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GENERATIONAL SHIFT. Sohan Lal Agarwal, MD of Websol, with granddaughter Sanjana Khaitan, who is the ED | Photo Credit: Debarshi
Octogenarian Sohan Lal Agarwal, Managing Director of solar cells and modules manufacturer Websol, looks at granddaughter Sanjana Khaitan with proud eyes. “She,” he says, pointing to her, “is the future.”
The 29-year-old ‘future’ is the Executive Director of the company — India’s oldest solar module manufacturer. Websol began its innings in 1990, when the word ‘solar’ was heard only in the context of space and astronomy. Back then, out of a youthful desire to do “something different”, Agarwal set up a 1 MW module plant to supply an Italian customer. Today, he is gradually handing over the reins to the ‘future’ (his son looks after other businesses).
One chat with Khaitan, and you will know that she is pretty much hands-on. And the hands are full.
Solar module fabrication unit at Websol’s plant in Falta SEZ, near Kolkata
Websol has charted its course for the future. Capacity expansion is visible at its plant in Falta SEZ, near Kolkata, with trucks continuously rolling in and out with material. Websol currently has two cell lines, 600 MW each. The second line is to be expanded to 750 MW, with a change in technology from mono-PERC to TOPCon, taking the total capacity to 1.35 GW by January 2027.
Coming up alongside is a 2.2 GW Line-III, which the company hopes will be production-ready in 2027. And going forward, Websol intends to invest ₹2,200 crore to make 5 GW of ingots and wafers. “No timeline has been decided yet,” says Khaitan.
In the grandfather-granddaughter combo, one sees a subtle division of labour. While the young woman manages operations, the direction is still provided by the elder.
For example, Agarwal decided that Websol would not proceed with the ₹3,538 crore investment in Naidupeta, Andhra Pradesh, as announced in January — though the company “intends to do something in AP”. Why? Because of the “changed political landscape” in West Bengal, the new BJP government, keen on industrialisation, is offering much for new factories. “We are constantly called for meetings,” Khaitan says. In fact, Agarwal had to postpone his appointment with this writer by a couple of hours because he had been called over by the government for yet another meeting. Agarwal says he is more comfortable in West Bengal; the company had only reluctantly planned to invest elsewhere.
The other directional shift by Agarwal is in module manufacturing (cells are made into modules). Websol has module manufacturing capacity of 550 MW but, rather than expanding it in line with cell capacity, Agarwal prefers a “partnership route”. Websol had earlier been in talks with Chennai-based Swelect Energy Systems for a partnership.
The partnership approach bucks the industry trend of integrated manufacture of cells and modules. Agarwal, however, sees more merit in centralised cell manufacture and decentralised module manufacture — after all, what is the point in ferrying bulky modules across the country, he asks.
Cruising down memory lane, Agarwal recalls the bad old days when banks wanted to auction off Websol to collect their dues. Agarwal had stepped aside, but when the banks could not sell Websol he asked for a year’s time to repay the loans.
Luckily for him, it was 2009-10, when the solar industry was in its infancy and nurtured for growth. It helped that Chinese company Renesola took Websol’s facilities on a contract to make modules for four years. Websol repaid its loans — and a new growth cycle started.
Ups and downs happen, the octogenarian philosophises, pointing out that when he started module manufacturing there was a glut in the semiconductor industry — silicon wafers floated around cheap until 2005-06, when the semicon industry began to grow.
Today, Websol appears to be on much firmer footing. In the first quarter of 2026-27, it recorded a turnover of ₹373 crore, an EBITDA margin of 34 per cent and net profit margin of 21 per cent (the high EBITDA and PAT are in line with the industry trend). With the solar industry booming and the company cruising towards its targeted 5.35 GW by 2028, the future appears to be assured.
Published on August 17, 2026
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Centralized-distributed collaborative voltage control for distribution networks considering photovoltaic uncertainties  Frontiers
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MANILA, Philippines — Small power consumers can now invest in and use solar power systems faster as the government scrapped preapproval requirements, accelerating the permitting process.
A new circular from the Department of Energy (DOE) directed all distribution utilities to remove “administrative barriers” in installing small-scale solar generation systems. These include preinstallation clearances, technical permits or inspection fees.
READ: PH has plenty of sun – so why isn’t solar booming yet?
The new rules cover all self-generating facilities (SGFs), microsolar systems (MSS) and zero-export energy systems (ZESS), including those used by households and medical facilities.
According to the agency, qualified users who want to tap SGFs or ZESS are no longer required to obtain a certificate of compliance (COC) from the Energy Regulatory Commission. The regulator, however, still has the power to set and enforce technical and commercial guidelines.
In addition, MSS users don’t need a building permit or a COC.
Meanwhile, the DOE prepared safety protocols, including requiring all MSS to have an automatic anti-islanding disconnection safety mechanism.
This is to ensure that the solar system will automatically be offline during power outages. The feature prevents the system from delivering power to the grid and accidentally shocking utility workers repairing the lines.
READ: Solar panel installers urged to register with DOE
The DOE is also in close coordination with the Bureau of Philippine Standards of the Department of Trade and Industry to ensure that only certified products will come to the market.
The department said pushing for this would help the country achieve its goal of expanding the share of renewable energy (RE) in the power generation mix to 35 percent by 2030.
“The DOE envisions maximizing the inclusion, utilization, and acceleration of RE even at the consumer level,” it said.
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“There is a need to issue a policy that supports the participation of small-scale end-users in the deployment of RE technologies by providing a streamlined regulatory approach that complements the existing net-metering framework and other consumer choice programs,” the DOE said. /atm
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SustaiNation
Thailand’s Energy Ministry plans to increase the quota for electricity purchased from household rooftop solar systems fivefold, from 100 megawatts to 500MW, as part of efforts to encourage more people to generate and sell clean power.
Energy Minister Akanat Promphan said the government aimed to transform households from ordinary consumers into electricity producers and consumers, commonly known as “prosumers”.
Speaking at the “New Horizon Chapter 2: Smart Grid” forum organised by Krungthep Turakij, Akanat said the government would revise the way clean-energy quotas were allocated.
Rather than reserving most capacity for large private-sector projects, the ministry plans to distribute part of the quota among households, allowing each home to install up to five kilowatts of solar capacity for its own use and to sell surplus electricity to the grid. The government also plans to simplify application procedures, which previously could take more than a year, by introducing a one-stop service available online and through branches of the electricity distribution authorities.
Under the proposed time limits, applications for rooftop solar systems intended solely for household consumption, without selling power to the grid, would have to be approved within seven days.
Households seeking to sell surplus electricity would have the entire application process completed within 30 days.
The ministry also plans to extend household solar power purchase agreements beyond their current 10-year term to make investment more attractive and commercially viable.
Akanat compared the current household contracts with those offered to solar farms, which can run for 25 years.
Revenue from electricity sales would be credited through household electricity bills.
Based on a purchase rate of 2.20 baht per kilowatt-hour, the ministry estimates that a five-kilowatt rooftop system could generate average income of about 1,400 to 1,500 baht a month.
The system could allow households to recoup installation costs within seven years, after which the rooftop panels could continue generating income while reducing living expenses, Akanat said.
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Westbridge to Sell 225 MWac Alberta Solar-Plus-Storage Project for Up to CAD 26.7 Million  SolarQuarter
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Rhode Island was awarded $49.33 million to expand rooftop, multifamily and community solar for low-income households before EPA terminated the Solar for All program in August 2025. A year later, the grant has not been restored and the litigation is unresolved.
The state's plan targeted low-income homeowners, renters and multifamily residents in 61 disadvantaged census tracts containing 97,892 households — people largely shut out of rooftop solar. Its cancellation halted a planned expansion of community solar and bill-reduction programs statewide.
Rhode Island spent the better part of two years designing a way to put solar panels on the roofs of people who could never afford them — low-income homeowners in aging houses that needed electrical work first, tenants in affordable housing developments, the tens of thousands of renters with no roof to call their own. The federal government had already obligated the money: $49,330,000, awarded to the state Office of Energy Resources on April 22, 2024. Then, on August 7, 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency terminated the program that funded it.
A year later, the money has not come back.
As of today, EPA still describes Solar for All as terminated, and no court has ordered Rhode Island's grant restored. What remains is litigation — three separate tracks of it, two still unresolved — and a state plan that never got out of the planning phase.
The program was one of three created by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, a $7 billion national competition to build or expand residential solar programs for low-income and disadvantaged communities. EPA projected the investment would reach more than 900,000 households, generate more than $350 million in annual electric-bill savings, unlock more than four gigawatts of capacity and avoid 30 million metric tons of carbon-dioxide-equivalent emissions over the life of the projects. Those were agency estimates, never outcomes.
Rhode Island's share was branded EASE — Rhode Island Equitable Access to Solar Energy — and it was considerably more ambitious than bolting panels onto houses. The Office of Energy Resources' public plan laid out seven financial-assistance programs: direct-ownership incentives for low-income homeowners, grants for roof and electrical upgrades that older homes need before a system can be installed, battery-storage incentives, a milestone-based grant program for energy-efficient multifamily affordable housing, community remote net metering, and financing for community solar on preferred sites. The "adders" could be stacked and applied to total project costs, which was the entire point — the barrier for most of these households was never the panel alone.
The community-solar piece mattered most for people who will never own a roof. OER said Solar for All money would support a statutory expansion of the state's community remote-net-metering pilot from 30 megawatts to 70 megawatts, and could deliver meaningful benefits to more than 4,500 additional customers through low-commitment subscriptions.
The scale of the need is in the state's own numbers. OER identified 61 of Rhode Island's 244 census tracts as disadvantaged under the federal Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool. Those tracts contain 97,892 households. Of those, 66,421 are renters.
How many would actually have been served depends on which state document is consulted. OER's page says the proposed programs could provide meaningful benefits to more than 8,500 households. Attorney General Peter Neronha's office, in an October 16, 2025 release announcing litigation, put the figure at approximately 5,225 low-income households, along with $48,477,353 in projected electric-bill reductions, 27.49 megawatts of energy and at least 100 green jobs. Both figures are projections attached to a proposal, not results. Neither office has reconciled them.
The legal fight turns on a single word in the statute. Section 60002 of Public Law 119-21, signed July 4, 2025, repealed Clean Air Act Section 134 and rescinded "the unobligated balances" made available under it. EPA read that as eliminating both its authority and its dedicated administrative funding, and its August 7 termination memorandum said the agency could no longer implement, oversee or monitor the grants. Administrator Lee Zeldin has called the program a "boondoggle."
Plaintiffs argue the money in question was not unobligated at all. EPA's own inspector general, in an audit published January 7, found that roughly $6.98 billion — 99.7% of Solar for All funding — had been obligated by July 2024, a full year before the law was signed. The Rhode Island-based plaintiffs contend Congress rescinded only what was left unspent on paper, and that EPA acted unlawfully in canceling grants already locked in, without weighing reliance interests or alternatives. Those are allegations, not findings.
What EPA did next is described in the record of the multistate case in Washington. The agency first blocked plaintiffs' access to their grant accounts, then reopened them with balances cut to 7% of the award amounts — money for allowable pretermination and closeout costs — deobligated the other 93%, and placed the accounts in liquidated status. That accounting was documented for the plaintiffs in that case.
Governor Dan McKee denounced the termination on August 12, 2025, describing a legally awarded $49.3 million grant meant to lower long-term energy costs, support solar jobs and broaden the state's energy portfolio, and vowing to pursue legal avenues. Neronha has since joined two suits — the multistate Administrative Procedure Act challenge in the Western District of Washington and a breach-of-contract case in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims filed October 15, 2025.
The most direct Rhode Island challenge came from the people the money was supposed to reach. On October 6, 2025, the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, the Rhode Island Center for Justice and Solar United Neighbors, among others, sued in the District of Rhode Island, represented in part by the Conservation Law Foundation. Both the AFL-CIO and the Center for Justice were listed by OER as coalition partners on the EASE plan itself — organizations that helped design the program then went to court over its cancellation.
The results so far are thin. In June, a Washington federal judge dismissed the states' case without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction — a procedural ruling, not a finding that EPA acted lawfully. The Court of Federal Claims case was still live at the most recent official update, with plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment filed May 7.
None of this ended low-income solar assistance in Rhode Island, and the state's attorney general is blunt that there is no government program handing out free panels. Rhode Island Commerce's Renewable Energy Fund still awards grants for small-scale solar, commercial projects and community renewables, covering up to 30% of installation costs. Net metering and Renewable Energy Growth still generate bill credits. The Department of Energy added Rhode Island in December 2024 to its Clean Energy Connector pilot, which is meant to make community-solar subscriptions easier to reach for households already enrolled in programs such as LIHEAP.
What none of those do is what EASE was built to do: pay for the new roof and the new panel and the upgraded electrical service on the same low-income house, in one stacked package, at a scale of tens of millions of dollars.
The state's coalition for that work included Rhode Island Housing, the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank, the Department of Environmental Management, the Department of Labor and Training and the Department of Health and Human Services. The award was announced on Earth Day two years ago. Whether any of it is recoverable now rests with a court in Washington, D.C.
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Members of DARE’s Tenant and Homeowner Association (THA) rallied on Saturday to demand the redevelopment of Barbara Jordan II apartments for low and very-low income residents of Providence. They marched through the streets of the Barbara…

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Energies Media
Pathfinder Clean Energy just got the green light for Lassington Solar and Battery Energy Storage System—a 40MW solar and storage project near Gloucester, Gloucestershire. The approval came after a planning committee hearing at Tewkesbury Borough Council, where the scheme picked up strong local support, including from the farming family whose land will host it.
Tewkesbury Borough Council’s planning committee voted to approve the Lassington Solar and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project at a formal hearing. The scheme delivers 40 megawatts of solar generation combined with battery storage, sited on farmland close to Gloucester.
The developer is Pathfinder Clean Energy (PACE), a UK-based company focused on utility-scale renewables that moves solar and storage projects through the planning system and onto the national grid.
What made this hearing stand out was the volume of local backing. The farming family whose land will host the project spoke in support—which rarely happens at planning committees. Agricultural landowners typically show up to raise objections, not make the case for approval. Their testimony signaled that PACE developed this project with the community rather than simply on top of it.
Tewkesbury Borough Council has a declared Climate Emergency and a commitment to carbon neutrality by 2030, giving the council a concrete policy reason to look favorably on a locally sited clean energy project.
Lassington’s planned grid connection date falls before 2030. That timing matters more than it might seem—a project that actually connects before the deadline can contribute to hitting the target, not just get approved in principle while delivery drags on for years. Aligning the connection date with the council’s own timeline made the approval considerably easier to justify.
The project is also expected to deliver Biodiversity Net Gain for the surrounding area. Under current UK planning policy, new developments must leave the natural environment measurably better than they found it. A well-managed solar site—less pesticide use, longer grass, managed vegetation—can genuinely support that outcome.
There’s a financial dimension here too. Farming families across the region have faced mounting pressure from volatile weather and rising input costs, and an agri-solar arrangement offers a way to stabilize income without pulling land entirely out of food production.
One of PACE’s central arguments during the planning process was that Lassington won’t take productive farmland out of use. The site stays in active agricultural operation throughout the project’s lifetime—not fenced off, not mothballed.
In practice, that means sheep grazing among the solar panels while the wider farm continues its beef enterprise alongside the installation. Food production and clean energy generation share the same land at the same time.
The solar land lease gives the farming family a reliable, long-term income stream. PACE argues that financial stability lets the family reinvest in their farming operations and pursue diversification—options that are far harder to consider when income depends entirely on fluctuating commodity prices and unpredictable harvests.
PACE frames the overall model as one where clean energy and resilient farming reinforce each other. Solar income supports the farm. The farm, in turn, demonstrates that the land stays productive—which supports the planning case for the energy project.
UK farming has been under sustained financial pressure for years. Weather volatility linked to climate change—wetter winters, drier summers, more frequent extreme events—has disrupted growing seasons and pushed costs up across fuel, feed, and fertilizer. Many farming families are actively looking for ways to adapt.
Agri-solar has emerged as one response. Rather than treating energy generation and food production as an either/or choice, the model combines both on the same site. Proponents say it gives farmers income stability while contributing to national renewable energy targets.
The approach is still debated in the UK planning system. Critics raise concerns about the cumulative loss of agricultural land to solar, and about whether “continued agricultural use” claims actually hold up once panels go in the ground. Planners and policymakers are still working through how to weigh those competing considerations.
Lassington is one of several projects in PACE’s portfolio designed to show that solar and agriculture can genuinely coexist. Rob Denman, Managing Director at PACE, said the approval was “a strong result—not just for PACE, but for the farming family who worked with us throughout this process to show that solar and agriculture can thrive side by side.”
Tewkesbury Borough Council has granted planning permission to Pathfinder Clean Energy for the 40MW Lassington Solar and BESS project near Gloucester. The development combines solar generation and battery storage with continued sheep grazing and beef farming on the same site.
The project aligns with the council’s 2030 carbon neutrality target, with a grid connection planned before that deadline, and is expected to deliver Biodiversity Net Gain.
For the host farming family, the solar lease provides reliable income alongside their existing agricultural operations. For PACE, Lassington is a working example of its agri-solar model—one the company is looking to replicate across other sites in its development pipeline.
Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.
Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.
Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.

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Energies Media
At Fresno’s Northeast Surface Water Treatment Plant, the solar array looks wrong at first glance. There are no steel frames, no elevated rows tilting toward the sun — just panels lying flat on the ground, as if someone forgot to finish the installation.
Nothing is missing. That unconventional design is the point. Since coming online in late March 2026, the frameless, ground-level system has been delivering electricity to the city at a rate below what the local utility charges — and quietly outperforming the energy output anyone expected.
ForeFront Power achieved commercial operation of the first Erthos Earth Mount Solar system at Fresno’s Northeast Surface Water Treatment Plant in late March 2026. It’s more than a ribbon-cutting moment — it marks the debut of a fundamentally different approach to building solar infrastructure at scale.
The core idea is deceptively simple. Instead of erecting rows of steel-racked panels angled toward the sky, Erthos places solar modules directly on the ground. No structural steel, no racking, no elevated frames. The entire support system that conventional solar developers take for granted is just gone.
That elimination isn’t a shortcut — it’s the design. Erthos engineered a modular, repeatable system built specifically to strip out complexity and reduce the cost per watt of solar electricity. The Fresno installation is the first proof that the concept works at commercial scale.
The Northeast Surface Water Treatment Plant is one piece of a larger effort. ForeFront Power developed a 27 MW-DC portfolio across three City of Fresno Department of Public Utilities sites, pairing solar generation with smart battery storage. The Earth Mount system at the water treatment plant is the portfolio’s most unconventional component — and its most closely watched.
The decision to try something new wasn’t born from curiosity alone. It came from a cost crisis.
ForeFront Power first approached Erthos in 2023, when inflation and supply chain disruptions drove the price of labor and materials sharply higher. A traditional ground-mounted system at the Fresno site would have required steel racking, installation labor, and expensive civil upgrades to prepare the ground beneath it. Each added cost had a direct consequence for the city.
Under the 20-year Power Purchase Agreement, ForeFront Power owns the system and sells electricity back to Fresno at a fixed rate. A more expensive build meant a higher rate — potentially pushing the project above what the utility already charged, and eliminating the financial case for doing it at all.
“Erthos helped us avoid significant, expensive civil upgrades, as well as the cost of steel for racking and the labor to install that racking,” said Erinne Davis, senior project manager at ForeFront Power. “Realizing these savings on the installation is what enabled the project at this site to move forward.”
By switching to the Erthos system, ForeFront Power sidestepped those costs entirely. The city gets a fixed electricity rate below the utility’s. The project survives. That’s the financial logic the Earth Mount design makes possible.
Eliminating steel solves a cost problem. The Erthos architecture also solves a density problem — one that conventional solar design hasn’t fully cracked.
Traditional tilted-rack systems require row spacing to prevent panels from shading each other as the sun moves across the sky. That spacing consumes land without generating power. Erthos removes the tilt, removes the spacing requirement, and packs panels as tightly as the site allows. The result, according to the company, is the highest energy density of any solar architecture currently available — more capacity on the same footprint, which matters enormously when a developer is trying to make a project work on a constrained site.
The flat-mounted panels also adapt to terrain in ways tilted systems can’t. The Erthos design accommodates ground contours of up to 15% slope, meaning the array can follow a site’s natural topography without requiring extensive grading. At Fresno, that flexibility was part of what made the location viable in the first place.
Across the full three-site portfolio, the combined savings from lower construction costs and higher energy density are projected to deliver more than $122 million in ratepayer savings through 2045.
Putting panels on the ground introduces an obvious challenge: dust and debris accumulate faster, and conventional cleaning equipment isn’t designed for a flat, ground-level array.
Erthos anticipated this. Their solution is the ErthBot — an autonomous cleaning robot equipped with dry nylon brushes, custom-designed for Earth Mount Solar arrays. Each unit cleans more than 3.5 MW-DC of solar panels per deployment, which Erthos describes as the most cost-effective cleaning method for large-scale PV arrays in the industry. The ErthBot deploys nightly as needed, sweeps the array, then returns to its charging dock. No water, no crew, no interruption to generation.
Under the Energy Services Agreement between Erthos and ForeFront Power, Erthos handles all operations and maintenance of the ErthBot — built into the service structure, not added on as an afterthought.
The most important question about any first-of-its-kind system is whether it actually performs. Early data from Fresno suggests it does — and then some.
Since entering commercial operation, the system has averaged 101% of expected energy production and has already delivered 862 MWh of electricity to the City of Fresno. Beating your own projections from day one is a meaningful signal, especially for a technology that skeptics might expect to underperform.
Both ForeFront Power and Erthos say the early results strengthen their confidence in the system’s long-term outlook. The numbers matter beyond this single site. If Earth Mount Solar can consistently hit or exceed production targets, it reframes what’s possible for solar development on sites that conventional racking would make too expensive to build — and as construction costs stay elevated and suitable land grows harder to find, that’s a question the industry can’t afford to ignore.
Carlos is an engineer with strong expertise in technical and industrial topics. He previously worked at international companies such as Siemens and is multilingual.
Carlos is an engineer with strong expertise in technical and industrial topics. He previously worked at international companies such as Siemens and is multilingual.
Carlos is an engineer with strong expertise in technical and industrial topics. He previously worked at international companies such as Siemens and is multilingual.

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Energies Media
Solar panels on berms above brackish Taiwanese fishponds
The ponds sit almost at sea level, brackish and still, running flat toward the strait in every direction.
Steel frames rise off the earthen berms and hold the solar panels at a shallow tilt above the water.
Underneath, mullet are fattening in the shade.
Both things are supposed to be happening. There is a number that decides whether they actually are.
Two effects pull in the same direction here, which is rarer than it sounds.
A silicon panel gets worse as it heats up.
Bake one on a dark rooftop until it reaches 158 degrees and it will shed a noticeable slice of its rated output before noon, because the cell’s voltage falls as temperature climbs.
Sitting over water changes that. The cool humid air above a pond keeps the modules several degrees below what the same panels would run at on dry ground, and every one of those degrees comes back as kilowatt hours.
The shade works the other way for the fish.
Partial cover cuts evaporation, steadies the water temperature through the worst of the summer, and suppresses the algae blooms that strip oxygen out of the water column.
And because the berms between ponds are solid ground, the frames sit on ordinary footings rather than pontoons.
That keeps the build close to the cost of a normal field array, which matters more than any of the biology.
All of that is the easy argument. The hard part is that a pond covered in panels is worth a great deal to a developer and very little to a fish, and the incentive runs one way.
So the regulation puts a floor under it. The catch has to stay above 70 percent of what that operation averaged over the previous three years, measured by production value.
Inspectors visit to confirm the fish are genuinely being raised and genuinely being harvested, which is the part that gives the number teeth.
That single threshold is what turns the whole thing from a solar farm with a decorative pond into an actual double use, because it forces the coverage ratio to be engineered backward from a yield rather than forward from a revenue target.
The clearest example sits in the Qigu district of Tainan, on a flat coastal plain where the ponds had been losing productivity for years and some had been abandoned outright.
A Taipei developer took 142 acres of it, cut earthen berms into roughly two dozen ponds, and built over the berms and over six reservoir ponds used as water cleaning stages.
The array comes to nearly 43 megawatts. Eighteen of the ponds are stocked with mullet, prized for its roe, and with shrimp, while milkfish work the reservoir ponds.
In a full year the operation landed more than 220,000 pounds of seafood, along with 27,000 pieces of sun dried mullet roe. That is a commercial harvest, not a gesture.
The detail worth keeping is what was left alone. Nine percent of the site was set aside as habitat rather than built on, and black faced spoonbills, oriental storks and egrets have turned up on it.
Taiwan has 154 square miles of fishponds, and the panels do not cover them. That figure is the total pond area of the island, and the program has earmarked something over 80 square miles of it.
The national goal is 4.4 gigawatts of fishery power, set against an aquaculture sector producing roughly 920 million dollars of seafood a year.
A national fisheries institute has been testing what shading actually does. Under nets cutting about 40 percent of sunlight, milkfish, tilapia, black tiger shrimp, golden pomfret and grouper all held above 70 percent of unshaded controls, with some beating them.
Clams were the exception, because a filter feeder’s economics run on the sunlight the panels are there to take, which is the same balancing problem that agrivoltaic projects hit on dry land.
Land tenure is the friction nobody engineers away. The best ponds belong to families, and acceptance was never automatic.
Environmental groups have raised the cumulative question rather than the site question, which is fair. One well run farm proves very little about eighty square miles of them.
Whether the target closes the gap with the island’s semiconductor demand is also open, and that demand is not standing still.
What travels is the arithmetic, wherever flat water sits near a grid connection, which is why two floating rings are now powering a cod farm in a Norwegian fjord.
The threshold is the exportable part. A rule that says the fish must keep coming is what keeps the water from quietly becoming a foundation.
Hugo is an engineer with strong technical expertise. Multilingual from an early age, his writing combines technical clarity with a strong interest in science and energy.
Hugo is an engineer with strong technical expertise. Multilingual from an early age, his writing combines technical clarity with a strong interest in science and energy.
Hugo is an engineer with strong technical expertise. Multilingual from an early age, his writing combines technical clarity with a strong interest in science and energy.

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WORTHINGTON — The Nobles County Board of Commissioners received an update Wednesday on potential changes to county drainage systems tied to the proposed Summit Lake solar and battery storage project, including the process required before any drainage system reroutes or partial abandonments could be approved.
John Kolb, drainage counsel with Rinke Noonan, joined the board’s work session virtually to explain the statutory process and answer questions about the project.
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The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) tentatively approved the Summit Lake solar permit application for the solar farm and battery storage site earlier this month, according to Drainage Coordinator Loretta Halbur.
Halbur told commissioners she had submitted comments to the PUC regarding the county’s authority over the public drainage system. Kolb said the PUC approval maintains the county’s role as drainage authority, separate from local zoning considerations.
The next step would be for the project proponents to petition the county for any proposed modifications to the public drainage system.
Kolb explained that there is a Minnesota Statute which allows a petitioner to request a modification of a drainage system for a public or private benefit. Such modifications can include rerouting or realigning portions of a system.
The petitioner would be responsible for the costs of the proceeding, including posting a bond. The county would establish a hearing date and appoint an engineer to review the proposal.
If a petitioner intends to seek partial abandonment of the drainage system, they must be an owner of a benefited property. The process of partial abandonment is similar to the modification process of the drainage system, with a hearing to determine whether the system serves a substantial purpose as part of the drainage system, and whether the partial abandonment would affect anyone negatively.
The engineer’s role would be to protect the drainage system and those landowners affected by it, Kolb said. Among the standards the board would have to consider is whether a proposed modification would impair the utility of the drainage system or deprive affected landowners of its benefits.
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Commissioners questioned whether the county should use the project’s engineer, ISG, to review the proposed drainage modifications. Kolb said the county could allow the project engineer to stand, but recommended the board consider appointing an independent engineer. Commissioner Justin Ahlers agreed, saying an independent engineer would also help address public perception.
Halbur was directed to begin looking into potential independent engineers. Kolb identified several engineering firms that could potentially perform the review. The independent review could examine such questions as whether proposed modifications would increase the county’s future maintenance costs.
Commissioner Bob Paplow raised the possibility that the project could add more footage to the drainage tile. Kolb said the amount of additional tile would not necessarily change the property’s drainage benefits, but said any additional maintenance or lifecycle costs should be evaluated.
“It shouldn’t make any difference because their benefits are based on their ability to access the system or the burden that they may place on the ditch system,” Kolb said.
The board could potentially place conditions on an approval to account for increased costs to the drainage system, Kolb said.
Commissioners also asked whether the county could establish a setback around a rerouted tile system to ensure there would be enough room for future inspection and maintenance. Kolb said it could require a recorded right-of-way wide enough to allow the county to inspect, maintain and replace the tile. The necessary width would depend on factors such as the depth and size of the tile and the equipment needed for maintenance, he said.
The board also discussed what would happen if the solar project were eventually decommissioned.
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Kolb said the rerouted portions of the drainage system would generally become the new configuration of the system unless a separate agreement required the system to be returned to its original alignment after decommissioning. He said he would not recommend unnecessarily complicating the process by establishing such an agreement unless it becomes necessary.
The land involved in the project also would not automatically be removed from the drainage system’s benefits list simply because it was used for a solar project. Kolb said removal from the benefits list is a separate process under state law.
Ahlers asked whether runoff from the solar project could introduce heavy metals or other contaminants into the drainage system.
Kolb said he was not aware of a specific basis for requiring the county to monitor for heavy metals. He noted that the project had undergone environmental review and said the PUC would likely have required stormwater pretreatment if that were identified as a concern.
He cautioned the board against making assumptions about potential contamination without evidence.
The board also emphasized the importance of keeping affected landowners involved in the process. The board discussed holding informational meetings before a petition is filed and again after a petition is submitted.
Kolb said the county has an obligation to provide notice and public hearings, but additional informational meetings could give landowners more opportunity to understand the process and raise questions. He also said the county has flexibility in establishing its timeline after a petition is filed, although required notice periods and other statutory procedures must be followed.
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The board discussed coordinating the timeline with the project developer while avoiding meetings during particularly busy periods such as planting and harvest.

Finance Director Amy Dykstra told commissioners the preliminary 2027 county budget is currently at an 11.67% levy, although that number could change as additional information becomes available.
Budget discussion included:
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Joint Solar highlights the need for quality, technology and long-term performance as India expands solar capacity and advances towards its 500 GW non fossil fuel target by 2030.
August 26, 2026. By EI News Network
India’s solar sector is entering a phase where the focus is shifting beyond rapid capacity additions towards the quality, reliability and long term performance of projects, according to Joint Solar.
The company said that these factors will become increasingly important as India works towards its target of 500 GW of installed non fossil fuel based electricity generation capacity by 2030 and solar assumes a larger role in the country’s power mix.
India has expanded solar capacity rapidly, with utility scale projects growing alongside rooftop and distributed installations. The expansion has increased demand for solar modules and related equipment while placing greater emphasis on manufacturing standards, installation quality and the ability of systems to maintain consistent generation over their operating life.
Vinod Sharma, Director, Joint Solar, said that the scale of India’s solar expansion has changed the priorities of the industry, with quality and reliability becoming as important as capacity addition.
“The conversation is no longer only about adding capacity. Quality, reliability and the ability of systems to perform consistently over the long term will become equally important as solar takes a larger role in the country’s power mix,” Sharma said.
Joint Solar said that domestic manufacturing would also play a key role in strengthening India’s solar supply chain. Increased availability of locally manufactured modules and components could provide developers with more sourcing options while supporting the development of the wider solar manufacturing ecosystem.
Long term project performance is also gaining importance among developers and consumers. Factors including module quality, degradation, resistance to weather conditions and maintenance can influence the output and operational reliability of solar installations over their expected operating life.
The company said that technological improvements could further support the next phase of solar deployment. Higher module efficiency, advances in manufacturing processes and improved monitoring systems can help projects generate more electricity from available land and maintain performance under varying operating conditions.
At the grid level, the increasing contribution of solar is creating additional requirements for power system management. Since solar generation varies with sunlight availability, the integration of larger renewable capacities will require stronger transmission infrastructure, improved forecasting, energy storage and grid management systems.
Sharma said that India had demonstrated its ability to deploy solar capacity at scale, but the next challenge would be ensuring that the installed capacity delivers dependable output while operating efficiently within the wider electricity system.
“This will require coordination across manufacturing, project development, technology and grid infrastructure,” he said.
The expansion is also creating opportunities across the solar value chain, with greater attention being given to system design, performance monitoring, maintenance and long term support alongside equipment supply.
India’s 500 GW non fossil fuel capacity target is a major milestone in its energy transition. Solar is expected to contribute significantly to the target, while transmission, storage, manufacturing and power system management will remain important to support the growing renewable energy base.
Joint Solar said that the effectiveness of India’s solar expansion would ultimately depend not only on the number of gigawatts added but also on the quality, reliability and consistency of the power generated by the installed capacity.

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Michigan’s Solar Boom Is Coming — Can Farmers Keep Farming Under The Panels?  MITechNews
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Middle East Weekly: Oman Plans Musandam RE Study, Kuwait Fund Backs 11 MW Solar, L&T Wins 6 GWh BESS Order, ACWA–KOWEPO Partner on RE, NHC–EDF Partner on Clean Energy, ACWA Signs 6 GWh BESS, Masdar Starts 35 MW BESS, Saudi Sig  SolarQuarter
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SECI Invites Cybersecurity Auditors To Strengthen Renewable Energy Sector Security  SolarQuarter
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If the words “home battery” make you picture a big, boxy piece of industrial hardware best left hidden, you’re in for a surprise. The Nex E6000 shatters that idea with an ultra-sleek, wall-mounted design — just 119.5 mm (about 4.7 inches) thick — and enough modern flair to earn a 2026 Red Dot Design Award. Far from an eyesore, it’s meant to blend right into your living space.
Measuring 842.5 x 500 x 119.5 mm (roughly 33.2 x 19.7 x 4.7 inches) and weighing 59 kg (around 130 lbs), it’s still no featherweight. You’ll want a load-bearing brick or concrete wall for mounting, and definitely a partner to help with the heavy lifting. While you could theoretically pull off a DIY installation, the manual recommends giving extra thought to wall strength, ventilation, and fire safety — in older homes especially, professional advice is strongly encouraged.
SAMDUO wants to democratize home energy storage with the Nex E6000’s promise of plug-and-play simplicity. While many batteries hook directly to solar panels, this one connects to your home’s AC circuit — just plug it into a standard wall outlet. That means it plays nicely with existing solar setups and you don’t need to rip out or modify your current installation. European homes — where space is often at a premium — can finally consider solar storage without battling for every square foot.
Of course, “without an electrician” isn’t quite the whole story. Physically hooking up the battery may be straightforward, but mounting a 59 kg object safely is another matter. So yes, it’s simple — unless you underestimate gravity. Once installed, though, things really start to shine.
With a storage capacity of 6,028 Wh (expandable up to 90 kWh with fifteen units) and stable, long-lasting LiFePO4 cells, the Nex E6000 is a robust choice for personal solar energy management. The battery can soak up your surplus solar power during the day and release it after sunset, covering your evening essentials — think lighting, your internet box, the fridge, laptop, and TV — for several hours.
Through the SAMDUO ecosystem, you can monitor your home’s energy flows in real time and easily configure when to charge and discharge:
This is where the smart software comes into its own, helping you automate for savings and flexibility. Its open API ensures smooth integration with energy meters, smart home platforms (like Home Assistant and Homey), and other automation tools — enthusiasts, consider yourselves invited.
With its approved simplified setup, the Nex E6000 delivers a network-linked output of up to 2,600 W. Important caveat: in grid-connected mode, you shouldn’t expect to run power-hungry appliances (oven, dryer, or your sauna ambitions) all at once. But for the essentials? You’re covered.
The Nex E6000 won’t transform your house into an off-grid fortress, but it can keep daily life running smoothly for several hours — no blackout-induced candle hunts required.
The price point (from 1,999 euros, or around £1,700 / $2,200 at the time of writing in France) strikes a balance between storage capacity, sleek looks, wall-friendly size, and the kind of plug-and-play intelligence that finally makes home storage accessible. Its main strength is making residential storage genuinely easy to implement, especially for existing solar homes.
In its current form, the Nex E6000 looks like a very promising solution for solar-equipped households, especially those looking to boost their self-consumption without overhauling their entire installation.

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Michigan approves first utility-scale renewable project under controversial siting law  Crain’s Detroit
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JAKARTA – FAW Hongqi is trying to use the car body to generate additional electricity. The Chinese manufacturer made a prototype of a perovskite-based solar sunroof that is claimed to be able to generate energy of around 400 kWh per year.
CarNewsChina quoted Saturday, August 29, saying Hongqi announced the successful creation of the prototype on August 27. Photovoltaic or PV technology, which converts light into electricity, is installed on the Hongqi EHS7 electric SUV.
In conditions of sufficient sunlight, the sunroof is capable of generating power directly up to 300 watts.
Hongqi calls it the first perovskite solar power sunroof in the industry. However, the technology is still in the prototype stage and has not entered the mass production stage.
The idea of installing solar panels on the roof of a vehicle is actually not new. This kind of technology has been tried since the 20th century and has even been used on a number of mass-produced cars, although its effectiveness is still questionable.
Hongqi did not use conventional crystalline silicon on the prototype. The material is considered fragile and has low efficiency for the needs developed by the company.
Instead, Hongqi’s research and development team uses perovskite, a material that can be used in solar cells to convert light into electricity. This material is light, thin, and flexible.
Hongqi also claims that perovskites have a high light-to-electricity conversion efficiency, are available in a variety of colors, and are low-cost.
Its implementation still has challenges. Perovskite material is vulnerable to water, oxygen, and ultraviolet radiation. The curved sunroof glass surface is also a problem for the development team.
The prototype was installed on the Hongqi EHS7, which is marketed in China under the name Hongqi Tiangong 08. This five-passenger car has a length of 4,925 mm, a width of 1,950 mm, and a height of 1,680 mm.
Its peak power reaches 253 kW or 339 hp. The range is 475 km based on the WLTP test standard.
According to Hongqi, the full-sized perovskite sunroof can generate about 400 kWh of clean energy per year. The power is considered enough to support low-voltage devices, such as air conditioners, refrigerators, to sentry mode.
Hongqi next wants to install perovskite PV elements on other body parts, including the hood.
If the panel area is expanded, the company estimates that the car can generate up to 10 kWh of electricity per day. As much energy is claimed to be enough to increase the mileage to 80 km a day.
According to Hongqi data, this distance can cover more than 85 percent of the daily travel needs of car users in China.
However, the 80 km figure is still a development target. Hongqi has not explained when the technology will be applied to mass-produced vehicles.
This development is part of Hongqi’s efforts to strengthen its position in the battery-based electric vehicle or BEV market.
Previously, CarNewsChina reported that the next generation of Hongqi cars will use BYD’s fast charging technology. The technology is claimed to be able to charge the battery from 10 percent to 97 percent in nine minutes.
Hongqi has also started testing a prototype vehicle with a solid-state battery with an energy density of 380 Wh/kg.
China EV DataTracker recorded Hongqi delivering 15,445 vehicles in the Chinese domestic market throughout July 2026.
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ENERGY
DESRI plans to start construction on the West Side development later this year
The Bernalillo County Commission approved $1.2 billion in industrial revenue bonds for a solar energy and battery storage project on Albuquerque’s West Side. 
The project is in an area known as Estrella, west of Atrisco Vista Boulevard and north of Interstate 40. The energy facility will be built on roughly 3,000 acres. The company plans to build approximately 400 megawatts worth of solar panels and 400 megawatts of battery storage capacity at the site. 
New York renewable energy developer DESRI will construct the project. The company did not return a request for comment. 
County documents say construction on the first phase of the project will begin in the fourth quarter of this year. The project will be built in two phases. Operations are scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2028. 
The amount of the IRBs is on par with the company’s expected private investment. Such bonds do not mean that the county or its taxpayers will pay that amount to the company. Rather, the company will receive abatements from personal property taxes and gross receipts. 
The company is getting an approximately 70% abatement on county taxes, Barbara Baca, who sponsored the tax incentive package, said at a county meeting on Tuesday. DESRI will contribute up to $2.9 million in community benefits over five years, Baca said. The Economic Development Community Advisory Board will decide what those benefits will be.
“We’re talking about a private investment of $1.2 billion on the far northwest mesa,” Baca said, noting the project’s economic impact.
Community benefit payments for the second phase, set to begin construction late next year, are yet to be determined. 
Owen Hurd, senior director of development for DESRI, told the commission Thursday that the company will expand an existing wildlife corridor near the project — which will be protected by a “wildlife-friendly” fence that will reduce harm to animals. 
“One of the things we heard loud and clear from those discussions is how to avoid negative impacts of wildlife in the area,” Hurd said, referring to community meetings.
The project will sell power to a utility purchaser, such as Public Service Company of New Mexico, according to a commission agenda packet, but no deal has been finalized because negotiations are ongoing. The state Public Regulation Commission approved a permit for the project to connect to the grid via an 11-mile, 345-kilovolt transmission line.
The county says the project will create 1,622 direct and indirect construction jobs. The project will create six full-time jobs with median salaries of $101,920. 
DESRI has built more than 500 megawatts of solar and battery projects in the state. Recently, DESRI partnered with Tierra Adentro Growth Capital on two projects in northwestern New Mexico, where it will help construct 270 megawatts of solar energy and 180 megawatts of battery storage.
Justin Horwath covers tech and energy at the Journal. You can reach him at jhorwath@abqjournal.com.
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Lambs grazing beneath solar panels at an Oregon State University research farm had access to 38% less forage than lambs in an open pasture, yet gained almost exactly the same amount of weight. Researchers found that shade produced higher-quality forage with more protein and digestibility, while also giving the animals relief from heat and reducing water use.
The results challenged a simple assumption about solar panels on farmland: less grass does not always mean less livestock production.

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New research introduces a cooling gel for solar panels. This gel absorbs moisture at night and releases it as vapor during the day. The cooling effect significantly boosts electricity output and panel longevity. This innovation promises to reduce solar electricity production costs. The technology offers a low-maintenance solution for hotter climates.
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This hydrogel coating works like sweat on skin: it releases water vapor to pull heat away from the panel underneath it (representative image). Image Credits: ChatGPT

As solar farms expand into hotter climates, low-maintenance cooling solutions could help panels hold on to more of their output. Image Credits: Pexels

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BERLIN, Md. – Community members were invited to another public hearing organized by the Maryland Public Service Commission. The meeting was to allow them to comment on a proposal by Soltage MD DevCo and Berlin Living LLC to build an 18 MW solar generating facility in the town of Berlin.
Council member Steve Green, attended the event to represent the town on the matter. “We are not taking a position for or against,” said Green.
The developer would construct 6 solar generating facilities, on the intersection of Route 50 and 113. The estimates done via the application suggest the project site to be at least 113 acres.
Many residents gathered at the event, but some did not walk away with the clarity they wanted. One of them being Marie Velong.
“They could have done a better job explaining how this will work, and what they are doing towards solar, and bringing solar into our community.”
Velong is for the potential of solar, saying it would provide clean energy. However, she wishes the developers were more transparent on the project.
Green went up to the podium to the audience and Public Utility Law Judge Christine Burke, who will preside over the case.
“To make sure the citizens of Berlin knew the town is not being silent in terms of the process, and there have been consultations with the engineers bringing the project forward.”
There are benefits of the project, which include clean energy, creating over 100 jobs, and bringing almost $9 million to the town.
Green is not convinced that it will help the town. “I have not seen anything to prove the numbers that we are seeing tonight. I’d like to think they were put up in good faith, but I do not see a $9 million dollar tax boom to Berlin.”
Residents have until August 28th to send any further comments before the judge makes her official decision.
Because Local Matters
© 2026 47abc.

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Hawke’s Bay Airport in NZ invites EOIs for up to 17-MWp solar project  Renewables Now
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After completing work on its data center ordinance, Skippack Township is turning its attention to large solar-energy facilities and accessory dwelling units.
Township planning officials announced that they will begin developing zoning language for utility-scale solar farms.
The proposed regulations would distinguish a solar farm occupying an entire property from panels installed as an accessory use on a home, business or other structure.

Officials said large solar developments are not as widespread as data centers but have raised similar land-use questions in Pennsylvania communities.
Potential regulations could address setbacks, property access, decommissioning and the loss of agricultural land.
“This would be an entire property being used for generation of solar energy that would be put into the grid,” township planner Jamie Magaziner said.
Planning staff offered to provide supervisors with a presentation outlining the issues and examples of ordinances adopted elsewhere.
The township will also examine whether to allow accessory dwelling units in single-family zoning districts.
Such units can provide a separate living area for aging parents, relatives, adult children returning from college or other family members. The discussion focused particularly on homes containing a second kitchen.
“We’re really talking about once there’s a second kitchen, you’re no longer living together in a collective living arrangement,” Magaziner said.
Some municipalities permit an accessory dwelling through a special exception when the person occupying the unit has a qualifying family relationship with the owner or primary resident.
Officials said a deed restriction could be required to prevent a future owner from treating the additional space as an unrestricted rental apartment.
“When they do the title search, one of the documents they turn up is a deed restriction that says, ‘Hey, that second unit is not an apartment. That’s an in-law suite, and there has to be a familial relationship between the two,’” solicitor Joe Kuhls said.
Supervisors expressed interest in acting proactively before receiving applications that expose gaps in the existing zoning ordinance.
No ordinance was introduced, and the board took no formal action. Planning officials are expected to return with additional information at a future meeting.

Tony Di Domizio is editor of NorthPennNow, PerkValleyNow and CentralBucksNow, of the Fideri News Network. Email Tony [email protected].
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ACEN, Yanara secure USD 37m for solar project in Philippines  Renewables Now
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Azerenerji picks YEO to install battery at Azeri solar farm  Renewables Now
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By: Luis Reyes
Published: Aug 28, at 9:30am ET
Floating solar farms sit on two materials pretty much everywhere they exist. High-density polyethylene, the same plastic as your milk jug, makes the floats, and steel makes anything that has to hold a shape under load. The steel is steel.
A shipyard in Yantai, China, spent this summer adding a third option: bamboo. Yantai CIMC Raffles Ocean Technology Group announced a 100-kilowatt floating solar platform named Jilin-2 in late June, built on tubes of wound bamboo composite instead of steel frames or plastic floats. Crews finished installing it at a demonstration base off the Shandong coast by early August, and the South China Morning Post reported the deployment on August 27.
The power already has a customer. CIMC Raffles routes the output into an integrated project producing hydrogen, ammonia and methanol at the site, per the June announcement. Your utility is not in the deal.
You probably have the same question every marine engineer asked: bamboo, in salt water, on purpose?
The tubes come out of a factory, not a grove. Beijing Forestry University developed prestressed, continuous fiber-reinforced bamboo pipes for the platform, and the load-bearing structure uses what Chinese industry calls third-generation bamboo-wound composite tubes, according to TaiyangNews. Winding lays continuous bamboo fiber around a form under tension and sets it in resin, which leaves the finished product closer to a fiberglass fishing rod than to anything holding up a tiki bar.
The CIMC Offshore Engineering Research Institute, the research arm of a yard better known for oil rigs, developed the platform with China Forestry Group Corporation and Beijing Forestry University. A drilling-rig builder, a state forestry company and a forestry school shared one set of drawings.
CIMC Raffles said the bamboo design “significantly reduces marine environmental impact” compared with conventional steel or high-density polyethylene structures. Chinese authorities credit the tubes with high strength, low weight, corrosion resistance and renewability, per the same TaiyangNews report.
Beijing cleared this lane years ago. Ten ministries signed opinions on accelerating the bamboo industry in 2021, and the National Development and Reform Commission followed with a 2023 three-year action plan to push bamboo as a substitute for plastic. Jilin-1, a 10-kilowatt bamboo prototype, went into the water in 2023 under the same partnership; Jilin-2 carries 100 kilowatts three years later, ten times the rating, and China Science Communication calls it the world’s first bamboo-based offshore solar platform in the 100-kilowatt class.
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One hundred kilowatts is demonstration scale, and CIMC Raffles knows it. The company’s own steel semi-submersible from 2023 carries 400 kilowatts-peak on about 20,450 square feet of deck (1,900 square meters); Jilin-2 carries 100 kilowatts. CHN Energy’s array farther west along the same province’s coast runs to a full gigawatt, ten thousand times Jilin-2’s 100 kilowatts.
Nobody spent three years on composite tubes to sell 100 kilowatts of electricity. The platform earns its keep as a materials trial, and the output does something useful while the trial runs: it feeds hydrogen, ammonia and methanol production at the base. Electrolyzers turn the electricity into hydrogen, and downstream units turn hydrogen into ammonia and methanol, fuels that ship a lot more easily than hydrogen does.
CIMC Raffles co-runs that base with China’s National Photovoltaic Quality Inspection Center as a national offshore solar demonstration site, and the company lists offshore hydrogen production among the technologies it trials there. Solar-to-fuels at sea was already on the menu. The bamboo is the new part.
CHN Energy brought the world’s largest open-sea solar plant to full grid connection off Dongying, on Shandong’s Bohai shore, in late December 2025. The HG14 project covers roughly 3,020 acres (1,223 hectares) of water about 5 miles (8 kilometers) offshore, in depths of 3 to 13 feet (1 to 4 meters). Its 2,934 steel truss platforms each measure about 197 by 115 feet (60 by 35 meters). Underneath them stand 11,736 steel piles. The bill came to roughly $1.2 billion, per pv magazine, and JinkoSolar built the modules with dual glass and POE encapsulation specifically against salt fog and seawater. CHN Energy says the fixed-pile design stands up to waves, tides, strong winds and seasonal sea ice.
Shandong’s 2022 offshore solar allocation lined up 10 sites totaling 11.25 gigawatts across six coastal cities, Yantai and Dongying both on the list. Every pile in that pipeline defaults to steel, and every float in the wider industry defaults to HDPE. Singapore bolted more than 30,000 plastic floats into the Johor Strait for a five-megawatt-peak array, and the barnacles moved in anyway.
Floating solar keeps producing strange hardware wherever land runs out. Taiwan parked a 181-megawatt array in an intertidal zone that settles onto the seabed twice a day, and a Bavarian gravel lake carries 2,600 panels standing bolt upright on underwater keels. Bamboo tubes slot straight into that family album.
The European Union, for its part, funds a Horizon Europe offshore floating solar project literally named BAMBOO, with a 5-megawatt North Sea demonstrator in the plan and no actual bamboo mentioned anywhere in the project description.
Marine borers live in most saltwater environments, and untreated bamboo makes an easy meal: the plant carries no natural toxins against wood-boring organisms, and preservation specialists put the average natural durability of untreated bamboo under two years before anyone adds salt water. Researchers who study tropical harbors rate bamboo’s natural durability in seawater as low and call preservative treatment a requirement for marine use. Raw culms in the ocean are consumables.
Jilin-2’s tubes sit a long way from a raw culm. Resin seals the wound fiber away from the water, the material arrives engineered rather than harvested, and the manufacturer claims corrosion resistance for it. CIMC Raffles has not published aging data from the 2023 prototype, though. The company answered with hardware instead: it built the next one ten times bigger.
Storms will run their own test. Yantai’s corner of the Yellow Sea takes winter gales and the occasional typhoon remnant, and none of the announcements so far put a design load number on the bamboo structure.
CIMC Raffles gets a cheap experiment either way. A 100-kilowatt platform risks little, stress-tests a national materials policy in the most hostile environment available, and feeds a fuels project while it floats. A third Jilin, if the tubes hold, walks into a much easier meeting.
Jilin-1 opened the program at 10 kilowatts in 2023. Jilin-2 runs at 100, installed off Yantai by early August 2026 and reported deployed by the South China Morning Post on August 27.
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“What’s the worst that could happen if we do it?”
Photo Credit: iStock
An inexpensive batch of solar panels looked promising to one homeowner after an AI tool projected a quick return, but Reddit commenters pointed to the less obvious side of the deal. There are safety risks, added equipment costs, and the practical complexity of putting a rooftop system together yourself.
In the post, the homeowner said they were looking at “a 6 kw system of 27 Schott panels” for about $1,500. They also said AI had indicated the setup might pay for itself in roughly three years, leading them to ask, “Where would I begin researching? What’s the worst that could happen if we do it?”
One commenter didn’t hold back when they explained the worst-case scenario. “Worst that can happen is the house burns down, and your family and pets die in the fire.” They went on to say that it’s very rare that something like that would happen, but it highlights the risk of DIY solar projects if you don’t know what you’re doing. 
Commenters then focused on the parts of the project the AI estimate seemed to overlook, such as inverters, mounting hardware, permits, and the challenge of installing rooftop solar safely. A bargain price on panels can be appealing, but whether the project pans out depends on the total system cost.
Want to go solar but not sure who to trust? EnergySage has your back with free and transparent quotes from fully vetted providers in your area.
To get started, just answer a few questions about your home — no phone number required. Within a day or two, EnergySage will email you the best options for your needs, and their expert advisers can help you compare quotes and pick a winner.
Rooftop solar can reduce household energy bills over time, but whether it does depends on factors such as local electricity rates, code requirements, interconnection rules, roof condition, and whether used equipment still performs well enough to make the project worthwhile.
When done right, going solar is one of the best ways to save money on home energy, especially when you have solid roof exposure and plan to stay in the property. If you’re comparing whether a DIY or professional route makes more sense, it can help to explore EnergySage to get free solar installation estimates and compare quotes.
More homeowners are using AI tools to help make major financial decisions, including home energy upgrades. While AI can be useful for generating checklists, explaining unfamiliar terms, and helping people think through system design questions, it can also flatten highly specific local variables into answers that sound far more certain than they should. Specialized resources and actual experts can provide much more reliable answers.
With solar, the technology does not operate in a vacuum; it is directly tied to the electric grid. AI may help optimize clean energy systems and forecast demand, but it also comes with drawbacks, including heavy energy and water use, security concerns, misuse, and the possibility of steering people toward expensive mistakes that raise bills instead of lowering them.
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Want to go solar but not sure who to trust? EnergySage has your back with free and transparent quotes from fully vetted providers that can help you save as much as $10k on installation.
To get started, just answer a few questions about your home — no phone number required. Within a day or two, EnergySage will email you the best local options for your needs, and their expert advisers can help you compare quotes and pick a winner.
The difference between a strong solar investment and a frustrating one often comes down to the details. Used panels may still offer value, but buyers need to verify wattage, age, degradation, compatibility with inverters, and whether local permitting rules even allow the setup they are considering.
The safest first step is usually to price out the full system — not just the panels. That means accounting for inverters, racking, wiring, roof work, permitting, inspections, and labor, then comparing that total with expected energy savings.
Free comparison tools can make that much easier. With EnergySage’s help, people can save as much as $10,000 on solar purchases and installations. Homeowners can also use EnergySage’s solar map, which shows the average cost of a home solar panel system on a state-by-state level, along with details on solar panel incentives for each state. Together, those resources can help people get the best price for rooftop solar panels and access available incentives.
Adding battery storage to a solar setup is also one of the best ways to protect your home during outages, save money on energy, and go off-grid. Homeowners who want to compare battery options and installation pricing can explore EnergySage for information about home battery storage, including competitive installation estimates.
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A Kansas City solar project once billed as big enough to power a third of the city’s homes is now on indefinite hold, a casualty of federal funding cuts.
Mayor Quinton Lucas made the announcement on Friday, Aug. 28.
The proposed solar array, planned for land surrounding the Kansas City International Airport, has lost the funding that was supposed to build it, according to Mayor Lucas.
Lucas said nine separate federal funding programs backing the project have been canceled, leaving a gap in the budget the city cannot currently close.
“Leaders come and go, but the value of investment in cleaner and more sustainable energy will never go away in a world confronting higher energy prices, high utility costs, and extreme weather events and conditions here and everywhere,” Mayor Lucas concludes.
Lucas attributed the funding collapse to a shift in federal priorities.
Clean energy, he said, is no longer a focus for the current federal administration or the majority of Congress – a reversal from just a few years ago, when the opposite was true.
He did not name the nine programs Friday. KCTV5 has asked the Mayor’s Office for a full list and for a dollar estimate of the funding shortfall, and will update this story when the information is available.
The KCI solar array was first unveiled in August 2023, when Lucas introduced legislation to advance a roughly 3,000-acre solar array at the airport.
At the time, city officials said the project could eventually include more than 500 solar panels generating over 500 megawatts of electricity – enough to power up to 70,000 homes, or about one-third of all households in Kansas City.
The announcement came with symbolic timing.
Lucas unveiled the plan one day before the one-year anniversary of former President Joe Biden signing the Inflation Reduction Act, which he called “the largest investment by the federal government in clean energy” in the nation’s history, and traveled to the White House to mark the occasion.
At the time, the panels were being supplied by a Lawrence, Kansas, company and installed by Staco Electric Construction.
Three years later, under a new administration, that federal enthusiasm for clean energy has reversed course in Washington – and so, for now, has Kansas City’s most ambitious solar project.
Despite the setback, Lucas said clean energy and revenue-generating development remain top priorities for Kansas City.
He described projects like the KCI array as long-term investments in the City’s ability to generate its own renewable power – an approach he said could help keep Kansas City affordable for future generations as energy costs rise nationally.
The Mayor said the City will continue looking for new funding opportunities for the KCI project and similar developments, and intends to restart work once federal priorities shift again.
He offered no timeline for when that might happen.
The KCI array is not the only solar project tied to Kansas City in recent years.
In September 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency awarded the city $4.5 million in brownfield cleanup funding, part of which was earmarked for redeveloping the former Hardesty Federal Complex, a 22-acre former Army Quartermaster Depot in the city’s Historic Northeast that has sat vacant for four decades.
A private developer, Arnold Development Group, had proposed turning that site into 500 affordable apartments, retail space, a daycare center – and a solar energy farm.
The project was privately driven and separate from the city-led KCI array, and it is not affected by Friday’s announcement.
KCTV5 has reached out to the Kansas City Aviation Department and City for comment on how the pause affects existing contracts and airport operations, and will update this story with responses.
Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.

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Repeated record-breaking heat waves cooked the European continent this summer, delivering the region’s hottest June on record. A simultaneous, though possibly related, drought shriveled rivers to record lows.
In addition to their impact on public health, the dual crises put pressure on Europe’s energy system: Wind power struggled under stagnant conditions created by heat waves, and “thermal” power plants — nuclear, gas, and coal plants — had to reduce their output as European waterways warmed and dried, taking away water used for their cooling systems.
Solar power proved the only major energy source that performed better than normal during Europe’s summer of extremes, experts found. When paired with batteries, it helped supply thousands of AC units during historic hot conditions.
Scientists are still trying to understand why so many recurring heat waves materialized this summer, but studies have found that individual heat events are more likely and more intense because of climate change. The intensity of the June heat wave that scorched Western Europe was roughly 200 times more likely in today’s fossil fuel-warmed climate than it would have been two decades ago, one study found.
As the continent continues to warm and Europeans install more cooling systems to cope — just 23% of households currently have access to or use air conditioning — experts say this summer provides lessons for the future.  
Extreme temperatures in late June bumped up Italy’s power demand by 28% compared to the previous week, according to the energy think tank Ember. In France, that number was 14%.
Electricity and natural gas prices spiked in evening hours as demand grew highest and solar generation ended, with some prices hitting their highest levels since the 2022/2023 winter gas crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
As demand and prices were climbing, power generation in some areas was falling. In the United Kingdom, five gas plants reduced their output by a combined 2.5 gigawatts in generation because heat reduced their cooling systems’ effectiveness. At the same time, heat-induced low wind speeds halved the country’s typical wind farm generation in June.
Historic dryness dropped river levels across Europe: England and Wales reported their driest July on record, while water levels in the Danube River in central and Eastern Europe reached record lows, exposing WWII shipwrecks and prehistoric relics. Europe’s hydropower production hit its lowest July level in a decade, and multiple countries curtailed nuclear power generation as warm, low rivers threatened water supplies for cooling.
France lost 18% of its nuclear capacity to “environmental factors” in mid-July, Ember found, extending a trend of summertime nuclear outages that has plagued the country in recent years. French nuclear plants often use river water as a vital component of their cooling systems, drawing the water in at natural temperatures and then discharging it back into the rivers slightly warmer. Because French law caps the temperature of this discharged water to protect aquatic life, plants must reduce cooling operations and related power generation when the intake water from rivers is already warm because of heat waves or drought.
But where these sources faltered, solar shone through.
European heat waves tend to deliver optimal conditions for solar power: clear, sunny days. Europe’s solar panels produced 17% more power during the summer’s heat waves than they normally do, stabilizing the grid as afternoon cooling demand climbed, according to Ember. Battery systems helped deliver this solar power into the evening hours, when heat still lingered and air conditioners cranked to allow households to sleep.
“The next challenge is the evening period. Temperatures often remain high after sunset and AC demand can stay elevated, even as solar production declines,” said Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe, an industry group. “This is why battery storage is becoming such an important part of the energy transition.”
For as much as this summer’s extreme heat strained Europe’s grid, the continent’s cooling demand has a lot of room to grow: About half of households in Italy and Spain have air conditioning, and a quarter in France — compared to 90% in the United States.
“There are places where we just can’t do without it now,” Marine Tondelier, national secretary of the Ecologist Party, said this June, a reversal in the party’s longstanding argument against air conditioning because of its greenhouse gas emissions.
France’s state-owned utility plans to spend over $10 billion to adapt its nuclear and hydropower plants to warmer temperatures and lower water availability over the next 15 years, including investments in equipment that cools the water nuclear plants discharge into rivers so that it complies with environmental standards.
But adapting to that new demand could also take new generation and storage, especially as grids simultaneously increase demand from data centers.
Solar and batteries have already been growing at a breakneck pace across Europe, with 36 gigawatt-hours installed in 2025, a 48% increase over new additions the previous year. Battery installations saw their 12th straight year of growth in 2025, according to industry group SolarPower Europe.
“Extreme price spikes during heatwaves are a blaring signal for regulatory changes that increase power system flexibility,” said Beatrice Petrovich, a senior energy analyst covering Europe at Ember. “Treating this summer as a turning point for energy storage would be an opportunity to remove existing barriers.”
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Jackery’s Solar Generator Makes a Smart Backup for Power Outages—and Its Early-Bird Sale Is Live  Dengarden
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Westbridge to sell 225-MW Red Willow solar, BESS project in Canada  Renewables Now
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Advancing the commercial and industrial energy transition.
Active site preparation for Seaboard Solar’s 23-MW community solar projects in upstate New York.
Northern Sun Energy, a solar and energy storage EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) contractor, is teaming up with developer Seaboard Solar to install an additional 23 MW of solar projects in upstate New York.
Supported by grant funding from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), Seaboard Solar will develop two community solar projects in Waterford and Boonville, New York. NYSERDA is funding these efforts through the NY-Sun Program, which aims to back a network of qualified installers and make solar energy more accessible to New York homes, businesses and communities.
In 2022, the multi-billion-dollar program’s framework was expanded to keep up with state climate goals, targeting 10 GW of solar by 2030 to power nearly 700,000 homes annually. In exchange for grant funding, NYSERDA provides performance-based incentives for developers such as Seaboard Solar to reduce capital burn.
But these two new projects, Northern Sun Energy vice president and cofounder Chris Balogh explained, presented them with unique logistical challenges.
“Waterford’s bridge restrictions meant rethinking how we would get equipment onsite, and Boonville’s heavy snow load pushed our structural engineers to ensure that the system would remain productive and reliable throughout severe upstate New York winters,” Balogh said in a statement.
The Waterford project, spanning two parcels of land, is reportedly only accessible via a bridge with a 20-ton weight restriction. Meanwhile, the Boonville site’s updated snow load requirements rank among the highest in the nation.
To overcome this, Northern Sun worked closely with racking partner GameChange Energy to engineer a resilient system that meets the updated code while keeping construction on track.
“Northern Sun team members have built projects for us since 2017, and their approach to these sites shows why that relationship has lasted,” said Shawn Brazo, president of Seaboard Solar.
Once completed, these two community solar projects will bring Northern Sun and Seaboard’s combined active community solar footprint in New York to more than 56 MW. Their existing operational portfolio includes the Coventry 1 & 2 Solar Farm (15.22 MW), East Greenbush Solar Phase 1 (13.01 MW) and the Troy Solar Farm (5 MW), fully interconnected to generate local renewable power for thousands of homes.
This expansion comes amid a broader surge for community solar projects in upstate New York. In June, energy developer PowerBank Corp. reached commercial operations for a 7.01-MW community solar project now owned by global device manufacturer Honeywell International Inc.
That project is part of a larger $41 million transaction by Honeywell, partnering with PowerBank as an EPC contractor, to cover a portfolio of three community solar projects totaling 21 MW in the state—underscoring this regional momentum.

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The project can discharge energy for four hours each night.
Photo Credit: iStock
A new battery project in Kern County is taking aim at one of solar power’s biggest challenges: timing.
In Kern County’s valley region, the Sandrini Energy Storage facility has been completed beside an existing 300-megawatt solar farm. Houston-based EDP Renewables North America marked the milestone with project partner Redwood Coast Energy Authority.
The Bakersfield Californian described the project as another addition to California’s growing renewable energy system.
Solar production often peaks while many people are still at work or school. Electricity demand, meanwhile, tends to rise later, as residents return home, make dinner, run air conditioning, and charge devices or vehicles.
By placing a battery system next to the solar farm, operators can capture some of that midday output and send it back onto the grid when it is needed most.
At 92 megawatts, the project can discharge energy for four hours each night, helping utilities manage periods of high demand without relying as heavily on dirtier or more expensive backup generation.
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Battery storage has become one of the most important tools for making renewable energy work at scale.
Producing clean electricity is only part of the challenge. The other is making sure that electricity is available at the right time, especially in a state like California, where hot weather can put major strain on the grid during evening hours.
Projects like Sandrini are meant to serve hours when solar panels have stopped producing but electricity use is still elevated. They do that by saving part of the midday supply and releasing it later at night.
Across California, many battery storage projects are designed for no more than four hours of discharge, making that duration both the upper end for most systems and a key benchmark in grid planning.
The Bakersfield Californian also pointed to more battery and solar development in eastern Kern, highlighting the region’s growing role in building the infrastructure for a cleaner, more resilient grid.
Energy companies and public agencies are increasingly pairing renewable generation with storage rather than treating them as separate systems.
That approach can make solar power more dependable and more valuable, since stored electricity can be delivered when it is most useful instead of only when the sun is shining.
Cities, utilities, and large employers can use that to improve planning during heat waves, reduce grid bottlenecks during evening peaks, and provide a stronger buffer against disruptions.
A grid that can shift clean power into high-demand hours may be better positioned to avoid shortages and keep costs under control over time.
Storage helps turn intermittent energy into something closer to an around-the-clock resource. As more communities add batteries alongside solar farms, the result could be a cleaner grid that is also more practical for daily life — one better able to keep the lights on, support businesses, and handle demand after sunset.
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Klamath County Commissioner Derrick DeGroot speaks with Keno-area residents about growing concerns surrounding the proposed Klamath Falls Energy Center, a solar and battery storage project planned near Keno, during a town hall meeting Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. {span data-olk-copy-source=”MessageBody”} {/span}

Klamath County Commissioner Derrick DeGroot speaks with Keno-area residents about growing concerns surrounding the proposed Klamath Falls Energy Center, a solar and battery storage project planned near Keno, during a town hall meeting Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. {span data-olk-copy-source=”MessageBody”} {/span}
“This isn’t a project. This is a person farming around seeing how far it can go through the permitting process to then sell it to somebody else,” Klamath County Commissioner Derrick DeGroot told attendees during a passionate town hall meeting Wednesday evening in Keno discussing the Klamath Falls Energy Center.
The project in question is a proposed $500 million solar and battery storage facility by renewable energy company Orsted that would generate up to 400 megawatts of solar power paired with a 400-megawatt battery system capable of storing approximately 1,600 megawatt-hours of electricity. Along with rows of photovoltaic solar panels, the facility would include tracking systems, inverters, transformers, electrical collection systems and other infrastructure needed to generate, store and transmit electricity. According to Orsted estimates, the facility could generate enough electricity annually to serve the equivalent of approximately 70,000 homes.
The build would be located about 1.5 miles northwest of Keno and 18 miles west of Klamath Falls, a site that many nearby residents are displeased with.
“We’re not anti-solar, we just don’t want it here,” Klamath County resident Thomas Goy said.
Nearby residents’ concerns about wildfire risk, wildlife habitat and migration corridors, water resources, wetlands and the conversion of approximately 8,600 acres of timberland for energy development led to the formation of the Keno Wildlands Alliance to oppose the Klamath Falls Energy Center (KFEC).
“Residents chose Keno in part because of its forested mountain setting, clean air and water, low traffic, rural character, the quiet sounds of nature and lack of urban noise, dark night skies and proximity to the Klamath River,” the organization wrote in its official position pamphlet. “The KFEC project would transform the forested uplands and natural quiet that define Keno’s landscape, stripping miles of living forest to make way for industrial solar infrastructure, a scale of change that would alter the visual, hydrological, ecological and safety characteristics of the area.”
The Oregon Department of Energy informed surrounding property owners of a notice of intent filed by Orsted in February, which prompted a slew of emails from Keno-area residents expressing opposition to the proposal. Klamath County Commissioner Derrick DeGroot, the county’s liaison to Keno, met with residents to answer questions about the proposed project Wednesday, Aug. 26 at the Keno Open Bible Church.
“I don’t think this is a project. I’ve been (a county commissioner) for close to a decade, and have seen a lot of projects — many and many of them — just die,” DeGroot said. “Most of the projects that come across our desks never happen. Even after filing a notice of intent, most of them of this scale just don’t happen.”
With Orsted having launched a website dedicated to the Klamath Falls Energy Center where it states it anticipates beginning commercial operations in 2032, and with landowner Green Diamond Resource Co. stating on its corporate website that it entered into a lease option agreement with Orsted in 2022 — giving the developer until 2032 to conduct due diligence and pursue permitting for the project — many in attendance feel the project is imminent.
“Orsted isn’t looking at this project as fake. I don’t think Green Diamond is looking at it as fake either,” Keno resident Sean Hensley said. “The county needs to start taking this seriously as well. To those of us who have lived out here our whole lives, it is very frustrating.”
During the assembly, DeGroot said publicly stating how he would vote on the project if it were to come before the county could create a conflict of interest. He cautioned that prejudging the proposal could expose Klamath County to legal action and potentially undermine the county’s position in the permitting process. He would further go on to say that he wouldn’t tell any private landowner what to do with their property.
“As long as it fits within zoning laws, everyone in this room gets the same rights to do with their property what they will, just as Green Diamond gets to do,” DeGroot said. “Nobody gets to prevent someone from leasing their land and filing for permits. I would never proactively tell someone not to. That’s wrong.”
Following an issuance of a Project Order by the Oregon Department of Energy in May, KFEC must next prepare and submit a preliminary application for site certificate addressing the state’s requirements before the proposal can advance through further review; that application must be submitted by Dec. 22, 2027, according to the current timeline. The application and subsequent state review are expected to examine a range of potential impacts associated with the project, including land use, wildlife habitat, cultural resources, water, wildfire prevention, public safety and the eventual decommissioning and restoration of the site.
The KFEC project is still in the notice of intent stage, meaning it remains relatively early in the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council’s review and has not been approved for construction. As of press time, no permit requests have been filed with Klamath County.
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There has been a rise in the number of homes generating electricity, typically through solar panels, according to a government report.
The Jersey Energy Trends Report, which tracks trends in the island's energy supply, showed 99 more homes and businesses were generating electricity at the end of 2025 compared to the beginning of the same year.
There has also been an increase in use of biofuels as more firms and households are starting to more away from fossil fuels, the report shows.
Energy generated from the private site accounts for 3% of the island's overall supply, with the rest imported, the report states.
This is the first time the government tracked private homes.
Researchers found 641 private microgeneration sites by the end of 2025, up from 540 at the start of the same year when experts began monitoring.
Last year there were 2.4 GWh of electricity sold to Jersey Electricity for wider distribution as part of the public supply, according to the report.
This represented 5% of the electricity produced on the island and less than 0.5% of the total primary supply of electricity.
Of all the energy used, 37% was for residential use, 34% for predominantly road transportation and 29% for commercial, government and agriculture use.
Energy consumption by the commercial sector had remained largely level during the last five years. It dropped by 9% in the road sector, but had increased by 59% in the air and marine sector, the report stated.
Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.
Developers say they will look for investors to fund the major project.
Council leader Sean Matthews describes the decision as an attack on Lincolnshire's countryside.
Plans for an offshore wind farm is a key topic on voters' minds in the upcoming general election.
The project has been approved by the government despite opposition from local people and their MP.
The site also provided 75% of New Cross Hospital's electricity between April 2025 and March.
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A new era of home solar power has begun, as plug-in solar panels become legal in the UK for the first time. Argos is the first major retailer to start selling DIY kits that could help save on household energy bills.
From 27 August, households will be able to buy specially designed solar systems that generate electricity and feed it directly into a home through a standard three-pin socket – potentially giving renters, flat-dwellers and homeowners without suitable roofs a cheaper route into solar panels.
The government has described the change as a way to give households the chance to “significantly cut energy bills”, while Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh said the technology could make solar “more accessible to households across the country”.
The legal change sets out the requirements products must meet – and this specification matters. The new rules do not mean consumers can simply buy any solar panel online and plug it into the wall. The government says the specification sets the minimum technical standards needed for a system to be “lawfully connected to the grid” and covers its electric design, British plug, mounting system and fire protection.
“The big advantage of plug-in solar is that it will fit almost any property and you can install it yourself without needing a professional fitter or electrician”, technology journalist Alastair Jennings explains. “Just buy the kit, plug it in, and you’ll start to generate instantly usable electricity, cutting your reliance on the grid and ultimately saving you money.”
The principle is surprisingly straightforward. Solar cells generate electricity from sunlight. A microinverter converts that electricity into the type of alternating current used in homes, and the system feeds it into the household electrical circuit through a standard socket. The plug-in solar panels can be placed in the garden, or on walls and balconies if rules permit.
The solar electricity is then available for appliances to use, reducing the amount of electricity taken from the grid. This means households could save up to £110 a year, according to the government.
However, this depends on the size and position of panels, sunlight, shading and how much electricity is used during daylight hours. Unlike conventional solar installation, the initial plug-in systems do not include a plug-in battery, so excess electricity cannot simply be stored for use that evening.
The government has suggested that plug-in solar could cost around £400-£600, although the first approved products arriving on the market are considerably more. UKSOL’s systems cost up to £1,199, but insiders suggest budget supermarket Lidl will sell them for around £400 – we’ll just have to wait a little longer for its systems to launch.
As market competition increases, prices are expected to fall.
Argos is the first major retailer to launch plug-in solar today, with Amazon, Currys, B&Q and Screwfix set to follow. At Argos, you can buy UKSOL’s plug-in solar panels. UKSOL is the first manufacturer to sell plug-in solar panels in the UK, after becoming certified and compliant ahead of the government’s new ruling.
The cheapest 515W kit costs £599 (Argos.co.uk), while the most premium 1260W kit sets you back £989 (Argos.co.uk). There’s also a 460w plug-in solar pro ground mount bundle for £849 (Argos.co.uk), a duo 890w pro plug in solar kit with hybrid mount bundle for £849 (Argos.co.uk), and a 1030w pro plus plug in solar panel kit with hybrid mount bundle for £899 (Argos.co.uk).
Each UKSOL kit from Argos comes with a mount bundle – which includes the hardware needed to attach the solar panel to a roof, wall, balcony, railing, or another fixed structure – or a ground mount bundle, which includes a freestanding frame that lets you install the panel on the ground, rather than attaching it to your house.
Direct from UKSOL, the compact 460W kit costs £849, while the duo 890W kit costs £1,199, but the systems are slighty cheaper through retailer City Plumbing (£670.80, Cityplumbing.com, £951, Cityplumbing.com).
Lidl was among the first big names to announce it was manufacturing plug-in solar panels, but it’s not yet confirmed when they’ll be available. The supermarket is working with the government to produce compliant, tested, lightweight DIY kits featuring two solar panels and a micro-inverter, designed for balconies, patios, or gardens that plug straight into a standard wall socket.
Anker solix has launched its solarbank 4 E5000 Pro in the UK (from £1,699, Ankersolix.com). The product is a solar battery, but you can add on up to 4kW of solar panels at an extra cost. The 5kWh battery stores electricity, but it also includes an inverter and control hardware to supply power to the home through a plug-in connection. Anker’s “plug-in-ready solar battery” is available to pre-order for delivery from 8 September.
Electrical Safety First urges shoppers to only buy from reputable high street retailers to ensure the device is safe and meets the new interim product specification.
“We advise households to avoid buying these devices from third-party sellers on online marketplaces, no matter how appealing this may be, as these platforms are currently not legally responsible for the safety of goods sold via their sites, exposing people to substandard versions that may put you and your home at risk,” the charity advises.
The government has emphasised the technology’s benefits to those who can’t install conventional rooftop solar panels. The plug-in panels are particularly useful for renters and those in flats with balconies. However, renters must have permission from the landlord, and planning or building restrictions can apply depending on where the panels are installed.
There are other things to be aware of, as Luke Osborne, Technical Director at Electrical Safety First, explains. “Plug-in solar panels send electricity in the opposite direction in your property’s wiring. Whilst many modern homes may be able to enjoy this technology safely, we still have concerns plug-in solar panels may damage older devices in people’s homes which protect people from electric shock, known as RCDs.
“Because of this, it is our view that not every home will currently be suitable for plug-in solar. We urge households to ensure they have an RCD suitable for this technology and to consult a competent electrician if they are unsure if they have the right protections in place in their home.” 
The charity adds that you should never plug in solar panels through extension leads, travel adapters and multi-way adapters, and to have your electrics checked before you buy.
Read more: Plug-in solar panels go on sale in shops and online after legal barriers removed
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All You Need to Know About the UK’s New Plug-In Solar Panels  Energy Digital
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The UK government allowed plug-in solar panels to go on sale for the first time on Aug. 27, 2026, following changes to rules covering the devices. The systems connect directly to a home’s electrical network through an ordinary plug, allowing households to generate electricity without a rooftop installation. Each kit produces up to 800 W and can cover up to 20% of an average home’s electricity use while sunlight is available. Prices are expected to settle between GBP 400 and GBP 600, with potential savings of up to GBP 110 a year. Argos began selling the kits first, while Amazon, Currys, B&Q, Screwfix and Wickes are set to follow. Plug-in panels were previously restricted in the UK over safety and wiring concerns, but the government said independent testing had confirmed the devices were safe and compatible with UK electrical systems. Energy Minister Martin McCluskey said the technology would give renters and leaseholders greater access to solar power, although some buyers will still need permission from landlords, councils or freeholders before installation. Buyers must also register their kits so grid operators can track the additional capacity. 

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“As summer turns to autumn storms will wash up new nurdles unexpectedly.”
Photo Credit: iStock
A plastic pellet spill near England’s Port of Tyne proved harder to contain than first thought, with more than 1 billion of the tiny beads estimated to have spread across a stretch of coastline.
Reports from Amble, around 30 miles from the port, sharpened concerns about beaches, wildlife, and the people involved in the cleanup.
After a July 19 collision near the Port of Tyne, nurdles — the small pellets used to make plastic goods — washed onto Northumberland beaches. According to ChronicleLive, they also spread into the River Tyne and along the northeast coast.
Nurdles are the basic building blocks used to manufacture many plastic products, but when they spill, they can spread quickly, disappear into the environment, and be nearly impossible to remove completely. Because they’re so small and often resemble fish eggs or other food sources, animals can easily mistake them for sustenance.
Residents have reported pellets on beaches near Amble, North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said, describing the discovery as “further up the coast than we have seen before,” per ChronicleLive.
“The numbers are thankfully small, but this shows why we cannot let up on the fight to protect our precious coastline,” she added.
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The spill has remained contentious since the July 19 crash. As ChronicleLive noted, the Tyne Rivers Trust says it could take years to determine the full scale of the damage.
Plastic pellet spills can cause problems long after the initial event because tides, wind, and storms continue moving the materials around. Even when a beach appears clean, pellets can be buried in the sand or lodged in hard-to-reach areas before washing back out.
That has implications not only for coastal ecosystems but also for the people who rely on beaches every day. Families, swimmers, walkers, and communities may face repeated cleanup efforts, while businesses tied to tourism can suffer when shorelines are contaminated.
Since nurdles do not break down quickly, they can stay in the environment and cause harm over time.
“I know many people are worried that as summer turns to autumn storms will wash up new nurdles unexpectedly or uncover deposits buried in the sand,” McGuinness said, per ChronicleLive.
Response work follows when pellets are reported, with volunteers, councils, and other officials continuing cleanup efforts. In Amble, the Northumberland County Council has put special collection bins on beaches for volunteers who gather the pellets.
McGuinness said her team had confirmed with the Environment Agency that officers would go to the Amble area “to advise local people,” giving residents support as they respond to the spill.
“I was glad to see the shipping company insurers pay up to increase the number of workers it has out there responding quickly when this happens — it’s a local workforce they employ now and I want to see them stay in place,” she said, according to ChronicleLive.
McGuinness said she had requested an independent, expert-led review of how the region handled the disaster.
“We also need to make sure we learn from this disaster, for the North East and the world,” McGuinness said. “… Finally, I want to once again say thank you to everyone who loves our beaches and coastline and who has been out there helping.”
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Decommissioned solar panels in Sweden could reach 150,000 tons annually by 2060, requiring circular infrastructure reforms.
Sweden stands on the edge of a significant long-term resource management challenge driven by its rapid transition to renewable energy. As rooftop arrays and utility-scale solar farms proliferate across the country, researchers and sustainability experts are raising the alarm over the impending end-of-life wave for photovoltaic technology.
According to a circular-economy roadmap released under Sweden’s CircSolar project, the nation could see its annual volume of discarded solar modules grow from 17 metric tons in 2021 to 150,000 metric tons per year by 2060.
The initiative—led by non-profit organization Axfoundation and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, with backing from national innovation agency Vinnova—warns that the first major influx of decommissioned panels will begin arriving at waste sites around 2035. Industry partners, including Svea Solar, Stena Recycling, REMONDIS, and El-Kretsen, are urging policymakers and commercial actors to construct robust circular frameworks before processing systems are overwhelmed by high volumes.
The physical composition of modern solar hardware presents both an environmental hazard and a missed material opportunity. A standard module consists primarily of glass and aluminum, alongside silicon, copper, silver, and polymers. Under current operational models, discarded modules are frequently commingled with general electronic waste, leading to low-value shredding rather than precise recovery of raw materials.
To avert a long-term logistics crisis and capture valuable secondary materials, the CircSolar consortium outlines structural policy and operational shifts. The roadmap calls for creating a distinct solar waste category within broader electronic waste regulations to ensure dedicated collection and treatment channels.
“Solar power is a key part of the energy transition, but today’s system is not designed to make the best use of panels when they are taken out of service. We need to extend the lifetime of functioning panels, ensure that valuable materials remain resources rather than become waste, and make extended producer responsibility work in practice, before the large future material flows emerge,” said Johanna Olofsson Behrman, Project Manager, Future Materials, Axfoundation.
“Not everything that gets discarded has reached the end of its functional life. Our analysis shows that the solar panel ‘waste’ stream includes non-functional but also repairable, reusable, and even unused panels. Without systematic quality and safety testing, we risk overlooking both the value these panels still hold and the most appropriate pathway for their future use,” Beatriz Pérez Horno, Researcher, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.
 
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As backlash grows, Nebraska counties bank wind and solar taxes to expand schools  Yahoo
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An official publication of Michigan Farm Bureau
“Not solar farms.”
The plain white sign with plain black lettering offers no other explanation. For that, you need to chat with the folks at the Harvest Solar booth.
At this year’s AgroExpo in St. Johns, the sign beckoned passing farmers to have a conversation about solar power. The sign got its start at a trade show years ago, Harvest Solar’s Jeff Schulz told Michigan Farm News.
“People would kind of scoff and walk by, and say, ‘Well, we don’t do solar farms,’ and that they’re afraid of losing farmland to solar,” Schulz said.
“So, somebody at the show hand wrote on a sign, ‘Not solar farms,’ and it’s a conversation point that we don’t want to take up farmland either.”
Instead, Schulz said that Harvest Solar prioritizes using space on roofs, driveways or other farmstead areas that aren’t in production.
A Certified Crop Advisor himself, Schulz said he hears from farmers who are concerned about environmental impacts of solar installations — concerns that he said are based on lots of misconceptions.
“We’re putting U.S.-made steel into the ground to hold the solar array up,” he said.
“It’s galvanized — it’s the same as putting a clothesline post in. The PVC pipe, the conduit that has the wires below ground, is no different than drainage tile either. So, we’re following code. We’re doing everything as responsibly as we can.”
READ NEXT: NEW REPORT SIZES UP SOLAR POWER’S FOOTPRINT ON US FARMLAND
Another misconception, Schulz said, comes from a belief that Michigan isn’t a great state for solar production.
“People don’t give Michigan enough credit for actually being an efficient solar state,” he said.
“One thing that most people do not know is that the cooler a solar panel is in sunlight, the more efficient it is. So, on a sunny day, we’re more efficient in the winter than what Arizona is for the same amount of sun, because when you keep a semiconductor cool, it operates better, just like a computer.”
For farmers who haven’t considered solar in the past, Schulz said the biggest benefit boils down to who you pay for your energy.
“Solar can produce energy for less than what somebody is buying it for now and depending on the business situation and if a five-year a 10-year payoff is quick enough for them, it can be a great return on investment.”
Harvest Solar works with utility companies to hook into a property, “and if you’re making enough electricity, you’ll actually make the meter run backwards,” Schulz noted.
“And then when you’re not making solar at nighttime or in months when you don’t make as much solar, it will you’ll use up your credits,” he added.
“So, it makes most of the energy that property owners need, but they still get a small bill from the utility company for distribution and the infrastructure part that they’re investing in.”
Harvest Solar can demonstrate the solar energy possibilities for property owners with a free custom site analysis. Visit harvestsolar.com or call 888-90-SOLAR to learn more.
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Can’t install plug-in solar panels? No problem — I’ve hand-picked 12 solar-powered gadgets to brighten your home and save you money anyway  Yahoo Tech
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“Cost/Watt varies widely and you get tired after a while of looking at spec sheet after spec sheet.”
Photo Credit: iStock
An EV-owning homeowner in the Midwest took to Reddit for price advice on solar panels.
The plan described in a post on Reddit paired 66 REC 365AA panels with two EG4 12kPV hybrid inverters, using both the roof and a backyard ground mount. The homeowner said they were considering the bulk solar purchase with the panels priced at $102 each.
Because the south-facing roof was 38 feet wide but pitched at 45 degrees, the homeowner estimated that just one accessible row would fit there, allowing for 12 panels on the house and the remaining 54 in the yard. At that price, the full panel order would total about $6,732 — around 28 cents per watt.
Replies centered less on the bargain panel price than on the bigger economics of the project. While the sticker price looked appealing, many warned that a low-cost panel may not be much of a deal once the rest of the system is factored in. Commenters noted that an older panel design may be marked down for a reason and that the modules themselves are often only a small share of total installation costs.
Want to go solar but not sure who to trust? EnergySage has your back with free and transparent quotes from fully vetted providers in your area.
To get started, just answer a few questions about your home — no phone number required. Within a day or two, EnergySage will email you the best options for your needs, and their expert advisers can help you compare quotes and pick a winner.
Going solar is one of the best ways to save money on home energy, especially for households taking on major electric loads such as EV charging. If you’re weighing options, EnergySage can help you get free solar installation estimates and compare quotes before deciding whether a solar panel deal is really worth it.
The cheapest panel on paper is not always the cheapest system in practice.
Older panels can still perform well, but buyers often have to weigh efficiency, warranty coverage, compatibility, replacement logistics, and how much extra racking or land may be needed if lower-output panels take up more space.
That tradeoff applies directly to a hybrid design like this one. Mounting panels on a standing-seam metal roof can be appealing, but a steep pitch may make installation and maintenance more difficult. A ground mount, meanwhile, can add site prep, trenching, and hardware costs even if it offers more flexibility and space.
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Generating power at home and going all-electric can cut utility bills, reduce the cost of charging an EV, and give families more control over future energy expenses.
For shoppers comparing solar equipment, the more important calculation is total installed cost per usable watt — not just the upfront panel price. That means accounting for the full cost of inverters, racking, wiring, labor, permitting, and any added complexity from roof access or ground mounting, while also comparing performance specifications and warranty terms.
The OP captured the frustration many buyers feel while sorting through the options, writing, “There is so much variance in manufacturers and panels available new. Cost/Watt varies widely, and you get tired after a while of looking at spec sheet after spec sheet.”
It’s a lot to consider, and free comparison tools can make that process easier. With EnergySage’s help, the average person can save up to $10,000 on solar purchases and installations. EnergySage’s solar map also shows the average cost of a home solar panel system on a state-by-state level, along with details on solar panel incentives for each state, helping readers get the best price for rooftop solar panels with access to available incentives.
💡Go deep on the latest news and trends shaping the residential solar landscape
Adding battery storage to a solar setup is also one of the best ways to protect your home during outages, save money on energy, and go off grid. A battery can make a solar investment more resilient and flexible — especially for homeowners planning around EV charging or backup power. EnergySage is a great resource for information about home battery storage options as well, including competitive installation estimates.
Get TCD’s free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
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A few clouds early, otherwise mostly sunny. High 71F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph..
Partly cloudy skies in the evening, then becoming cloudy overnight. Low 56F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
Updated: August 29, 2026 @ 2:06 am
A rendering of what the proposed solar array at Trudeau Field on state Route 3 in Bloomingdale, across from the Saranac River and the school district’s bus garage would look like immediately after construction, before trees would be planted.
A rendering of what the proposed solar array at Trudeau Field on state Route 3 in Bloomingdale, across from the Saranac River and the school district’s bus garage would look like after 15 years of tree growth.
The locations of the solar arrays proposed at Trudeau Field on state Route 3 in Bloomingdale, across from the Saranac River and the school district’s bus garage.

A rendering of what the proposed solar array at Trudeau Field on state Route 3 in Bloomingdale, across from the Saranac River and the school district’s bus garage would look like immediately after construction, before trees would be planted.
BLOOMINGDALE — A public hearing on the community solar farm proposed at Trudeau Field in St. Armand has been scheduled for Sept. 10.
The 10-megawatt community solar farm has been proposed by the solar developer Our Generation at the field across from the school bus garage on state Route 3. The energy generated from these panels is proposed to be purchased by town residents at a lower rate.
A 10-megawatt farm can produce power for around 1,500 homes a year.
In June, the town council passed a one-year moratorium on commercial and community solar energy farms to give more time to adopt a local law to regulate such installations. The town does not have zoning requirements for community solar projects regulating their use or decommissioning.
The council has set a public hearing on the solar project for Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. Town Supervisor Davina Thurston said she wants to hear from town residents and particularly the neighbors of the proposed project site.
If neighbors and residents are supportive of the project, Thurston said the town would not rescind its moratorium yet, to give the council more time to draft regulation of solar farms.
Thurston said even negative feedback can be helpful, because then the town knows what it needs to change to make the project more beneficial. Respectful negative feedback, she clarified.
To attend this meeting virtually, go to meet.goto.com/594785805. To attend by phone, dial 872-240-3212 and use the access code 594-785-805.
Dan Leary, a managing partner from Our Generation, gave a presentation on the proposal at the town council’s July 21 meeting.
He said this is not an array to supply a BESS or power a data center.
“Batteries not included,” Leary said.
The farm would put electricity directly into the grid, connecting to National Grid distribution lines that run by the back of the field.
With the community solar program, up to 1,500 St. Armand residents would be able to sign up and get up to 10% reduction of their energy costs from National Grid. Leary estimated that this could save a home an average of $200 per year.
Solar in northern New York produces more energy in the spring and summer months than the cloudy winter months. Leary said the sunny, warm months are also often when more electricity is needed. During the July heatwave this year, he said community and rooftop solar arrays saved ratepayers $200 million statewide.
The project would also increase the town’s property tax revenue. Leary estimated the increase from around $600 to $14,000 in revenue per year for the town. The school district and county would also get more tax revenue.
The solar company would pay National Grid for upgrades to substations and infrastructure.
The project involves two proposed solar arrays — one in the field in view of Route 3 and one behind the tree line. Much of the grassy field is classified as wetlands and cannot hold solar panels. Most of the panels in the field would be in the north end of the field, behind the barns and structures there. The panels would extend into the field, up to around where the bus garage starts across the road.
The locations of the solar arrays proposed at Trudeau Field on state Route 3 in Bloomingdale, across from the Saranac River and the school district’s bus garage.
The solar panels would rotate throughout the day to follow the sun.
The property is owned by the Trudeau family under Trudeau’s Green Valley LLC.
Leary said the project is currently going through the Adirondack Park Agency permitting process. He said though there would be tree cutting to create the smaller array back in the trees, these trees are not old growth.
“My father logged the hell out of that,” Mark Trudeau said. “There ain’t much there.”
The power inverters for solar arrays average a noise level of 60 decibels at three feet away — around the noise level of a normal conversation. Most of this equipment will be in the back of the property. Leary said the noise level from the inverters drops around six decibels every three feet. A six-decibel drop is around a 35% reduction in perceived volume.
He also said they could use fencing and landscaping as buffers.
Leary said they would try to minimize the visual impact, but the panels will be visible from the road. He showed renderings of potential coniferous trees planted around the panels, and said they could possibly use a green privacy fence in the years before the trees take root and really start growing.
A rendering of what the proposed solar array at Trudeau Field on state Route 3 in Bloomingdale, across from the Saranac River and the school district’s bus garage would look like after 15 years of tree growth.
A fence would be installed around the arrays, to keep deer and other large animals out but allow smaller animals to pass through.
He also said they would maintain the property with sheep grazing and pollinator plants.
The Federal Aviation Administration also has design requirements for solar projects. The site is around 5.5 miles from the Adirondack Regional Airport, as the plane flies. Leary said solar panels absorb light instead of reflecting it and modern ones come with anti-reflective glass, putting off less glare than most building materials and natural environments.
Leary said that no harmful or toxic chemicals would leach from the panels, even if they are broken. He said the solar company would be obliged to train fire departments in handling fires or other emergencies at the solar arrays.
The solar panels have a 25-year output warranty and Leary said more than 85% of the material in panels can be recycled.
The project would have a decommissioning bond to cover the cost of returning the land to its current state after the contract ends. The bond would name the town as the beneficiary and escalate with inflation.
More documents about the proposed project can be found at townofstarmandny.gov/community-solar-project-trudeau-field.
To reach Aaron Marbone, email him at acerbone@adirondackdailyenterprise.com
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Westbridge Sells Red Willow Solar-Plus-Storage Project For C$26.7 Million  Finimize
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California county’s new 92-megawatt battery will push midday solar into evening peaks  Yahoo
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© 2025 THE COOL DOWN COMPANY. All Rights Reserved. Do not sell or share my personal information. Reach us at hello@thecooldown.com.
“I also can’t help but think things will get a lot cheaper in a couple of years.”
Photo Credit: iStock
Growing your home battery backup system can cost far more than many homeowners expect.
An online discussion among homeowners with backup systems showed that expanding a system in California or Texas can cost well into five figures.
One homeowner weighing an expansion after their system was commissioned said an additional battery had been quoted at about $15,000. 
“Seeing as I can get another battery for ~$8k delivered, $7k to add another battery to an existing system seems steep,” the original poster wrote in Reddit’s r/FranklinWH community.
The OP added, “I also can’t help but think things will get a lot cheaper in a couple of years.”
Users pointed to similarly high totals. 
A commenter from Texas said their quote was $13,000 and attributed much of the cost to added electrical work, while another user reported: “We got a third one installed after a year. NorCal; $16k.” A poster in Puerto Rico said a local installer there had quoted $9-10,000 for an installed Power 2.
When thinking about a battery backup system, the hardware itself is only one part of the total cost. Once a system is already installed, adding more capacity can require rewiring, upgraded disconnect equipment, and permitting changes.
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Still, battery storage is an increasingly popular option to keep critical appliances and devices running when the grid goes down.
It can also help households save money on energy by storing solar production or low-cost electricity for use during more expensive periods. For some homeowners, adding enough storage is also a practical step toward going off-grid, or at least reducing reliance on a utility.
The economics can look different depending on when a homeowner decides to expand. A battery that appears affordable on paper can be far more expensive once installation and system-upgrade costs are added.
Homeowners who are comparing setups may want to explore EnergySage to get information about home battery storage options, including competitive installation estimates. EnergySage has teamed up with the electrification brand Qmerit to guarantee you get the best price on home battery storage solutions.
For shoppers who do not need a whole-home system, Pila offers plug-and-play batteries that are priced at a fraction of what whole-home backup systems cost. They can keep single appliances, such as your fridge or router, on during outages.
Get TCD’s free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
© 2025 THE COOL DOWN COMPANY. All Rights Reserved. Do not sell or share my personal information. Reach us at hello@thecooldown.com.

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California plug-in ‘Balcony Solar’ bill heads to governor’s desk, expanding solar access for renters  cbs8.com
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Energies Media
For American farmers, the financial math has been brutal for years: rising fuel costs, soaring fertilizer prices, and real estate developers circling fields that families have worked for generations. Selling land to a solar company often felt like just another version of the same bittersweet loss—trading traditional crops for industrial infrastructure and fertile ground for lease payments.
Yet at a small farm in Virginia, kale, broccoli, and garlic are thriving directly in the shade of elevated solar panels. It looks like a modest experiment in shared land use, but it represents a fundamental shift in how agriculture and clean energy can coexist.
The financial pressure on American farmers has been building for years. Fuel costs, fertilizer prices, and tariff uncertainty have steadily eroded profit margins that were already razor-thin. Developers and data center builders are moving into rural counties, offering cash for land worked for generations—creating offers genuinely hard to refuse.
The real problem is permanence. Once prime farmland is paved over or built upon, it rarely comes back. It is not resting or lying fallow; it is removed from agricultural production for good.
Agrivoltaics offers a different path. Instead of forcing an all-or-nothing choice between farming and solar, landowners can do both on the same footprint, generating reliable energy income while continuing to grow food.
Agrivoltaics is formally defined as the intentional co-location of agricultural production and solar energy generation on the same land. Solar panels go up overhead while active farming continues underneath.
Across the United States, most agrivoltaic projects have been limited to sheep grazing. Sheep keep vegetation from shading panels, cut site maintenance costs, and gently condition soil—a relatively simple arrangement. Growing edible crops alongside solar arrays is something else entirely.
Balancing sunlight, spacing, and land use between panels and food requires careful architectural planning. That complexity is what makes the Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows so significant. As Virginia’s first crop-based agrivoltaic system, kale, lettuce, beets, broccoli, and garlic grow directly alongside solar panels.
Passed with strong bipartisan support, legislation known as SB 340/HB 508 officially defines agrivoltaics in Virginia state code for the first time. This statutory framework gives farmers, developers, and regulators clear standards for dual-use projects.
Specific requirements are built into the bill. Projects must complement an existing farm business, and agricultural productivity must be prioritized over the 25-to-30-year life of the solar array. Systems must also remain flexible so farmers can adapt as markets shift.
Signing the bill into law, Governor Abigail Spanberger emphasized its protective purpose: “By establishing clear, enforceable definitions of agrivoltaics in code, we are protecting farmers and keeping land in active production.”
The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) played a central role in shaping the legislation. Working alongside the Virginia Farm Bureau, PEC helped develop the official definition to ensure dual-use projects follow strict agricultural best management practices.
The law is part of a broader package of 12 energy bills signed with PEC support during the legislative session. The expanded code also covers on-farm energy storage and virtual power plants—a decentralized model where farmers store solar energy and earn revenue by collaborating with local utilities, adding income without leaving the land.
The Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows is a working demonstration of what the legislation scales, with solar panels, battery storage, and food crops operating together.
So far in 2026, the farm has recorded a zero electricity bill. Its solar-plus-storage system keeps operations running independently during grid outages. When multiple farms store energy collectively, they function as a decentralized virtual power plant.
With a clear legal framework now in place, farmers across the state have a practical path to co-locate crops and solar without sacrificing farmland.
Which reveals the ultimate significance of this project: what started as a quiet experiment in shared land use on a small Virginia farm has just helped rewrite state law.
Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.
Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.
Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.

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