lahore, Faisalabad and Sialkot were driving tariff and market reform pressures.
She pointed to economics flipping fast as module prices fell to around $0.08 per watt by 2025 and customs valuation revised to $0.08 to $0.09 per watt. She also noted that import costs exceeded $2 billion by June 2025.
China Three Gorges South Asia Investment Limited (C-SAIL) Senior Adviser NA Zuberi emphasised that while incentives matter, investors ultimately require speed, certainty and enforceability. He cited that Pakistan's competitiveness would depend on defining a minimum investor-ready package that could convert interest into committed capital.
He called for avoiding common policy promises that later backfire when implementation realities, approvals or infrastructure delivery do not match advertised timelines.
Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) Director of Communication and Outreach Dr Marlistya Citraningrum discussed how countries such as Indonesia had sought to build domestic industry while staying attractive to foreign manufacturers.
She stressed that Pakistan must balance industrial ambition, including local content and value-addition objectives, with bankability and investability for Chinese and other manufacturers. She added that sequencing and predictability were essential to avoid deterring investors while domestic capabilities scale.
Ember Energy Analyst for Asia Lam Pham discussed Asean's role in attracting Chinese solar manufacturing through tariff-jumping foreign direct investment to bypass anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures, leveraging trade agreements with major markets, strategic proximity to China's supply chain, competitive fiscal incentives and industrial ecosystem readiness including logistics, infrastructure, workforce, reliable power and water.
Additional Secretary/ Executive Director General-II Board of Investment Dr Erfa Iqbal addressed Pakistan's execution challenges and underlined the importance of removing bottlenecks that prevent SEZs from becoming genuinely plug-and-play for investors.
She focused on what could be realistically fixed within six to 12 months to improve delivery certainty, reduce friction in approvals and strengthen investor confidence in on-ground execution.
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Output from Australia’s large-scale renewable energy sector continues to climb with the nation’s utility PV and wind assets generating a total of 5.0 TWh in February, delivering an 11% increase on the same time last year.
Image: Risen Energy
The latest data from Rystad Energy shows that Australia’s growing fleet of large-scale solar and wind assets generated 5.0 TWh of clean energy last month, up 11% from 4,519 GWh recorded in February 2025.
Rystad senior analyst David Dixon said New South Wales (NSW) was the biggest contributor to the month’s total with the state’s utility-scale solar assets generating 853 GWh of clean energy while its wind assets produced 617 GWh – a total of 1,470 GWh.
The top-performing utility solar assets for the month, based on capacity factor (CF), were however in Western Australia with Sun Energy’s 100 MW Merredin Solar Farm and the Potentia Energy and Synergy co-owned 40 MW Greenough River Solar Farm taking the top two spots with 41.2% CF and 38.0% CF respectively.
The third best rating solar farm for February 2026 was Cimic Group’s 102 MW Glenrowan Solar Farm in Victoria with a capacity factor of 37.2%. Neoen’s 36 MW Griffith and Metka EGN’s 30 MW Corowa solar projects in regional NSW rounded out the top five.

Western Australia is also home to the top-performing wind assets for the month with the Warradarge (60.5 % CF), Badgingarra (55.6 % CF) and Yandin wind farms (53.9 % CF) topping the charts.
Dixon also highlighted the increasing presence of battery energy storage systems in the Australian energy landscape, pointing out that discharging from batteries reached 245 GWh in February for the National Electricity Market, up 266% from the 67 GWh in the corresponding month last year.
This comes as new capacity continues to enter the market, with 8.2 GW of utility battery capacity at various stages of commissioning or in operation.
In New Zealand, utility solar and wind assets producing 294 GWh of clean energy last month, a 28% increase from 230 GWh in February 2025.
The top-performing utility solar assets were Lodestone Energy’s 32 MW Rangitaiki and 33 MW Kaitaia solar farms with 29% CF and 28% CF respectively, ahead of Genesis Energy’s 47 MW Lauriston solar farm with a capacity factor of 26%.
Meridian Energy’s Mill Creek wind farm (40%) was the top performing wind asset, ahead of Mercury NZ’s Tararua (35%) and Turitea wind farms (32%).
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You worry about putting solar panels on your own roof — Now a brand-new country on the brink of birth could run 100 % on sunlight and rewrite how nations power themselves  ecoportal.net
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Renewable-Energy-Industry.com
Business World of Renewable Energy

© Ben Gierig / gierig mediaDresden/Hamburg (renewablepress) – The project developer VSB Integrated Energy Solutions (VSB IES), part of VSB Group and a TotalEnergies company, is commencing the implementation of a rooftop photovoltaic system on the newly built METRO store in Hamburg. The project is being realised as an on-site PPA with a term of 18 years and comprises an installed capacity of 1.3 megawatt-peak (MWp).

With this project, VSB IES is strengthening its position as a provider of integrated energy solutions and contributing comprehensive expertise in photovoltaics and project management to the partnership. Complemented by extensive capabilities in the business areas of battery energy storage and EV charging infrastructure, the company is thus able to offer tailored solutions for the German B2B market.

VSB IES is implementing the project in cooperation with METRO Deutschland. METRO has been a long-standing customer of TotalEnergies and will now also rely on VSB IES as its partner for renewable energy solutions. The system is being installed on the green roof of the METRO store in Hamburg-Rahlstedt, which opened in November 2025.

The project demonstrates how companies can actively shape a sustainable energy supply and make targeted use of on-site generation in order to stabilise energy costs, reduce dependence on the public grid and make a direct contribution to decarbonisation. Installation works will begin in spring 2026, with commissioning of the system planned for the third to fourth quarter of the same year. VSB IES will deliver the project on a turnkey basis, covering all electrical works and detailed engineering, and will provide an efficient on-site energy supply powered by state-of-the-art technology.

Frederic Wagner, Managing Director of VSB IES, states: “With this PV project for METRO, we are demonstrating how companies can shape their energy supply in a sustainable way. On-site power generation reduces costs, enhances security of supply and makes a direct contribution to the clean energy transition. Projects like this show that economic success and environmental responsibility go hand in hand.”

Dr Felix Grolman, CEO of VSB Group, adds: “This project is a further example of how we deliver innovative energy solutions in collaboration with strong partners such as METRO. The combination of technical excellence, a sustainable approach and close partnership demonstrates how companies can actively assume responsibility in driving the energy transition. We are pleased to support METRO on this journey and to develop solutions together that have an impact beyond the site itself.”

About VSB Integrated Energy Solutions

VSB Integrated Energy Solutions (VSB IES) is part of VSB Group and supports companies in optimising and electrifying their energy infrastructure. Its portfolio includes the planning, construction and operation of integrated energy systems for commercial sites and fleets. This encompasses intelligent load management, battery energy storage systems and power purchase agreements (PPAs) based on wind and solar energy – on-site, near-site and off-site. The aim of VSB IES is to deploy energy efficiently, reduce operating costs and emissions, and enable reliable long-term energy pricing.

About VSB Group

VSB, headquartered in Dresden, is one of Europe’s leading vertically integrated developers in the field of renewable energy. The company has been part of TotalEnergies since 2025. Its core business is project development of onshore wind and photovoltaic parks, battery storage solutions, their operational management as well as the operation of its own assets as a growing independent power producer. VSB operates in six European countries and has a pipeline of more than 20 GW. Since 1996, it has developed more than 750 wind energy and photovoltaic plants. VSB also provides services for a portfolio of more than 3 GW and is active in the field of e-mobility for freight transport. With its affiliated companies, the Group employs over 500 people. Further information: http://www.vsb.energy

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Caption: Proud of the new rooftop PV project with METRO Deutschland: Dr. Felix Grolman, CEO of VSB Group
© Ben Gierig / gierig media

Dresden/Hamburg, 03 March 2026

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YINCHUAN — A 4-gigawatt photovoltaic project built on coal-mining subsidence areas in Lingwu, northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, began operations on Saturday, ready to channel green electricity to the country’s eastern economic hubs.
It marks the completion of Ningxia’s major coal-mining subsidence area photovoltaic project, which comprises the 4-gigawatt Lingwu complex and a 2-gigawatt complex in Ningdong, and spans a total area of 180,000 mu (approximately 12,000 hectares).
The 6-gigawatt project is expected to transmit about 10.8 billion kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually via an ultra-high-voltage direct current transmission line that connects Ningxia with Zhejiang province, channeling green power from the country’s west to economic hubs in the east.
With the launch of full operations, the project can generate enough electricity annually to meet the needs of approximately 7.2 million households and will save about 3.24 million tons of standard coal each year, delivering significant economic, social and environmental benefits.
The project utilizes coal reserve areas, subsidence zones and barren hillsides. It integrates solar panel power generation, sand control, and under-panel plantation and grazing, forging a new path for green development in ecologically fragile regions.
A coal-mining subsidence area is an area where the ground subsides and collapses after its underground coal resources are drained. Efforts have been made to transform such areas into new energy hubs in recent years. 

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WAYNE COUNTY, N.C. — A 46-year-old Pikeville woman is facing multiple felony charges after deputies say thousands of feet of wire were stolen from a local solar farm, causing more than $10,000 in damage.
According to the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded on January 23, 2026, to a report of a suspicious vehicle at a solar farm located off Hare Road. Upon arrival, deputies located a suspect at the scene and began an investigation.
Authorities say the investigation revealed approximately 4,000 feet of wire had been stolen from the property. Damage to the solar farm is estimated to exceed $10,000.
Sarah Jane Pierce, 46, of Vail Road in Pikeville, was charged with Breaking and Entering, Felony Larceny, and Injury to Personal and Real Property involving Nonferrous Metal.
Pierce was arrested by the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and is currently being held in the Wayne County Detention Center under no bond.
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Reading Glass Books is delighted to host author Everett Triplett for a book signing at Booth 6F101, Olympia London, on March 10 during the London Book Fair 2026.
Astronomers have captured the central region of our Milky Way in a striking new image, unveiling a complex network of filaments of cosmic gas in unprecedented detail.

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Construction has officially commenced on a 5 MWp hybrid solar power plant in Amdjarass in eastern Chad, marking a significant step toward improving energy access in one of the country’s most underserved regions.
The project is being developed by Abu Dhabi based Global South Utilities and is financed through a grant provided by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development to the Government of Chad.
The hybrid facility will integrate a 5 MWp solar photovoltaic array with a 5 MWh battery energy storage system and a 5 MVA diesel generator. The combination of solar generation, battery storage and thermal backup is designed to ensure stable, round the clock electricity supply, reducing reliance on diesel while maintaining grid reliability.
Once operational, the plant is expected to provide electricity to approximately 27,400 households. It will also support critical community infrastructure, including water pumping and purification systems, strengthening local resilience and socio economic development.
Upon completion, ownership of the plant will be transferred to the Chadian Agency for the Development of Rural Electrification and Energy Efficiency for long term management and operation, reinforcing national capacity in decentralised energy delivery.
The Amdjarass project represents GSU’s second major renewable energy milestone in Chad, following the commissioning of the 50 MW Noor Chad solar plant in September 2025. Together, these developments signal growing momentum in the country’s utility scale solar sector as regional governments and development finance institutions accelerate efforts to expand clean, reliable power across Central Africa.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal






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ISLAMABAD: Chairman Pakistan-China Institute, former Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, has underscored that Pakistan’s solar growth is increasingly tied to China’s industrial power, citing imports of around 17 GW of solar panels in 2024 and about 17.9 GW in FY25, taking total imports beyond 50 GW by September 2025, while Pakistan’s share of China’s solar exports rose to about 12 per cent in 2025 from 2 per cent in 2022.
He was delivering a keynote address at Pakistan-China Institute, which hosted a regional conference titled “Asean-to-Pakistan Pathways: Attracting Chinese Investment for Solar PV Value-Chain Manufacturing” under the Green CPEC Alliance on Tuesday, bringing together policymakers and regional experts to translate Asean’s solar manufacturing experience into actionable lessons for Pakistan.
Mushahid highlighted solar impact on energy security, noting solar provided about 25.3 per cent of Pakistan’s utility electricity between January and April 2025, as global solar installations reached around 597 GW in 2024 and module prices fell to $0.07 to $0.09 per watt in 2024 and early 2025, while cautioning that production cuts and policy shifts could raise prices by around 9 per cent.
He emphasised China’s dominance of more than 80 per cent of global solar manufacturing capacity supported by over $50 billion in investment and roughly 300,000 jobs, and linked solar geopolitics to water and resource pressures, citing about 283,000 net-metering consumers by December 2024, around 2.8 to 4.1 GW net-metered capacity, around 650,000 solar-powered tube wells, and a 30 per cent expansion in rice cultivation since 2023, with implications for water security and future dependence on batteries and critical minerals.
Dr. Shezra Mansab Ali Kharal, Minister of State for Climate Change, in her keynote address on “Pakistan’s Solar Demand Shock: Why Manufacturing is the Next Frontier,” highlighted that Pakistan’s solar demand was import-driven, citing approximately 51.5 GW of solar modules imported from China by November 2025, followed by 16.6 GW in 2024 and just over 10 GW more in the first four months of 2025.
“Deployment is now largely behind-the-meter with estimates of about 27 to 33 GW deployed across segments, while official net-metering reached 6.8 GW (September 2025), up from more than 2.2 GW and 156,372+ prosumer facilities as of June 2024, and reinforced that solar supplied 25.3 per cent of Pakistan’s utility electricity in January to April 2025, with emerging “negative daytime demand” signals in Lahore, Faisalabad and Sialkot driving tariff and market reform pressures,” she noted.
The minister pointed to economics flipping fast as module prices fell to around $0.08 per watt by 2025 and customs valuation reset to $0.08 to $0.09 per watt, and framed manufacturing as an FX and value-retention imperative, noting import costs exceeded $2 billion by June 2025.
Mustafa Hyder Sayed, Executive Director, Pakistan-China Institute, delivered the welcome remarks by placing the conference within the broader strategic shifts reshaping solar manufacturing and investment flows, including global and regional solar manufacturing rebalancing, post-tariff adjustments in Asean, and China’s overseas cleantech push.
He spoke about why the Green CPEC Alliance convened this dialogue now, as countries compete to attract mobile solar PV value-chain investment through a combination of industrial policy and credible delivery capacity.
He set the direction for the day’s discussion around translating Asean’s practical experience into actionable lessons for Pakistan, with a focus on what makes manufacturing decisions bankable in real terms, such as clarity of the policy and execution package, readiness of SEZ offerings, and alignment between investment facilitation and on-ground implementation.
Muhammad Umar Farooq, Senior Research Associate, Pakistan-China Institute, noted that the global solar value chain has entered a phase where trade policy, industrial policy, and geopolitics shape investment decisions as much as technology and cost, and that major markets are pushing manufacturing rebalancing away from single-country concentration due to trade measures and supply-chain security concerns.
He emphasised that Asean’s advantage came from combining incentives with execution speed and export logic, adding that bankability requires enforceable commitments rather than announcements. “Pakistan’s opportunity depends on sequencing, starting with what is investable now and deepening localisation over time, while translating these realities into a credible policy and execution package to attract the next wave of Chinese solar PV value-chain investment.”
Dr Christoph Nedopil, Director, Griffith Asia Institute, contributed to session-1 by focusing on the conditions that made Asean a preferred destination for Chinese solar manufacturing, emphasising the role of credible investment facilitation, execution readiness, and the broader logic of China’s overseas cleantech push, while guiding discussion on what Pakistan must prioritise first to compete for the next wave of manufacturing investment, including closing gaps related to policy stability, SEZ execution, logistics, and investor risk protection.
NA Zuberi, Senior Adviser, CSAIL, highlighted that while incentives matter, investors ultimately require speed, certainty, and enforceability, emphasising that Pakistan’s competitiveness will depend on defining a minimum “investor-ready” package that converts interest into committed capital and avoiding common policy promises that later backfire when implementation realities, approvals, or infrastructure delivery do not match advertised timelines.
Dr. Marlistya Citraningrum, Director of Communication and Outreach, IESR, discussed how countries such as Indonesia have sought to build domestic industry while staying attractive to foreign manufacturers, emphasising that Pakistan must balance industrial ambition, including local content and value-add objectives, with bankability and investability for Chinese and other manufacturers, and that sequencing and predictability are essential to avoid deterring investors while domestic capabilities scale.
Lam Pham, Energy Analyst, Asia, Ember, discussed Asean’s role in attracting Chinese solar manufacturing through tariff-jumping FDI to bypass anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures, leveraging trade agreements with major markets, strategic proximity to China’s supply chain, competitive fiscal incentives, and industrial ecosystem readiness including logistics, infrastructure, workforce, reliable power, and water.
He emphasised that Pakistan can strengthen its pathway by focusing on “invest this year, operate this year” execution, diversifying export markets due to shifting trade barriers such as US tariff moves affecting Asean in April 2025, investing in R&D to move up the value chain, and pursuing a staged approach from panels to higher-value segments like cells and wafers, including using duty structures that protect early manufacturing while keeping inputs competitive.
Dr. Erfa Iqbal, Additional Secretary / EDG-II, Board of Investment, spoke about Pakistan’s execution challenges and highlighted the importance of removing bottlenecks that prevent SEZs from becoming genuinely plug-and-play for investors, focusing discussion on what can be realistically fixed within 6 to 12 months to improve delivery certainty, reduce friction in approvals, and strengthen investor confidence in on-ground execution.
Xu Tianqi, Deputy Director, Area Studies Department, RDCY, provided a Chinese-side perspective that despite CPEC framing, manufacturing decisions still depend on risk, returns, and execution certainty, emphasising what would make a Chinese private solar manufacturer commit to Pakistan and what risks must be neutralised through credible risk protection, clear processes, and dependable implementation of the promised industrial package.
Mark Lister, Co-CEO, Asia Clean Energy Partners, emphasised that Pakistan’s PV boom reflects strong market signals but manufacturing investment requires long-term policy certainty, strategic targeting within the supply chain rather than attempting to build every segment immediately, and diversification of target markets rather than over-reliance on a single export destination.
He outlined a stepwise industrial approach beginning with module assembly, mounting structures, BOS components, and potentially inverters, with longer-term progression into polysilicon, wafers, and cells, and highlighted workforce upskilling, industrial parks and SEZ clustering, recycling as a future value-add opportunity, and the need for structured collaboration and ongoing exchange with Chinese stakeholders to align policy, skills, and investment mobilisation.
Linh Hua from Vietnam’s Ministry of Energy provided a short overview of Vietnam’s solar market evolution and highlighted policy and investment experiences aimed at improving project bankability, including measures related to revenue certainty, grid integration and curtailment risk, and approaches to permitting and offtaker risk management, while sharing transferable principles relevant to Pakistan’s investment readiness without
offering country-specific prescriptions beyond Vietnam’s experience.
The conference brought together a diverse audience from think tanks, media, policy circles, and the private sector, reflecting the cross-cutting nature of Pakistan’s solar industrialisation agenda.
The mix of stakeholders helped ground the dialogue in both policy priorities and commercial realities, ensuring that lessons from Asean and expectations from investors were discussed alongside Pakistan’s on-ground implementation constraints.

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TUSITA 10 Ft USB-C Extension Cable – Compatible With Ring Solar Panels & Security Cameras, Weather Resistant  ruhrkanal.news
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While policy discussions focus on solar tariffs and farmer incentives, we see a different challenge emerging on the factory floor: Infrastructure Redefinition. The humble transformer is being asked to do things it was never originally designed to do.
Rajkumar Medimi, Executive Director, Trinity Cleantech
Trinity Cleantech
For decades, the Indian power sector operated on a simple, linear premise: generate power in massive coal plants, step it up, transmit it over hundreds of kilometers, and step it down for the consumer. As transformer manufacturers, our role was clear we built the static, heavy-duty “muscle” that kept this one-way flow moving.
But today, the script has flipped.
With India chasing 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030, and the PM-KUSUM scheme gaining traction, the grid is no longer linear. It is becoming a dynamic, bi-directional web of distributed energy.
While policy discussions focus on solar tariffs and farmer incentives, we see a different challenge emerging on the factory floor: Infrastructure Redefinition. The humble transformer is being asked to do things it was never originally designed to do.
The “Inverter Duty” Challenge 
The first major shift comes from the utility-scale solar parks and decentralized power plants promoted under PM-KUSUM Component A (ground-mounted solar plants on farmland).
Connecting a solar array to the grid isn’t as simple as plugging in a wire. Solar inverters produce “chopped” AC waveforms rich in harmonics; electrical noise that causes standard transformers to overheat and vibrate.
To support this, we have moved from manufacturing standard power transformers to specialized Inverter Duty Transformers.
These are engineering marvels designed with multiple windings (often 3, 4, or 5) to connect several inverters simultaneously to a single grid connection. They feature electrostatic shields between windings to prevent the “dirty” switching frequencies of solar inverters from polluting the main grid. For us, this means tighter manufacturing tolerances and higher-grade insulation materials. We aren’t just stepping up voltage anymore; we are actively filtering and stabilizing the power quality before it hits the transmission lines.
PM-KUSUM Component C: The Grid-Edge Revolution 
The real game-changer, however, lies in Component C of the PM-KUSUM scheme—the solarization of agricultural feeders. This initiative aims to solarize individual pumps or entire agricultural feeders, allowing farmers to use solar power for irrigation and sell surplus power back to the DISCOMs.
This sounds excellent on paper, but it creates a massive technical challenge at the distribution level.
Thousands of Distribution Transformers (DTs) in rural India, which sat quietly for years pushing power to the farmers, must now handle power flowing back from them. This bi-directional power flow changes the stress profile on the equipment.
Engineering for the “Last Mile” 
Rural India is a harsh environment for electrical equipment. Transformers there face extreme heat, dust, and often, unstable loading conditions. With the expansion of solar pumps, these units are now critical revenue nodes for farmers. Downtime isn’t just an inconvenience; it’s a loss of income.
As manufacturers, we are responding with two key innovations:
Robust “Fit-and-Forget” Designs: We are utilizing hermetically sealed tank designs and high-temperature ester fluids (instead of mineral oil) to ensure these transformers can survive in remote fields with minimal maintenance.
Smart Integration: Under PM-KUSUM, monitoring is non-negotiable. We are integrating IoT-enabled sensors directly into the transformer body. These smart units track load patterns, oil temperature, and voltage fluctuations in real-time. If a farmer’s solar pump feeds back too much voltage, the utility knows instantly. This visibility transforms the rural grid from a “black box” into a managed asset.

The Efficiency Imperative 
Finally, we must address the “invisible fuel” of the power sector: Efficiency.
In the past, rural agricultural feeders were notorious for high technical losses. A significant portion of power was lost as heat in inefficient, older transformers. Today, aligned with Bureau of Indian Standards (IS 1180) norms, we are producing low-loss transformers using amorphous core technology or high-grade Cold Rolled Grain Oriented (CRGO) steel.
We operate on the principle that every watt saved is a watt generated. A transformer does not generate power; it only converts it. But if we can reduce the core losses of a transformer by even 20%, we effectively “generate” that much more power for the grid without burning a single lump of coal.
Conclusion: The Backbone of a New Era 
The expansion of solar energy in India is often measured in gigawatts of panels installed. But the true measure of success will be the resilience of the infrastructure connecting those panels.
From the multi-winding giants sitting in solar parks to the rugged, smart distribution transformers humming in a farmer’s field, our industry is building the backbone of this transition. We are ensuring that when the sun shines in rural India, the power doesn’t just stay there–it travels, efficiently and reliably, to power the nation’s growth.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those held by pv magazine.
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BREAKING: Stocks Close Off Lows On Trump Pledge

Elon Musk’s grand plans for Tesla, which include building a chip fab and a vertically integrated solar energy business, are too big for a single company, according to one analyst. On Monday, Tesla bears at BNP Paribas said a single company can’t hold the weight of Musk’s large-scale ambitions to build a manufacturing plant for AI chips, dubbed “TeraFab,” and…
3/02/2026 Dow Jones Futures: The start of the U.S.-Iran conflict sparked stock market upheaval Monday. Nvidia stock was a big mover….
3/02/2026 Dow Jones Futures: The start of the U.S.-Iran conflict sparked…
Fears of another tech collapse have grown as experts point to parallels between today’s AI boom and the internet bubble of the 1990s. (© Gary Neill)
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Jim Anderson and Lee Adams run Water Wise Solar Solutions, an organization that proports to save water, conserve land, and create energy.
“With less than 5% of Utah Lake, we can generate about two gigawatts of power, which is the equivalent of the three big natural gas plants we have in the valley right now,” Anderson said.
“We need bold and innovative solutions,” Adams said. “We need to learn how to build things again.”
The technology they specialize in, that they’re referring to right now, one that is potentially capable of generating a great deal of power, is called floating solar, also known as floating photovoltaics or “floatovoltaics.”
“It is very similar to your normal land based solar, or the solar that you have on your roof. You’re using the same panels, and in most cases, you’re using similar inverters that you would use on a commercial based land system,” Anderson said. “The big difference is the racking is pontoons that float on the water.”
And because floating solar panels sit on water, they avoid land-use conflicts and reduce evaporation from the covered surface, which Adams and Anderson see as a big boost to water conservation in Utah.
“There’s continued research, but the ability to save about 80% of those evaporative losses or more is possible, and it becomes part of the solution,” Adams said. “Will it ever be all of the water conservation solution? No, but it’s an important part of it.”
With a system already in place in Park City at Signal Hill, Adams and Anderson explain that floating solar is generally installed in three location types.
There are 1) industrial locations like water treatment plants and mining catchment facilities, 2) existing hydroelectric dams, thereby generating even more power, and 3) existing, and naturally formed, bodies of water, like for example, Utah Lake.
But this doesn’t mean simply covering the lake in solar panels, the process requires local input and a great deal of planning. Adams and Anderson emphasize that Floating Solar’s added benefit in preventing evaporative loss while also generating power cannot be overlooked.
Though they recognize there could be potential impacts to its deployment in larger bodies of water, they welcome research on the topic and are already in touch with USU, BYU, and UVU, because they believe that combating climate change requires thinking outside of the box.
“This is infrastructure that is bold and innovative, and that could be a new part of the solution,” Adams said. “We should think big. We need to think big”
For more information on floating solar check out some recent research below:
Frontiers in Water (2025)
Site-specific relationships between algal biomass and floating photovoltaic solar energy in human-made bodies of water
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/water/articles/10.3389/frwa.2025.1614008/full
Journal in Clean Production (2025)
Sustainability assessment of floating photovoltaic (FPV) system
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652625008182?
Water Resources Research (2025)
The Hydrodynamic, Thermodynamic, and Mixing Impacts of Floating Photovoltaics on the Surface of a Lake (WRR, 2025)
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1029/2025WR039917
Hydrological Sciences (2024)
Evaporation reduction and energy generation potential using floating photovoltaic power plants on the Aswan High Dam Reservoir
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02626667.2024.2332625?
Solar Energy (2025)
Floating photovoltaic technical potential: A novel geospatial approach on federally controlled reservoirs in the United States – ScienceDirect

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IRENA: Vietnam Has Become the World’s Most Competitive PV Manufacturing Hub Outside China|Markets & Policy  Solarbe Global
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By Haiyang Wang – CGTN Africa Editor
Tuesday March 3, 2026

Attendees learning about photovoltaic products at the Intersolar Africa 2026 exhibition stand in Nairobi, Kenya on 3rd February, 2026. /Xinhua
The recently concluded Intersolar Africa 2026 at the Sarit Expo Centre offered a telling snapshot of East Africa’s accelerating energy transition. With 4.5 gigawatts of new solar photovoltaic capacity installed across the continent in 2025—a record 54 percent year-on-year increase—renewable energy has clearly moved beyond its early experimental phase. In Kenya, this momentum is no longer defined by the simple goal of lighting homes, but by a more consequential ambition: powering productivity.
As global attention turns to Beijing ahead of China’s annual policy meetings this March, emerging signals around “new quality productive forces” and a nationwide green transition carry particular resonance for Nairobi. As the world’s principal manufacturer of renewable energy hardware, China’s industrial trajectory directly shapes the affordability, scale, and technological standards of the green energy systems now underpinning Kenya’s economic resilience.
Beyond Lighting: Energy as an Economic Driver

The deeper significance of the increasingly close economic and industrial ties between China and Kenya lies in how energy itself is being redefined. In Kenya, the conversation is gradually shifting from expanding basic electricity access to enabling what experts term the “productive use” of power. Renewable energy is no longer viewed solely as a social good; it is becoming a catalyst for economic output.
As global supply chains continue to adjust, Chinese manufacturers—operating at scale and at the technological frontier of solar and storage production—have contributed to a steady decline in equipment costs worldwide. This broader industrial transformation has made high-efficiency panels and battery systems more accessible in markets like Kenya, where affordability is often the decisive factor.
Across the Rift Valley, solar-powered cold storage, irrigation systems, and small-scale agro-processing facilities are increasingly viable options for farmers and rural entrepreneurs. While these developments are driven by local initiative, they are also supported by global shifts in manufacturing and innovation that have lowered the cost barrier to entry. In this sense, China’s domestic green transition has indirect but tangible implications: by expanding demand and accelerating innovation at home, it has helped compress global price structures, making advanced energy solutions progressively attainable for emerging economies.

Attendees learning about energy storage equipment at a booth during Intersolar Africa 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya on 3rd February, 2026. /Xinhua
Empowering the Silicon Savannah’s Workforce
Yet the synergy between Beijing’s policy direction and Nairobi’s on-the-ground transformation extends far beyond the movement of hardware. For a green transition to endure, it must be accompanied by local capacity-building. This is where the longer-term value of Chinese cooperation becomes most visible—in human capital development.
Programs such as the Luban Workshop at Machakos University play a pivotal role. By training young Kenyans in cloud computing, automation, and smart-grid technologies, these initiatives ensure that local technicians are not merely installing imported systems, but actively innovating within them. In doing so, they address one of Kenya’s most pressing structural challenges—youth unemployment—while laying the skills foundation for the “Silicon Savannah” to thrive on its own terms.

The Luban Workshop plaque at Machakos University, Kenya. /Xinhua
The Quiet Revolution in Transport
China’s industrial upgrading is also quietly reshaping mobility on Nairobi’s streets. The arrival of electric buses and e-motorcycles—produced by companies such as BYD and other manufacturers—marks a decisive leap forward in urban transport. For Kenya, this transition is not merely environmental; it is an economic imperative.
By reducing dependence on imported fuel and pairing Chinese battery technology with Kenya’s abundant solar resources, local logistics and public transport systems are becoming cleaner, cheaper, and more resilient. It is a clear demonstration of how a global manufacturing shift toward sustainability can equip emerging economies with the tools to leapfrog traditional development constraints.

Metrotrans staff directing an electric bus into the station for charging in Nairobi, Kenya. /Xinhua
A Shared Path Forward
The success of recent solar initiatives underscores Kenya’s growing role as a strategic hub for clean energy development in Africa. In the global race toward net-zero, policy momentum in Beijing is generating the technological tailwinds that allow Kenya’s renewable potential to translate into concrete economic gains.
As legislative outcomes in Beijing come into focus this March, the message for Kenya is fundamentally one of opportunity. The alignment between the world’s leading green-technology producer and Africa’s most ambitious energy hub is forging a development pathway that prioritizes economic empowerment alongside environmental sustainability—a shared journey from industrial transition to inclusive growth.

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Solar Power World
By Billy Ludt | March 3, 2026
Pennsylvania Solar Center‘s GET Solar Program will develop nearly 70 projects over the next four years in the state with support from Capital Good Fund. These new projects will be built for small businesses, nonprofits and municipalities at no initial cost, while still qualifying for the 48E investment tax credit.
“The PA Solar Center is so proud and grateful to be partnering with the Capital Good Fund in this revolutionary approach to lowering energy bills across Pennsylvania,” said Sharon Pillar, founder and executive director of the PA Solar Center. “Our nonprofit’s GET Solar program has been offering trusted, unbiased guidance to hundreds of entities for the past eight years by helping them decide whether solar is right for them, as well as connecting them to financing options and qualified solar developers. It’s a dream to help nearly 70 of them go solar in one fell swoop with Capital Good Fund, especially since many of them were too small to get this type of financing on their own.”
Capital Good Fund will oversee the construction and operation of the new solar arrays under power purchase agreements (PPAs), which will lock in monthly energy rates. Capital Good Fund will own and maintain the solar arrays, and the host sites will pay for the energy generated by the solar system.
The projects will range in size from 20 kW to 1.5 MW. PPAs are typically only available to projects 500 kW or larger, but by grouping these projects together, they can all qualify. The program plans to deploy 19.4 MW of projects statewide.
“Energy costs have risen by an estimated 50% over the past five years alone, placing enormous strain not only on Pennsylvania homeowners, but the small businesses and community organizations that serve them,” said Anika Wistar-Jones, executive VP of America BRIGHT at Capital Good Fund. “We are delighted to be able to help ease that burden through Pennsylvania BRIGHT so that vital community organizations can focus on their core work and reinvest thousands of dollars in annual energy savings back into their missions. By combining pooled investor capital for PPA financing with the PA Solar Center’s established project pipeline, this partnership creates a unique opportunity to expand access to solar where it’s needed most.”
These 70 PV projects will cost approximately $40 million, and are supported by The Reinvestment Fund and The Kresge Foundation. These contributions let Capital Good Fund safe harbor the equipment that will be used across these projects.
News item from Pennsylvania Solar Center
Billy Ludt is managing editor of Solar Power World and currently covers topics on mounting, inverters, installation and operations.

Susan Hunter says
March 3, 2026 at 1:36 pm
On farmland???
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The long-term partnership secures IRA tax credit compliance for the 156 MW Pepper Solar and 130 MW Lucky 7 projects as Sabanci targets a 3 GW U.S. pipeline.
Image: Pexels / Gustavo Fring / CC SA 4.0
Sabanci Renewables, a U.S. subsidiary of Turkish conglomerate Sabanci Climate Technologies, has entered into a long-term agreement with Empact Technologies to manage tax credit compliance for a 286 MW utility-scale solar portfolio in Texas. The partnership centers on navigating the rigorous labor and apprenticeship requirements mandated by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to secure the full 30% Investment Tax Credit (ITC).
The agreement covers two large projects in the ERCOT market: the 156 MW Pepper Solar project in McLennan County and the 130 MW Lucky 7 project in Hopkins County. Signal Energy is serving as the lead EPC for both assets.
Under the IRA’s Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship (PWA) standards, utility-scale developers must document that all laborers and mechanics were paid local prevailing wages and that a specific percentage of total labor hours—currently set at 15% for projects starting construction in 2024 or later—were performed by qualified apprentices.
Failure to meet these compliance markers lowers the base 30% credit to just 6%. For a 286 MW portfolio, this represents a potential swing of over $75 million in tax equity value.
Empact will utilize its NexusIQ platform to track labor data across the primary EPC and various subcontractors. The service scope extends from pre-construction through the full five-year ITC recapture period. Notably, the deal includes a financial guarantee from Empact to cover potential IRS penalties should an audit reveal errors in the managed compliance data.
“As we expand our presence in the U.S. renewable energy sector, prioritizing compliance and governance across our projects is essential,” said Tolga Kaan Doğancıoğlu, chief executive officer of Sabanci Climate Technologies.
The move highlights an industry-wide shift toward professionalized compliance management as tax equity investors demand “audit-ready” documentation. Sabanci, which operates over 4 GW of generation globally, has stated a goal of reaching 3 GW of U.S. renewable capacity by 2030.
According to recent EIA data, solar and storage are projected to account for 79% of the 86 GW of new utility-scale capacity planned for the U.S. grid in 2026. As the project queue grows, the ability to de-risk these assets through third-party compliance verification is becoming a standard requirement for institutional capital.
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Singapore has raised its solar PV deployment target to 3GW by 2030 after reaching its previous 2GW target in 2025.
The Singapore Energy Markets Authority announced the 1GW increase yesterday, saying it “significantly advances Singapore’s transition towards cleaner energy sources”. The government said it would meet the target by looking to deploy solar on “all feasible rooftops, land and water spaces as well as exploring more innovative solar deployments such as overhang solar that could serve as shelters, canopies at open-air car parks, and other suitable areas.”
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The Energy Market Authority said it met the 2GW target by encouraging rooftop residential and commercial & industrial (C&I) solar adoption through its SolarNova, SolarRoof and SolarLand schemes, as well as the increasing cost-competitiveness of solar deployments. To date, rooftop solar accounts for around 80% of Singapore’s deployed capacity, the government said.
“Singapore is already one of the world’s most solar-dense cities, but we can do more,” said Puah Kok Keong, chief executive of the Energy Markets Authority. “Our new solar target reflects Singapore’s commitment to building a cleaner, more resilient energy system. This important initiative requires strong collaboration across government, industry and the community.”
Despite the raised target, the Energy Market Authority said that solar can “realistically contribute only up to around 10% of Singapore’s projected energy needs by 2050”. It said Singapore would pursue a “diversified energy mix … while ensuring energy security and the power system’s resilience.”
As a city state, Singapore is dominated by small scale solar—like residential and C&I installations—and innovative deployments that save on land use. In September, SembCorp, a Singapore-based engineering firm, unveiled plans to build an 86MWp floating solar installation on the country’s Pandan reservoir. It is also building a 150MW floating site on the Kranji reservoir in the north of the country.
Much of Singapore’s renewable energy supply is imported from other countries. A report from Rystad Energy said that Singapore could become the “core” of the Southeast Asian power system, as planned interconnection deals with neighbouring countries currently stand to bring 25GW of new renewable energy capacity online.

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Why your RV should have solar panels  Environment America
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MNRE has updated the ALMM List-I, adding 11,035 MW of solar module capacity in March 2026, taking the total enlisted capacity to 173,144 MW. Startup Energy (Micromax), Best Apartment, Army Solar Energy, Rajdeep Solar Energy and Sahjanand Solar are the new entrants. Vikram Solar, INA Solar, Solex Energy, Websol, and Swelect have increased capacities.
March 03, 2026. By Mrinmoy Dey

Industry is Shifting from Standalone Solar to Integrated Energy Solutions: MD, Truzon Solar

India Must Develop A Robust Testing and Certification Ecosystem for BESS: Ekta Kabra, Geon

Advanced Technology Adoption is Central to Emmvee’s Growth Strategy: Suhas Donthi

Lithium Battery Testing and Semiconductor Labs Infra to Drive Next Phase of Growth: Dibakar Roy

Sunil Wankhede Says Low-Carbon Materials from Alleima India Can Support India’s Climate Goals

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Sandia National Labs researchers have created a new dataset on the rates and types of rooftop PV connector failures. Their analysis has shown that tight wire bending radius, extra dirty connectors, and loose nuts are the most common failure causes in 6,276 connectors deployed between 2014 and 2017 across seven U.S. regions.
Inspection categories of PV connectors
Image: Sandia National Labs, Solar Energy, CC BY 4.0
A group of scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratories has conducted a failure analysis of 6,276 photovoltaic connectors used in rooftop PV systems, in an effort to increase publicly available data on the rates and types of connector failures. 
“The primary objective is to establish a fielded connector database that encompasses installations representative of the entire PV industry, providing insights into installation practices, connector models, climates, and other system variables associated with the highest failure rates,” the academics explained. “The research will also include forensic analysis to identify the root causes of failures.”
The group sourced all the connectors for the analysis from an undisclosed PV system installer operating in the U.S. market. The devices were installed between 2014 and 2017 and were taken from 265 individual rooftop systems spread across seven U.S. regions, with California providing the highest number.
For their failure analysis, the researchers implemented a framework including barcoding, wire stripping, visual inspection, 4-wire resistance measurements, and X-ray imaging.
“This characterization procedure prioritized high efficiency and rapid connector processing over high-precision measurements,” they specified. “The complete dataset from this work is hosted on the DuraMAT data hub. All data analysis was conducted using Python scripts, and outliers were identified using the interquartile range (IQR) method.”
The analysis showed that tight wire bending radius, extra dirty connectors, and loose nuts are the most common failure causes in rooftop PV systems, with percentages of 2.2%, 1.3%, and 1.1%, respectively. Furthermore, the scientists found that loose nuts had a critical failure rate of 41 % for fiber optic connectors.
They also found that high current levels are often associated with connectors’ higher resistance ranges and critical failure rates, which were attributed to resistive heating.
Moreover, the research team carried out a performance assessment of cross-mated connector models. “The analysis did not reveal a definitive performance trend between cross-mated and non-cross-mated connectors; some cross-mated connectors performed adequately, while others did not,” they pointed out.
The analysis also revealed that connector types designed to limit heat dissipation from the contact to the housing are often associated with higher failure rates, and that rounded contact barbs used in some connectors can lead to retainer failures.
The connector analysis was presented in the study “Rapid characterization and failure analysis of 6276 rooftop-harvested photovoltaic connectors,” published in Solar Energy. “Future work will leverage the techniques developed in this paper to characterize a more diverse range of PV installations,” the team concluded. 
Other researchers from Sandia National Labs have recently created a standardized terminology for PV connectors in an effort to reduce confusion and offer best practices for their deployment.
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More articles from Emiliano Bellini
I saw on my own system that the provided connectors, whatever the brands are very low quality. I even had to cut some wires because they welding themselves together or the plastic case were melted…
I even wonder if just welding everything wouldn’t be a much better way. Anyway, we are not supposed to disconnect these things every day.
PV connectors of any brand/type DO NOT perform well. All of them are a fire risk.
Make your provider/installer to go Butt Splicing all the way and use disconnect breakers as applicable to isolate even if initial cost is higher. Fight the excuse that warranty of PV panels will be voided if remove connectors and butt splicing instead. And do not use zip ties whatsoever: use clamps, brackets for wire management if not use conduits (pipes)
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Group Surya has commissioned a 500 MW G12R solar module production line in the Indian state of Odisha. The fully automated facility will be expanded to 1 GW within four to five months.
The G12R solar module manufacturing line will operate under Iyro, Group Surya’s advanced solar solutions brand.
Group Surya/IYRO Solar
Group Surya, the parent company of Surya International Enterprise Ltd, today announced the commissioning of its G12R solar module production line with an annual manufacturing capacity of 500 MW in Bhubaneswar city of Odisha. This marks the first G12R-capable PV module manufacturing facility in the state.
The company said its fully automated G12R line is engineered for high-volume, high-efficiency production, operating at a rapid cycle time of 20–25 seconds per module. It plans to expand the Bhubaneswar facility to 1 GW within the next four to five months, to serve domestic and international markets.
The facility will produce PV modules with outputs from 450 W to 735 W, serving utility-scale, commercial, and residential segments. It is equipped for multiple technologies, including TOPCon, HJT, bifacial, half-cut, and dual-glass configurations.
The advanced AI-driven quality control systems enable a 97–98% reduction in defects, ensuring consistent adherence to global performance and reliability standards. Breakage rates are below five per 10,000 PV modules.
“This commissioning marks a significant step in our strategic roadmap to build globally competitive manufacturing capabilities aligned with the Government of India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat vision and Make in India,” said Kamlesh Kumar Singh, Group Director. “By investing in advanced technologies and expanding production capacity, we are enhancing operational efficiency and long-term value creation of both country and GroupSurya.”
The G12R manufacturing line will operate under Iyro, Group Surya’s advanced solar solutions brand.
 
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Australian renewables developer Edify Energy has submitted plans for a 2,400MWh solar-plus-storage project to Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
The Nowingi Solar Power Station is being proposed 47km to the south of Mildura, on the Victorian side of the Murray River, near the border with New South Wales.
The project will feature a 300MWac solar PV power plant developed alongside an up to 300MW/2,400MWh 8-hour duration battery energy storage system (BESS).
It will span an area of 637 hectares within the Mildura Rural City Council Local Government Area’s farming zone, which is currently managed for agricultural practices.
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According to documents submitted as part of the EPBC Act application, the BESS will connect to the National Electricity Market (NEM) via an existing overhead 220kV transmission line owned and operated by Ausnet, which runs from Red Cliffs to Horsham.
The NEM spans Australia’s eastern and southern coasts as well as the island state of Tasmania. Fluence’s Rob Hills, APAC vice-president of engineering and commissioning, and Sam Markham, growth manager, Australia and New Zealand, recently discussed some of the trends in this market with ESN Premium.
Construction on the Nowingi Solar Power Station is expected to take around 18 months. At its peak, the project will generate approximately 250 full-time jobs. Once operational, the project will employ around five permanent positions to operate and maintain the solar PV power plant.
The site aims to ensure agricultural practices can continue through the use of agrivoltaics, or ‘agriPV’. Agrivoltaics has been incorporated in several of Edify’s other Australian projects, notably the 80MW Peninsula Solar Farm and the 250MW Muskerry Solar Power Station in Victoria.
The EPBC queue, administered by the Federal government, aims to protect nationally threatened species and ecological communities. The approval must be received before a project can be developed. 
In recent months, several utility-scale and co-located BESS have been submitted to the Act.
This includes Samsung C&T Renewable Energy Australia, which recently submitted plans for a 100MW/400MWh BESS proposed 30.6km south of Wagga Wagga in New South Wales, near Mangoplah.
Another notable submission in recent weeks is ACE Power’s proposed Talbingo Battery, a 450MW/1,800MWh grid-connected BESS located approximately 5km south of Talbingo, a small rural town at the edge of the Snowy Mountains.
ACE Power has also seen success in the EPBC Act in recent months. Specifically, the group received clearance for its Eastern Hub Firming Battery, which would see a BESS of up to 8,000MWh developed.Our publisher, Solar Media, will host the Battery Asset Management Summit Australia 2025 on 26-27 August in Sydney.You can get 20% off your ticket usi

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“When there is uncertainty, there are good deals to be had,” said Mercom CEO Raj Prabhu. “People are looking for late-stage, low-risk projects that are ready to go, and those are hot commodities.”
Despite some turbulent headlines, 2025 wasn’t as bad for renewable energy companies as it may have seemed, according to Mercom CEO Raj Prabhu.
While policy uncertainty, trade and tariff risks, as well as higher interest rates, chilled investor interest in the sector, that same trend drove lower company and project valuations that prompted a greater number of mergers and acquisitions amid growing energy demand, he said.
Global venture capital and private equity funding for solar companies fell 22% in 2025, according to data compiled by Mercom. But solar M&A rose 17%, with 96 mergers in 2025 compared to 82 in 2024.
A small number of high-value, one-off energy storage deals in 2024 caused the total value of energy storage M&A activity to fall 71% in 2025, but storage saw the total number of project acquisitions jump from 38 transactions in 2024 to 65 in 2025.
“When there is uncertainty, there are good deals to be had,” Prabhu said, adding that he expected the pace of renewable energy M&A to continue in 2026. “People are looking for late-stage, low-risk projects that are ready to go, and those are hot commodities. Everyone wants to get their hands on them.”
Meanwhile, investor excitement about the future of artificial intelligence and energy demand drove a 38% increase in total funding for smart grid technology companies, with valuations rising faster than the number of deals, which also rose 25%, according to Mercom.
But while there’s clearly a lot of private equity interest in new grid technologies, it’s not entirely clear whether utilities will buy them, Wilmot said.
Energy storage projects — especially those located near potential data center sites — drew particularly strong interest in 2025, Wilmot said. But he also suspects that interest in battery storage may have already peaked in some markets, such as CAISO and ERCOT, which he said have become oversaturated.
New “foreign entity of concern” rules will impact solar and storage supply chains and could further depress activity in 2026, Wilmot said, because the need to locate domestic suppliers could stall some projects and raise costs for developers.
“I expect there will be some pain over the next couple of years, because it will take time for local supply chains to mature,” he said. “If I had a big pipeline of projects, I would be a little nervous about where costs are going.”
On the other hand, if the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates in 2026, that could give renewable energy more of a boost — but probably not enough to overcome the costs of FEOC compliance, Wilmot said.
Even so, there’s still a large number of high-quality renewable energy projects on the market and ample demand for new generation, Wilmot said. So while buyers and investors may be feeling a bit more selective, Wilmot doesn’t think renewable energy project acquisitions are likely to slow in 2026.
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The industry is navigating new FEOC rules and steeling itself for the end of some IRA credits. But load growth and rising electricity bills present opportunity, according to experts in our renewable energy outlook.
Calling it the largest loan in the agency’s history, DOE said it aims to deliver over $7 billion in cost savings for Georgia Power and Alabama Power customers.
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The industry is navigating new FEOC rules and steeling itself for the end of some IRA credits. But load growth and rising electricity bills present opportunity, according to experts in our renewable energy outlook.
Calling it the largest loan in the agency’s history, DOE said it aims to deliver over $7 billion in cost savings for Georgia Power and Alabama Power customers.
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Samsung C&T Renewable Energy Australia has submitted plans for a 300MWh solar-plus-storage project in Queensland to Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
The Dunmore Solar Farm and battery energy storage system (BESS) will be constructed on a 534-hectare portion of a larger 1,056-hectare site at Cecil Plains Moonie Road, located roughly 240km west of the state capital, Brisbane.
It will consist of a 300MW solar PV power plant co-located with a 2-hour duration 150MW/300MWh BESS, which will be installed on a concrete pad adjacent to site offices and operational areas.
According to documents submitted as part of the EPBC Act application, the Dunmore development includes a new 330kV switchyard between Braemar and Bulli Creek Substation, with a proposed Dunmore substation occupying a 300m x 300m area.
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Construction of the Dunmore project is scheduled to commence in July 2027 and will involve several distinct phases. 
The initial site preparation will include clearing and grubbing of vegetation, followed by civil works to establish access roads, drainage systems, and foundations for both the solar arrays and BESS infrastructure. The construction team will install approximately 600,000 solar modules mounted on the single-axis tracking system.
Specifically, the site will use Horizontal Single-Axis Solar Tracking (HSAT) PV modules to maximise energy capture throughout the day. Power conversion units consisting of inverters and step-up transformers will convert DC electricity from the solar modules to high-voltage AC for efficient transmission to the substation.
Meanwhile, the BESS deployment will involve specialised electrical and mechanical contractors installing the battery modules, inverters, transformers, and associated control systems.
Samsung C&T estimates that the construction phase will create approximately 150 jobs over a 12-18-month period. The project is expected to be fully operational by early 2029, aligning with the planned grid connection date.
Once complete, the project will provide long-term renewable energy generation and storage capacity to the National Electricity Market (NEM), which spans Australia’s eastern and southern states and territories.
The development has already received approval from Toowoomba Regional Council following a public notification period during which no submissions were received.
This development follows Samsung C&T’s growing portfolio of Australian energy storage projects. The company recently submitted plans for a 100MW/400MWh BESS in Western Australia and an 80MW/320MWh system in New South Wales to the EPBC Act.
In other news, developer ACE Power and Osaka Gas Energy Australia have submitted plans for a 100MW solar-plus-storage project to the EPBC Act.
The Narrabri Solar Farm project, which is set to be developed under a special purpose vehicle called Narrabri Solar Power, includes a co-located 100MW/400MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) and will connect to the National Electricity Market (NEM).
The development is situated roughly 410km northwest of the New South Wales capital, Sydney, within the Narrabri Shire Local Government Area. It covers a site of 314 hectares, with construction scheduled to commence in February 2027.
The initial phases will involve site establishment, which includes installing piles to support the solar modules driven 1.5 to 2.5 meters into the ground. Additionally, the project will include constructing internal access tracks, preparing the substation bench and installing security infrastructure.
According to the EPBC Act documents, the construction phase is expected to last approximately 18 months, with peak construction activities concentrated in a 12-month period.
The operational phase is projected to extend for 30 years until 2058, after which decommissioning will occur with commitments to return the site to a safe, stable and non-polluting state capable of sustaining pre-solar PV power plant agricultural land uses.

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Australia’s Large-Scale Solar, Wind, and Storage Market Booms: Record-Breaking New Installations in Q4 2025  Solarbe Global
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SAVE $3,798.02: The Anker Solix F3800 portable power station, BP3800 Expansion Battery, and 400W solar panel bundle is on sale at Amazon for $3,598.98, down from the list price of $7,397. That’s a 51% discount and the lowest price we’ve ever seen at Amazon for this bundle.
The world of portable power stations is expanding by the day. Since things are getting crowded, it can be a challenge to find the right model for your power needs. If you’re looking to keep your home online during the next power outage, check out this excellent bundle deal at Amazon.
As of March 3, the Anker Solix F3800 portable power station, BP3800 Expansion Battery, and 400W solar panel bundle is on sale at Amazon for $3,598.98, marked down from the list price of $7,397. That works out to a 51% discount that shaves a massive $3,798.02 off the price. It’s also a new record-low price at Amazon for this bundle.
On its own, the Anker Solix F3800 is a solid option for powering up homes during an outage. It packs in a hefty 3.84kWh from long-lasting LiFePO4 batteries, and you’ll get a 6,000W AC output. That level is capable of running tons of important appliances in your home like the refrigerator, microwave, and even some central AC units. It also helps that it’s capable of 120 and 240V.
But today’s bundle deal makes the Solix F3800 just that much more function. The BP3800 Expansion Battery doubles the power, bringing it up for 7.68kWh. Plus, Anker is bundling a 400W solar panel with these two batteries. So long as you have access to sunlight, you could be in line for unlimited power that’s free, aside from the initial price.
That’ll mean your backyard movie nights with a projector can take place while powering the air fryer to make movie snacks outside. It’ll also prove its worth during summer RV trips if you’ll be parking in an off-grid area.
Before this deal disappears, upgrade your home with this massive Anker Solix bundle while it’s over half off. You’ll be getting the Anker Solix F3800 portable power station, a BP3800 Expansion Battery, and a 400W solar panel for under $3,600.
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Lauren Allain is a freelance journalist covering deals at Mashable. She graduated from Western Washington University with a B.A. in journalism and holds an M.B.A from Webster Leiden. You can find more of her work online from publications including Reader’s Digest, U.S. News & World Report, Seattle Refined, and more. When she’s not writing, Lauren prefers to be outside hiking, bouldering, swimming, or searching for the perfect location for all three.

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As the world grapples with the challenges of meeting rising electricity demand, particularly in developing countries, solar energy has emerged as a beacon of hope. In sub-Saharan Africa, where energy poverty is a persistent challenge, the potential for solar energy is vast.
Monocrystalline photovoltaic (PV) panels have become a popular choice for solar energy generation in the region. These panels convert sunlight into electrical energy, providing a clean and renewable source of power. However, efficiency is affected by the harsh environmental conditions in arid regions.
One of the major challenges facing solar panels is the accumulation of dust, bird droppings and other contaminants on the panel surface.
Research has shown that dust accumulation can significantly reduce a solar panel’s power output up to 56% over time, compared with clean modules. Research also shows that the method of cleaning affects solar panel efficiency, depending on whether soap or pressurized water are used. “Cleaning using water is an effective method but it needs pressurized water or a cleaning brush to help the water to remove sticky or muddy particles,” the authors of a 2013 Energy Conservation and Management study write. The study also notes that surfactants (soap) help maintain the panel’s efficiency.
In many parts of the world, manual cleaning of solar panels using water, brushes and mild soap is a common practice, but it has downsides: It can be labor-intensive, and in arid regions, where water scarcity is a significant issue, manual cleaning of solar panels is not a viable option.
To address this challenge, a team of innovators has designed an automated waterless solar panel cleaning system. According to the researchers, “The system uses an ejector blower for air jet cleaning and a flexible brush for dust sweeping, ensuring efficient cleaning.” This innovative solution is designed to be efficient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly.
The system is controlled by an Arduino Uno microcontroller and a real-time clock, which schedules cleaning sessions to ensure maximum efficiency. The use of sensors to detect dust levels and adjust cleaning frequency accordingly ensures that panels operate at optimal levels. The researchers note that “the system recorded a significant 26.23% average increase in power output and reduced losses due to dust accumulation.”
The objective of this research, published in January in the journal Unconventional Resources, was to design and implement an automated cleaning system that could reduce the energy lost from solar panels due to dust buildup, and simplify the cleaning process. It is one of several waterless solar cleaning systems that have come about in recent years. Solar panel cleaning systems can be costly, with some new systems up to tens of thousands of dollars.
Nigeria, particularly the northern states such as Kano, Kaduna,and Katsina, faces significant challenges in harnessing solar energy due to the harsh environmental conditions and water scarcity in the region. Despite the abundance of sunlight, the accumulation of dust and other contaminants on solar panels has significantly reduced their efficiency and power output.
Chika Ujah, one of the recent study’s co-authors from the Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Power and Energy Development, confirmed in an email to Mongabay that the waterless cleaning system could be well-suited for Nigeria’s solar belt, in the north, where dust and seasonal conditions can affect panel efficiency, and its design eliminates the need for water, reduces labor and allows for scheduled cleaning, “Nigeria’s solar belt faces regular soiling from dust, traffic, farming activity and seasonal conditions. The paper’s waterless, two stage cleaner uses an air jet plus a flexible rolling brush under Arduino control with a real time clock and limit switches, so it does not need mains water, keeps labor low, and lets users schedule cleaning to match local seasons.”
He added, “These features fit Nigeria’s warm, dusty periods and water stress, especially for small and medium PV sites common in communities and SMEs,” small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Nigeria’s solar sector is rapidly growing, with the country having one of the highest solar radiation levels globally, making it an ideal location for solar energy production. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Nigeria’s solar potential is estimated to be around 427,000 MW. However, the current solar capacity in Nigeria remains low.
Solar energy accounts for a small percentage of Nigeria’s electricity generation mix, with most of the country’s power coming from fossil fuels and only 10% coming from renewables. Despite this, there is a growing interest in solar energy, particularly for off-grid and mini-grid applications, which can provide electricity to communities and SMEs that lack access to the national grid.
In Nigeria’s solar belt, which includes states like Kaduna, Kano and Sokoto, solar panels are being used to power homes, businesses and community infrastructure.
Regarding the waterless system’s effects on efficiency and sustainability, “On a 60 W panel the system raised average output by 26.23 percent, with daily energy rising from 124.2 W to 156.77 W across the test window. That uplift directly improves yield and payback while the waterless design conserves scarce resources and reduces site logistics. Automated cycles also support safer operations at schools, clinics and small businesses where staff time and water are limited,” Ujah said in an email.
In northern Nigeria, where the sun shines brightly for most of the year, experts said this waterless cleaning system could be a game changer as a reliable and efficient way to maintain solar panels, ensuring that they operate at maximum capacity. With the potential to increase energy output and reduce maintenance costs, this innovation has the potential to transform the way solar energy is harnessed in the region.
Engineer Oluwatoyin Oghenekogie, a Lagos-based solar panel expert with Fountain Power Technique, told Mongabay that the waterless cleaning system design is a breakthrough for water-scarce areas like northern Nigeria, as it eliminates maintenance hassles and ensures steady power generation. “The place in the part of the country that lacks water will quickly embrace this game changer, and of course it will bring about steady and effective power,” he said, adding that it would “definitely have a significant impact in Nigeria, as it will eradicate frequent maintenance. The role it will play will be massive because it will be maintenance free.”
However, it’s not a viable option yet — not for Nigerians. “Since this type of system isn’t available in Nigeria’s market, pricing can’t be determined,” the engineer said.
Adesogbon Joshua, a solar panel seller based in Lagos, told Mongabay that waterless cleaning systems would be ideal for the Sahara desert region due to water scarcity and dust issues, making them a better option than traditional methods. However, when asked about the cost of such a system, he confirmed it’s not yet available locally. “As far as I’m concerned, this type of system is not in the Nigeria market yet,” he said. “Though I’ve heard about the idea, and I think it’s really good.”
He added, “In the Sahara desert region, waterless solar panel cleaning systems seem like an ideal solution due to the scarcity and high cost of water supply. Dust accumulation is a major concern for solar panels in this area. From my experience with water-based cleaning, high water pressure can effectively remove dust, but it also has drawbacks, such as potentially scratching the panel’s surface when using a brush or even damaging the panel due to excessive pressure.
“I have only recently learned about waterless solar panel cleaning systems, but given the advancements in technology, I believe they’re a welcome development that serves multiple purposes,” Joshua said.
Babatunde Busari is a business owner in Ijebu-Ode, in Ogun state who runs a cleaning services company, including laundry, powered by a 60 kW commercial solar system. He shared his experience with Mongabay. “We clean the system once or twice a year,” he said. “Sometimes I do it myself with my boys, and sometimes we hire professionals. They charge between 50,000 and 60,000 naira [$34-41] for a 3-4 hour job.”
On the possibility of adopting a waterless solar panel cleaning system, Busari said, “If it’s not too expensive, I would gladly buy it. I haven’t seen one before, but if the advantages are more than the traditional panels, why not? I would definitely consider it.”
Banner image: A yurt with solar panels in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia. Dust in desert regions can reduce a solar panel’s output, yet cleaning is a challenge in areas with scarce water. Image by Bernard Gagnon via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain).
Citations:
Nezamisavojbolaghi, M., Davodian, E., Bouich, A., Tlemçani, M., Mesbahi, O., & Janeiro, F. M. (2023). The impact of dust deposition on PV panels’ efficiency and mitigation solutions: Review article. Energies, 16(24), 8022. doi:10.3390/en16248022
Moharram, K., Abd-Elhady, M., Kandil, H., & El-Sherif, H. (2013). Influence of cleaning using water and surfactants on the performance of photovoltaic panels. Energy Conversion and Management, 68, 266-272. doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2013.01.022
Nkinyam, C. M., Ujah, C. O., Nnakwo, K. C., Ezeudu, O., Kallon, D. V., & Ike-Eze C. Ezema, I. (2025). Design and implementation of a waterless solar panel cleaning system. Unconventional Resources, 5, 100131. doi:10.1016/j.uncres.2024.100131
Shao, Y., Yang, Z., Yan, Y., Yan, Y., Israilova, F., Khan, N., & Chang, L. (2025). Navigating Nigeria’s path to sustainable energy: Challenges, opportunities, and global insight. Energy Strategy Reviews, 59, 101707. doi:10.1016/j.esr.2025.101707
Join Mongabay’s reporters as we unpack some of the most urgent and intriguing issues in climate, the environment and biodiversity today. In this multimedia Special Issue, we go beyond the headlines to examine how science, policy and human activity intersect with Nature. We try to answer questions you might not have known to ask, with […]
© 2026 Copyright Conservation news. Mongabay is a U.S.-based non-profit conservation and environmental science news platform. Our EIN or tax ID is 45-3714703.
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Protran Solutions says a battery-electric refrigerated trailer charged by onboard solar panels has completed a 1,671 km Sydney-Brisbane round trip without diesel use, demonstrating depot-to-depot cold-chain capability.
Image: Sunswap
From pv magazine Australia
Protran Solutions has announced a semi towing a solar-powered refrigerated trailer manufactured by UK-based Sunswap has successfully completed a 1,671 km round trip between Sydney and Brisbane, running entirely on battery and solar power.
Sydney-headquartered Protran said the real-world trial of a Sunswap Endurance trailer unit, which is powered by onboard batteries and roof-mounted solar panels, demonstrated exceptional performance over 32 hours of continuous operation, transporting temperature-sensitive freight without any external power input from the truck, trailer, or grid infrastructure.
“These field-testing results have proven what we wanted to validate in terms of cold-chain capabilities for solar-powered refrigerated transport for depot-to-depot operations,” Protran General Manager Grant Turner said. “The Sunswap Endurance system has proven it can handle the Sydney-Brisbane return route while maintaining precise temperature control for frozen and chilled freight types, all without consuming a single drop of diesel for refrigeration.”
Turner said he was particularly impressed with the integrated battery and solar system’s performance during overnight operations when there was no solar generation and the fact that rain fell for significant stretches of the trip.
“The battery reserves and energy efficiency meant that the trip completed the entire journey using just 28% which is remarkable,” he said. “This gives operators genuine confidence in the technology’s reliability and opens up new possibilities for sustainable logistics within the cold chain sector.”
Results from the trial show the trailer used a total of 85.9 kWh of energy, with 27 kWh coming from the battery and 58.9 kWh generated by solar with 62% battery capacity remaining at the end of the trip. The use of the solar power reduced diesel consumption by 64 liters of diesel and avoided 172 kg of carbon emissions.
Transport is Australia’s third-largest source of greenhouse emissions, according to government data, and is on track to become the highest-emitting industry by 2030, with heavy trucks a major contributor.
Sunswap said its technology delivers not just a zero-emission alternative to diesel-powered transport refrigeration systems commonly used in cold-chain logistics but provides up to 81% reduction in operating costs.
“Operators are choosing Endurance because it handles demanding operations better than diesel while cutting costs dramatically,” Sunswap Chief Executive Michael Lowe said.
Sunswap said its Endurance units are already being used across the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Chile, and production is scaling rapidly to meet international demand.
The company said the units deliver 24 hours of frozen operation from a single charge, with solar panels mounted across the trailer roof continuously charging the onboard batteries, extending range and reducing charging requirements. The batteries can also be topped up from the grid overnight. The units handle -25 C frozen to ambient temperature control.
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A Spanish research team’s patented thin film generates 110 volts from a single raindrop’s impact.
For as long as we’ve been capturing the sun’s rays, the clouds have been the enemy. When the sky turns gray and the first drops fall, the steady stream of electrons from traditional solar panels slows to a trickle. But a team of scientists in Seville, Spain, has decided that instead of fighting the rain, solar technology should embrace it.
Researchers from the Nanotechnology on Surfaces and Plasma Laboratory at the Institute of Materials Science of Seville (ICMS) have developed a hybrid device that actually feeds on downpours. By applying a specialized, “Teflon-like” film just 100 nanometers thick to a high-efficiency perovskite solar cell, they have created a panel that harvests light when it’s sunny and kinetic energy when it pours.
The new panel utilizes the triboelectric effect. When a droplet strikes and slides across the specially treated surface, it creates friction and has a charge difference. For instance, a droplet may leave behind a positive ion while the surface is negatively charged. The charge is then harvested and converted into electricity.
To understand why this is a “game changer,” you have to look at the material inside. Halide perovskites are the darlings of the renewable energy world. They are cheaper to make than silicon and have seen their efficiency skyrocket from under 4% to over 25% in just a few years.
However, they are notoriously delicate. “The inherent vulnerability of halide perovskites to moisture and environmental stressors remains a critical barrier to their widespread deployment,” the researchers note in their paper published in Nano Energy.
Exposure to humidity usually turns these high-tech crystals into a yellowish, useless sludge of lead iodide within minutes. The obvious implication is that these solar panels are extremely vulnerable to rain, risking damage if their coatings don’t stop the water. This makes this recent work that flips the script all the more amazing.
The team at ICMS used a technique called Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (PECVD) to grow a protective fluorinated polymer layer directly onto the cell. This process happens at room temperature and is entirely solvent-free. This means it doesn’t damage the sensitive layers of the solar cell during application.
This 100-nanometer coating performs a triple-duty. It acts as a hydrophobic shield, bumping the water contact angle to 110°, which effectively doubles the cell’s resistance to moisture. It reduces reflection and increases light transparency to over 90%, actually helping the cell absorb more sunlight than if it were bare. And it functions as a Drop Triboelectric Nanogenerator (D-TENG). When a raindrop hits the surface and slides off, the friction creates an electrical potential.
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“Our work proposes an advanced solution that combines perovskite solar cell photovoltaic technology with triboelectric nanogenerators in a thin-film configuration, thus demonstrating the feasibility of implementing both energy harvesting systems,” explains Carmen López, a lead researcher at ICMS.
The team demonstrated that the optimized coating can generate open-circuit voltage peaks of up to 110 volts when hit by a single drop of rain. While the total power density is relatively low — about 4 milliwatts per square centimeter — it is more than enough to keep low-power electronics humming without a battery.
In their lab, the researchers built a self-charging prototype that used a custom “boost converter” to step up the voltage. The solar-rain hybrid could continuously power an array of red LEDs using the sun, while a green LED array flashed intermittently with every “thump” of a falling drop.
The encapsulated cells retained over 50% of their initial efficiency even after 10 days of exposure to high heat and humidity. In a “torture test” involving liquid water immersion, the hybrid device maintained its performance for over 15 minutes, whereas unencapsulated cells failed almost instantly.
This technology isn’t intended to replace the massive silicon arrays on your roof just yet. Instead, it’s a direct shot at the growing “Internet of Things” (IoT). As we scatter millions of sensors across bridges, farm fields, and smart cities to monitor everything from pollution to structural integrity, we face a “battery crisis” — we can’t keep going out to change them.
“Its implementation in so-called smart cities is feasible, such as in signage, autonomous auxiliary lighting or monitoring,” says researcher Fernando Núñez. “It would also be applicable for distributed energy structures in remote, inaccessible or isolated areas, such as marine stations”.
By harvesting “kinetic energy from the kinetic impacts of rain,” these panels can provide a “rugged access to these tiny streams of energy” in places where wires or traditional batteries simply won’t work, the researchers added. It moves us away from a world where devices just sleep when the weather is bad, and toward a future of better energy autonomy.

Tibi is a science journalist and co-founder of ZME Science. He writes mainly about emerging tech, physics, climate, and space. In his spare time, Tibi likes to make weird music on his computer and groom felines. He has a B.Sc in mechanical engineering and an M.Sc in renewable energy systems.
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© 2007-2025 ZME Science – Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

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Portable Solar Trickle Charger 5W Solar Battery Trickle Charger Maintainer 12V Solar Panel Charger Maintainer 12v Solar Panel Waterproof Automotive Motorcycle Monocrystalline Solar Panel  hotelier.com.py
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The ‘Anything-But-Solar’ Trade Is the Future of Solar  Bloomberg.com
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SAVE $370: As of March 3, the Anker Solix C1000 is on sale for $429 at Amazon. That’s a 46% discount on the list price.
Portable power stations are one of the best products to have on hand. Whether it’s maintaining power during a storm outage or keeping you connected on a camping vacation, these handy devices have a whole lot going for them. Some are robust enough to keep your whole home powered for days on end, while others specialize in portability. If you’re looking for something that promises the latter, you need to check out this Amazon deal on the Anker Solix C1000.
As of March 3, this offering from Anker has dropped to $429 from $799. That’s a saving of $370 and its lowest price so far this year. This price is for the unit only, however there are various upgrade options that include chargers and solar panels.
Portability is a big sell for this power station, designed for both backup at home and off-grid use. According to Anker, it’s 14% smaller and 11% lighter than comparable models. It’s easy to carry with you, even if you’re camping in the wilderness. It’s robust and built to last, with the InfiniPower battery rated for around 10 years of use.
Power-wise, you’ll get a 1,024Wh capacity and 2,000W output (3,000W peak) across 10 ports, so it can run multiple devices at the same time. Heading out on a last-minute camping vacation? Not to worry, it supports ultra-fast recharging, reaching full capacity in just 49 minutes at 1,600W using HyperFlash technology which can be enabled in the Anker app.
This is a limited deal at Amazon, so don’t miss out.
Topics Amazon Outdoors
Lois Mackenzie is a freelance reporter at Mashable. Over the years she has written for many publications, covering everything from the local news to the best pair of running shoes. You can find bylines in publications including Fit&Well, Metro, and Coach magazine, usually covering deals on everything from earbuds to TVs, or guides on how to beat your half marathon time.
Lois also holds a Master’s degree in Digital Journalism from Strathclyde University and obtained a Master of Arts in English Literature at the University of Aberdeen.

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Serbia’s Hemofarm commissions 4 MW rooftop PV plant  SeeNews
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The Commission has launched today a new call for proposals under the EU Renewable Energy Financing Mechanism (RENEWFM) to support renewable energy deployment through cross-border cooperation between EU Member States.
Based on Member States’ expressions of interest and binding commitments, the call has a total budget of €54.9 million. It will provide investment support for ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) projects located in designated host Member States. 
Under this call:
This framework enables Member States to cooperate in financing renewable energy projects, helping to collectively achieve EU climate and energy targets while optimising costs and deployment potential across the Union.
By supporting ground-mounted solar PV projects in Bulgaria and Finland, this call accelerates renewable energy deployment, reinforces European solidarity and contributes to the cost-effective delivery of national and EU climate and energy objectives.
The support is provided in the form of investment grants, awarded through a competitive tender procedure.
Interested projects can apply until 1 September 2026.
CINEA will organise a virtual info day on 17 April to present the call conditions, including specific conditions for each hosting countries, the award and ranking criteria, and the rules for grant disbursements.
Participants will have the opportunity to raise questions during a dedicated Q&A session.
Register here 
Check the call for proposals in the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, where you can also find the RENEWFM Q&As.
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Infralogic is pleased to present the Renewable Energy Infrastructure Outlook 2026, in association with Ansarada. Through comprehensive insights from industry experts, the survey provides a rare, ground-level view of how high-value infrastructure procurement practices are evolving in response to today’s delivery pressures.
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ADVICE: Kevin Marling
By Rick Lyon, Co-Editor
Leading Humber building surveyors Delaney Marling Partnership are urging homeowners and businesses to adopt a ‘fabric first’ approach to energy efficiency upgrades, warning that superficial installations of heat pumps and solar panels risk wasting money and undermining genuine sustainability.
With Government grants fuelling a surge in demand for air source heat pumps (ASHPs) and solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, the firm says too many properties are receiving ‘eco-bling’ – flashy renewables retrofitted onto draughty, poorly insulated buildings with disappointing results.
“High-tech kit on a leaky building is like fitting a Ferrari engine to a car with flat tyres”, said Kevin Marling, chartered building surveyor at Delaney Marling Partnership. “The system labours inefficiently, bills stay high and promised savings evaporate.”
Government data backs this up: 
Up to 25 per cent of domestic heat loss comes from uninsulated walls alone (English Housing Survey).
Rushed renewables retrofits without fabric-first upgrades can see efficiency drop by 30-50 per cent (DESNZ guidance)
Practical steps for property owners include:
Target UK building regs U-values (e.g. 0.18 W/m²K for walls) using 100mm-150mm PIR/phenolic boards; 200-300mm+ for maximum performance.
Commission whole-building audits with thermal imaging to ensure ASHPs achieve COP >3.0 via 140-200mm roof insulation.
Add Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) ventilation alongside strategic upgrades like 270mm+ pitched roofs to maintain air quality without heat loss.
These evidence-based strategies align with Passivhaus standards and net-zero goals, delivering payback in five to seven years through lower bills and higher property values.
“True sustainability blooms from solid foundations, not shiny gimmicks,” added Kevin. “We encourage whole-building surveys to assess fabric condition, materials and dew point calculations before sizing heat pumps or solar PV – it’s a whole-property approach.”
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Simplify your search
Switch to solar with a system built for you.
CONTENTS
Simplify your search
Switch to solar with a system built for you.
Average solar panel installation costs generally start between $13,945 and $27,890 in New Mexico.
How much you actually pay depends on several factors, including system size, whether you add a battery and the condition of your roof.
For many residents, the investment pays off over time. New Mexico homeowners with solar panels avoid $31,118 in total utility costs over 25 years on average.
But it doesn’t work out for everyone. This article explains average solar panel prices and the overall cost benefits to consider before making the switch to solar energy.
Going solar is like buying a car. You could pay cash, but most people finance or lease with minimal upfront costs.
Compare quotes from three or four different solar companies before making a decision.
Assuming an upfront purchase, it takes about 10.49 years to break even (when your savings with solar panels make up for the cost).
Before considering any incentives, a typical 7-kilowatt (kW) solar panel system costs $19,523 in New Mexico.
Prices in Albuquerque are comparable, ranging from $14,532 to $29,064. It costs between $13,795 and $27,590 to go solar in Las Cruces.
Average solar panel costs by system size in New Mexico
NOTE: The estimated costs above do not include the price of a solar storage battery. Adding a battery can double your total costs.
How much you pay to go solar largely depends on the size of your system, the equipment you want and the condition of your roof. Local permits and fees are a small part of your overall costs.
A typical New Mexico household needs about a 5.2 kW system, which costs $14,508 on average. Depending on your energy needs, you might need a smaller or larger system.
How to estimate what system size you need: First, look at your electric bill. It should say how many kilowatt-hours (kWh) you used last year. Then, divide that number by 1,200 to estimate your system size in kilowatts (kW).
For example, if you used 12,000 kWh of electricity last year, you would need a 10-kW system. If you used 10,800 kWh, you would need a 9-kW system.
Upgrade old appliances with more eco-friendly ones before you go solar. If you use less electricity, you need fewer solar panels, which makes the entire system more cost-effective.
» WATT’S THE DIFFERENCE? kW vs. kWh
The equipment — panels, inverters, mounting hardware and other electrical accessories — is typically the largest portion of your overall solar costs (approximately 25% to 50%).
High-quality solar panels last 25 to 30 years, and your roof needs to last just as long.
ConsumerAffairs often hears from customers who were blindsided by expensive roof repairs discovered after their solar panels were already installed. This is a frustrating and expensive process — avoid it if you can.
To ensure a seamless and cost-effective solar journey, your roof must match the system’s longevity. Get your roof inspected, fixed or replaced before you go solar.
Labor, which includes planning, preparing and connecting your solar system to the grid, accounts for 10% to 30% of total costs. Solar equipment costs are going down, but labor costs are still relatively high in some parts of the state.
You might be tempted to install the system yourself. DIY solar panels are cheaper, but incorrectly installed systems can cause roof leaks, electrical hazards and voided warranties.
If you have an electric car, ask about EV charger options. Homeowners in rural parts of New Mexico should also consider critter guards to protect the panels.
» RELATED: How many solar panels do you need for your house?
Like a lot of residents, Douglas in Albuquerque went solar to lower his electric bills. Since making the switch, his monthly bills went from $300 or $400 to just $8 or $9.
Solar is often worth it for New Mexico homeowners looking for long-term savings on utility bills. Over 25 years, residents with solar panels avoid $31,118 in utility costs on average.
But it doesn’t work out for everyone. Dan in Albuquerque spent $26,000 on a system and regretted it. Dan said his equipment was installed in the wrong location. His solar company wasn’t helpful about fixing it, leaving him feeling ignored, misled and stuck. That’s why it’s so important to hire a reputable installer.
We suggest using the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) PVWatts Calculator to estimate how much electricity a solar panel can produce over a year on your house. Then, weigh your installation costs against how much you can save over time.
Whether going solar is worth it depends on where you live in New Mexico. The state averages 6 to 7 peak sun hours daily. Lots of shading — like tall trees above your roof — will make your solar system less efficient. Since solar panels generate more power with more sunlight, this can affect the financial returns on your investment.
» STILL NOT SURE? Solar energy pros and cons
Financing options and leasing programs make solar more affordable for New Mexico homeowners. In an ideal scenario, your solar power system generates enough extra power to cancel out your monthly payment.
» SOLAR PANELS: Lease vs. buy
Most installers set the price according to the system’s wattage. Similar to “cost per square foot” when buying a house, “cost per watt” allows you to compare the relative value of a solar panel system. It shows you the per-dollar price of your system’s energy production potential.
Get quotes from at least three to four different solar companies in New Mexico. Make sure the estimated price includes all the equipment you want, labor, permits and grid hookup. Watch for hidden fees for system monitoring or maintenance service charges.
According to our latest research, the average cost per watt is $2.79 in New Mexico.
Cost per watt and total solar panel system costs in New Mexico
The federal solar tax credit is set to expire at the end of 2025, much earlier than previously scheduled. This means you have until Dec. 31, 2025, to install and pay for a system to qualify for the 30% credit.
Local solar incentives in New Mexico still make solar more financially attractive for homes and businesses. You might also be able to save money through manufacturers’ rebates.
Net metering lets homeowners with solar panels sell any excess electricity they generate to their local power grid. In New Mexico, compensation is up to the electric companies.
Central New Mexico Electric Cooperative, Public Service Company of New Mexico and El Paso Electric set the rate they pay you for your home-generated solar energy. You need to apply for interconnection with your utility provider to participate.
We compared ratings and reviews, equipment options, warranties, availability and other factors to pick the top solar companies in New Mexico. Read our guides to solar companies in Albuquerque and the solar companies in Las Cruces for more information.
Simplify your search
Switch to solar with a system built for you.
We’re not aware of a totally free solar option in New Mexico. Unfortunately, scams that promise free solar panels can end up costing people quite a bit of money. However, you can lease solar equipment to reduce your upfront costs.
The difference comes down to efficiency and materials: monocrystalline panels are made from pure, single silicon crystals, whereas polycrystalline panels are made from various silicon fragments melted together. Both are types of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels.
No, solar panels have relatively low maintenance costs. If you clean the solar panels yourself, the only maintenance cost will be the water used to hose them down. Hiring a professional to clean your solar panels typically costs between $100 and $350.
Solar panels only generate electricity when the sun is shining. A solar battery stores the extra energy your panels produce during the day so you can use it at night or during a power outage.
Without a battery, that unused energy goes to the grid, and you’ll still depend on utility power after dark.
Installing solar panels can significantly increase a home’s value. According to a Zillow study, homes with solar panels sell for 4.1% more on average. The exact increase in value varies by location, with homes in active solar markets seeing higher boosts.
Home solar system costs typically range from $10,000 to $30,000 or higher, depending on factors such as system size, local labor rates and available incentives.
The ConsumerAffairs Research Team has conducted extensive research to compare the costs of going solar in New Mexico and other states.
Solar costs vs. savings: New Mexico and nearby state
ConsumerAffairs writers primarily rely on government data, industry experts and original research from other reputable publications to inform their work. Specific sources for this guide include:
ConsumerAffairs is not a government agency. Companies displayed may pay us to be Authorized or when you click a link, call a number or fill a form on our site. Our content is intended to be used for general information purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment based on your own personal circumstances and consult with your own investment, financial, tax and legal advisers.
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Türkiye’s Cumulative Solar PV Capacity Surpasses 25 GW, Plans 8 GW Annual Additions for Next Decade  Solarbe Global
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Moldova had a record year for solar deployment last year, taking cumulative capacity to 710 MW. There is now just under 1 GW of renewables installed in the country.
Image: Sasha Pleshco, Unsplash
Moldova added 315.7 MW of solar last year, according to figures shared by the country’s National Centre for Sustainable Energy (CNED). The result is a record in a calendar year for Moldova, improving on the 209 MW of solar added in 2024.
Total solar capacity now stands at 710 MW, making solar the leading form of renewable energy in Moldova, with a 72% share of the 980 MW of renewables installed by the end of last year. 
Image: CNED
An CNED spokesperson told pv magazine that a defining element of 2025 was the country’s first renewables auction based on a fixed price support scheme.
The auction, first announced in August 2024, covered 60 MW of solar and 105 MW of wind. The country’s Ministry of Energy revealed the auction was oversubscribed last April, ahead of selecting 11 winners fully covering the available capacity. In September, the government said all solar projects supported under the auction were operational. The successful projects are receiving 15-year fixed-price guarantees at MDL 1.16 ($0.069)/kWh for the energy generated.
To date, 408 MW of solar have been deployed in Moldova under state support mechanisms. This includes 151 MW of solar supported by a 15-year fixed tariff support scheme for solar parks up to 1 MW in size.
Smaller-scale solar installations designed for self-consumption were initially backed by a net-metering framework first established in 2018, before Moldova moved to a net-metering mechanism at the start of 2024. Original net-metering prosumers are permitted to continue benefiting from the mechanism until the end of 2027. Both support schemes permit installations up to 200 kW in capacity.
By the end of last year, there were 8,713 solar prosumers in Moldova, made up of individuals and legal entities, according to CNED’s data, with a cumulative installed capacity of 195 MW. From that figure, 5,051 of the prosumers installed their solar under the net-metering scheme, covering 115 MW, while the remaining 80 MW is accounted for by the 3,662 prosumers who have deployed solar under the net-billing scheme.
The remaining 302 MW of solar installed to date in Moldova operates on the free market, which CNED says demonstrates economic viability and strong interest from international investors.
Moldova’s largest solar project to date, a 50 MW installation covering 95 hectares in the central district of Strășeni, was switched on in July. The park secured a fixed price for 24 MW of its generated energy under the renewables auction, with the remaining 26 MW of solar sold on the free market. The plant was built in eight months, which the Ministry of Energy said is a record time for such an installation.
In September, Moldova approved Government Decision No.599/2025, covering capacity limits and maximum quotas for renewables through to 2030. A CNED spokesperson told pv magazine the decision aims to enhance the attractiveness of state support mechanisms for renewable electricity generation, including the integration of energy storage solutions. 
“Its main objective is to ensure the continuity and coherent development of the regulatory framework necessary to achieve Moldova’s commitments under the Energy Community Treaty and the targets assumed under the National Energy and Climate Plan by stimulating investments in new renewable electricity generation capacities,” they said.
Moldova has set a target of achieving 30% renewable electricity and 27% renewable energy in total final energy consumption by 2030. According to CNED’s data, renewables had an estimated 29% share in Moldova’s gross final electricity consumption last year.
In February 2025, the Moldovan government mandated that renewable energy developers now need to provide financial guarantees when applying for grid connection permits, which are refundable if projects are operational within agreed time frames. The move is said to have freed up 109 MW of grid connections by the middle of the year.
Last July, Moldova’s National Agency for Energy Regulation approved introducing guarantees of origin certificates for renewable energy sources.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
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Home > Tax Planning
Tax Planning | March 3, 2026
As tax season ramps up, many homeowners who installed solar panels last year are discovering that qualifying for the federal solar tax credit is not always as straightforward as they expected.
As tax season ramps up, many homeowners who installed solar panels last year are discovering that qualifying for the federal solar tax credit is not always as straightforward as they expected.
A key issue often comes down to timing. While installations may have started in one year, eligibility for the credit depends on when the system is officially considered “placed in service.”
That distinction can create confusion for households that signed contracts, began installation, or even finished most of the work in 2025 but are now filing their taxes in 2026. 
Solar expert Justin Nielsen, general manager and co-founder of Wolf River Electric, a Minneapolis-based electrical and solar installation company, says this is one of the most common areas where homeowners misunderstand the rules, particularly when paperwork, inspections, and utility approvals stretch across calendar years.
“The biggest misunderstanding we see during tax season is around timing,” he says. “A lot of homeowners think they qualify for the solar tax credit the year they sign the contract or make a payment. But that’s not how the IRS looks at it. What matters is when the system is fully installed and turned on, meaning it’s inspected, approved by the utility, and capable of producing power.”
Taxes January 5, 2026  
Taxes July 18, 2025  
Taxes August 26, 2025  
If your panels are on the roof but you’re still waiting on final inspection or permission to operate, the system may not be considered “placed in service” yet, he noted. In that case, you would claim the credit for the year it becomes operational, not the year you started the project.
That’s why we tell homeowners to think of the tax credit as tied to activation, not installation,” Nielsen says.
There are some things homeowners should confirm before claiming the solar tax credit, including:
“Clear documentation, confirmation of the system’s operational date, and coordination between installer, utility, and local inspectors can make the difference between a smooth filing and a frustrating delay,” Nielsen says.
Photo credit: Drs Producoes/iStock
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Tags: new tax law and solar credits, solar industry, tax credit, tax credits, Tax Planning, Taxes, trump tax credits and solar
Tax Planning February 18, 2026 
H.R.1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, made several changes to the tax rules for charitable contributions, including a new charitable contribution deduction for non-itemizers effective starting in 2026.
CPA, JD, LLM, Mark A. Luscombe, JD, LLM, CPA
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The platform replaces snapshot-based monitoring with continuous visibility into IRS account activity.
Isaac M. O’Bannon
Taxes January 26, 2026 
The IRS today opened the 2026 tax filing season and began accepting and processing federal individual income tax returns for tax year 2025.
Taxes November 12, 2025 
In 2026, leading finance organizations will operate more like analytics consultancies, using real-time tax, margin, and compliance data to guide daily decisions.


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