Solar Now

Now
90°
Tue
94°
Wed
91°
by Andrea Ramey
STOCKTON, Ala. (NBC 15) —

Silicon Ranch says it has received conditional approval to move forward with its proposed 4,500-acre solar project in Baldwin County, just days before Stockton area voters decide whether to adopt zoning. Opponents of the $350 million project pushed for Tuesday's vote, hoping zoning could stop the solar farm. Silicon Ranch CEO Reagan Farr says regardless of the outcome of Tuesday's referendum, construction is expected to begin this fall.
“We'll be preserving over 2,500 acres, including 100% percent of the wetlands on the site, and are really focusing on the best 2,000 acres for hosting the solar,” said Farr.
The Baldwin County Commission says the company has received conditional approval for its land disturbance permit, pending permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.
“We're very confident in our position that the project is now fully permitted from a county perspective, and we will be getting subsequent approvals from the Army Corps as we put together the application with them,” said Farr.
The county also says because Silicon Ranch's application was formally accepted before Tuesday's referendum, it would not be subject to any zoning regulations adopted as a result of the vote. The county considers the project grandfathered in. Opponents of the project disagree.
“Right now, after hearing what our legal counsel has had to say on this, it doesn't seem like this is a completed permit,” said Meagan Fowler, who leads the grassroots group Friends of the Tensaw.
Fowler says the company's letter announcing permit approval could impact turnout on Tuesday.
“There's going to be now more confusion over this and what it could and could not do. They've gotten multiple mailers. They're still getting them, got them yesterday. They got them today, regarding just really incorrect information on what zoning would do for their rights,” said Fowler.
Farr says Silicon Ranch has no connection to mailers being sent by the political action committees RAE, Clover and Conservative Candidates for Liberty. He says the company mailed its letter after receiving conditional county approval in order to keep residents informed.
“I've tried to stay above the fray of all of the things going on around social media, and just, you know, have actually spent a lot of time trying to just get people to have one source of truthful, factual information, and I've struggled a bit, but I keep trying to get people look at the project website,” said Farr.
The proposed solar project spans across Planning District 3 in Stockton and neighboring Planning District 2 in Rabun. Residents in Planning District 2 have not gathered enough signatures to hold a zoning referendum.
Despite the county's position that the project is grandfathered, Fowler says her group will still fight the project.
“We are considering legal action. We really don't want to. We love our county, and we really want our county to support us. We don't want to have to go to legal action with the county or with Silicon Ranch, if we don't have to,” said Fowler.
Friends of the Tensaw is hosting a family day fundraiser Saturday at the Stockton Civic Club from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will feature live music, pie contest and a silent auction to help raise money for legal expenses and environmental experts.
2026 Sinclair, Inc.

source

e-Edition
Get the latest news in your inbox!

Get the latest news in your inbox!
e-Edition
Trending:
Re “State may have a solution for water and clean power” (June 23): It really dismays me when I see words like “economic feasibility” when it comes to programs that can increase the water supply or increase renewable energy. In these cases, those words often mean, “We’re not going to look at non-tangible benefits, like mitigating climate change, only financial sheets’ bottom lines.”
And even if only a quarter of the state’s canals are covered with solar panels, that’s equivalent to one Diablo Canyon. Saddle some community battery storage alongside and, “voilà” — we skate through the peak demand, obviating the need for curtailment.
— Gregg Ferry, Carlsbad
Copyright 2026 San Diego Union-Tribune. All rights reserved. The use of any content on this website for the purpose of training artificial intelligence systems, algorithms, machine learning models, text and data mining, or similar use is strictly prohibited without explicit written consent.

source

Germany-based solar tracker developer Sunoyster Systems has presented a new lightweight solar module for rooftop applications at the Smarter E event in Munich, Germany, last week.
The PVbondi module features a power output of 450 W and an efficiency of 22.2%. The glass-glass design incorporates 96 monocrystalline solar cells. It measures 1,780 mm × 1,153 mm × 48 mm, keeping it below the two-square-meter threshold. The datasheet lists a weight of approximately 24 kg and a bifaciality of around 80%.
The module is designed for an operating temperature range of -40 C to 85 C, with a temperature coefficient of 0.29%/C. Sunoyster offers a 15-year product warranty and a 30-year performance warranty for the new product. After 30 years, it is expected to retain 87.4% of its initial output.
The lightweight module is intended for PV systems on roofs with limited load-bearing capacity. It is equipped at the factory with a plastic substructure. It is bonded to the roof via this underside structure, positioning the module approximately 5 cm above the flat roof surface. This reportedly improves rear ventilation compared to directly bonded lightweight modules, which can increase energy yield. “Components such as cables, junction boxes and connectors can be mounted on the rear side, which also helps protect them from UV exposure,” the company’s founder, Carsten Corino, told pv magazine.
The module name refers to its high adhesive strength despite being bonded at only a few points. The adhesive strength is reported at up to 15 tonnes per module, eliminating the need for ballast on flat roofs. According to Sunoyster, this reduces roof load from around 50 kg to 5 kg per square meter. Eliminating substructures and ballast reduces material use and installation time; the company states that up to 350 modules can be installed in a single day.
In addition to the substructure, Sunoyster uses edge protection components. The company supplies both the substructure and edge protection to an unspecified Chinese licensee, which manufactures the modules to specification. Sunoyster has applied for a patent for the InterStructs substructure. The polymer profiles are electrically non-conductive, eliminating the need for module frame grounding. The EdgeGuard edge protection is designed to protect the modules during installation and from hail and mechanical stress during operation.
“Insurers favor the highest fire safety rating—Class A under UL 790. Once certification is complete, the PVbondi glass-glass module is expected to be the only adhesive module worldwide to achieve this rating,” the company said.
Pre-orders are being accepted, with deliveries expected to begin in the fourth quarter following completion of certification.
Sunoyster Systems is based in Munich, Germany, and was founded in 2011. In 2022, it also launched a concentrating solar power system for building applications.
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: [email protected].
Comments
Please login to comment
The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
Available in print and digital – get your copy today!
Thursday, September 9, 2026
11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
pv magazine USA hosts its third multi-day virtual event on advancing U.S. solar and energy storage markets, covering financing, supply chains, and distributed energy’s role in grid resilience.
Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects.
April 01 – August 31, 2026
A two-day conference in Austin, Texas, bringing together leaders in US solar manufacturing, equipment specification, and factory execution.
Saudi Arabia is accelerating its clean energy transition—join the SunRise Arabia Clean Energy Conference 2026 in Riyadh to explore how solar PV and energy storage are powering its digital economy.
Showcase your brand across all our platforms: from 13 websites in 7 languages to our magazines, daily newsletters, industry events and more. Reach your audience the right way!

You have no items in your basket.

source

SAEL has begun construction of a 5 GW solar cell and 5 GW module manufacturing facility in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh with INR 8,200 crore investment.
June 29, 2026. By EI News Network
SAEL Industries has begun construction of an integrated solar manufacturing facility in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh, through its wholly owned subsidiary, SAEL Solar P6 Pvt. Ltd. (SSP6PL).

The project, comprising 5 GW of solar cell manufacturing capacity and 5 GW of solar module manufacturing capacity, is among the country's largest integrated solar manufacturing investments and is expected to strengthen India's domestic clean energy supply chain.
The foundation stone for the facility was laid by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at Sector 8 of the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) in Gautam Buddha Nagar district. Spread across nearly 200 acres, the manufacturing complex is expected to support the state's growing role as a hub for renewable energy manufacturing.
The integrated facility will produce high-efficiency TOPCon solar cells and modules, a technology known for higher energy conversion efficiency and improved power output. By manufacturing both cells and modules at a single location, SAEL aims to enhance supply chain integration while reducing dependence on imported solar equipment.
The company is investing around INR 8,200 crore in the project, which aligns with the Government of India's efforts to expand domestic manufacturing under the clean energy transition. The facility is expected to contribute significantly to India's ambition of building a self-reliant solar manufacturing ecosystem.
Besides expanding production capacity, the project is also expected to generate substantial employment. According to the company, the manufacturing complex will create nearly 5,000 direct jobs and around 15,000 indirect employment opportunities while supporting the development of ancillary industries and local infrastructure.
SAEL said that the investment reflects its long-term commitment to India's renewable energy sector and confidence in Uttar Pradesh as an emerging manufacturing destination. Once operational, the facility is expected to play an important role in meeting the country's growing demand for domestically manufactured solar cells and modules while supporting its clean energy and energy security goals.

India's EV Future Depends on Localised Manufacturing Says Emobi CEO Bharath Rao

O&M of RE Assets Has Evolved into an Intelligence-Led Function: Praveen Kakulte

The Future Belongs to Energy-Intelligent Enterprises, Says CHI'GRIDS' Founder Raahul Hari Nair

Automation, AI and Smart Manufacturing Emerge as Biggest Draw at SNEC 2026: Dibakar Roy

Renewable Expansion Without Storage will put Increasing Stress on the Grid: Hiren Pravin Shah

source

You may have noticed your electricity bill is rising. The Pennsylvania Utility Commission alerted consumers that the price of electric generation is increasing this month, just as it’s getting hotter outside, and people are using more electricity for air conditioning.
Solar advocates say there’s one affordable option that could help: solar panels that you can plug into an outlet.
When Cora Stryker heard about the rising popularity of plug-in solar panels in Germany, she was excited by the idea that solar can be easily installed by anyone.
“It’s primarily driven by renters in urban areas, and there you have those beautiful multi-story buildings with balconies,” she said.
As a climate advocate, she saw a vision of the future in what’s also called “balcony solar.” Instead of a rooftop installation, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars, plug-in solar panels are cheaper and easier to set up. 
Stryker co-founded a non-profit called Bright Saver last year with two ideas in mind.
“First of all, energy affordability. People can’t meet their energy bills; it’s cutting into other expenses, such as putting food on the table,” she said. “The second mission or the parallel mission is climate action, clean energy.”
Bright Saver is trying to bring balcony solar to the United States. Their website sells a $500 kit that includes a solar panel and a microconverter that plugs into a standard 120-volt outlet in the house. Kits are also available at retailers like Amazon and Ikea.
Stryker says a Bright Saver panel, which weighs 11 pounds and looks like a flat-screen TV, can be set up on a balcony, in the yard or anywhere that gets at least six hours of sun per day and can be plugged in.
“Electricity is like water; it flows in both directions,” she said. “You will plug these into your house wiring and anything you’re running off of that house wiring — your refrigerator, your TV, your router — will consume that energy on the spot.” 
One Brightsaver panel produces about 180 watts of power, reducing the amount of electricity a home pulls from the electric grid. Some experts say they can pay for themselves in three to five years.
Many states haven’t approved of their use yet. According to a website that tracks plug-in solar legislation, five states have approved laws enabling consumers to use plug-in solar panels. 
Thirteen others are in different stages of considering it, including Pennsylvania. 
“What we’re trying to do is to keep utility bills down,” said State Representative Chris Pielli, a Democrat from Chester County. He cosponsored a bill introduced last summer into the House Energy Committee because he said demand for power continues to rise.
“We should encourage every safe source of local power generation, including these small consumer-owned solar systems,” Pielli said. “Every kilowatt helps in meeting rising demands.” 
Since plug-in solar adds energy to the system, groups representing electrical workers and utility companies in different states have brought up safety concerns. For example, in a power outage, they fear the devices could add electricity to back to the grid and potentially electrocute workers.
“The legislation does not include provisions to ensure systems are designed to automatically disconnect during power outages,” according to an email from Duquesne Light, an electricity provider in southwestern Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh. “Without these safeguards, there is a risk that electricity could flow back onto de-energized buildings and even distribution lines, creating potential hazards for crews working to restore service and for the public.”
Experts say these concerns have been solved for years.
“The fact that Germany has one million solar panels and no incidents of fire or of major deaths tells you that it’s a technical issue that can be resolved,” said Shanti Gamper-Rabindran, a professor of economics and the energy transition at the University of Pittsburgh.

See Also

Beyond the compost bin: How Pittsburgh restaurants are reimagining waste

Earlier this year, UL Solutions, which is behind the familiar UL label on the back of electronics, debuted a certification program for plug-in solar manufacturers to address safety concerns.  
Utilities have other issues with balcony solar. The bill in the Pennsylvania House states that these plug-in solar panels do not require interconnection agreements with utilities, as do residential rooftop installations. This raises concerns for Duquesne Light about how plug-in systems would “safely interact with the grid and the utility’s ability to know where and how they are operating,” according to the company.
But solar advocates say people with plug-in solar panels should not be required to get these agreements and other permits, because they generate far less electricity than rooftop arrays. With rooftop solar, homeowners can get credit on their electric bill for excess power they supply to the grid, called net metering.
“So there are a lot of permits that happen along the way. Those take a lot of time. They add a lot of cost,” said Henry McKay of the non-profit Solar United Neighbors. 
At the lower end, the average residential rooftop solar installation in Pennsylvania generates more than 7 kilowatts of electricity, which is six times the 1.2-kilowatt limit set by the Pennsylvania bill for a balcony solar array. 
“It’s very unlikely even for the electricity you create to backfeed out onto the grid, like what happens a lot with rooftop solar,” McKay said. “Because this is so much smaller scale, your fridge is going to eat up most of that power or whatever you’re doing at home.” 
Neither the Public Utility Commission nor PJM, the regional grid operator that includes Pennsylvania, wanted to comment on the legislation.
In the House, it’s getting bipartisan support. “I’m trying to make sure that we have as many options as possible to help keep the burden of increased electricity costs for Pennsylvanians as low as possible,” said Representative Gary Day of Lehigh County, who is one of three Republican co-sponsors of the bill. 
Even though House Republicans have opposed solar programs in the past, he said they support an “all of the above” energy strategy. The bill’s Democratic sponsors say if the plug-in solar bill doesn’t pass this time around, they will keep reintroducing it. 
12 June 2026 Episodesolar
Julie Grant got her start in public radio at age 19 while at Miami University in Ohio. After studying land ethics in graduate school at Kent State University, Julie covered environmental issues in the Great Lakes region for Michigan Radio’s “The Environment Report” and North Country Public Radio in New York. She’s won many awards, including an Edward R. Murrow Award in New York, and was named “Best Reporter” in Ohio by the Society of Professional Journalists. Her stories have aired on NPR’s “Morning Edition,” “The Splendid Table” and “Studio 360.” Julie loves covering agricultural issues for the Allegheny Front—exploring what we eat, who produces it and how it’s related to the natural environment.
Prove your humanity

source

MyNewsLA.com
Breaking news for Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties
There are reports Friday that the solar panels that caught fire atop the 500,000-square-foot cold-storage warehouse that burned eight days in Boyle Heights were repaired without permits and that a city probe was opened the day the fire broke out.
CBS News reported that the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety began its investigation on June 17, following up on an August 2024 fire on the same roof that was quickly put out.
Sign up here for our free newsletters. We’ll send you the latest headlines every morning and every weekday afternoon.

MyNewsLA.com won’t sell your information and you can unsubscribe at any time.
CBS reported a review of the records showed no record of permits being obtained for repairs since the August 2024 fire.
A spokesman from Lineage Logistics told CBS News that they “believe the fire started on the roof when the owner of the solar array, Altus Power, was doing tests.” The company added that Altus is “the owner of the array that is responsible for its design, installation, operation, maintenance, and repair.”
An Altus Power spokesman did not comment on the permit issue to CBS News.
1 Comment
August 2024 fire involving solar panels. LA Building and Safety BEGAN it’s investigation into that fire on June 17th 2026. One of the more efficient City departments.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Comment *
Name *
Email *
Website
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.


Δ
Sign up here for our free newsletters. We’ll send you the latest headlines every morning and every weekday afternoon.

Check for a confirmation email, and then you’re all set with MyNewsLA.com!
Link Copy link

source

Advertisement
Free Newsletters
Sign up now
Free Newsletters
Sign up now
A worker carries a solar panel atop the roof of Mother of Good Counsel Catholic Church, in Hazard, Kentucky. The Appalachian mission parish completed the solar installation in May 2026. (Lexington Diocese/Joshua Van Cleef)
by Brian Roewe
NCR environment correspondent
View Author Profile
Follow on Twitter at @brianroewe
Send your thoughts to Letters to the Editor. Learn more
For Franciscan Fr. Michael Surufka, the clock is ticking.
On July 1, he will depart as pastor and rector of the Cathedral of the Holy Angels in Gary, Indiana. His exit will bring to an end seven years of Franciscan presence in the northern Indiana diocese.
As he wraps up his ministry in Gary, an industrial city of about 67,000 people located 30 miles southeast of Chicago, Surufka is also racing to meet another deadline, one tightened last year when Congress shrank by five years the window for federal funding for clean energy.
The Republican tax law now requires most solar and wind projects to finish by the end of 2027 to qualify for federal energy credits, but allows a two-year extension if by July 4, 2026, projects demonstrate “significant” construction has begun or procure at least 5% of the total costs for smaller solar arrays.
The availability of the credits — a minimum 30% project cost-savings and as much as half — has made it financially viable for the cathedral to consider solar power, an idea on its merits that has long aligned with Catholic teaching, Surufka said.
“There’s no question that this is consistent with what the church has been asking us to do and to be responsible stewards of creation for a long time,” the Franciscan told EarthBeat.
Bishop Robert McClory of Gary, Ind., raises the host and chalice during Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Angels in Gary April 10, 2022, as Franciscan Fr. Michael Surufka concelebrates. (CNS/Northwest Indiana Catholic/Anthony D. Alonzo)
With 2026 marking 800 years since the death of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology, Surufka sees a potential solar project as a lasting Franciscan imprint on the area, a reminder of the Christian duty to be concerned with ecological matters like climate change affecting God’s creation.
“This is for me personally like a final Franciscan legacy to leave with the diocese and the cathedral campus,” he told EarthBeat.
That’s if they can meet the deadline.
The cathedral of the Gary Diocese is one of dozens of Catholic institutions across the country, including in politically red states, sprinting to develop solar projects to the point that they meet federal tax credit requirements before they go away.
“Urgency is always a good driver of behavior,” said Ian Moise, director of Catholic Energies, a project of the Catholic Climate Covenant working with more than two dozen Catholic institutions to advance projects ahead of the July 4 deadline.
Advertisement
A year ago, Republicans passed along party lines the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a sweeping domestic policy and tax-cut bill that clawed back billions in federal tax incentives for clean energy and climate initiatives included in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The 2022 law, signed by President Joe Biden, had allocated more than $300 billion over a decade for clean energy, representing the largest federal investment in climate action.
The Inflation Reduction Act also opened for the first time a pathway for tax-exempt organizations, including religious organizations, to receive federal clean energy tax credits through a program called Direct Pay. The clean energy credits cover a base of 30% of a project’s costs and an additional 10% each for using union labor and building in low-income areas or energy communities.
Those credits, originally set to expire in 2032, now phase out at the end of 2027, requiring most commercial solar and wind projects by that time to connect to the electric grid to qualify. The 2025 tax law allows two exceptions to extend the deadline until the end of 2029: before July 5, start a project’s construction, defined as “when physical work of a significant nature begins,” or for solar projects smaller than 1.5 megawatts spend at least 5% of the total costs, a process known as “safe harboring.”
Through its Solar Urgency Now (SUN) initiative, Catholic Energies has worked to help Catholic institutions take advantage of the federal credits before they expire. At one point more than 80 had reached out expressing interest. From that list, Catholic Energies says, it is actively assisting 29 clients, with roughly half aiming to complete construction by the end of 2027.
The rest have either safe-harbored or are in process to do so, said John Dewan, whose Dewan Foundation is the managing agent for Solar Urgency Now.
Dewan, a secular Franciscan, said Catholic Energies views switching to solar power as a way for Catholics to live out their faith and the calls for safeguarding creation expressed by Pope Francis in his 2015 encyclical, “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home.”
“We see this as you can save money on electric costs, and you can save the planet, too,” he said.
St. Ann’s Cathedral in Great Falls, Montana (Wikimedia Commons/Always dreamin)
The Great Falls-Billings Diocese in Montana is among those taking the safe-harbor route. It has made a down payment on 10% of a $304,000 multi-building solar project. The system over 30 years is projected to save the diocese $1 million in energy costs, according to projections from the solar developer.
Amber Henning, the diocese’s in-house counsel and properties manager, said the federal energy credits were crucial in making solar power a reality.
“Without that, I mean, it would take a lot more planning, as far as finding additional grant sources and funders. And so it just makes the process easier and not like a 10-year project but a one-year project,” she said.
The 30% federal credit, combined with a similar grant it is seeking from its utility Northwestern Energy to cover as much as half of the cost, means the diocese’s share of the project’s cost could amount to approximately $60,000, Henning said.
Like Henning, Doug Rich learned more about Catholic Energies and the federal credits deadline during a January workshop for the first cohort of a Laudato Si’ training program for dioceses. The director of schools and parish services for the Diocese of Yakima, Washington, Rich said the federal assistance offered a more direct path to solar power than other options they had explored.
The Yakima Diocese is finalizing a contract for a 110-kilowatt solar array at its 88,000-square foot mission center, he said. It intends to safe-harbor 7% of the costs and once completed, apply for a 40% federal energy credit.
“Without that, I don’t know that we would be doing this,” Rich told EarthBeat. “We certainly wouldn’t be doing this quickly.”
The shorter availability of the federal credits limited the diocese’s solar plans, he added.
“We had a couple of other buildings in mind, and we just simply didn’t have the time to manage all of them,” Rich said.
The Diocese of Yakima, Washington, is pursuing a 110-kilowatt solar installation on the roof of its mission center. (Courtesy of Yakima Diocese/Msgr. Robert Siler)
In the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky, staff and parishes are speeding to install solar power in as many places as possible. They see the federal tax credits as a key element in its plans to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2030, the first U.S. diocese to make such a pledge.
“We’ve already had kind of a sense of urgency built into this,” said Josh Van Cleef, director of Lexington’s peace and justice office. “It definitely makes it even tighter for us to do this. It has shortened our windows significantly so, I would say.”
Currently, the mission diocese in eastern Kentucky’s Appalachia region has 10 solar projects completed, three under contract, and 16 more reviewing proposals with solar vendors, Van Cleef said. It is hoping to do more wherever it can.
Workers install a solar array on the roof of Mother of Good Counsel Catholic Church, in Hazard, Kentucky, in May 2026. It is one of nearly 30 solar projects completed or in process in the Lexington Diocese. (Lexington Diocese/Joshua Van Cleef)
The Lexington Diocese has focused on completing projects by Dec. 31, 2027, to receive the federal credits. It has offered parishes grants for solar through funding it has received from organizations like Catholic Extension Society, Franciscan Sisters of Mary, Porticus, the Dewan Foundation and Catholic Energies.
“Many of our parishes in Eastern Kentucky would not be able to do this without accessing these tax credits, because this is a significant reduction in cost for them,” said Van Cleef, adding its projects are each aiming to recoup 50% cost reductions through the federal credits.
The shorter deadline has meant not just limited time for projects to be built, but also narrows the timeframe for parish and financial councils to discuss the possibilities, review the details and seek out fundraising or funding sources, Catholic officials said. It also creates space for mistakes.
“It does make me nervous when you have to perform quickly because you want to make sure that you do everything right,” Rich said.
Right now, the Yakima Diocese is parsing through the details of its project contract with its attorney, checking that all the T’s are crossed and I’s dotted with just days to go before the critical July 4 cutoff date.
“We’re hoping that we’re going to be able to beat the deadline,” Rich said. “We think we can, but we’re not there yet.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to revise the solar project figures for the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Enter your email address and select any of the newsletters below.
The latest news and feature articles
The nexus between religion and politics
NCR staff talk music, television, books, movies and more
EarthBeat dives into the week’s climate change news
Find your latest book to read
One-stop newsletter for readers seeking reflection, depth, and meaning. Curated by Shannon Evans. Includes Sunday Resources, Sr. Mary McGlone, and others. 

source

Solar policy shift set to shake up industry_InKunming  昆明信息港
source

An official website of the United States government
Here’s how you know
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Funding Opportunities
This program is no longer active.
The American-Made Solar Prize Round 8 is a multimillion-dollar prize program designed to spur innovations in U.S. solar hardware and software technologies and address challenges to rapid solar energy deployment. Anyone based in the United States with a potentially marketable solar technology solution are eligible to compete and can sign up on the HeroX prize platform. Potential applicants include students, professors, small business owners, and researchers.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) opened applications on June 14, 2024. On January 15, 2025, DOE selected 20 teams to receive $50,000 each and advance to the next stage of the competition. Four teams were also selected to win the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Contest and receive an additional $25,000. DOE also awarded $3,000 prizes to each of the seven teams selected for the Power Up Contest, a program designed to support new and diverse entrants to the solar energy industry.
This challenge requires competitors to make progress quickly, form private-sector partnerships, and engage customers to bring their ideas to life. Competitors will have access to the American-Made Network to find partners and testing facilities to accelerate their progress.
DOE is interested in solar hardware and software technologies. Hardware innovations should be able to be manufactured in the United States. Software innovations should help address the non-hardware costs of solar, like customer acquisition, financing, and grid integration.
Competitors will participate in three escalating challenges—the Ready!, Set!, and Go! Contests—as they develop their concepts from ideas to products. Individually, each competitor can win up to $700,000 in cash and $150,000 in technical support vouchers over the course of the three contests.
Competitors have the opportunity in each contest to also compete in the JEDI Contest. Should they opt in, at each stage, the competitors will describe how their solutions address solar market barriers faced by underserved communities and work to substantially advance their approach toward JEDI goals.
For those who have a great idea but need a boost to take their innovation to the next level, the Solar Prize Round 8 offers the Power Up Contest. This contest is designed to support and advance new and diverse teams that have compelling applications but aren’t selected to advance to the Set! Contest. Teams were selected for the Power Up Contest based on their Ready! Contest submission packet. These teams each receive $3,000 and the opportunity to participate in the Power Up program, which offers four months of tailored mentorship and business support. Power Up teams who complete and meet the requirements of the Power Up program receive an additional $7,000 each and the opportunity to participate in the Power Up Pitch Competition, where one team will win an additional $4,000 and two passes to attend the 2025 RE+ conference.
Competitors who opt into the JEDI Contest will describe how their solutions address solar market barriers faced by underserved communities and work to substantially advance their approach toward JEDI goals as they progress through the Ready!, Set!, and Go! Contests. 
Full Charge Solar (Austin, TX) – This team is developing a fully collapsible, emission-free, cart-based solar array with a battery and inverter that requires little to no maintenance. This system provides electricity throughout the day while charging a battery to provide electricity at night and can serve emergency situations when power is not available.
Martin Solar (Mascoutah, IL) – This team is developing a new mounting system for residential solar that does not require drilling into homeowners’ roofs. This leak-proof mount will protect rooftops from damage and increase consumer confidence in rooftop solar.
Plug & Play Solar Wing (Atlanta, GA) – This team is developing a quick-deploy, expandable solar PV array suitable for applications such as carports and disaster relief. This expandable design allows the Solar Wing to eliminate more than 95% of onsite installation activities, making it easy to relocate to new sites in the future.
Expand Power Technologies, Inc. (San Francisco, CA) – This team is developing a novel inverter-based transformer that is smaller, safer, and smarter than traditional designs. This compact solution will expand access to solar in space-limited areas, such as urban environments, and reduce lead times by leveraging U.S.-based manufacturing capabilities.
Flip Energy (San Francisco, CA) – This team is developing a turnkey platform to allow homeowners with solar and storage to more easily participate in virtual power plants, which can allow them to generate revenue from their solar + storage systems. This solution will help make residential solar and storage more affordable and accessible for homeowners while also supporting grid reliability.
NetMeterGO.com (Las Vegas, NV) – This team is developing a platform that automates affordable net meter interconnection for small- and medium-sized utilities. This solution will equitably promote solar power through streamlined and automated interconnection queue management.
WattShift, Inc. (Chicago, IL) – This team is developing a software platform for managing home energy devices, aligning demand with renewable energy availability. This management system dynamically optimizes energy use while reducing consumer costs and enabling more renewables on the grid.
Fundusol, LLC (Stanford, CA) – This team is developing a modeling software to design and optimize agrivoltaics systems by modeling multiple factors to predict the performance of the agrivoltaic system on each farm’s crop and/or livestock. This solution will help accelerate the deployment of solar in agricultural environments.
Icarus (San Diego County, CA) – This team is developing a solution that integrates PV and solar thermal technologies by capturing and converting waste heat to create a hybrid PV and thermal cogeneration system. This solution will improve the power performance of commercial PV arrays and generate hot water that can be stored for on-demand energy needs.
Serida, Inc. (Ithaca, NY) – This team is developing an agrivoltaics deployment software to enable solar developers to design agrivoltaic systems through advanced microclimate modeling and crop algorithms. This solution will help empower rural communities to go solar by maximizing the community benefits of agrivoltaics.
Watts on Water (San Diego, CA) – This team is developing an automated, geographic information system-based solar siting and design software tailored to floating photovoltaics (FPV) systems. Through FPV-specific design parameters and co-benefits analysis, this solution will support the deployment of FPV through streamlining tools such as siting and design and customer acquisition.
Eighth Generation Consulting (Osage County, OK) – This team is developing a solar asset management software using artificial intelligence, computer vision, geographic information systems, and permitting data to streamline how solar is permitted, serviced, and decommissioned. Through cradle-to-grave tracking, this solution will enable accurate and cost-effective management and decommissioning of solar assets. JEDI Winner
Greengrid, Inc. (Laconia, NH) – This team is developing a platform that finances solar rooftop projects in disadvantaged communities by leveraging corporate renewable energy certificate (REC) commitments. By bundling small-scale solar projects into large, high-impact REC portfolios, this solution reduces financial barriers to rooftop solar for underserved communities.
Rayva (Gilbert, AZ) – This team is partnering with roofers and builders to install their building-integrated solar modules during the construction of new homes or roof replacements. This building-integrated solar module, combined with a streamlined business-to-business sales model, will reduce costs and expand the availability of solar to homeowners, including those in underserved communities. JEDI Winner
Team CBA (Atlanta, GA) – This team is developing a tool to help communities and renewable energy project sponsors develop community benefit agreements. The tool assists with facilitating discovery and research, establishing key impact initiatives and success indicators, drafting and monitoring agreements, and tracking and reporting. JEDI Winner
Cosmic Robotics (San Francisco, CA) – This team is developing robots to pick up and place solar modules on single-axis solar trackers, automating a dangerous and laborious task in the installation process. Through this innovation, a network of robots could work alongside human crews to accelerate the deployment of utility-scale solar.
IWNL Energy (Orlando, FL) – This team is developing a multilingual, comprehensive, user-centered software platform called the Solar Energy Career Navigator. This platform aims to reduce barriers to entry and bridge the gap between potential workers and employers, guiding them toward fulfilling careers in the solar energy sector. JEDI Winner
PowerTechs (Austin, TX) – This team is developing a reskilling and skills assessment platform for the renewable energy workforce that combines artificial intelligence and extended reality. This solution will help address the solar workforce shortage and accelerate deployment of solar energy.
Samtracs (San Antonio, TX) – This team is automating solar farm construction through on-site, mobile construction equipment combined with redesigned single-axis tracker components. This new assembly process and tracker design will reduce labor requirements for solar farm construction and decrease construction time.
Solar Tech Collective (Tucson, AZ) – This team is developing a mobile-based training app, SolTrain, for solar installation field technicians. The app will provide microlessons focused on essential field skills and will validate technician competency to lower operational costs for solar asset owners.
BloomBox Design Labs (Menlo Park, CA) – This team is developing a modular and retractable solar roof system that is securely mounted on shipping containers to bring solar energy to off-grid communities. 
Insitu Energy (San Francisco, CA) – This team is developing a platform that helps communities assess solar potential on brownfield sites—previously occupied properties that may be difficult to reuse due to the potential presence of contaminants—and recommends quality projects to developers.
Okovate Sustainable Energy (Oxon Hill, MD) – This team is developing an agrivoltaic leasing webtool to assess solar and agriculture income for farmers, using simple inputs about their land to empower decision making.
Sprightful (Miami, FL) – This team is developing a community-driven platform to educate interested homeowners on solar PV installation best practices and communicate with existing system owners.  
Sundial (Spanish Fork, UT) – This team is developing universal solar trackers for both flat and slanted roofs, allowing panels to track the sun and generate 20-30% more energy.  
Team Little Bob (Newark, DE) – This team is developing a virtual marketplace for community solar aimed at low-to-moderate income communities that allows current subscribers to invest in future projects.   
Venki Energy (Silver Spring, MD) – This team is developing a removable rooftop array that can reduce the soft costs of solar installation and enable subscription solar business models.
The American-Made Solar Prize is a part of the American-Made Challenges and is administered by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Committed to Restoring America’s Energy Dominance.
Follow Us

source

Farmers, residents push back against proposed solar array in Wexford County  Michigan Advance
source

Cleanup under way after week-long fire at a Boyle Heights facility spoiled tens of millions of pounds of frozen food
Something is rotten in the neighborhood of Boyle Heights.
For a week, thick black smoke filled the air while a massive warehouse burned near downtown Los Angeles, prompting a state of emergency and evacuation orders in the immediate area as air quality worsened. Firefighters finally extinguished the flames on Wednesday, but not before half the warehouse’s 85m lbs of frozen food were lost in the fire – leaving roughly 40m lbs of food to rot.
Residents, who say they have experienced health issues since the fire began last week, now say their new concern is the pervasive, putrid smell of rotting meat, vegetables and frozen products.
Kelvin Vasquez lives one block from the 500,000 sq ft insulated warehouse, so close he said he watched the fire burn from inside his home. Since the start of the emergency on 17 June, he has suffered from a sore throat, headache, persistent dizziness and nausea.
Vasquez’s health issues aren’t what worries him now, he said. It’s what will become of the tens of millions of pounds of food next door that has sat unrefrigerated, shrouded in smoke, for over a week. And the smell is unbearable.
“It’s pretty much something like a dead body,” Vasquez said. “Like a dead animal.”
In the aftermath of the fire, the millions of gallons of water used to fight the flames had created a steady stream polluted with debris, burnt insulation foam and bags of once-frozen food items.
With the fire extinguished, cleanup operations are now the responsibility of the private property’s owner and Lineage Logistics, a cold-storage company that leases the space. Lineage said in a statement on Friday it had hired a cleanup firm to handle operations.
Neither Lineage nor its cleanup firm responded to inquiries about how long the cleanup would take in time for publication. Los Angeles health services officials told the Guardian that the city was unaware of any plans for how or where the spoiled food would be disposed of.
Two companies lease space at the massive warehouse: Lineage, whose operations are inside, and Altus Power, a clean energy company that operates more than 300,000 sq ft of solar panels on the warehouse rooftop.
Altus Power previously sold the electricity produced by the solar panels at this Boyle Heights location to the Los Angeles department of water and power through a “feed-in-tariff” program. But the city stopped purchasing energy from the property in 2024, a spokesperson for LADWP told the Guardian.
Lineage has blamed Altus Power for the fire in company statements posted to its website, saying it believed the fire began while workers conducted tests on the rooftop solar array the day the fire broke out.
Altus Power said in a statement that a cause of the fire “has yet to be determined”.
It isn’t the first time that either one of Lineage’s warehouses or Altus Power’s solar panels have gone up in flames.
Two years ago, solar panels at the same Boyle Heights warehouse caught on fire. Firefighters quickly extinguished the flames before they spread, but a cause was never determined.
Vasquez, who has lived next to the warehouse for two decades, said he felt the property was a “ticking bomb” after that 2024 fire.
Earlier that same year, a Lineage warehouse in Finley, Washington also caught on fire. That blaze burned for 60 days and local residents, like in Los Angeles, also complained of significant health issues related to the incident. Lineage is still engaged in civil lawsuits related to the Finley fire.
In a Thursday press conference, Karen Bass, the Los Angeles mayor, vowed to “hold those responsible fully accountable”.
She also said she plans to sign an executive order mobilizing more resources to help with cleaning up the frozen food.

source

The German Federal Network Agency, Bundesnetzagentur, has awarded 482MW of solar-plus-storage in its latest innovation tender.
Contracts were awarded to 27 bids, in an auction that ended oversubscribed with 46 bids for a combined 749MW.
Get Premium Subscription
However, this represents a significant drop from the three previous innovation tenders, which had each received at least 1.5 GW of capacity bids, as shown in the chart below.
All the bids in the innovation tender, which seeks to co-locate energy storage with renewables, have been for solar PV paired with energy storage.
Price for winning bids ranged from €0.0475/kWh (US$0.0542/kWh) to €0.0561/kWh, with an average volume-weighted winning bid of €0.0534/kWh. This is on par with the previous tender, when the average volume-weighted price reached €0.0531/kWh and much lower than the ceiling price of €0.0713/kWh set for this year.
Across the regions, Bavaria was awarded the most volume with 287MW across 15 projects, followed by Schleswig-Holstein and Brandenburg with 53MW and 51MW, respectively, each for two projects.
The next innovation tender will be held on 1 September 2026.
Germany was ranked the most attractive European market for co-location investment in a recent report by analyst Aurora Energy Research. It ranked first overall due to the scale of its renewables market and the potential for internal rate of return (IRR) upside from co-locating projects compared with standalone ones.
Moreover, PV Tech Premium recently spoke with Polish independent power producer R.Power about Germany’s auctions and how the country has been the European leader in government auctions for renewables, including co-located energy storage.
However, the role of energy storage in co-located projects is still somewhat limited to only charging from the generation project it is attached to.
“In the long run, it would be better, definitely, if the grid were opened for storage, to be able to fully participate in the market,” said Michał Swół, CIO at R.Power.
“In such a case, it would be much more attractive for offtakers to provide the offtake for co-location projects, which can do, in terms of storage, whatever you want.”

source

As more solar power is added to the energy grid in Western Pennsylvania and across the world, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University are thinking about what comes next: how to maintain those solar panels. 
The technical term for when dust, pollen or other particles in the air inevitably settle on top of solar panels is called ‘soiling’ and it can significantly reduce how much light a panel can absorb.  That can be a problem in the arid, sunny regions where solar farms are often located such as the American Southwest, India and the Sahel region of Northern Africa. 
Right now, most solar panels are cleaned with water by hand or robotic equipment, which requires a lot of time and resources. But one CMU alumnus believes there’s a way to do it at a fraction of the cost.  “Soiling is a really big problem, and companies spend lots of money to clean their solar panels,” said Michael Provenzano(opens in new window), a graduate of the Tepper School of Business(opens in new window) and a member of CMU’s Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship(opens in new window)’s VentureBridge program(opens in new window), which supports CMU-alumni founded companies. 
“Solar farms — which could be hundreds of acres and millions of solar panels — cost millions of dollars to clean every year,” Provenzano said. “Because of that, they don’t clean very often and dust sits on the panels, and that’s causing them to lose revenue. Depends on different regions, but some of them see up to 60% losses and revenue just from dust.”
Provenzano’s Pittsburgh-based company, Clear Solar(opens in new window), has licensed panel-cleaning technology from NASA with the goal of using it on Earth. The technology, called an electrodynamic dust shield, is vital in NASA’s missions on the Moon and Mars, where it has already successfully demonstrated dust removal from important surfaces. If solar panels and other infrastructure aren’t cleaned, dust collects on them and spacecraft may stop functioning. NASA researchers saw this situation play out in 2024 when dust settled(opens in new window) on the Opportunity rover’s solar panels and diminished its power supply. 
“The dust shield cleans 97% of dust off of the glass panels,” said Provenzano, who learned about the technology when he was working at aerospace company Astrobotic. “It makes a lot of sense to use it in space when you don’t have people that can walk over and clean something off easily. We saw that and thought, ‘Hey, we can use that in other applications.’”
Because dust is also a problem for solar panels on Earth, Provenzano wants to build on NASA’s technology and deploy it on a much larger scale. 
The dust shield is created through a multistep process: First, thin lines of conductive material are added to the glass top of the solar panel and are covered with a clear protective film. Then, an electrical current is channeled through the conductive traces, charging everything on the surface of the panel. When the polarity of the electrical current is quickly flipped, the charged dust particles are repelled and pushed off the surface of the panel.
“It’s cool, you can actually see the dust particles bouncing off of the panel,” Provenzano said. 
There is a risk that the dust could settle back on the panel, he said, but there are ways to address that, too. 
“The panel is usually tilted so gravity and wind are on our side,” Provenzano said. “But the good part about our system is that we can clean every single day. We can clean multiple times a day. So if that does happen, we can just redirect the current to push it downward off the panel, not in the direction of other solar panels.” The impact of this split-second cleaning zap could be big. While there are installation costs and the technology does lower the energy transmittance of the panels by about 1%, Provenzano believes dust shields will ultimately save solar operators money. It would cost roughly $0.14 to clean one megawatt of capacity, or approximately 2,000 solar panels.
“The net gain from using the system is still highly positive,” Provenzano said. "Operators might lose a tiny bit in power production, but they’re gaining a lot because they’re not as dirty as often. One solar farm in the Western U.S. can stretch for hundreds of acres and have millions of solar panels that cost millions of dollars to clean.” 
Clear Solar has 13 pilot projects around the world and in the U.S., including Pittsburgh, and will begin field tests in July.  CMU assistant research professor Stewart Isaacs(opens in new window) is using wind to take on soiled solar panels.  In his work at Carnegie Mellon University in Africa(opens in new window), Isaacs is focused on improving and maintaining solar power in places that don’t have access to the electrical grid. Because solar is one of the only options in these locations, the stakes of making sure the panels work reliably is high.
“In some of the dirtiest locations, dust can actually reduce power output by more than half,” said Isaacs, part of the College of Engineering(opens in new window). “My research looks at how we account for these floating particulates to estimate the performance of our solar panels.” 
To that end, Isaacs uses computational models to analyze solar panel performance at different levels of soiling. 
“A better understanding of the data allows us to know exactly how often we need to clean them and whether there are other methods that we can explore that might allow us to clean them strategically,” he said.  Isaacs is also thinking about how physical changes to the shape of a solar panel could impact its cleanliness.
“We know that wind plays a key role in kicking the dust off the panels,” Isaacs said. “We’re trying to understand how the aerodynamics of the wind interact with the dust and be intentional about the way we design our solar panels to enhance that wind and keep the panels cleaner. I want to kind of tease all that out to make sure that we’re getting the best possible solution.”
As the solar industry expands and matures, researchers and experts are beginning to look ahead and think about the costs of aging technology. Companies investing in large-scale solar stand to benefit from clean panels, according to Alan Scheller-Wolf(opens in new window), Richard M. Cyert Professor of Operations Management at the Tepper School of Business, who studies renewable energy supply chains. 
“These are very expensive machines that you want to have very high utilization on, so you can derive value from them,” Scheller-Wolf said. “If they become less efficient, you start to lose money.”
To maximize the value of a solar panel, Scheller-Wolf said that upkeep and maintenance is a key factor for investors from the beginning.
“I view cleaning as part of the holistic investment decision solar farms are thinking about,” he said. “Because the product is so valuable, if I clean it and it makes it more effective, then I’m getting extra value out of the panels.” 
But he said the benefits go beyond the financial health of solar farms.
“The most efficient thing you can do to make something more sustainable is just use it longer,” he said. “You want to use your phone, your shoes or your solar panels longer. That’s better for all of us. And if the maintenance of solar increases the useful lifetime of the project, it increases the sustainability of the project, too, because you don’t have to replace them as often. That’s incredibly important.”
Researchers at CMU are working on real world solutions to the biggest challenges.
Read more about the latest discoveries.(opens in new window)

source

The firm supplies rooftop, commercial and utility-scale segments and manufactures high-efficiency PV modules, including SHARK bifacial, TOPCon and HJT technologies, together with CAML battery energy storage systems and FUSION hybrid inverters. All products are made in India, and the manufacturing and quality systems are certified under ALMM, BIS, IEC and ISO standards. The company credits sustained investments in production capacity and product evolution for driving competitiveness.
Loom Solar is targeting a manufacturing capacity of 1.2 GW for solar panels and 1 GW for inverters by 2026 while continuing to scale operations. The workforce exceeds 300 employees and the distribution network is supported by six regional warehouses across major cities, backed by 15,000 channel partners and 500 distributors that serve India and 11 international markets. Integrated facilities produce PV modules, inverters and storage systems to support project execution.
Under Vision 2030 the company aims to install solar and energy storage systems in over 1 million (mn) homes, aligning plans with national initiatives such as the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana and the PM-KUSUM scheme to broaden adoption. To date, the firm has served over 0.1 million (mn) customers and has executed projects of up to 35 MW, reinforcing its presence in the distributed solar segment. Future growth is expected to be driven by continued focus on product innovation, execution efficiency and strengthened customer partnerships as India advances its clean energy transition.
“Join industry leaders at RAHSTA Expo, India’s premier platform for roads, highways and traffic infrastructure. Register now to explore innovations, network with experts and shape the future of mobility.”
Loom Solar, one of India’s fastest-growing solar manufacturers, has crossed Rs ten billion (bn) in annual turnover, marking a significant phase since its establishment in 2018. The company said the milestone reflects its focus on quality manufacturing, distribution expansion and innovation-led product development as it moved from a bootstrapped startup addressing rural energy access to a nationally recognised provider. The achievement underscores progress in India’s distributed solar market. The firm supplies rooftop, commercial and utility-scale segments and manufactures high-efficiency PV modules, including SHARK bifacial, TOPCon and HJT technologies, together with CAML battery energy storage systems and FUSION hybrid inverters. All products are made in India, and the manufacturing and quality systems are certified under ALMM, BIS, IEC and ISO standards. The company credits sustained investments in production capacity and product evolution for driving competitiveness. Loom Solar is targeting a manufacturing capacity of 1.2 GW for solar panels and 1 GW for inverters by 2026 while continuing to scale operations. The workforce exceeds 300 employees and the distribution network is supported by six regional warehouses across major cities, backed by 15,000 channel partners and 500 distributors that serve India and 11 international markets. Integrated facilities produce PV modules, inverters and storage systems to support project execution. Under Vision 2030 the company aims to install solar and energy storage systems in over 1 million (mn) homes, aligning plans with national initiatives such as the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana and the PM-KUSUM scheme to broaden adoption. To date, the firm has served over 0.1 million (mn) customers and has executed projects of up to 35 MW, reinforcing its presence in the distributed solar segment. Future growth is expected to be driven by continued focus on product innovation, execution efficiency and strengthened customer partnerships as India advances its clean energy transition.
Omaxe has announced the launch of a dedicated hospitality business vertical with plans to develop 19 hotels across five states over the next four to five years as part of its strategy to strengthen recurring revenues and expand its integrated development ecosystem.The real estate developer proposes to invest approximately Rs 62 billion, subject to regulatory approvals and market conditions, to develop nearly 5 million sq ft of hospitality assets across high-growth urban centres, pilgrimage destinations and transit corridors.The proposed portfolio will be integrated with Omaxe’s existing townsh..
The third railway line between Tatanagar and Adityapur is expected to be commissioned by September as work on the corridor advances, according to railway sources. The project to add a fourth line on the busy route is progressing and has been allocated Rs 50.89 billion (bn) in funding. The allocation underscores the focus on increasing capacity and easing congestion on the corridor. Relevant timetables are being adjusted to integrate the new capacity into regular operations. Construction activity has involved track laying, formation work and signalling upgrades along strategic stretches, with m..
Indian Railways has approved a Rs 2.7 billion (Rs 2.7 bn) plan to install the Kavach train collision avoidance system on 631 route kilometres in the East Coast Railway zone. The Ministry of Railways said the work will form part of a wider Kavach deployment programme that relies on an LTE based communication backbone rather than a standalone installation. The approval marks the latest stage in the steady expansion of the indigenous safety technology across the national network. The decision aims to enhance safety and reliability on corridors serving Odisha and adjoining areas. The project will ..
Get daily newsletters around different themes from Construction world.
Don’t miss out on valuable insights and opportunities
to connect with like minded professionals
A-303, Navbharat Estates, Zakaria Bunder Road, Sewri (West), Mumbai – 400 015, Maharashtra, India
By creating an account, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and acknowledge the Privacy Policy Register

test
Don’t miss out on valuable insights and opportunities
to connect with like minded professionals
By creating an account, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and acknowledge the Privacy Policy Register

source

A fire at a primary school started in a solar panel on its roof, the Suffolk Fire and Rescue service said.
It was called to Sidegate Lane Primary School in Ipswich on Wednesday afternoon after a "member of staff called to report a smell of smoke", and the building was evacuated.
The fire service said: "A fire investigation is no longer required, as it has been confirmed beyond reasonable doubt that the cause was a solar panel on the roof."
Solar panels were also found to be the cause of a fire at East Bergholt VC Primary School in August 2025.
Crews from Ipswich Princes Street, Ipswich East, Needham Market and Haverhill were sent to the scene.
The school is closed today, but this is believed to be due to high temperatures in the region.
Do you have a story suggestion for Suffolk? Contact us below.
Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Vets say the bears from a former South Korean bile farm are ready to be moved to their forever home.
Russell Warren, 38, is jailed for two years after breaking into a woman's home.
Nasser, 20, reflects on his new life in Suffolk and refereeing a game at Portman Road.
The team uses almost entirely all female builders to construct the home.
Outreach workers offer essential supplies to cope with the heat and a temporary bed for the night.
Copyright 2026 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
 

source

The ‘Guerrilla Solar’ Era Has Arrived, and Here’s What to Know  Inside Climate News
source

For many years, eBOS hardware has been almost an afterthought in PV system design. But as Shreeyashi Ojha writes, solar’s ‘hidden backbone’ is now becoming central to project cost optimisation as technologies and materials improve.
For years, electrical balance of system (eBOS) has sat quietly in the background of utility-scale solar development. Modules, trackers and inverters have dominated the engineering conversation, procurement strategies and marketing narratives.
Get Premium Subscription
Yet as projects scale up, a different reality is emerging: eBOS is no longer a secondary consideration but a defining factor in how solar plants are built and operated for optimal levelised cost of electricity (LCOE).
Across engineering, procurement and construction firms (EPCs), manufacturers, and supply chain analysts, a consistent theme is emerging. While eBOS represents only a relatively small share of upfront capital expenditure, its impact extends across construction timelines, labour requirements, system reliability, energy yield and long-term operational costs.
Increasingly, it is also becoming a focal point for innovation, standardisation and consolidation as the industry searches for new efficiencies in an increasingly competitive market.
According to a report titled ‘Electrical Balance of System (eBOS) Technology Outlook for Solar PV’ published by Wood Mackenzie, the global eBOS market represents a US$24 billion opportunity in 2026, underpinned by around 302GW of addressable utility-scale solar PV capacity.
The Asia-Pacific region leads growth with approximately 200GW of new installations, while North America represents a US$3 billion market, driven by 38GW of capacity additions. Europe is also expected to add more than 190GW of PV capacity over the next decade, signalling sustained demand for advanced eBOS solutions across all major regions.
At its core, eBOS encompasses all the electrical infrastructure that carries power from PV modules to the inverter.
According to Sagar Chopra, senior analyst for supply chain, power and renewables at Wood Mackenzie, the simplest way to understand eBOS is to compare a solar plant to the human body.
“The PV panels that catch sunlight are like the skin, converting sunlight into direct current (DC),” he explains. “The inverter that converts DC into alternating current (AC) for transmission to the grid is the brain, while eBOS acts as the nervous system and veins.”
That “nervous system” — made up of wires, connectors, fuses and feeder cables — plays an increasingly important role as utility-scale projects continue to grow in size. Modern solar projects can contain thousands, or even millions, of PV modules, making it impractical to run individual cables from each panel directly to the inverter.
Instead, eBOS architectures are designed to aggregate and transport power as efficiently as possible while minimising installation complexity and electrical losses.
Grant Reasor, solar preconstruction manager at EPC firm Burns & McDonnell, adds: “EBOS is effectively everything that interconnects the main components of the system on the DC side. While specifying equipment and designing a system, everyone is focused on the modules, inverters and trackers, but the eBOS is significant because it interconnects those components and moves the power from the modules to the inverter.”
He adds that despite its critical role in system performance, eBOS is often underestimated in early design decisions. “It is very critical, but it is often overlooked because companies are focused on the larger pieces of equipment at the beginning.”
One of the most consistent observations across the industry is the mismatch between perceived cost importance and actual lifecycle impact.
As solar enters its next phase of industrialisation, eBOS is moving out of the background and into the centre of project optimisation strategies. What was once viewed as a commodity component is now emerging as one of the sector’s most important levers for improving efficiency, reducing risk and lowering LCOE at scale.
According to Kevin Boyce, eBOS specialist Shoals Technologies’ director of product line management, “eBOS is a very small portion of overall system cost, typically in the range of two to six cents per watt, depending on the solution. When you look at current projections for per-watt installed solar cost, you are still talking about less than 5%.”
“However, it is an area where we see a lot of focus up front on cost. When you look at LCOE, you can see substantial swings depending on the eBOS solution you select at the outset.”
Expanding on this, Ryan Schofield, vice president, eBOS, at Nextpower, explains: “Every electron generated has to move through the eBOS system. Any inefficiency — whether it’s thermal losses or connection issues—directly impacts output and longer-term operating expenses.”
He adds that lifecycle costs are often underestimated during early design: “Small inefficiencies can add up over time. A slightly cheaper design upfront can end up costing more over the life of the project. This is particularly relevant in the context of 25 to 30-year asset lifetimes, where even marginal improvements in reliability or energy yield can translate into significant financial impact.”
While cost per watt remains a key benchmark for developers, much of the current innovation in eBOS is being shaped by a more immediate constraint: construction labour and field execution. As utility-scale projects expand in scale and complexity, the focus is shifting away from component level optimisation towards system-wide efficiency, repeatability and buildability.
Historically, the industry relied on conventional “homerun” DC wiring systems, where groups of 20-30 modules are connected into strings and routed back to combiner boxes before feeding into the inverter. While simple in concept, the approach is labour-intensive, dependent on skilled electricians and vulnerable to field installation errors. As projects expanded in scale, developers increasingly shifted toward trunk bus architectures, which eliminate combiner boxes by connecting PV strings directly onto large DC feeder cables.
Reasor is explicit about this shift in priorities, highlighting that the “main goal is to reduce the man-hours in the field”. That objective, he explains, is increasingly being achieved through standardisation rather than isolated product-level improvements.
“Optimisation isn’t always driving the lowest cost on paper. It’s consistency in the field and repeatability. Minimising the number of configurations, the number of part numbers.”
Alongside this, the transition is now accelerating toward prefabricated, factory installed trunk bus systems, where cabling arrives on site pre-engineered and plug-and-play. For EPCs facing labour shortages, rising installation costs and compressed project timelines, these solutions are becoming increasingly attractive. In some cases, the shift can reduce installation and labour costs by an estimated 20%, while also improving quality control and construction speed.
The implications are particularly significant at utility scale, where logistics coordination and labour management can be as critical as electrical design itself. At the same time, technical innovation is also being driven by changes at the module level. Boyce, notes that rising module efficiency is reshaping electrical design requirements across eBOS systems.
“Probably the biggest change is that as panels become more efficient, we’re really ramping up the current. So more current through a wire means more heat through that wire, and that just reduces your margin for error,” he says.
This, along with the increasing size of projects, is forcing developers to place greater emphasis on cable quality, thermal performance and reliability, while also pushing the industry towards more cost-efficient wiring architectures that incorporate aluminium conductors and combined string designs to reduce material usage and overall system costs.
“We’re seeing longer solutions as quality becomes much more critical. We’re looking at more aluminium and copper combinations in wiring harnesses because the longer you run, the more wire you need, the more cost you incur, and more copper simply means more money. To make it more cost-effective, companies are switching to aluminium and combining strings.”
Three distinct eBOS architectures are shaping clear trade-offs between cost, flexibility and performance across utility-scale solar. Conventional combiner box systems offer the lowest equipment cost but the highest labour intensity. Field-installed insulation piercing connectors (IPC) solutions sit in the middle, delivering around 13% equipment savings alongside greater layout flexibility. Factory-prefabricated trunk bus systems, meanwhile, prioritise installation speed and reliability, albeit with higher upfront costs.
Ultimately, the balance between labour, flexibility and reliability is expected to determine system selection at project level.
According to Wood Mackenzie, eBOS costs across all three architectures are forecast to decline by around 6% by 2034, narrowing the gap between system types. As the sector moves towards higher voltage 2kV DC designs, adoption of advanced trunk bus solutions is expected to accelerate. While prefabricated systems typically carry a 30% cost premium over conventional approaches, they can deliver up to 25% savings in installation costs, reinforcing the shift as labour pressures intensify.
A growing share of eBOS optimisation is being driven by the relocation of installation complexity from the field into controlled manufacturing environments, as developers and EPCs seek to improve consistency and reduce on-site variability.
Coel Schumacher, CEO of SolarBOS, the eBOS division of US-based GameChange Solar, says that factory environments enable greater control over build quality and repeatability, resulting in a more streamlined installation process in the field.
“When you design the eBOS in a manufacturing facility, you can leverage better tools, larger equipment and a cleaner, more controlled environment. The product itself may be more complex, but it simplifies installation.”
According to Wood Mackenzie’s Sagar Chopra, the labour impact is already measurable. “Installation and commissioning for a traditional system can be around 25% higher compared to prefabricated solutions,” he says.
However, he notes that increased factory integration can introduce trade-offs in flexibility, particularly on more complex sites where design deviation is required. As a result, hybrid approaches combining prefabrication with field adaptability are becoming more common.
EBOS design is also increasingly being shaped by operational performance, with reliability and uptime emerging as critical economic drivers at utility scale.
Boyce highlights the scale of potential losses from even minor outages: “If around 2% of your strings are offline, you are effectively losing 2% of your power production.” This is driving a shift towards more consolidated electrical architectures, designed to improve visibility, accessibility and safety in the field.
Reliability considerations are also shaping long-term system design, particularly as assets are expected to operate for 25-30 years. “To achieve that kind of lifespan, systems need to operate reliably. Reducing the number of connection points also reduces potential failure points,” Boyce adds.
Furthermore, Reasor argues that eBOS decisions are increasingly shaped by constructability rather than electrical optimisation, as developers seek to reduce site complexity and improve execution certainty across large-scale projects.
He explains that relocating DC disconnects and above-ground collection infrastructure closer to access roads, rather than positioning them within muddy or snow-covered array areas, helps streamline construction logistics and improve site accessibility during challenging weather conditions.
In this context, the primary benefit is not always direct capital savings, but improvements in delivery schedule and field efficiency. The approach reflects a broader industry shift in which construction sequencing, accessibility and schedule certainty are increasingly weighed alongside traditional capex considerations in eBOS design choices.
As eBOS architectures evolve, system design decisions are increasingly shaped by trade-offs between upfront cost, electrical losses and long-term performance, with priorities varying significantly by project strategy and developer appetite for optimisation.
Reasor notes these trade-offs are highly project-specific: “Some clients prioritise minimising DC losses, while others are more comfortable accepting slightly higher losses in return for lower upfront capital cost.”
He adds that even small design choices, such as cable sizing, can materially influence both cost and performance outcomes. “Decisions like choosing between different string cable can have a noticeable impact on both system cost and efficiency,” he explains.
From a design perspective, Schumacher highlights that structural configuration can also unlock meaningful efficiency gains. “Certain configurations can reduce on-site wiring requirements by as much as 25%, which directly impacts material spend and associated electrical losses.”
Despite these optimisation opportunities, industry consensus continues to favour long-term reliability and system uptime over marginal gains in electrical efficiency when assessing overall project value.
As eBOS systems scale alongside multi-hundred-megawatt and gigawatt solar projects, the sector is increasingly confronting a fundamental challenge: verification at scale. While design sophistication and installation methods have advanced rapidly, ensuring consistent quality across hundreds of thousands of electrical connections is becoming one of the industry’s most complex operational hurdles.
Schofield highlights the magnitude of this issue, pointing to the density of electrical interconnections in modern PV plants.
“One of the key challenges with eBOS is the sheer number of connection points. Even in a mid-size project, you are dealing with hundreds of thousands of electrical connections, and verifying correct installation across all of them is a major undertaking.”
Recent field evidence reinforces the limitations of conventional inspection approaches. A 2GW analysis of utility scale assets using Nextpower’s NX Ranger platform found that 79% of high-risk connector and fuse defects—including cracked housings, poor terminations, insulation degradation and partial disconnections—showed no thermal signature during inspection, exposing critical blind spots in traditional thermal-based diagnostics.
This gap is driving the adoption of AI-enabled inspection, robotics and data-driven quality assurance and quality controls (QA/QC) workflows.
“That’s where technologies like AI-driven inspection and robotics come in,” Schofield explains. “Ground-based robotic systems such as NX Ranger, equipped with thermal and optical imaging, can access areas beneath the array and capture high-resolution, geo-tagged data at component level. This enables scalable QA/QC audits prior to commissioning.”
Beyond inspection, the commercial and structural dynamics of eBOS adoption also remain complex. Boyce, notes that decision-making incentives often diverge across stakeholders.
“The upfront capex is going to be a little bit greater for materials than if you’re going and buying the wire and building that in the field,” he says. However, he adds that the value is not always captured by the same party making the initial investment.
This misalignment, he explains, can influence technology selection at EPC level, where labour-driven cost advantages may take precedence over long-term operational efficiency.
Schumacher notes that utility-scale PV systems have rapidly evolved from 600V architectures to 1,000V and now 1,500V, which currently dominates most projects, with each transition demanding coordinated innovation across manufacturers and suppliers. “We’re getting involved earlier in the project lifecycle now,” he notes.
“That earlier engagement allows better coordination with tracking and racking systems, helping optimise wire routing, combiner placement and overall system design.”
He adds that this integration is particularly relevant as the industry moves toward 2kV systems and more complex trunk bus architectures. “The 2,000-volt transition is a major driver right now,” he says, noting that product development is increasingly focused on higher-capacity trunk assemblies and improved wire management solutions.
“As trackers move and cables are suspended, ensuring proper wire management becomes critical for reliability.” Taken together, these shifts underline a sector in which eBOS is no longer a passive, background component, but a central element of solar system design and optimisation.
Increasingly, eBOS sits at the intersection of data, engineering integration and lifecycle performance, with its value extending well beyond upfront cost considerations.
As Schumacher notes, progress will depend on coordinated industry effort rather than isolated innovation: “It’s going to be a combined effort, and eBOS is going to be part of the solution.”

source

Home – Military – Canada throws a solar panel into a frozen pond, and the foam detail may solve one of winter power’s hidden problems
Canada has tested a floating solar system that kept producing electricity through freezing winter conditions, even as ice and snow created the kind of problems that usually make water-based solar projects harder to run.
The small experimental plant, deployed on a stormwater pond in Ontario, used flexible solar panels attached to waterproof foam and an air-bubbler system under the surface to stop ice from locking the array in place.
That may sound like a niche engineering trick, but it points to a bigger question for clean energy. What happens when solar panels are placed not on rooftops or fields, but on ponds, reservoirs, and other water surfaces in places where winter can be brutal? The Western University project suggests that, at least on a test scale, floating solar can survive that challenge while producing useful power and cutting water loss.
The system was not huge. Researchers built a 7 kilowatt foam-backed floating photovoltaic installation on a pond in Ontario, using 40 semi-flexible monocrystalline modules divided into four smaller arrays. The pond itself measured about 15,900 square feet, and the panels covered only a small share of the water surface.
That modest size is part of the point. Instead of jumping straight into a large commercial plant, the researchers tested whether the basic design could handle real cold-climate conditions. In practical terms, that means snow, freezing water, wind, and the slow grind of winter that anyone in Canada knows well.
Unlike many floating solar systems that sit on larger plastic pontoons, these modules were bonded directly to polyethylene foam slabs. The panels floated about 0.4 inches above the water, keeping the design low and flat rather than tilted high into the wind.
Floating solar is often attractive because it can generate electricity without taking up farmland or other valuable ground. But in cold regions, water is not just a convenient platform. It is also a moving, freezing, expanding surface that can damage equipment if the system is not designed carefully.
The foam approach was meant to make the array simpler and closer to the water. That lower profile can reduce exposure to wind, which matters because floating platforms can face different stresses than panels bolted onto a roof or field rack.
There is another wrinkle. Solar modules behave differently depending on temperature, wind, and nearby surfaces. The researchers found that standard solar temperature models did not fully match what happened in winter with a flat, foam-backed system, which means cold-climate floating solar may need its own playbook.
The clever part was under the panels. The team used air lines connected to a pump on shore, creating bubbles that rose from below the pond surface. That movement helped bring slightly warmer deeper water upward, keeping open water around the array instead of letting ice trap it.
According to the study summary, the air-bubbler maintained “ice-free open water” through the winter while using very little extra energy. The added consumption ranged from 1.9 kWh to 893 kWh, equal to 0.02% to 14.5% of the system’s total annual output.
That range matters. If a system needs too much energy just to protect itself from winter, the benefit starts to fade. Here, the researchers found that the anti-ice system could work with what they described as negligible additional energy use, although larger tests will be needed before anyone treats it as a commercial answer.
A regression model developed in the study indicated that the foam-based floating solar system generated 7.7 MWh per year. That was up to 2.7% more energy than the comparison photovoltaic models used in the research.
Joshua M. Pearce, the corresponding author, told pv magazine the system showed a “pretty nice energy yield advantage.” That does not mean every pond should suddenly become a power plant. It does mean the cold-weather penalty for floating solar may be more manageable than many developers feared.
For people thinking about the electric bill, this is the practical takeaway. A system that can keep working during the darkest, coldest part of the year has more value than one that becomes fragile when power demand rises and conditions get rough.
The project was not only about electricity. By shading part of the pond, the panels also reduced evaporation. The study found that evaporation reduction scaled with pond coverage, and if 50% of the pond were covered, water savings could reach about 245,000 gallons per year.
That is not an abstract benefit. In farming areas, reservoirs, irrigation ponds, and stormwater basins often sit under hot summer sun, losing water day after day. Floating solar can act like a partial lid while also producing power.
Still, there are tradeoffs. Covering water changes light exposure and could affect local ecosystems depending on the site. That is why larger deployments would need environmental review, not just energy calculations.
The study also looked at economics under a high off-grid electricity price scenario. In that case, the system showed a positive net present value of about $41,000 and a discounted payback period of 4.2 years.
That sounds encouraging, but the context matters. Off-grid power can be much more expensive than grid electricity, especially in remote or specialized settings. A system that looks attractive there may not pencil out the same way for every municipal pond or utility project.
At the end of the day, what this test really offers is not a finished business model. It offers proof that a cold-climate floating solar design can be built, monitored, and kept operating through ice and snow.
The next step is scale. A 7 kilowatt pond experiment is useful, but commercial floating solar plants need to survive larger waves, stronger winds, thicker ice, maintenance demands, and years of seasonal punishment.
The researchers argue that the platform is a “promising and adaptable” option for renewable power in cold regions. That is a careful claim, and it should stay careful for now. The idea has passed an important early test, but the harder exam will come on bigger water bodies and under real customer economics.
If it works, the payoff could be simple. More solar power without using more land, less water lost to evaporation, and a way to keep panels useful even when winter does what winter does.
The study was published in Applied Energy.

Comment
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Indux is Vozpópuli’s vertical focused on the real economy: industry, business, and applied technology. A space designed to closely follow what drives factories, infrastructure, and large productive sectors, with useful information for professionals, executives, and readers who want to understand where business is headed.
© http://www.vozpopuli.com • All rights reserved

source

If you don't take a stand, others will
The global news and digital marketing platform for Renewable Energies. We create spaces designed to position companies in the sector.
Copyright © Energía Estratégica 2026.

source

This content was translated by an AI-powered translation tool.
It may contain inaccuracies due to the limitations of machine translation.
Copyright © DongA Science. All rights reserved.
Government to provide 10 billion won annually
Four National Research Labs (NRL) have been selected to nurture university-affiliated institutes aiming for world-first and world-leading research. The labs will study physical artificial intelligence (AI), solar cell-based energy solutions, small modular reactors (SMRs), and precision medicine, receiving up to 10 billion won per year for 10 years.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Education announced on the 29th the results of the 2026 basic research project National Research Lab selection, stating that the four selected labs will be funded from July 1.

Launched for the first time last year, National Research Lab (NRL) 2.0 is a comprehensive support program to foster hub laboratories for large-scale, convergent research. Its goal is to leverage excellent researchers and infrastructure in universities’ strong fields to lead innovative research.

Professor Kyu-Jin Cho of Seoul National University heads the “Human-Centered Physical AI Robotics Research Lab,” which aims to develop Human-centered Physical AI Robotics (H-PAIR) technologies that closely assist people by using AI that mimics human sensory and motor nervous systems. The lab is expected to contribute to ultra-personalized robot services, manufacturing innovation, and improving the quality of life for older adults.

Professor Nam-Gyu Park of Sungkyunkwan University, through the “Sungkyun Intelligent Energy Solutions National Research Lab,” will develop advanced energy technologies capable of stably supplying large-scale energy and responding to extreme load fluctuations, as well as industry-tailored intelligent integrated energy solutions. High-efficiency solar cells and energy storage technologies will be combined with AI and digital twins to support industrial electrification and power supply for AI data centers. 

The “SMR2 Platform National Research Lab,” led by Professor Jae-Sun Lee of Changwon National University, aims to build an integrated platform for nuclear power plant–specialized core materials, structural integrity, energy conversion, system integration, and expansion technologies. Based on research on AI autonomous operation of nuclear power plants and verification of structural integrity in extreme environments, as well as defect removal, the lab is expected to accelerate the development of core SMR materials, system integration and expansion technologies, and hardware virtual verification technologies.

The “Theranostics Convergence National Research Lab,” headed by Professor Hak-Soo Choi of Chungnam National University, aims to elucidate the pathological mechanisms of intractable tumors, infectious diseases, and degenerative brain disorders at the molecular, cellular, and microenvironmental scales, and to reduce them to design parameters to establish fundamental technologies. Theranostics is a precision medicine concept that combines diagnosis and therapy to accurately detect diseases while simultaneously linking them to targeted treatment.

This year, the program was divided into Type 1, targeting institutions nationwide, and Type 2, targeting regional institutions, to expand participation opportunities for local universities. The government stated, “In the first year, 5 billion won, equivalent to six months of funding, will be provided,” adding, “The scale of support may change depending on the budget situation.”

Following the announcement of the selection results on the 29th, the government will finalize the selected institutions after a period for objections and will fully launch the project through agreements with the implementing organizations. 

Lee Hae-sook, Director-General for Higher and Lifelong Education Policy at the Ministry of Education, said, “We expect National Research Labs to play a pivotal role in dramatically transforming universities’ R&D ecosystems and contributing to regional development, while simultaneously producing world-class research outcomes.”

For the 2025 National Research Labs, four institutes were selected and have been operating since last September: Korea University’s “Convergence Degradative Biology National Research Lab (Professor Song Hyun-kyu),” Yonsei University’s “Bio Centennial Convergence Research Lab (Professor Song Jae-hwan),” Ewha Womans University’s “Multiscale Materials and Systems Research Lab (Professor Moon Hoe-ri),” and POSTECH’s “Global Healthcare Biomedical Engineering Research Lab (Professor Lee Pyung-se).

source

Following “Globes” report that the Israel Electric Corp. (IEC) is set to retroactively charge the owners of rooftop solar panels a ‘systems charge,’ which they have not been taking for the past five years, the Public Electricity Authority halted the procedure and demanded an investigation.

Now, it has been decided that the IEC will only be able to charge for six months instead of two years as originally planned, so that rooftop solar panel owners will still be required to pay up to hundreds of shekels. The IEC will absorb a cost of NIS 22 million, and the rest of the cost will be passed on to the general public of electricity consumers. The Electricity Authority has reprimanded the IEC and considers the failure to be very serious, especially since it did not report it to the Authority until the publication by “Globes.”

Electricity produced from solar panels on roofs can be sold to the electricity grid or used for self-consumption at home instead of buying electricity from the grid. However, independently produced electricity does not come for free, and according to regulations, home electricity producers must pay the IEC “system management costs” of NIS 0.09.09 for every kWh consumed. This is to finance services that the IEC provides and allow ongoing consumption, such as balancing demand and maintaining the system’s correct frequency. Although the decision to collect the charge was made four years ago, the IEC did not actually collect the fee, since it was required to develop computer systems that would make this possible.

In January, as first published by “Globes,” the IEC planned to collect these payments retroactively. This was about NIS 65 million, which could have been collected in charges of up to thousands of shekels retroactively from the owners of the solar panels on roofs. However, following publication, the PublicElectricity Authority halted this plan and demanded that the IEC explain why it had not collected payments to which it was obligated for years.

According to the investigation conducted by the IEC, due to “human error” resulting from “regulatory, operational and IT burdens”, the IEC did not collect the payment for years.

The Public Electricity Authority said, “The IEC acted to implement the Electricity Authority’s decision regarding the systemic tariff with great delay”. Even worse, “The company was aware, according to the investigation, of the collection failure as early as January 2023, but did not report it to the Authority until the case was exposed in the media”, with the first publication being in Globes. This, the Authority views “with great seriousness”.

In other words, only after three years did the IEC understand the problem, but it did not address it for another two years. The IEC says, among other things, that it was under a great burden due to other regulatory changes, such as the gradual collection according to the roof’s production capacity (the more production capacity there is, the smaller the payment per kWh produced), and this required a lot of IT resources from the IEC.

RELATED ARTICLES

Home rooftop solar panels subject to unexpected IEC bills

Rooftop solar panels become mandatory on new houses

The public will be forced to participate in covering the debt

And what will be done now with the debt of tens of millions that has accumulated? It will be divided between several sources: The IEC will be able to collect from the roof owners up to six months in arrears of payments, an amount that can reach hundreds of shekels. The rest of the amount will be divided between NIS 22 million that the IEC will absorb NIS 14 million that consumers will pay. In other words, all consumers will pay for the failure in question on their electricity bill.

According to the Public Electricity Authority, “This partial participation by the public is a necessary step in managing risks with an essential service provider.” For the period 2020-2023, for which the electricity company also did not collect anything, it will absorb the full cost.

The IEC said, “The company is examining all relevant aspects in the decision regarding the collection of system payments and then will make a decision accordingly.”

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on June 25, 2026.

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2026.

Following “Globes” report that the Israel Electric Corp. (IEC) is set to retroactively charge the owners of rooftop solar panels a ‘systems charge,’ which they have not been taking for the past five years, the Public Electricity Authority halted the procedure and demanded an investigation.
Now, it has been decided that the IEC will only be able to charge for six months instead of two years as originally planned, so that rooftop solar panel owners will still be required to pay up to hundreds of shekels. The IEC will absorb a cost of NIS 22 million, and the rest of the cost will be passed on to the general public of electricity consumers. The Electricity Authority has reprimanded the IEC and considers the failure to be very serious, especially since it did not report it to the Authority until the publication by “Globes.”
Electricity produced from solar panels on roofs can be sold to the electricity grid or used for self-consumption at home instead of buying electricity from the grid. However, independently produced electricity does not come for free, and according to regulations, home electricity producers must pay the IEC “system management costs” of NIS 0.09.09 for every kWh consumed. This is to finance services that the IEC provides and allow ongoing consumption, such as balancing demand and maintaining the system’s correct frequency. Although the decision to collect the charge was made four years ago, the IEC did not actually collect the fee, since it was required to develop computer systems that would make this possible.
In January, as first published by “Globes,” the IEC planned to collect these payments retroactively. This was about NIS 65 million, which could have been collected in charges of up to thousands of shekels retroactively from the owners of the solar panels on roofs. However, following publication, the PublicElectricity Authority halted this plan and demanded that the IEC explain why it had not collected payments to which it was obligated for years.
According to the investigation conducted by the IEC, due to “human error” resulting from “regulatory, operational and IT burdens”, the IEC did not collect the payment for years.
The Public Electricity Authority said, “The IEC acted to implement the Electricity Authority’s decision regarding the systemic tariff with great delay”. Even worse, “The company was aware, according to the investigation, of the collection failure as early as January 2023, but did not report it to the Authority until the case was exposed in the media”, with the first publication being in Globes. This, the Authority views “with great seriousness”.
In other words, only after three years did the IEC understand the problem, but it did not address it for another two years. The IEC says, among other things, that it was under a great burden due to other regulatory changes, such as the gradual collection according to the roof’s production capacity (the more production capacity there is, the smaller the payment per kWh produced), and this required a lot of IT resources from the IEC.
The public will be forced to participate in covering the debt
And what will be done now with the debt of tens of millions that has accumulated? It will be divided between several sources: The IEC will be able to collect from the roof owners up to six months in arrears of payments, an amount that can reach hundreds of shekels. The rest of the amount will be divided between NIS 22 million that the IEC will absorb NIS 14 million that consumers will pay. In other words, all consumers will pay for the failure in question on their electricity bill.
According to the Public Electricity Authority, “This partial participation by the public is a necessary step in managing risks with an essential service provider.” For the period 2020-2023, for which the electricity company also did not collect anything, it will absorb the full cost.
The IEC said, “The company is examining all relevant aspects in the decision regarding the collection of system payments and then will make a decision accordingly.”
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on June 25, 2026.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2026.

source

How much of New York’s prime farmland is being used for solar farms?
An analysis from the Solar Energy Industries Association has found that just 0.13% of the state’s U.S. Department of Agriculture-certified prime farmland is covered by solar projects.
New York has roughly 13,000 square miles of USDA-designated prime farmland, meaning solar projects occupy only about 17.3 square miles of it, according to SEIA.
Solar capacity, both small-scale and utility-scale, has increased rapidly in recent years. On June 3, New York hit its highest hourly solar generation with 5.6 gigawatts — about 29% of the state’s total demand.
Those scale facilities, often seen covering open fields in rural upstate New York, can be visually striking — leading to resident concerns. And some agricultural advocates argue prime farmland should be avoided even when acreage impacts are small.
Farmland is targeted for solar development because it’s typically flat, already cleared of vegetation and close to transmission lines.
While solar energy faces scrutiny around conversion of farmland, the most prevalent threat nationwide is low-density residential growth. Between 2001 and 2016, more than 10.9 million acres of farmland and ranchland in the United States was developed or compromised; 6.8 million acres were converted to low-density residential, according to an analysis by the American Farmland Trust.
— Steve Howe reports on suburban growth, development and environment for the Democrat and Chronicle. An RIT graduate, he has covered myriad topics over the years, including public safety, local government, national politics and economic development in New York and Utah.

source

Researchers from the Technical University of Denmark have developed a novel method for detecting low-energy front glass cracks in PV modules using daylight electroluminescence (EL) imaging. Low-energy fractures are cracks that initially produce localized damage without significant propagation but have the potential to expand over time. Because they are subtle, they often go unnoticed in large-scale inspections.
“The novelty of this work is that we show that low-energy glass cracks in PV modules can be consistently detected using daylight electroluminescence (EL) imaging acquired in motion,” corresponding author Rodrigo del Prado Santamaría told pv magazine. “Traditionally, EL imaging is used to identify material defects in the solar cells themselves, while glass crack detection relies on visual inspections or infrared imaging. Our research shows that a single daylight EL inspection can provide information on both internal cell defects and glass cracks, which could make inspections more efficient and informative.”
Del Prado Santamaría added that the method enables the detection of cracks that are not visible in conventional RGB images or infrared thermography. “Furthermore, sunlight and camera motion, which are normally considered challenges in EL imaging, actually become part of the solution. During daylight drone EL inspections, small movements between frames create subtle changes in how sunlight reflects from cracked glass surfaces. When the images are reconstructed, those variations make the cracks stand out much more clearly,” he explained.
The method first forward-biases the PV module with a modulated current, causing it to emit an EL signal. An InGaAs short-wave infrared (SWIR) camera then records multiple daylight images while the camera is in slight motion. This movement causes cracked glass to reflect sunlight differently from frame to frame. Software then detects module corners, tracks and aligns the module across all frames, and applies fast Fourier transform (FFT) processing to extract the EL signal while reducing daylight noise. The reconstructed image reveals both conventional EL information, such as cell defects, and glass cracks, which become visible due to changing daylight reflections.
The researchers evaluated the method in two ways. First, they conducted controlled laboratory-style daylight experiments using a 305 W glass-glass PV module with a pre-existing glass crack. Slight camera motion was manually introduced to simulate drone movement, while varying motion levels, imaging distances, and illumination conditions. Second, they validated the technique during a real drone inspection at the university’s PV plant, using a commercial drone equipped with an InGaAs camera to inspect operating PV modules under daylight conditions and compare results with conventional RGB imaging and infrared thermography.
The team said the results confirm the viability of the proposed approach. They also systematically evaluated its performance and limitations, finding that with a 640 × 512-pixel InGaAs camera, the optimal imaging distance was 8–12 m, while crack detection reliability decreased at distances beyond 15 m.
“We are currently exploring several directions for follow-up research,” concluded Del Prado Santamaría. “One question we would like to investigate is whether the same crack-detection mechanism can be achieved using short-wave infrared (SWIR) imaging without the need for electrical modulation. Our results suggest that crack visibility is strongly linked to sunlight reflections and motion, so there may be alternative ways of exploiting the same effect. We are also interested in understanding how factors such as solar irradiance, viewing angle, and camera characteristics influence crack visibility. Ultimately, the goal is to develop drone-based inspection systems that can identify multiple types of defects simultaneously and improve the reliability and safety of large PV plants.”
The method was presented in “A novel method for detecting low-energy front glass cracks in photovoltaic modules using daylight electroluminescence imaging,” published in Solar Energy.

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: [email protected].
Comments
Please login to comment
The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
Available in print and digital – get your copy today!
Thursday, September 9, 2026
11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
pv magazine USA hosts its third multi-day virtual event on advancing U.S. solar and energy storage markets, covering financing, supply chains, and distributed energy’s role in grid resilience.
Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects.
April 01 – August 31, 2026
A two-day conference in Austin, Texas, bringing together leaders in US solar manufacturing, equipment specification, and factory execution.
Saudi Arabia is accelerating its clean energy transition—join the SunRise Arabia Clean Energy Conference 2026 in Riyadh to explore how solar PV and energy storage are powering its digital economy.
Showcase your brand across all our platforms: from 13 websites in 7 languages to our magazines, daily newsletters, industry events and more. Reach your audience the right way!

You have no items in your basket.

source

There is probably a fence running along the edge of your yard right now.
It keeps the dog in, the neighbors out, and does absolutely nothing else.
But a growing wave of engineers and homeowners are looking at that ordinary boundary line and seeing something completely different: a power plant hiding in plain sight.
What researchers found when they tested a vertical bifacial system over a full year upended a basic assumption that the solar industry has held for decades.
Most people picture a solar panel lying flat on a rooftop, tilted toward the sky, soaking in the midday sun.
That image is basically correct, and for years it was considered the only way to get serious energy out of photovoltaic cells.
The trouble is that flat rooftop systems generate most of their electricity at midday, and that flood of power arrives when demand is only moderate.
The grid gets overwhelmed at noon, then goes thirsty in the early morning and evening when people most need it.
Engineers call this the duck curve, and it is one of the biggest headaches in renewable energy today.
Utilities have spent billions trying to solve it with battery storage and demand shifting, yet the answer may have been simpler all along.
The fix, it turns out, may have been standing in your backyard the whole time.
The idea sounds almost too simple: instead of laying the panel flat, stand it perfectly vertical, the way a fence post stands.
A vertical panel no longer faces straight up at the noon sun.
Instead it faces east and west, one face greeting the morning sun, the other catching the afternoon glow.
This geometry fundamentally changes the production curve.
Instead of one sharp midday spike, vertical systems deliver two gentler peaks, one in the morning and one in late afternoon.
Those two peaks land close to when families are making breakfast and cooking dinner, the two highest-demand moments of any ordinary day.
Picture a kitchen at 7 a.m., lights on, kettle boiling, the panel outside catching the same low slant of light that is warming the window.
There is also a second trick hidden inside the panel itself, and it changes the math entirely.
Modern solar fence panels are built with photovoltaic cells on both sides of the glass, a design known as bifacial.
Unlike standard panels that only capture direct sunlight from one face, bifacial modules harvest energy from front and rear at the same time.
The rear face picks up light reflected from the ground, from concrete paths, pale gravel, or a snow-covered lawn.
Snow that would bury a rooftop panel simply slides past a vertical one, and studies show vertical bifacial panels can deliver up to 24.52 percent more electricity in winter than traditional tilted installations.
The vertical orientation also reduces the heat buildup that drags down efficiency.
For every degree above 25 degrees Celsius, solar panel output drops by roughly 0.5 percent.
A fence panel running cool in a light breeze is working more efficiently than the hot panel baking on your roof in August.
The performance claims are not just manufacturer promises.
Researchers at the University of York published the first comprehensive study of a vertically mounted bifacial photovoltaic system, monitoring a rooftop-mounted vertical array across all seasons and weather conditions for a full year.
The results showed gains of 26.91 percent in early morning hours and 22.88 percent in late afternoon periods compared with conventional tilted panels.
That is the core promise of the solar fence concept: a bifacial panel stood on its edge along your property line, designed to generate power at the two periods every day when your home needs it most.
Companies including Next2Sun and Sol Fence have brought solar fences built on this principle to residential yards.
Homeowners can also pair a fence system with a rooftop array, using the morning and evening output to complement the midday harvest from the roof.
It is worth noting that the University of York measurements were taken on a rooftop installation in a UK climate, and that vertical panels can produce somewhat less total annual energy than optimally angled rooftop panels in sunny southern states, so the advantage is strongest in northern latitudes and cloudy climates.
The practical appeal goes beyond the science.
A solar fence acts as a privacy screen, a design element, and a private power plant all at once.
Most installations use the same post spacing as a standard timber fence, so the footprint is familiar and the permits are straightforward in most municipalities.
The panels are ground-mounted, making them easier to access, clean, and maintain than a rooftop array, and the modular post-and-panel design means sections can be removed or reconfigured if you move home.
The University of York study gives that combination a firm scientific foundation, and grid operators may find the two-peak production curve genuinely easier to manage than the noon flood from conventional panels.
The fence has stood at the edge of the American yard for generations, doing one job.
It turns out it was always one pane of glass away from doing something remarkable.
© 2026 by Ecoportal
© 2026 by Ecoportal

source

About a decade ago, natural gas overtook coal as the primary fuel for the electric utility sector. Coal's use, however, has continued to decline, falling from 19.7% of supply five years ago to 12.2% in May. That same month, solar power supplied 12.8% of the U.S. grid's needs, making it more important than coal for the first time. Five years ago, solar was just 5.4% of the supply.
This could be an important inflection point for renewable power. And it makes stocks like NextEra Energy (NEE 1.59%), Brookfield Renewable Partners (BEP 1.79%), and HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital (HASI 3.08%) attractive investments. Here's what you need to know to get started with these dividend stocks.
Image source: Getty Images.
NextEra Energy is one of the world's largest utilities, and it is set to get even larger now that it has agreed to buy peer Dominion Energy (D 0.71%). It offers an attractive 2.8% dividend yield, backed by over 25 years of annual dividend increases. But there's an interesting twist here, because the company has two parts to its business.
NextEra Energy's core is its regulated utility operation, which is a slow-and-steady performer. On top of that, it has built one of the world's largest solar and wind power producers. That has been the company's growth engine and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future. The fact that solar has become more important than coal highlights the long-term opportunity. So, in effect, you are getting exposure to two utility operations in one investment, mixing the old with the new. NextEra is a solid choice for conservative dividend investors seeking exposure to clean energy without jumping in with both feet.
Brookfield Renewable Partners owns a globally diversified portfolio of clean energy assets. Its portfolio includes hydroelectric, solar, wind, storage, and nuclear power. It has operations in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. It is a one-stop shop for anyone seeking direct exposure to renewable and clean power production.
The big story, however, is the highly attractive 4.4% yield. The distribution has trended higher for over a decade, so unitholders have benefited from a growing income stream, as well. That said, Brookfield Renewable Partners isn't a regulated utility; it sells power under long-term contracts. And it actively manages its portfolio, frequently buying and selling assets. It is a solid option for investors who want to buy one investment to get exposure to the entire clean energy sector, but it requires a bit more monitoring than a company like NextEra Energy might need.
For investors who don't want to buy a partnership but still want an attractive yield, HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital's 4.3% yield might be of interest. That said, it is a bit complicated. It was originally structured as a real estate investment trust (REIT), but gave up that structure in 2024. It is now just a regular corporation.
But, HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital still does the same basic things it used to. Simplifying things a bit, the company basically provides loans to companies with clean energy assets. That revenue from those assets is what backs the loans. Generally speaking, that means the loans are backed by long-term power supply contracts. The company has increased its dividend regularly, though not every year, since it started paying dividends in 2013. The dividend even survived the conversion from a REIT to a corporation, highlighting management's recognition of its importance to shareholders.
If you are willing to put in a little extra work for a higher yield, HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital could be a worthwhile clean energy investment. And, like the other two clean energy businesses above, it is poised to grow as demand for solar power and other clean energy alternatives increases.
Coal provides reliable base-load power, while solar and wind are intermittent energy sources. That suggests that coal will play a role in the power grid for years to come. But solar and other clean energy options are clearly the future direction, as solar overtaking coal in May highlights. If you don't have some clean energy exposure, you should probably consider it today. NextEra Energy is the middle-ground option, while Brookfield Renewable Partners and HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital offer more focused, unique ways to collect high yields in the sector.
Reuben Gregg Brewer has positions in Brookfield Renewable Partners. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends NextEra Energy. The Motley Fool recommends Brookfield Renewable Partners and Dominion Energy. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.
Invest better with The Motley Fool. Get stock recommendations, portfolio guidance, and more from The Motley Fool's premium services.
Making the world smarter, happier, and richer.
© 1995 – 2026 The Motley Fool. All rights reserved.
Market data powered by Xignite and Polygon.io.
About The Motley Fool
Our Services
Around the Globe
Free Tools
Affiliates & Friends
Solar power generated more electricity than coal in May; this could be a sign to buy clean energy stocks.

source

SAEL Commences Development of Five GW Solar Cell and Module Manufacturing Hub
Adani Group Expands into Organic Fertilizer Business
ONGC and BP Sign Technical Services Deal to Enhance Western Offshore Basin Operations
India Commissions World’s First Nuclear Process Heat-Based Hydrogen Production Facility
Growth of Petrochemical Industry in India – What the Future Holds for the Country
Engineering Value from Crude: Specialty Chemical Developments Across the Industry
Padma Shri Prof. G. D. Yadav and ICT Mumbai Team Develop Technologies to Address the Global Energy Crisis
The Next Wave of Specialty Chemicals Leadership Will Be Built on Technological Foresight, Ethical Credibility and Customer-backed Innovation
NEW 3-in-1 Spectrophotometer – Quality Control for Chemicals
Routine Testing of Balances and Scales
Rapid Investigation of Thermally Hazardous Substances
Gain a Digital Line of Sight of your Plant
Make the Most of Sensor Data
Managing Water Shortage in Chemical Industries
Chhattisgarh Boiler Explosion– A Wake-Up Call for Industrial Safety in High-Tech India
The Inspiring Journey of S. M. Mokashi: Education, Chemical Engineering, Teaching and Author
2025 Recap: Resilience and Reinvention in Indian Chemicals
Dmitri Mendeleev: The Man Who Ordered the Elements
Susumu Kitagawa: Nobel Laurate Chemistry 2025
Richard Robson: A Quiet Architect of Molecular Order
Omar Yaghi: From Refugee Camp to Nobel Chemistry Laureate
SAEL Industries Ltd commenced construction of its integrated solar manufacturing facility in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh, marking a major milestone in India’s efforts to strengthen domestic solar manufacturing and support the country’s clean energy transition. The project is being developed through SAEL Solar P6 Pvt Ltd (SSP6PL), a wholly owned subsidiary of SAEL Industries. The foundation stone-laying ceremony was held in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, underscoring the strategic importance of the project for the state’s industrial and renewable energy ambitions.
Integrated 5 GW Solar Manufacturing Facility
Spread across 200 acres in sector eight of the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) in Gautam Buddha Nagar, the facility will house an integrated 5 GW solar cell manufacturing unit and a 5 GW solar module manufacturing unit. The project involves an initial investment of ₹8,200 crore and is expected to significantly enhance India’s domestic solar manufacturing capacity. Once operational, the plant will manufacture high-efficiency Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact (TOPCon) solar cells and modules, a next-generation photovoltaic technology known for higher energy conversion efficiency, improved reliability, and enhanced performance.
Supporting India’s Energy Self-Reliance
Sukhbir Singh, Co-founder and Director, SAEL Industries Ltd, highlighted the broader significance of the project. He said the investment goes beyond building manufacturing infrastructure and represents a strong commitment to India’s energy self-reliance. He also noted that Uttar Pradesh is rapidly emerging as one of India’s fastest-growing economies on its path towards becoming a US$1 trillion economy. Singh expressed gratitude to the Government of Uttar Pradesh, YEIDA, and other stakeholders for their support in bringing the project to fruition.
Boosting Domestic Solar Supply Chain
Laxit Awla, CEO and Executive Director, SAEL Industries Ltd, said the Jewar facility reflects the company’s long-term confidence in India’s renewable energy sector and in Uttar Pradesh’s emergence as a leading manufacturing destination. He added that rising demand for domestically manufactured solar products makes investments in integrated manufacturing increasingly important. The new facility will strengthen the resilience of India’s solar supply chain, reduce dependence on imports, and create substantial economic opportunities for the region through industrial growth and employment generation.
Advancing India’s Renewable Energy Goals
The Jewar project reinforces SAEL Industries’ commitment to expanding India’s clean energy masnufacturing capabilities. By producing advanced TOPCon solar cells and modules domestically, the facility will contribute to the country’s renewable energy targets, support the ‘Make in India’ initiative, and accelerate the development of a self-reliant solar manufacturing ecosystem. As reported by pv-magazine-india.com, as India continues to scale up its renewable energy capacity, projects such as SAEL’s integrated manufacturing facility are expected to play a vital role in strengthening the domestic value chain, enhancing energy security, and driving sustainable economic growth.
Newspaper is your news, entertainment, music fashion website. We provide you with the latest breaking news and videos straight from the entertainment industry.
Contact us: chemindigest@gmail.com
© 2026 ChemInDigest . All Rights Reserved.

source

Spanish energy company Iberdrola has inaugurated the Fenix photovoltaic plant, a 243 MW facility located in the Sicilian provinces of Catania and Enna.
With the commissioning of the project, Iberdrola surpasses the previous largest operating photovoltaic plant in Italy, a 170 MW project located in Viterbo in the Lazio region, which had set the national benchmark for utility-scale PV capacity until now.
The Fenix plant is located in the municipalities of Centuripe, Paternò and Belpasso and has an annual generation capacity of around 400 GWh. The electricity produced is largely intended for the Italian market through long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs). The facility comprises approximately 413,000 bifacial PV modules, as well as a 26 km medium-voltage network and 9 km of high-voltage lines.
The project is built on land affected by desertification processes, according to Iberdrola. Mitigation and environmental compensation measures cover around 400 hectares and include sustainable rainwater management and the planting of around 60,000 native plants. The cleaning system is integrated with an environmental monitoring system for soil conditions and microclimate control.
Construction of the plant began in March 2024 following an agreement with ib vogt. Around 500 workers were involved during the construction phase, corresponding to approximately 600,000 work hours.
The project was financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB), with a guarantee from Italy’s export credit agency and financial insurance institution SACE.

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: [email protected].
Comments
Please login to comment
The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
Available in print and digital – get your copy today!
Thursday, September 9, 2026
11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
pv magazine USA hosts its third multi-day virtual event on advancing U.S. solar and energy storage markets, covering financing, supply chains, and distributed energy’s role in grid resilience.
Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects.
April 01 – August 31, 2026
A two-day conference in Austin, Texas, bringing together leaders in US solar manufacturing, equipment specification, and factory execution.
Saudi Arabia is accelerating its clean energy transition—join the SunRise Arabia Clean Energy Conference 2026 in Riyadh to explore how solar PV and energy storage are powering its digital economy.
Showcase your brand across all our platforms: from 13 websites in 7 languages to our magazines, daily newsletters, industry events and more. Reach your audience the right way!

You have no items in your basket.

source

Renewables Now is a leading business news source for renewable energy professionals globally. Trust us for comprehensive coverage of major deals, projects and industry trends. We’ve done this since 2009.
Stay on top of sector news with with Renewables Now. Get access to extra articles and insights with our subscription plans and set up your own focused newsletters and alerts.

source

A Solution to AI’s Growing Power Demand: Homes  The Seattle Times
source

India is experiencing rapid economic growth, urbanization, and industrial expansion, all of which are driving a sharp increase in electricity demand. The country’s peak electricity demand has already crossed 250 GW, reaching 270.8 GW in May 2026. According to projections by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), electricity demand is expected to grow by around 6 percent annually until 2030, while per capita electricity consumption is likely to increase from approximately 1,500 kWh to nearly 2,000 kWh. 
While this growth reflects economic progress, it also presents significant environmental challenges. India’s energy-related carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions increased by approximately 5.3 percent in 2024, largely due to rising electricity consumption during prolonged heat waves and increased dependence on fossil fuels to meet growing power needs. If future energy demand continues to be met primarily through conventional sources such as coal, carbon emissions could rise substantially. Therefore, expanding renewable energy sources is essential for ensuring sustainable development and reducing environmental impacts. 
Solar Energy: A Key Driver of the Energy Transition 
Among all renewable energy sources, solar power has emerged as one of the most promising solutions for India’s clean energy future. Over the past decade, solar energy has witnessed remarkable growth, with nearly 150 GW of installed capacity today, accounting for around 26 percent of the country’s total power generation capacity. 
India possesses significant natural advantages for solar energy generation. With nearly 300 sunny days annually and an estimated solar potential of 10,830 gigawatts as per a new study by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), the country has the capacity to generate a substantial share of its electricity from clean and renewable sources. This abundant resource can help reduce dependence on fossil fuels, strengthen energy security, and support long-term economic growth. 
Solar power is also environmentally sustainable because it generates electricity without direct greenhouse gas emissions. As India seeks to balance development with climate responsibility, solar energy offers a practical pathway to meet increasing electricity demand while minimizing carbon emissions. 
Building a Strong Solar Ecosystem 
The expansion of solar energy in India extends beyond large-scale power plants. Solar parks are contributing significantly to utility-scale electricity generation, while rooftop solar systems are enabling households, commercial establishments, and institutions to generate their own clean energy. This decentralized approach not only reduces pressure on the grid but also promotes greater public participation in the energy transition. 
Solar energy is also playing an important role in supporting the growth of electric mobility. As the electric vehicle (EV) market expands, solar-powered EV charging stations can help ensure that transportation electrification is accompanied by cleaner sources of electricity. This integration can further reduce emissions from both the power and transport sectors. 
In addition, battery energy storage systems are becoming increasingly important for maximizing the benefits of solar energy. Since solar power generation depends on sunlight availability, storage technologies help store excess electricity and supply it during periods of high demand or low generation, improving grid reliability and stability. 
Integrating Technology for a Smarter Grid 
The future success of India’s clean energy transition will depend on combining solar energy with advanced technologies. Artificial intelligence (AI), smart grids, and digital energy management systems can help optimize electricity generation, distribution, and consumption. 
AI-powered forecasting can improve predictions of solar power generation and electricity demand, allowing grid operators to make better decisions. Smart grids can efficiently manage power flows and reduce transmission losses, while energy management systems enable consumers and industries to use electricity more efficiently. Together, these technologies can enhance grid reliability and support the large-scale integration of renewable energy into the national power system. 
Supporting India’s Climate Goals 
Solar energy is central to India’s commitment to achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel power capacity by 2030. This target is critical for meeting future electricity demand while reducing dependence on carbon-intensive energy sources. Solar power will also play a major role in helping India achieve its long-term goal of net-zero emissions by 2070. 
Government initiatives such as PM Surya Ghar and PM-KUSUM are accelerating solar adoption across the country. These programs encourage rooftop solar installations and promote solar-powered solutions for farmers, helping expand access to clean energy while reducing emissions. 
Conclusion 
India’s growing energy demand requires solutions that are both reliable and environmentally sustainable. Solar energy offers a unique opportunity to address this challenge by providing clean, affordable, and scalable power. Supported by favorable natural conditions, technological innovation, energy storage, and government initiatives, solar power can become the backbone of India’s clean energy transition. As the country moves toward its 2030 and 2070 climate goals, solar energy will remain a crucial pillar in building a resilient, low-carbon, and energy-secure future. 
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those held by pv magazine.
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: [email protected].
Comments
Please login to comment
The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
Available in print and digital – get your copy today!
Thursday, September 9, 2026
11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects.
April 01 – August 31, 2026

You have no items in your basket.

source

How Does Space-Based Solar Power Get To Earth?  AOL.com
source

Ready to get up to 3 free quotes?
Get up to 3 free quotes for solar, batteries, EV chargers or hot water heat pumps
GET MY QUOTES
Last week I went to Intersolar Europe in Munich, and the first thing to tell you is the scale (watch my video above to get a real feel for the exhibition).
The show floor was eighteen halls big¹. All Energy in Melbourne, our biggest solar conference, would be about a hall and a half of that. So roughly twelve times the size. It is absolutely massive.
The second thing that stood out was the weather. It was 35ºC outside, about fifteen degrees above average for Munich in June. Everyone was hot, hot, hot, and the air conditioning was visibly struggling. Fifteen degrees above average is nuts. The Earth was making its point about global heating, and it made it in the week half the solar industry was in town.
Solar panels have become a commodity. Everyone walks up to a stand assuming they’ll get something twenty-four to twenty-five percent efficient that turns light into electricity, and they’re right.
The star was probably LONGi’s EcoLife range. The 505-watt panels you can actually buy now top the mass-production charts at about 25 percent module efficiency. LONGi was also waving around fresh lab records on the same stand: a 28.13 percent back-contact cell and a 26.4 percent module. Worth keeping the record kit and the shipping product separate in your head, but either way it’s incredible stuff².
There were plenty of big stands disagreeing about how to get there. AIKO and Tongwei were essentially arguing about whether top con or “bottom con” wins. AIKO reckons back contact, or bottom con if you like, is the way forward, with the best low-light performance and the best efficiency. Tongwei had a big stand making the case for TOPCon.
Which one’s right for you? Doesn’t matter. They’re all excellent panels. Just buy a good one from a manufacturer that actually supports Australia and stop worrying about it.
LONGi are making some big cell efficiency claims with their EcoLife range.
When everyone’s selling efficient black rectangles, the question becomes how you get noticed. The answer this year was building-integrated PV, everywhere. Solar in the roof, the floor, the windows, fences, shades, even pool furniture. Flexible panels, coloured panels, every colour under the sun, different shapes and patterns. Some of it looked magnificent.
The bottom line: if you want a solar panel in any shape, any colour, any pattern, with any amount of flex, you can get it now.
Every major manufacturer on the SolarQuotes approved list told me Australia matters to them. Ulica Solar told me the reason they pulled out of Australia years ago was that we expected A-grade gear at B-grade prices. I spent a while wondering which retailers were demanding that. I’ve got a hunch it was some of the big ones flogging dirt-cheap systems back then, several of whom have since gone broke.
Lithuanian firm SoliTek’s building-integrated solar roof.
The other big standout was balcony solar. Lightweight panels you zip-tie to a balcony railing and plug straight into a standard power socket (GPO). They were absolutely everywhere. Legal in France and Germany, currently illegal in the UK, the US, and, of course, Australia.
I bumped into Jordan from Artisan Electric, a UK installer and electrician with a popular YouTube channel, who told me the UK government is leaning on its standards body to make balcony solar legal. If that succeeds, it’s an example Australia could follow.
Speaking of balconies, balcony batteries were everywhere too. Picture a mini version of a stackable home battery, about half the size, that sits on the floor, plugs into a GPO, plugs into your balcony solar, and feeds in behind the meter to trim your bill. Fantastic for renters, and exactly what Australia needs. If Germany allows it, and Germany has some of the strictest rules in the world for this stuff, I can’t see why we can’t.
For proper hardwired home batteries, the whole industry has moved to all-in-one. Not just battery modules stacked on each other, but the hybrid inverter built into the same stack. And now they’re going a step further and integrating the gateway too, the switching and breakers that handle backup. The future of the hardwired home battery is one sleek stack against the wall. There’s huge competition, which is great to see.
The architectures differ. Sigenergy puts a DC-to-DC converter in every module. SolarEdge runs everything on an 800-volt DC bus, which may make you nervous about every cable, but it gives a beautifully flat efficiency curve. So even when you’re pulling a small 300-watt load overnight, efficiency stays high, where something like the Sigenergy approach drops off at low overnight power. SolarEdge assured me their safety systems make those 800-volt cables safe as houses. They would say that.
The other approach is Enphase, who run everything on a 230-volt AC bus. Microinverters on the back of each panel, low voltage, AC. About the safest way you can do it.
I was really pleased to see Enphase has finally designed a stackable battery with decent energy density. The current third-gen Enphase battery is so small in capacity, so big physically and so expensive that I don’t think it’s viable. Honestly I’m surprised they released it. Enphase owners have been stuck for a good AC-coupled option, and the best bet right now is probably the FranklinWH.
The new one is the IQ Battery G5, and it looks properly thought through. Enphase claim 1.9 times the energy density of the third-gen battery in a slim, stackable design. It’s AC-coupled and scales from 5 to 30 kWh in modular 5 kWh blocks, with every module carrying its own grid-forming microinverter. It runs single phase or three phase, uses something they call PowerMatch to squeeze more usable energy and efficiency out of the pack, and is built to drop onto most existing Enphase solar and battery setups. Fifteen-year warranty. Europe gets it in Q1 2027, Enphase tell me Australia is in line for early next year too, and they’re promising it’ll be substantially cheaper than the current unit.
Apologies, I didn’t come away with decent photos of it, but you’ll see the G5, and every other battery I talk about in this post, up close in our second Munich video, out next week.
So if you’ve got Enphase on your roof, or you want it, you can finally stay in the ecosystem with a decent battery stack.
SolarEdge had some interesting gear about to launch. Same 800-volt DC philosophy, but they’ve gone stackable like everyone else, and they’re making just one stackable inverter model: twenty kilowatts, which you software-lock down to whatever output you need (most likely because DNSP rules cap you well under twenty). One model size means one fixed production line configuration, which keeps costs down. And the battery stack looks genuinely nice, a big step up from the clumsy ten-kilowatt-hour boxes on sale in Australia now.
For the record, the all-in-one systems I saw came from FoxESS, Solis, GoodWe, Sigenergy, SolarEdge, EcoFlow, Anker and Sungrow. The notable holdouts still doing discrete inverters: Fronius and iStore.
A one-way AC EV charger is, as our in-house installer Anthony Bennett likes to say, “a glorified extension cord”. Nearly every manufacturer was badging its latest charger “bidirectional ready” and pointing the finger at the cars, which don’t do proper AC bidirectional charging yet.
But you’d be mad to buy an EV charger from a brand that didn’t also supply your battery and hybrid inverter. The good news is every decent battery manufacturer now makes its own charger. Sungrow’s only arrived last year, and I’m amazed it took the industry this long. Keep your inverter, battery and charger in one ecosystem and the whole lot coordinates through one app. That’s how it should be done.
My favourite stand was Enphase. It was very modest compared to the giant Chinese manufacturer stands and tucked away at the far end of the show. But I was happy to find it – mostly because I was so happy about that battery. It looks easy to install, and paired with either their uni or bidirectional charger it finally makes the whole Enphase system stack up for Australians.
Which suits me nicely, because I’ve got thirty-five Enphase microinverters on my roof.
Tune in next week for a second, in-depth video on the new battery tech at the show. Or even better, subscribe to the SolarQuotes YouTube channel so you don’t miss it.
Sign up for our weekly newsletter!
Your emailSUBSCRIBE
I’m a Chartered Electrical Engineer, Solar and Energy Efficiency nut, dad, and the founder of SolarQuotes.com.au. I started SolarQuotes in 2009 and the SolarQuotes blog in 2013 with the belief that it’s more important to be truthful and objective than popular. My last “real job” was working for the CSIRO in their renewable energy division. Since 2009, I’ve helped over 800,000 Aussies get quotes for solar from installers I trust. Read my full bio.
Hopefully Enphase can get their pricing with the G5 right. They’re currently charging $1,440 per kWh for the 5P per the Solar Quotes Battery Comparison table which is almost 5x the cheapest FoxESS options and double the Tesla Powerwall 3.
Anything above $7.5k for 10kWh will just lead them to becoming more and more irrelevant.
Great video to watch, a tough gig in Munich, Finn pulled it off in fine style.
I like the solar umbrella as well! 600watts isn’t to be sneezed at in comparison to the balcony solar.
That would be quite handy here as well as the balcony solar!
It could plug straight into something like a portable battery pack like a bluetti or similar for a camping trip or run your entertainment area as well!
Now Now Finn, the bean counters will tell you your 35 enphase microinverters on your roof are sunk costs and shouldn’t be part of your future planning 🙂
Please keep the SolarQuotes blog constructive and useful with these 5 rules:
1. Real names are preferred – you should be happy to put your name to your comments.
2. Put down your weapons.
3. Assume positive intention.
4. If you are in the solar industry – try to get to the truth, not the sale.
5. Please stay on topic.



Notify me of follow-up comments by email.
Notify me of new posts by email.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Δ
 RSS – Posts
Read The Good Solar Guide Free Online!
Ready to get up to 3 free quotes?
Get up to 3 free quotes for solar, batteries, EV chargers or hot water heat pumps
GET MY QUOTES

© 2009 to 2026 SolarQuotes Home Electrification Pty Ltd
Get free quotes for solar, batteries,
EV chargers or hot water heat pumps

Download the first chapter of The Good Solar Guide, authored by SolarQuotes founder Finn Peacock, FREE!

You’ll also start receiving the SolarQuotes weekly newsletter, keeping you up to date on all the latest developments on Australia’s solar scene.
We respect your privacy and you can opt out from the newsletter at any time.

source

Renewables Now is a leading business news source for renewable energy professionals globally. Trust us for comprehensive coverage of major deals, projects and industry trends. We’ve done this since 2009.
Stay on top of sector news with with Renewables Now. Get access to extra articles and insights with our subscription plans and set up your own focused newsletters and alerts.

source

Sponsor says the measure will come up again in fall veto session.
(CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS) – A bill to make solar power more accessible to renters and others who face barriers to the alternative energy source stalled in the Illinois Senate, but it’s likely to return in the fall veto session because lawmakers like the idea of helping residents with their electric bills. 

Plug-in solar, also known as balcony solar, allows people to install small solar panel systems that can be plugged into normal wall outlets for personal use. Instead of a rooftop, the panels could be set up on a balcony, in a yard, or on a porch or patio. 
“I think lawmakers really see this as an opportunity to give folks a way to have more control over their power bills. I think also, frankly, people just think this is cool,” Kavi Chintam, campaign manager for Illinois at Vote Solar, told Capitol News Illinois.
Rooftop solar has been increasingly adopted in Illinois, with more than 130,000 households choosing to install panels as of 2025. Chintam said plug-in solar is a great opportunity to expand access to the technology.
“The rooftop solar industry in Illinois has been so successful and has actively helped people lower their energy bills,” she said. “The group that is left out of that, of course, are renters and folks that don’t have access to their roofs.”
The biggest roadblocks to passing the bill in Illinois were concerns about safety, and further negotiations will revolve around specific language regarding that issue.

Lawmakers wanted to observe how other states handled the issue first, Sen. Rachel Ventura, D-Joliet, said in an interview. She sponsored the Senate version of the bill, which stalled in April.
Utah was the first state to adopt the technology, and Ventura said Illinois legislators were relying on that bill as a model for Illinois’ version. Now that eight other states have passed bills to allow plug-in solar, she said Illinois has a better framework to work with. 
“Everyone loves the concept,” Ventura told Capitol News Illinois. “That’s the good news about this, is that nobody is opposing the concept. It really comes down to making sure the safety is there for everyone, and we want to make sure the language addresses everyone’s safety concerns.”
The safety question boils down to two main areas: safety for people who work on the electric lines and safety for residents. 
Ventura said a big concern for utilities and labor unions was making sure the energy generated by small plug-in solar systems can’t travel back to the grid during a power outage — a phenomenon called backfeeding. The danger would come from a lineworker touching a line they believe is depowered. 

In the original bill language, there was a carveout for low-wattage plug-in solar systems, between 400-1,200W, that would have allowed people to connect certified systems with little oversight. 
Advocates for the bill argued that low-wattage systems didn’t need to meet national code requirements or have special permissions because they generate less energy than many home appliances use. 
“The smaller systems are able to just immediately be plugged in by people without needing landlord permission or any changes to wiring, because these are so small,” Chintam said. “They would still need to be certified and would still need to have safety precautions like preventing backfeeding and having an automatic shut off.”
Without the carveout, Chintam said, residents would likely have to wait for national rules to change and they wouldn’t be able to benefit from their safety-certified solar systems until 2029 at the earliest. 
The carveout was a sticking point for lawmakers, labor and utilities. More than 30 other states have considered plug-in solar bills, and the carveout language was treated differently in each one. 

“So we decided to hold our bill to see how those other states’ come about,” Ventura said. “We are now researching what language moved, what language didn’t move, and trying to create model legislation that we will file or amend in veto session.”
UL Solutions, a branch of a larger historical organization that tests and certifies the safety of new products, established a framework for testing, standardizing and certifying plug-in solar systems for safety. Those standards were new this spring and are still being developed, so lawmakers didn’t know at the time how they would apply to the language Illinois used. 
As for the safety of the systems within the home, advocates point out that plug-in solar uses the same technology rooftop solar does, but on a smaller scale. They also gesture toward countries like Germany, where plug-in solar panels are abundant and people haven’t reported problems. 
The systems are widespread in Europe, with 25 countries having legalized them. The European electric system and how much voltage its outlets are designed to handle is slightly different from America’s, so there’s a minor conversion to make.
“This is where the example of what has happened in Europe is very relevant,” Nathan Phelps, the managing director of Vote Solar Regulatory Advocacy Hub, told Capitol News Illinois. “So at their level of 800W that can be plugged in, they have, last I checked, no examples of safety issues at that level. And so doing that conversion to the US, that’s 392W (that can be plugged in).”

Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, an organization in the Southeast that promotes clean energy, released a report last week examining the safety of plug-in solar compared to commonly used diesel-powered generators, and found that plug-in solar systems perform better. 
“Safety concerns have come up in various states and more or less the states that have passed the plug-in solar bills have determined that the safety concern is not significant enough in order to prohibit plug-in solar,” Phelps said. 
Ventura said plug-in solar will likely be revisited in the fall because lawmakers are excited about expanding solar to more people. 
“The chair was willing to hear the bill, even in the end, when there was a little bit of disagreement on whether we have a carveout or not,” she said. “The chair was still willing to hear the bill, and he was surprised that I was saying ‘let’s wait.’”
All of the stakeholders have been to the table to discuss the broad strokes of the bill, so the only remaining conversations will deal with specifics.

“We’re excited that other states have passed this legislation and given us the road map to getting it passed here in Illinois,” she said. 
 
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

Police said two adults were shot and are both in critical condition. The investigation is ongoing.
Water, electricity, noise minimal, says advocate, who adds, “We call balls and strikers.”
Numbers go up and down, but ICADV leader says the effects are “enduring and widespread.”
The semi struck a concrete barrier and caught fire.
Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – As outdoor temperatures climb, it’s important to stay […]

source

Mulilo, the dominant first mover in South Africa’s on-grid battery energy storage system (Bess) IPP market, predicts that grid constraints and a healthy pipeline of new solar PV and wind projects will see increased demand for batteries going forward. The need for utility-scale battery systems has been caused by the grid constraints that are slowing down renewable energy plant development times, as well as the vast scale of new renewable IPPs, write Tonderayi Mukeredzi and Marc Howard in Cape Town.
Tagged with:
Power
South Africa
Related topics:
Transmission investment – can new schemes unlock Africa’s power markets?, Where to next for South Africa’s new power market?
Access via a report
View report options
Subscribe to African Energy
View subscription options
Issue 544 – 29 June 2026
Power, Strategy & risk, Climate change, Finance & investment
Issue 544 – 29 June 2026
South Africa
Power, Commercial & industrial, Renewable energy, Thermal energy, Transmission & distribution, Strategy & risk, Finance & investment, Politics & security
Issue 544 – 19 June 2026
Egypt, South Africa
Power, Renewable energy
African Energy is a brand of
©Copyright 2026 African Energy
Head Office
4 Bank Buildings
Station Road
Hastings
TN34 1NG
United Kingdom

T: +44 (0)1424 721667

source

Residents are voicing concerns over a proposed solar farm that maps show could surround a portion of the Fred Meijer Clinton-Ionia-Shiawassee Trail.
WATCH: Clinton County residents concerned about proposed solar farm near historic trail
Last month, developer RWE submitted an application with the Michigan Public Service Commission for approval. The goal is to start construction on the roughly 1,600-acre site next summer.
Theresa Owen, a Clinton County resident, says the project conflicts with the area’s agricultural identity.
“We’re trying to get businesses in here to deal with ag-tech, not have 1,500 acres of industrial glass and metal,” Owen said.
Jim Lawless, a Bingham Township resident, says he understands the value of solar development but questions the location.
“I can appreciate the solar developments, but there’s a place for them. And this is not the place, this is a developing community,” Lawless said.
One of residents’ biggest concerns is the potential impact to the historic trail. The project’s site map shows it would surround portions of the corridor.
“Those residents would be walking through an industrial park and no longer a nature trail,” Lawless said.
During a January public meeting, officials said the project is designed to minimize impact, including affecting about 9.6 acres of forest. RWE did not respond in time to a request for comment.
Residents say they want more details up front about what the trail area would look like if the project is approved.
“It needs to be protected for the people, as they are the true owners of it,” Lawless said.
According to RWE, the solar farm’s life is 35 to 40 years, and would be taken down following that lifespan, restoring all impacted land to its previous condition.
Want more FOX 47 News? Here’s how you download our Roku app

You can also see the latest news from across our mid-Michigan neighborhoods by liking us on Facebook or following us on X.

source

Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 64F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph..
Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 64F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.
Updated: June 28, 2026 @ 11:08 pm
Aaliya Fauble is being recognized for designing and installing a solar panel system on the Wexford Sheriff’s Office radar trailer.

Aaliya Fauble is being recognized for designing and installing a solar panel system on the Wexford Sheriff’s Office radar trailer.
CADILLAC — Aaliya Fauble, a student at Wexford-Missaukee Career Technical Center and Cadillac Innovation High School, is being recognized for completing a hands-on project that will help improve the efficiency and sustainability of the Wexford Sheriff’s Office radar trailer.
As part of her coursework and technical training, Aaliya designed and installed a solar panel system on the department’s radar trailer, helping provide reliable renewable power for the trailer’s operations while reducing the need for external charging and maintenance.
The project gave her an opportunity to apply real-world skills in electrical systems, renewable energy, troubleshooting, and project planning while directly benefiting the community.
The work also highlights the strong training provided through CTC’s Computers, Networking, and Electronics Technology program, which equips students with hands-on technical experience in electronics, wiring, diagnostics and emerging technologies. Programs like this help prepare students for careers in skilled trades, information technology, electronics and public service support roles.
“We are incredibly proud of Aaliya and the work she accomplished through this project,” said Deputy Wiers. “This is a great example of how career and technical education prepares students with practical skills while also creating meaningful partnerships within our community.”
The radar trailer is used by the Sheriff’s Office to promote traffic safety and encourage drivers to reduce speed in school zones, neighborhoods and other high-traffic areas. The addition of solar power will help keep the trailer operational for longer periods and more efficiently.
The collaboration highlights the value of partnerships between local agencies and career technical education programs, giving students valuable workforce experience while supporting community needs.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Breaking News from the Cadillac News
Entertainment from Cadillac News
Local News from Cadillac News
National News from Cadillac News
Would you like to receive our daily news? Signup today!
Obituaries from Cadillac News
Sports from Cadillac News
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.
Flood Recovery: Help & Resources
Monday – Friday 8:00am – 5:00pm
You’ll get access to the #1 Source of local news, sports and advertising information when and where you want it.
Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.
We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:
Please disable your ad blocker, whitelist our site, or purchase a subscription

source

Chinese solar module manufacturer Longi has launched today a new back contact (BC) panel at the Smarter E trade show in Munich, Germany.
“This new product incorporates a redesigned cell architecture compared with the previous generation, utilizing an advanced stacking technology that maximizes the module’s active surface area by eliminating gaps between cells,” the company’s product manager, Miki Risita, told pv magazine. “The approach is comparable to shingled-cell designs but significantly reduces mechanical stress between cells, enhancing long-term reliability. In addition, the module features concealed busbars, further increasing the active area available for power generation and contributing to higher overall efficiency.”
The Hi-MO 9 Prime series relies on the company’s hybrid passivated back contact (HPBC) cell technology and the Selective Temperature Alloy Connection (STAC) technology, which the company said minimizes localized thermal stress during manufacturing and significantly improves long-term, cell-level stability. “Its sustainable, lead-free material design also enhances resistance against electrode corrosion, while the specialized BC cell interconnection structure helps disperse current concentration to reduce hotspot-related risks,” Risita added.
. It is offered with power ratings ranging from 650 W to 680 W and reaches a maximum module efficiency of up to 25.17% in its highest-power configuration. The modules are built with 132 half-cut back-contact cells, measure 2,382 mm × 1,134 mm × 30 mm and weigh 33.5 kg.
The dual-glass panels are designed for a maximum system voltage of 1,500 V and are suitable for utility-scale and commercial PV installations.
The product features a temperature coefficient of -0.26%/C and is rated for front-side snow and wind loads of up to 5,400 Pa and rear-side loads of 2,400 Pa. The module is also certified to withstand hail impacts from 25 mm ice balls travelling at 23 m/s.
“Beyond delivering higher baseline power, the Hi-MO 9 Prime delivers superior partial shading tolerance to protect those revenue streams. Its highly parallel BC cell structure helps drastically reduce electrical losses caused by localized shading from row-to-row obstructions, dust, fallen leaves, or other temporary objects,” the manufacturer said in a statement released. “When a single cell is shaded, the Hi-MO 9 Prime can reduce power loss by more than 70% compared with conventional non-BC modules. This supports far more stable, predictable energy generation in high-GCR configurations and complex, real-world operating environments.”
“Commercial production is scheduled to begin later this year,” Risita stated. “The company has already secured initial orders for delivery toward the end of 2026, with production volumes expected to ramp up at the start of the first quarter of 2027.”
Comments
Please login to comment
The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
Available in print and digital – get your copy today!
Thursday, July 9, 2026
11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects.
April 01 – August 31, 2026

You have no items in your basket.

source

Free-On-Board China TOPCon cells declined for a fourth consecutive week pressured by high inventories, weaker upstream wafer prices and manufacturers’ push to increase sales amid soft end-user demand.
According to the OPIS Global Solar Markets Report released on June 23, FOB China TOPCon M10 cell prices fell 2.44% to $0.0440/W. FOB China 210R cell prices averaged $0.0450/W, down 2.17%.
Trade sources said inventory pressure in the cell segment has intensified in recent weeks, with upstream production expected to increase in the second half of 2026 even as module demand remained weak.
Polysilicon production is expected to increase during China’s wet season, when lower hydropower costs typically support higher operating rates. Without a meaningful recovery in module demand, market sources said the additional supply could further increase inventories across the wafer and cell segments.
Wafer production is expected to rise by around 10% month on month in June, from approximately 50 GW in May, potentially intensifying inventory pressure, according to industry sources.
The China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, or CNMIA, said two major wafer producers are operating at 50-52%, integrated producers at 54-60%, and other producers at 54-70%. Despite lower polysilicon and wafer prices, end-user demand has yet to improve, while cautious downstream buyers have little incentive to restock, CNMIA added.
Lower cell prices have also tracked declining production costs, following recent weakness in silver paste, polysilicon and wafer prices, market sources told OPIS. Some market participants said improving geopolitical conditions in the Middle East have eased pressure on precious metal prices, including silver, after silver hit a record high in January 2026. Silver prices have fallen by nearly 15% over the past month and close to 10% over the past six months, though they remain more than 80% higher year on year.
A cell manufacturer source said silver prices are expected to stabilize or edge lower if geopolitical sentiment continues to improve, helping reduce cell production costs. The source added that manufacturers had struggled to pass on higher silver costs when prices were elevated because buyers were unwilling to accept corresponding increases in cell prices.
Downstream module pricing signals remained mixed. FOB China TOPCon modules weakened for a fourth consecutive week amid softer spot indications, as thin demand kept buyers on the sidelines while they waited for clearer direction on module prices and container freight rates.
However, a Chinese tier-1 manufacturer said Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) European module prices appeared to be firming, partly because higher freight rates and the drawdown of rebate-eligible inventory were raising replacement costs.
China removed export tax rebates for solar PV products from April 1. Export buyers had built substantial inventories since the second half of 2025 even before the policy was formally announced.
Some market sources said these stockpiles could continue to suppress purchasing activity in the second half of 2026. As rebate-eligible inventory in destination warehouses is gradually drawn, industry sources said that buyers are expected to feel the impact of higher replacement costs more directly.
Higher logistics costs are adding another layer of price support. Market analysts said the high container freight rates have also raised import costs, potentially weighing on demand or prompting buyers to delay procurement. Although ongoing US-Iran peace negotiations have improved market sentiment and could ease shipping disruptions in the Middle East, sources said uncertainty over the geopolitical situation and its impact on container shipping remains.
OPIS, a Dow Jones company, provides energy prices, news, data, and analysis on gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, LPG/NGL, coal, metals, and chemicals, as well as renewable fuels and environmental commodities. It acquired pricing data assets from Singapore Solar Exchange in 2022 and now publishes the OPIS APAC Solar Weekly Report.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those held by pv magazine.
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: [email protected].
Comments
Please login to comment
The June issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
Available in print and digital – get your copy today!
Thursday, July 9, 2026
11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects.
April 01 – August 31, 2026

You have no items in your basket.

source

Ibraco Signs 100 MW Solar PPA With Syarikat Sesco For Sarawak Project  SolarQuarter
source

Home – Construction – A self-sufficient home is being built in the middle of the desert: earthen walls, rainwater, and 100% solar power to raise children without relying on the power grid
Jonathan and Ashley Longnecker did not just move to the Arizona desert looking for a quieter life. Along with their four children, they are building one from the ground up, using earth walls, off-grid solar systems, water planning, and a kind of patience most modern households rarely get to test.
Their project, known online as Tiny Shiny Home, has become part family story and part practical experiment. In a time when housing costs, utility bills, and climate pressure are forcing many Americans to rethink what a home should be, the Longneckers are asking a simple but difficult question. What happens when a house is built around less consumption instead of more?
The Longneckers describe themselves as a family of six that loves living off-grid, and their story did not begin with a desert homestead. Before settling in southeastern Arizona, they sold their house, traveled full-time, and renovated a 31-foot 1972 Airstream Sovereign Land Yacht for off-grid living.
After five years on the road, they bought 11 acres of undeveloped land in southeastern Arizona and began building an off-grid homestead. On their website, they put the mission in plain language, saying they want to “simplify our lives” and give their children “experiences instead of disposable things.”
That sounds inspiring. But in practical terms, it means a lot of dusty work, heavy lifting, trial and error, and decisions most homeowners never have to make because water, power, and building materials usually arrive through systems someone else already built.
At the center of the project is a roundhouse made with hyperadobe, a natural building method that uses long mesh tubes filled with compacted soil. Tiny Shiny Home says hyperadobe bags use polyethylene raschel knit material, come in rolls, do not require barbed wire between layers, and are especially useful for vertical walls with attached roofs.
The appeal is easy to understand. Instead of relying mostly on lumber shipped from far away, a hyperadobe wall can use native soil, water, and hand labor. It is not effortless, though. Tiny Shiny Home calls earthbag building “a TON of manual labor,” which may be the most honest warning in the whole project.
The method also fits the desert in a very specific way. Thick earthen walls can hold and slowly release heat, and Tiny Shiny Home says its 16-inch hyperadobe walls can take about 12 hours to transfer warmth through the structure. That kind of thermal mass matters when days are hot, nights cool down, and everyone still wants the inside of the house to feel livable.
Once the hyperadobe walls were finished, the family moved into what they called the most complicated part of the build so far. The roof work includes a custom bond beam, a metal roofing structure, and paneling, according to the official project update.
The process is not just a nice video sequence. It involves a rebar cage, custom curved forms, pouring the bond beam, removing the forms, securing hurricane straps, transporting bar joists, fabricating recycled steel pieces, setting roof trusses, and starting C-purlins.
Why does that matter? Because off-grid living still has to obey gravity, weather, wind, and basic engineering. The dream may be simple, but the structure has to be serious.
A house in the desert can avoid the electric grid, but it cannot avoid energy needs. Lights, tools, refrigeration, internet, water pumping, cooling, and daily family life all require power, and that is where the Longneckers’ solar setup becomes more than a green accessory.
Tiny Shiny Home says its off-grid solar system has averaged about 13 kilowatt-hours of production per day and 10 kilowatt-hours of consumption, with summer use rising closer to more than 35 kilowatt-hours when air conditioning and a mini-split were running.
That is the unglamorous side of self-sufficiency. Solar panels are not just a symbol on the roof. They are the difference between a working homestead and a romantic campsite where the batteries run out before dinner.
In Arizona, rainwater catchment sounds almost backwards at first. Tiny Shiny Home acknowledged the challenge directly, noting that the area gets about 12 inches of average rainfall a year, much of it in a short seasonal window.
That is why the project treats water as infrastructure, not decoration. Their long-term focus includes rainwater catchment, while earlier systems relied on storage tanks, hauling water, pressurized pump setups, and step-by-step improvements as the homestead grew.
Anyone who has watched a summer water bill climb can understand the appeal. But the desert version is tougher. Every roof surface, storage tank, pump, pipe, and filter has to be thought through before the faucet feels ordinary.
Tiny Shiny Home is also a media project. The family documents the process online, sharing videos, guides, tours, and paid resources for people interested in off-grid living, hyperadobe construction, solar power, composting, permaculture, and rainwater catchment.
That public approach gives the project a wider meaning. It is not just a private home being built in a remote place. It is a visible example of how families, builders, and curious homeowners are testing alternatives at a time when conventional housing can feel expensive, fragile, and disconnected from the land around it.
Still, the lesson is not that everyone should run to the desert and start filling earthbags. The more useful takeaway is smaller and more realistic. Homes can be designed around local materials, lower consumption, repairable systems, and family labor, but those choices come with tradeoffs.
The Longneckers’ project stands out because it does not make self-sufficiency look automatic. It shows the work behind the words. There are forms to build, bags to tamp, water systems to fix, solar equipment to understand, and plenty of moments when the clean dream probably feels like a pile of dirt and a long to-do list.
That may be the most valuable part of the story. Off-grid living is often sold as escape, but here it looks more like responsibility. Less consumption does not mean less complexity. It means choosing which complexity you want to live with.
For now, the family’s hyperadobe roundhouse remains a work in progress, but the larger idea is already clear. In the Arizona desert, one family is turning soil, sun, and scarce rain into a home that challenges the way many Americans think about comfort, cost, and independence.
The official project update was published on Tiny Shiny Home.

Comment
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Indux is Vozpópuli’s vertical focused on the real economy: industry, business, and applied technology. A space designed to closely follow what drives factories, infrastructure, and large productive sectors, with useful information for professionals, executives, and readers who want to understand where business is headed.
© http://www.vozpopuli.com • All rights reserved

source

We Energies solar battery project helps keep power flowing after sunset  WISN
source

Philippines leads the world in rush to solar as power prices soar  Reuters
source

CNX Software – Embedded Systems News
Reviews, tutorials and the latest news about embedded systems, IoT, open-source hardware, SBC's, microcontrollers, processors, and more
DESLOC V150 Plus is a smart lock with an integrated perovskite solar panel, which can generate power under low-light conditions, eliminating or at least reducing the need for manual battery charging.
The V150 Plus is a two-part system consisting of exterior and interior units connected via wires through the door. The exterior unit includes the perovskite solar panel, two cameras with a 3D facial recognition system, and an AI-assisted fingerprint sensor, while the interior unit houses a 10,000mAh removable battery, a Battery Management System (BMS), and a lock motor. The BMS manages battery charging and power distribution. The rechargeable battery is rated to provide up to 8 months of backup operation when solar charging is unavailable, which is a little longer than the Lockzo AL501 3-in-1 smart door lock we reviewed earlier.

DESLOC V150 Plus specifications:

The company has not disclosed the processor used in the V150 Plus, but they mention that the solar panel starts charging at 300 lux, while the BMS monitors battery status and controls charging and power management.
The facial recognition system combines dual cameras, a 24GHz radar for presence detection, infrared illumination for low-light operation, and liveness detection to help prevent spoofing attempts. According to DESLOC, the system can unlock the door in about 0.7 seconds. Additionally, the company mentions that the fingerprint recognition algorithm adapts to changes in fingerprint patterns over time to improve recognition accuracy.

The DESLOC app allows users to manage the lock, configure access permissions, view battery status, and monitor the solar charging status. It also supports OTA updates, factory resets, and specific app modes, including Vacation (when you are away from home), Rest (Do Not Disturb or privacy mode), and Special Care (which allows administrators to set up profiles for children, elderly family members, or caregivers).
The DESLOC V150 Plus smart lock solar panel is available on Kickstarter, with pledge tiers starting at $199 for a single lock. Other tiers include a $229 option for a single unit and multi-unit bundles. An optional WK01 keypad is available as a $35 add-on.

According to the Kickstarter campaign, shipments are expected to begin in August 2026. In the box, you will get everything you need for a standard installation on most North American doors. This includes the exterior lock (housing the solar panel and sensors), the interior lock, mounting hardware, strike plates, a deadbolt, a magnetic door sensor, mechanical keys, and a spare 10,000 mAh Li-ion battery.


Debashis Das is a technical content writer and embedded engineer with over five years of experience in the industry. With expertise in Embedded C, PCB Design, and SEO optimization, he effectively blends difficult technical topics with clear communication
Support CNX Software! Donate via cryptocurrencies, become a Patron on Patreon, or purchase goods on Amazon or Aliexpress. We also use affiliate links in articles to earn commissions if you make a purchase after clicking on those links.

Related posts:

source

FREEBURG — Freeburg residents are being urged to attend a public meeting tonight to discuss concerns involving a solar farm project near the borough’s water supply.  The Freeburg Municipal Authority and Borough Council will hold the meeting at 7pm at the Freeburg Community Center.
Officials say they want at least one person from each household to attend.  Brookfield Renewable received approval for two solar projects in Washington Township. Borough officials say concerns include stormwater runoff, possible contamination near wells and the water treatment facility, and long-term effects as materials age.
Written by Mark Lawrence
Program Director at Newsradio 1070 WKOK
People with disabilities can contact Kevin Herr at 570-286-5838 extension 230 for help accessing the WKOK Online Public File.

source

29 June 2026
One year after its launch in Buttes, in the canton of Neuchâtel, the world’s first removable solar power plant installed between railway tracks, developed by start-up Sun-Ways, reports positive results and is drawing interest from France, Italy and Asia.
Sun-Ways, the start-up behind the world’s first removable solar power plant installed between railway tracks, has reported positive results one year after the launch of its pilot project in Buttes, in the canton of Neuchâtel. According to founder Joseph Scuderi, the installation has met its objectives in both railway safety and electricity production, with more than 11,000 trains having passed over the panels without affecting their stability.
Installed in April 2025 on a 100-meter stretch of track, the photovoltaic cells are placed between the rails on the sleepers and can be removed for maintenance. Since May 2025, despite a month-long shutdown for snow and technical works, the plant has produced more than 16,000 kilowatt-hours, roughly the annual consumption of three to four households. Sun-Ways estimates that Switzerland’s railway network, around 5,320 kilometers excluding tunnels and poorly lit sections, could generate up to one billion kilowatt-hours of solar energy per year, equivalent to about 2 percent of the country’s electricity use.
The project, supported by Innosuisse, has drawn international interest. The French national railway company SNCF signed a technical cooperation agreement with Sun-Ways in February, and the start-up is in contact with Italy’s Rete Ferroviaria Italiana over a possible pilot, as well as with partners in South Korea and Indonesia. TransN, the public transport operator of the canton of Neuchâtel that runs the Buttes section, has reported no conflicts with infrastructure, maintenance or train traffic, while Sun-Ways hopes to shorten the three-year pilot set by the Federal Office of Transport and obtain final approval.
22 June 2026
26 May 2026
18 May 2026

source

Renewables Now is a leading business news source for renewable energy professionals globally. Trust us for comprehensive coverage of major deals, projects and industry trends. We’ve done this since 2009.
Stay on top of sector news with with Renewables Now. Get access to extra articles and insights with our subscription plans and set up your own focused newsletters and alerts.

source

Monday, June 29, 2026
A University of New South Wales pilot will test the ability of an artificial intelligence-powered energy system to help expand access to rooftop solar and battery storage for those living in apartments.
The new pilot combines an AI-powered energy system developed by researchers at UNSW Canberra with a Modular Power Portal System (MPPS) developed by industry partners Voltval and JT Solar which integrates rooftop solar power generation with shared battery storage for apartment buildings.
Backed by a $1.2 million grant from the Australian Department of Education’s Trailblazer Recycling & Clean Energy (TRaCE) program, the pilot will combine the two systems in order to better predict and improve energy usage across multiple properties – such as in apartment buildings and multi-unit dwellings – to make the platform smarter, more efficient, and ready for real-world use.
“Through this partnership, we will develop and validate advanced AI-enabled optimisation technologies that can intelligently coordinate shared solar and battery resources across multiple residents,” said Dr Ripon Chakrabortty, from the School of Systems & Computing at UNSW Canberra.
Australia currently leads the world in terms of rooftop solar uptake per capita, with approximately one in three Australian households playing host to rooftop solar panels and boasts some of the highest levels of distributed PV penetration across the globe.
The benefits of solar have largely been inaccessible to the more than 2.5 million Australians who currently live in apartments, however. For example, according to UNSW Canberra, only 3.5 per cent of apartment dwellers in New South Wales have access to rooftop solar, a significant discrepancy, especially considering that one in five homes in the state is an apartment.
Of course, there are significant challenges to solar adoption for apartment dwellers – including complex shared ownership arrangements, out of date metering infrastructure, as well as the fundamental problem that most apartment complexes were never designed for distributed energy.
These same challenges are also inherent in many townhouse, mixed-use development, and commercial and industrial buildings, serving to expand the gap in access to more affordable and clean energy in urban communities.
By combining UNSW Canberra’s AI-powered energy system with the MPPS developed by Voltval and JT Solar, the researchers aim to create new ways to deploy clean energy in high-density urban environments such as apartment complexes.
Specifically, the researchers hope the combined technologies will be capable of forecasting energy generation and demand, coordinating distributed energy resources, and balance electricity flows between apartments in real time.
The technology pilot will be spread across a multi-site combining commercial and residential sites across Sydney, with the real-world performance data being used to validate the system for the initial site types.
“The UNSW partnership has given us the research depth to properly validate what we have built and the confidence to take it to market,” said Jason (Jiangang) Xiao, director of JT Solar Technology.
“The same barriers holding back clean energy adoption in Sydney’s apartments and strata developments exist in dense urban environments worldwide. We believe the MPPS can help rapidly decarbonise buildings at scale and contribute to a more resilient and inclusive energy future.”
Associate professor Huadong Mo at UNSW Canberra, who co-leads the project with Dr Chakrabortty, believes their work could increase the use of renewable energy and lower operating costs for participating buildings by as much as 30 per cent.
“The next phase of Australia’s clean energy transition will depend on ensuring that apartment residents can participate in the benefits of distributed energy resources,” he said.
If you would like to join more than 29,000 others and get the latest clean energy news delivered straight to your inbox, for free, please click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.
Related Topics
© Copyright RenewEconomy 2026. All rights reserved.

source

Renewables Now is a leading business news source for renewable energy professionals globally. Trust us for comprehensive coverage of major deals, projects and industry trends. We’ve done this since 2009.
Stay on top of sector news with with Renewables Now. Get access to extra articles and insights with our subscription plans and set up your own focused newsletters and alerts.

source

We use cookies to improve your experience and for marketing. Read our cookie policy or manage cookies.
Search across reports, market insights, and blog stories.
Tell us where to send the sample and whether you want this report customized.
Thanks. Our team will review your request and get back to you at your business email.
Your request will be reviewed by our team and routed to support@indexbox.io.
According to the latest IndexBox report on the global Charge Controller System market, the market enters 2026 with broader demand fundamentals, more disciplined procurement behavior, and a more regionally diversified supply architecture.
The global Charge Controller System market is positioned for sustained expansion through 2035, underpinned by accelerating renewable energy deployment, particularly solar photovoltaic installations, and the modernization of telecommunications infrastructure. Charge controller systems, including PWM and MPPT variants, are critical components in off-grid and grid-tied energy systems, regulating voltage and current from solar panels to batteries, thereby preventing overcharging and extending battery life. The market is also benefiting from the proliferation of remote monitoring and IoT-enabled controllers, which enhance system efficiency and reduce maintenance costs. As governments worldwide push for energy independence and carbon neutrality, demand for reliable charge control solutions is rising across residential, commercial, and industrial segments. The forecast period from 2026 to 2035 will see technological advancements in power electronics, integration with smart grids, and increasing adoption in emerging economies. However, supply chain constraints for specialized semiconductors and certification requirements for different regional standards pose challenges. This report provides a comprehensive analysis of market size, segmentation, competitive landscape, and regional dynamics, offering actionable insights for manufacturers, distributors, and investors. The market index is projected to rise significantly by 2035, reflecting robust volume growth and value appreciation amid favorable policy environments and declining solar component costs.
The baseline scenario for the Charge Controller System market from 2026 to 2035 assumes steady global economic growth, continued decline in solar PV system costs, and supportive regulatory frameworks for renewable energy. Global solar capacity additions are expected to average over 350 GW per year through the early 2030s, driving demand for charge controllers in both new installations and retrofit projects. The telecom sector, particularly in Asia-Pacific and Africa, will require robust charge control for off-grid base stations, with millions of towers needing reliable power management. Industrial applications, including remote monitoring and oil & gas, will adopt advanced MPPT controllers for efficiency gains. The market is also witnessing a shift toward hybrid controllers that manage multiple energy sources (solar, wind, grid). On the supply side, production is concentrated in China, the US, and Germany, but new manufacturing hubs in India and Southeast Asia are emerging. Pricing is expected to remain competitive due to economies of scale, though premium features like IoT connectivity and high-voltage compatibility will command higher margins. The CAGR for the market is projected at 7.2% from 2026 to 2035, with the market index reaching 198 by 2035 (2025=100). Key risks include trade tensions, raw material price volatility, and slower-than-expected grid integration in developing regions.
The residential solar segment is the largest end-use sector for charge controller systems, accounting for 35% of global demand. Homeowners are increasingly installing rooftop solar panels with battery storage to reduce electricity bills and gain energy independence. Charge controllers are essential to prevent battery overcharging and optimize charging efficiency, especially with lithium-ion batteries that require precise voltage regulation. The trend toward smart home integration is driving demand for controllers with remote monitoring via smartphone apps, allowing users to track energy production and battery status. By 2035, the segment will benefit from falling solar panel prices and government subsidies for residential storage. Key demand indicators include new home solar installations, battery storage attachment rates, and average system size. The shift from PWM to MPPT controllers is accelerating as MPPT efficiency gains (typically 20-30% more energy harvest) justify the higher upfront cost. Manufacturers are focusing on user-friendly interfaces and plug-and-play designs to capture the growing DIY market. Current trend: Increasing adoption of smart MPPT controllers with Wi-Fi monitoring, driven by DIY solar kits and home battery storage.
Major trends: Integration of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity for real-time monitoring, Shift from PWM to MPPT controllers for higher efficiency, Compatibility with lithium-ion battery chemistries, Compact, all-in-one designs combining inverter and charge controller, and Growing demand for off-grid and backup power systems in suburban areas.
Representative participants: Renogy, Victron Energy, Morningstar Corporation, Epever Technology Co., Ltd, and OutBack Power Technologies.
Telecommunications infrastructure is the second-largest end-use sector, representing 25% of charge controller demand. Mobile network operators are expanding coverage in rural and remote areas where grid electricity is unreliable or absent. Telecom towers rely on solar-battery systems to power base stations, and charge controllers are critical for managing battery charging and preventing deep discharge, which can damage expensive battery banks. The sector demands high-reliability controllers with wide input voltage ranges, remote monitoring capabilities, and ruggedized enclosures to withstand harsh environmental conditions. As 5G rollout accelerates, the number of small cells and macro towers increases, further driving demand. By 2035, the sector will see a shift toward hybrid controllers that integrate solar, wind, and diesel generator inputs for maximum uptime. Key demand indicators include telecom tower count in off-grid areas, average power consumption per tower, and battery replacement cycles. Operators are increasingly adopting lithium-ion batteries, which require more sophisticated charge algorithms, boosting demand for advanced MPPT controllers. Current trend: Rapid deployment of off-grid telecom towers in Africa and Asia, requiring robust charge controllers for 24/7 operation.
Major trends: Hybrid controllers managing multiple energy sources (solar, wind, diesel), Remote monitoring and control via cloud-based platforms, Increased use of lithium-ion batteries requiring precise charge profiles, Ruggedized designs for extreme temperatures and humidity, and Integration with tower management systems for predictive maintenance.
Representative participants: Schneider Electric, ABB Ltd, Phocos AG, Studer Innotec SA, and Morningstar Corporation.
Commercial and industrial (C&I) facilities are increasingly installing solar PV systems with battery storage to reduce peak demand charges and ensure energy resilience. Charge controllers in this segment are typically high-power MPPT units (50A to 100A+) that can handle large solar arrays and battery banks. The demand is driven by corporate sustainability goals, tax incentives, and falling battery costs. By 2035, C&I installations will account for a growing share of new solar capacity, particularly in regions with high electricity prices like Europe and parts of the US. Charge controllers for this segment must support high-voltage strings (up to 600V or 1000V) and communicate with building management systems via Modbus or CAN bus protocols. Key demand indicators include commercial solar installation rates, average system size, and battery storage attachment rates. The trend toward microgrids and energy-as-a-service models is also boosting demand for sophisticated charge control solutions that can manage multiple generation sources and loads. Current trend: Adoption of large-scale solar-plus-storage systems for factories, warehouses, and commercial buildings.
Major trends: High-voltage MPPT controllers for large-scale arrays, Integration with building energy management systems, Support for bidirectional power flow in vehicle-to-grid applications, Modular and scalable controller architectures, and Enhanced cybersecurity features for grid-connected systems.
Representative participants: Schneider Electric, ABB Ltd, SMA Solar Technology AG, OutBack Power Technologies, and Victron Energy.
Remote monitoring and off-grid industrial applications account for 12% of charge controller demand. These include oil and gas pipeline cathodic protection, remote environmental sensors, weather stations, and mining operations in isolated areas. Charge controllers in this segment must operate reliably in extreme temperatures, high altitudes, and corrosive environments. They often require low self-consumption to maximize battery life during long periods of low solar irradiance. The trend toward digitalization and IoT in industrial operations is driving demand for controllers with data logging and remote communication capabilities (e.g., cellular, satellite). By 2035, the segment will benefit from increased investment in remote infrastructure monitoring and the expansion of mining operations in off-grid regions. Key demand indicators include the number of remote industrial sites, average power requirements, and battery replacement frequency. Controllers with programmable low-voltage disconnect (LVD) features are particularly important to protect sensitive equipment from deep discharge. Current trend: Growing use of charge controllers in oil & gas, mining, and environmental monitoring stations.
Major trends: Ultra-low standby power consumption for long-duration deployments, Ruggedized enclosures with IP65 or higher ratings, Integration with satellite and cellular IoT communication modules, Programmable LVD and load control for equipment protection, and Support for multiple battery chemistries (lead-acid, LiFePO4, NiCd).
Representative participants: Morningstar Corporation, Phocos AG, Genasun, Studer Innotec SA, and Victron Energy.
Government and utility projects represent 8% of charge controller demand, primarily through large-scale solar farms, rural electrification programs, and public infrastructure projects. These projects often require charge controllers that meet stringent technical specifications and reliability standards, with long warranty periods (10+ years). In developing countries, multilateral funding agencies like the World Bank and UNDP finance solar mini-grids and home systems that include charge controllers. By 2035, government initiatives to achieve universal electricity access and renewable energy targets will sustain demand. Charge controllers for utility-scale projects must handle high currents (200A+) and communicate with SCADA systems for remote monitoring and control. Key demand indicators include government renewable energy targets, rural electrification budgets, and the number of solar mini-grid tenders. The segment is also influenced by import tariffs and local content requirements, which can favor domestic manufacturers in some regions. Current trend: Large-scale solar farms and rural electrification programs driving demand for industrial-grade charge controllers.
Major trends: Compliance with international standards (IEC, UL, CE) for project financing, Integration with SCADA and remote terminal units, High-current controllers for large battery banks, Local content requirements driving regional manufacturing, and Long-term service and maintenance contracts.
Representative participants: ABB Ltd, Schneider Electric, SMA Solar Technology AG, Morningstar Corporation, and Phocos AG.
Interactive table based on the Store Companies dataset for this report.
Asia-Pacific leads the market with 45% share, driven by massive solar installations in China and India, telecom tower expansion in Southeast Asia, and rural electrification programs. China is the largest producer and consumer, while India’s solar mission and off-grid initiatives boost demand. The region benefits from low manufacturing costs and supportive policies. Direction: Dominant and growing.
North America holds 22% share, with the US leading due to residential solar adoption, telecom infrastructure upgrades, and industrial microgrid projects. The Inflation Reduction Act incentives and corporate renewable procurement are key drivers. Canada’s remote mining and off-grid communities also contribute to demand. Direction: Steady growth.
Europe accounts for 18% of the market, with strong demand from residential solar-plus-storage in Germany, Italy, and the UK. The EU’s Green Deal and REPowerEU plan accelerate solar deployment. High electricity prices and energy security concerns drive adoption of advanced MPPT controllers. Strict quality standards favor premium products. Direction: Moderate growth.
Latin America represents 8% share, with growth led by Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. Solar irrigation, telecom towers in remote areas, and mining operations drive demand. Government auctions for renewable energy and rural electrification programs support market expansion. Import dependence creates opportunities for local assembly. Direction: Emerging growth.
Middle East & Africa hold 7% share but show high growth potential. Off-grid telecom towers, solar home systems, and water pumping in Sub-Saharan Africa are key drivers. The UAE and Saudi Arabia invest in large-scale solar projects. Challenges include political instability and logistics, but international funding supports market development. Direction: High growth potential.
In the baseline scenario, IndexBox estimates a 7.2% compound annual growth rate for the global charge controller system market over 2026-2035, bringing the market index to roughly 198 by 2035 (2025=100).
Note: indexed curves are used to compare medium-term scenario trajectories when full absolute volumes are not publicly disclosed.
For full methodological details and benchmark tables, see the latest IndexBox Charge Controller System market report.
This report provides an in-depth analysis of the Charge Controller System market in the world, covering market size, growth trajectory, demand structure, supply capability, trade flows, pricing, competitive landscape, and forecast to 2035.
The study is designed for manufacturers, distributors, importers, exporters, investors, procurement teams, advisors, and strategy teams that need a consistent, data-driven view of market dynamics and a transparent analytical definition of the product scope.
This report covers the market for Charge Controller Systems, which are electronic devices that regulate the voltage and current from solar panels or other power sources to batteries, preventing overcharging and extending battery life. The analysis encompasses systems used in residential, commercial, and industrial off-grid and grid-tied renewable energy installations.
The report combines the standard market-statistics backbone with strategic chapters that are useful for commercial planning, sourcing decisions, market entry, competitor monitoring, and portfolio prioritization.
The market is segmented into decision-relevant buckets so that demand drivers, pricing logic, supply constraints, and competitive positions can be compared across the same analytical frame.
The classification coverage includes charge controller systems categorized by product type (e.g., PWM, MPPT), application (e.g., residential solar, telecom, remote monitoring), and value chain segment (e.g., component suppliers, system integrators, distributors, and end-users). The report does not cover reagents, consumables, or analytical materials.
Coverage includes global totals, major demand markets, production and sourcing hubs, leading exporters and importers, and country profiles for the top national markets.
The report combines official statistics, trade records, company disclosures, product-level evidence, and analyst validation. Data are standardized, reconciled, and cross-checked to keep market sizing, trade flows, pricing, and forecasts comparable across countries and time periods.
All indicators are mapped to a consistent product definition and reviewed against the segmentation framework used in the Table of Contents.
Report Scope and Analytical Framing
Concise View of Market Direction
Market Size, Growth and Scenario Framing
Commercial and Technical Scope
How the Market Splits Into Decision-Relevant Buckets
Where Demand Comes From and How It Behaves
Supply Footprint, Trade and Value Capture
Trade Flows and External Dependence
Price Formation and Revenue Logic
Who Wins and Why
Where Growth and Supply Concentrate
Commercial Entry and Scaling Priorities
Where the Best Expansion Logic Sits
Leading Players and Strategic Archetypes
Detailed View of the Most Important National Markets
How the Report Was Built
Global leader in mobile and off-grid power systems
Known for reliable PWM and MPPT controllers
Part of Enersys; strong in residential solar
Offers Conext series for commercial and residential
Major OEM and distributor in global solar market
Popular in RV and marine solar applications
Specializes in rural electrification and remote systems
High-end European brand for off-grid
Known for robust DIY and professional products
Sunny Island series for off-grid systems
Legacy in grid-tied and off-grid solutions
Major supplier for commercial solar systems
Focus on hybrid and grid-interactive systems
Specializes in low-power and marine applications
Distributor and manufacturer for off-grid
Known for RV and marine solar products
Legacy brand in mobile power
Niche in high-efficiency controllers
Strong in European and African markets
Major Chinese manufacturer for export
Global top-tier in renewable energy
Strong in residential and commercial markets
Diversified power electronics manufacturer
OEM/ODM for global brands
Known for cost-effective MPPT solutions
Focus on PV system components
Supplier for off-grid and RV markets
Export-oriented manufacturer
Growing brand in DIY solar
Niche in industrial off-grid applications
Instant access. No credit card needed.
Online access to 2M+ reports, dashboards, and tables. Trusted by Fortune 500 teams.
IndexBox, Inc.
2093 Philadelphia Pike #1441
Claymont, DE 19703, USA
Contact us
© 2026 IndexBox, Inc
Select the sections and data you need. Delivery by e-mail within 24 hours.
No sections selected yet
Minimum order: $99

source