Solar Now

German company Tegrona has introduced Tegrona Lite, free software for planning the layout of PV systems directly on a photograph of a roof. The tool is aimed at installers and project planners who need to estimate during an initial site visit how many modules can be installed on a roof without using CAD tools or taking on-site measurements.
The software accepts drone photographs, images taken from the ground, and roof plans. Using the image, the user outlines the roof surface with three or four points and defines exclusion zones for obstacles such as chimneys, dormers, skylights and ventilation ducts.
One of Tegrona Lite’s technical features is perspective correction for photographs taken from the ground. In such images, eaves and ridgelines may appear distorted, while rows of roof tiles converge toward vanishing points.
The software uses the tiles themselves as a geometric reference. Because rows and columns of tiles are parallel on the roof, their lines can be used to identify vanishing points and calculate the transformation required to rectify the image.
The procedure also allows users to work with trapezoidal or triangular roof surfaces, for which a correction based solely on four corners would not accurately reproduce the surface geometry. Once the image has been rectified, the eave appears horizontal and the module rows can be aligned with it.
Tegrona Lite uses the known dimensions of the roofing material to convert the image into a scaled representation. The user selects the type of roof tile, and the software identifies and counts the tiles visible in the image to calculate the relationship between pixels and actual dimensions.
The application includes tile profiles such as Frankfurter Pfanne and Hohlfalzziegel and allows users to enter other tile types based on their coverage dimensions. A single known measurement, such as the dimensions of a roof window, can also be used to establish the scale.
Once the geometry and scale have been defined, the algorithm distributes modules across the roof surface according to the specified module dimensions and power rating. Modules can be placed in portrait or landscape orientation, or the two orientations can be combined when this makes better use of the available space.
On roof surfaces that narrow toward the ridge, rows can be shifted laterally and modules rotated to make use of remaining spaces. Users can also specify minimum distances from roof edges and create exclusion zones around obstacles.
With each modification, the program updates the module count, total installed capacity, occupied area, and the number of mid and end clamps required.
The resulting layout can be exported as a technical sheet in PDF or PNG format, showing the module arrangement overlaid on the original photograph.
All calculations are performed locally on the user’s device. In the web version, processing takes place within the browser, and photographs are not uploaded to a server. According to Tegrona, this approach also avoids transferring geolocation metadata that may be embedded in photographs taken by drones.
Tegrona Lite does not include energy yield simulations, shading analysis, string design or structural checks. These functions are outside the scope of the tool and require dedicated PV design software.
The tool does not require registration or an internet connection for processing. Desktop applications are available for macOS 14 and later and Windows 10 and later, while the web version runs on a range of operating systems and devices. The web version is available in 11 languages, including English.
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Press Release – LightYears
The start of construction was marked with a site blessing and sod-turning ceremony on 24 September, bringing together representatives from Lightyears, Mori investment entities, local landowners, and project partners.

Construction is underway on the 15 MW Te Aho o te Rā Solar Farm in Kuratau, near Tūrangi, being developed by Lightyears in partnership with eight local Māori land trusts, incorporations and related investment entities.
The start of construction was marked with a site blessing and sod-turning ceremony on 24 September, bringing together representatives from Lightyears, Māori investment entities, local landowners, and project partners.
The project will include approximately 24,000 solar modules across 32 hectares and is expected to generate around 23.5 GWh per annum, enough to power approximately 3,300 homes each year.
The development represents a significant co-investment in renewable energy, providing participating Māori investment entities with the opportunity to invest directly in a long-term infrastructure asset in the central North Island.
Once operational, Te Aho o te Rā Solar Farm will form part of Lightyears’ growing portfolio of distributed solar assets across New Zealand, adding new renewable generation capacity to the central North Island.
Lightyears Director and Co-founder Matt Shanks says:
“Since our first conversation with the landowners several years ago, we’ve been working on a joint venture structure that can support investment from multiple Māori investment trusts. One of our objectives when starting the business was to make it easy to invest in solar in NZ. We’re really pleased to have got to this point and to enable this co-investment alongside our Lightyears platform.”
The solar farm is expected to be completed by July 2027.
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A parcel of about 54.2 acres at Falta Industrial Park now belongs to Websol Energy System, an India-based solar cell and module manufacturer. The West Bengal government allotted the land for a greenfield manufacturing facility. Plans there call for 4 GW of solar cells and 4 GW of solar modules. Construction is to run in two phases of 2 GW each. Its existing plant sits nearby in the Falta Special Economic Zone. That plant runs 1.2 GW of cells and 550 MW of modules today. Staying close gives the company skilled manpower and suppliers it already knows. As per the release, Websol is one of 14 ALMM-approved cell makers in India and the only one based in the east.
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In Calendar Week 38, the TaiyangNews PV Price Index remained majorly flat, except for some price rise in the cell segment.
Polysilicon prices were flat week-on-week (WoW).
Prices for the wafers too showed no change WoW.
The cell segment saw some action. The prices of TOPCon – n-type 210 mm and Bifacial 210R TOPCon Cell rose by 1.7% and 1.6% respectively.
The modules category also saw no changes and remained flat when compared WoW.
Continuing its past trend, the glass segment in CW 38 remained unchanged. In fact, glass prices have not changed since CW17.
Overall, in a month-on-month comparison, the TaiyangNews PV Price Index has seen a rise in the polysilicon and wafer segments. While cell prices saw a decline ranging from 0.6% to 5.4%, module prices saw a mixture of rise and decline. The Year-to-date (YtD) data shows prices of polysilicon, wafer, cells and glass prices in decline, while modules saw an increase in the prices.
The data refers to average product prices in China. The data was collected by Chinese market research firm Gessey PV Consulting.
Disclaimer: TaiyangNews does not guarantee reliability, accuracy or completeness of this price index’ content. TaiyangNews does not accept responsibility or liability for any errors in this work.
TaiyangNews 2024

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Britain may be famous for grey skies and rainy days, but its sunshine could still help residents shave more than €1,000 a year off household electricity bills.
An analysis of more than 15 million UK homes by solar software company GreenSketch estimates that an optimised rooftop solar and battery system could save the average household around €1,100 a year – what the company calls a ‘sunlight salary’.
Even in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the average savings topped €930.
The findings show that household savings depend on more than sunshine alone. Electricity prices, the angle of your roof, when you use power, battery storage and payments for electricity sent back to the grid are all important factors.
Researchers used satellite imagery to model individual homes, accounting for the slope of rooftops as well as their orientation, local electricity use and hourly solar generation.
Southwest Wales had the highest average estimated savings at around €1,160 a year, followed by southeast England at about €1,150. In Northern Ireland, the best returns were found in the east rather than the south, which GreenSketch says shows that local weather and geography can affect solar generation as much as geolocation.
Those figures challenge the idea that solar panels only make financial sense in sunnier places. Although they generate more electricity in direct sunlight, solar panels still produce power on overcast days – good news for Europe’s less sunny stretches.
Solar can also cover the cost of installment relatively quickly. The Energy Saving Trust – an independent UK energy advice organisation – estimates that a typical system can pay for itself in 10 to 12 years.
The UK findings point to similar potential elsewhere around Europe.
If solar panels don’t need Mediterranean sunshine to cut electricity bills – especially when paired with batteries that let households store power generated during the day and use it later – they could make financial sense far beyond southern Europe.
A Joint Research Centre (JRC) study published earlier this year found that solar panels on rooftops could meet 40 per cent of the EU’s long-term electricity needs by 2050.
In Finland and Denmark, non-residential roofs alone could provide at least 95 per cent of the solar capacity targeted for 2030.
Still, just one in ten European rooftops has solar panels, according to the JRC, leaving enormous room for further expansion.


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Solar Power World
By Billy Ludt | September 25, 2026
Solar United Neighbors (SUN) and Rewiring America will host an energy focused event on Tuesday, September 29, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Montclair Recreation Center in Denver, Colorado. Residents can learn how rooftop solar, battery storage and heat pumps work, and how group purchasing and available incentives can make clean-energy home upgrades more affordable.
Credit: Solar United Neighbors
The “Powering Our Communities” event will provide practical information about solar panels and battery storage, how heat pumps can heat and cool homes, and ways these technologies can help residents lower their energy costs. The event is supporting Switch Together, a group-buying program offered in partnership with the city and county of Denver that helps residents save on solar, battery storage and heat pumps.
“If you’ve ever thought about going solar, now’s your chance,” said Hannah Mitchell, west region Switch Together partner director at SUN. “Switch Together helps you every step of the way. We work with you to understand if going solar is right for you and your family.”
Switch Together uses collective purchasing power to secure competitive prices from vetted contractors. Residents can sign up at no cost and without any obligation to proceed with a project.
In 2025, 5,000 new Colorado residents joined the program and nearly 1,000 went solar. During that program, SUN reported a 20% group discount, or an average discount of $5,135 per participating household. And in 2025, SUN helped more than 20 income-qualified Denver families access additional financial support through a city-partnered rebate program, saving those homeowners an average of $6,000 on upfront solar costs in addition to the group discount.
“Working with SUN was incredibly helpful and cooperative,” said Steve Walsh, a previous Switch Together participant. “We were less informed at the time about what it really takes to go solar and how involved the process can be. SUN walked us through everything step by step. The online information was especially helpful, and the coordination around the rebate made a big difference for us.”
News item from Solar United Neighbors
Billy Ludt is managing editor of Solar Power World and currently covers topics on mounting, inverters, installation and operations.

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What Happens to Old Solar Panels in Australia? (2026 Guide)  Energy Matters
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The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) states that a record 9.1GW of new renewable energy and storage capacity connected to the National Electricity Market (NEM) in FY26, but its annual report makes clear that reliability depends on the investment pipeline delivering on time.
AEMO is the independent system and market operator for Australia’s electricity and gas systems, running real-time operations for the National Electricity Market (NEM), the Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM) in Western Australia and Victoria’s Declared Transmission System, while also providing the forecasting, planning and advice that guides investment decisions across the sector.
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As detailed in its FY26 report, 9.1 GW of new generation and storage capacity reached full output in the NEM during FY26, more than double the volume achieved in FY25.
Registration and application approvals reached 7.4GW and 14.2GW, respectively, while the broader connections pipeline grew 42% over the year, from 53GW to 75.4GW.
Capacity in the application stage more than doubled, and the developer-led implementation stage, which sits outside AEMO’s role in the connections process, grew by 30%.
Efficiency gains accompanied that volume. The average duration for an AEMO application review improved by 9% to 8.6 months, while commissioning reforms delivered a 10% reduction in commissioning time, to 4.5 months.
The report notes the WEM saw its own record volume of connections, with 835MW of new capacity commissioned during the year, including three new grid-scale battery storage projects, and 1.4GW of installed grid-scale battery capacity across the market.
Across the NEM, renewable energy generation, including rooftop solar, accounted for 46% of total generation over the year, exceeding 50% in Q2 of FY26 and setting a new instantaneous renewable energy contribution record of almost 80% for a half-hour period on 11 October 2025.
In the WEM, renewable energy generation accounted for 40.8% of total generation and reached an instantaneous record of 91% on 20 December 2025.
The report states that the expanding capacity of battery storage, both grid-scale and residential, is shifting excess renewable energy generated during the day into evening peak periods, reducing reliance on coal and gas-fired generation while providing essential system services.
Gas-fired generation on the east coast reached historically low levels during the first half of 2026, with the growing role of batteries in meeting evening peak demand cited as a key factor behind lower wholesale electricity prices and reduced price volatility.
AEMO’s FY26 capital investment programme, its largest to date at AU$216.6 million (US$151 million), directed AU$84.4 million toward reform initiatives to implement complex rule and policy changes, with the balance spent on modernising operational and business systems across the NEM, WEM and gas markets.
Through its subsidiary AusEnergy Services Limited (ASL), which delivers government-backed procurement schemes including the federal Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS), AEMO had by 30 June completed 17 tenders across three government schemes, supporting 142 projects representing around 25GW of generation and 100GWh of storage, with a further four tenders underway.
Within FY26 specifically, ASL completed seven CIS tender rounds across the NEM and WEM, five for renewable energy generation and two for dispatchable capacity, implementing a streamlined single-stage tender process intended to accelerate outcomes.
AEMO’s 2026 Electricity Statement of Opportunities, published separately in August, found a clearer pathway to maintaining reliable supply over the coming decade, while warning that continued investment in system security services would be needed as inverter-based resources grow.
AEMO chief executive Daniel Westerman said at the time that “beyond 2030, the next wave of investment will be critical to maintaining reliability.”
The annual report identifies data centres as one of the fastest-growing sources of electricity demand across Australia’s energy systems, now treated as a distinct category in AEMO’s planning and forecasting.
Data centre electricity consumption is forecast to grow from around 3% of NEM operational consumption today to approximately 8% by 2030, with 17 proposed data centre projects representing a combined maximum connection capacity of 9GW progressing through the transmission connection process as at 30 June.
To read the full article, please visit Energy-Storage.news.

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Arunachal Pradesh Health and Family Welfare Minister Biyuram Wahge on Wednesday, September 23 inaugurated the state-level launch of the Energy for Health initiative, under which solar power systems will be provided to 393 healthcare centres across the state.
The initiative, implemented in collaboration with the SELCO Foundation, aims to improve the reliability of power supply at public health facilities, particularly in remote and resource-constrained areas.
The inauguration programme was held at the Primary Health Centre (PHC) Itafort in Itanagar and was attended by Commissioner of Health Pawan Kumar Saini and Secretary, Health Department, Vivek H.P.
During the event, Wahge released the photo book ‘Energy for Health – Arunachal Pradesh’ and launched the Saura e-Mitra App, a digital incident management system aimed at strengthening the monitoring and management of incidents related to health facilities.
A Health Facility and Human Resource Mapping System, a web-based application, was also launched during the programme. The system is intended to provide digital mapping of healthcare facilities and human resources across the state.
Dr Harish Hande, Chief Executive Officer of the SELCO Foundation, briefed the gathering on the organisation’s Energy for Health initiative and its work in strengthening energy access for healthcare facilities.
The SELCO Foundation’s Energy for Health programme is a nationwide initiative focused on providing reliable solar energy and energy-efficient medical technology to public health facilities in remote and underserved areas.
Under the programme, decentralised solar photovoltaic systems ranging from 3 kWp to 15 kWp, along with battery backup systems, are installed at healthcare facilities to ensure a more reliable power supply.
The foundation plans to provide solar energy solutions to 25,000 public health facilities across 12 states by the end of 2026. The initiative is expected to strengthen healthcare delivery and climate resilience for more than 170 million people and support over 160,000 frontline health workers.
The programme has been developed in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, state health missions and funding partners, including the IKEA Foundation.
In Arunachal Pradesh, the initiative is expected to support healthcare centres in addressing power-related challenges and improving the availability of essential medical services.
Copyright©2026 Living Media India Limited. For reprint rights: Syndications Today
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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.
They pointed to the twice-yearly CA Climate Credit as a probable factor.
Photo Credit: iStock
California’s NEM 3.0 rules have a reputation for making rooftop solar harder to justify on paper, especially when midday power exports bring in relatively little. 
That is why one PG&E customer’s first-ever negative bill sparked attention online. On Reddit’s r/Solar community, they wrote, “It has been 3 years. I am on the Solar NEM 3.0 plan with PG&E. But I saw a negative bill for the FIRST time ever.”
The South Bay homeowner has a 7.8-kilowatt solar system with a 13.5-kilowatt-hour Powerwall+ battery. The original poster said the home uses roughly 14 kilowatt-hours each day on average, while August production came in at about 40 kilowatt-hours per day.
The OP added that their bill turned negative because stored energy from the Powerwall was sent back to the grid during the 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. period in August, while their daytime solar exports to the grid “get me nothing.”
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.
As the OP put it, the negative bill was “something to celebrate before I pay through the nose for the winter heating.”
One commenter added, “August is the money making month. It’s when the export values are over $1/kWh in certain evening hours.”
Several commenters also said the below-zero bill likely was not driven by exports alone. They pointed to the twice-yearly CA Climate Credit as a probable factor and added that NEM 3.0’s separate delivered and produced credits can make a flashy export rate look simpler than the actual bill math.
The discussion highlighted a core complaint about California’s newer solar billing structure, that extra electricity exported during the day is worth far less than power discharged during a small set of evening hours. Much of the thread focused on batteries as the tool that makes that timing possible.
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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.
A home battery can do more than reduce a utility bill. It can keep key appliances running during outages, help families get through heat waves, and make homes more resilient when the grid is under strain.
And in places with time-based utility rates, batteries can also automate much of the strategy behind when electricity gets used or exported, making ownership lucrative.
For homeowners navigating similar rate plans, the biggest factors are usually system design, battery settings, and when electricity gets used inside the home. A noticeable improvement can come from using more power outside the priciest evening hours and saving stored solar energy for the export period with the strongest payout.
Homeowners can explore EnergySage for information about home battery storage options and solar panel options, including competitive installation estimates.
💡Go deep on the latest news and trends shaping the residential solar landscape
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. 
Other homeowners are asking the same questions about when solar exports pay the most and whether batteries change the equation. 
• A California solar owner found the battery changes everything when PG&E export credits stay low.
• Across the country, homeowners learned net metering rules often decide whether a battery pays off.
• In Massachusetts, rooftop panels and mini-splits left a homeowner thousands of kilowatt-hours ahead on paper.
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Illustration: Xia Qing/GT
Solar photovoltaic (PV) products are crucial for the adjustment of energy structure and the green transformation of industries. …
Recent US solar sector bankruptcies have revealed a significant decline in its industrial competitiveness due to trade barriers, …
As of Monday, China’s first zero-carbon desert highway – the longest photovoltaic (PV) demonstration project for irrigation and …

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L-G Vinai Kumar Saxena approves installation of 500KWp Solar Photovoltaic Plant at NDS Ice Hockey Rink in Leh L-G says project will strengthen Ladakh’s green energy goals and support development of world-class winter sports infrastructure.
Leh, May 10: The UT of Ladakh is all set to achieve a unique fusion of renewable energy generation and modern sporting infrastructure, with Lt. Governor, Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena, giving approval for the installation of a solar plant atop the famous Ice-Hockey Rink in Leh.
The 500 KWp on-grid Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) Plant on the rooftop of the NDS Ice Hockey Rink in Leh will be installed at an estimated cost of Rs 2.38 crore. It is a significant step towards promoting renewable energy and sustainable sports infrastructure in Ladakh. The project will be developed under the Special Development Package (SDP) of the Youth Services and Sports Department, UT Ladakh.
The project will serve as a model for integrating renewable energy solutions into public infrastructure projects across the Union Territory. Under the guidance of Lieutenant Governor Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena, efforts are ongoing to actively promote solar energy and other sustainable initiatives in line with its broader objective of environmental protection, clean energy transition and sustainable development in Ladakh.
“The installation of the rooftop solar plant at the NDS Ice Hockey Rink is an important step towards integrating clean energy solutions with modern sports infrastructure. As Ladakh moves towards becoming a carbon-neutral and environmentally sustainable region, such initiatives will help reduce the carbon footprint while promoting green and energy-efficient development. At the same time, the project reflects our commitment to strengthening sports infrastructure and creating world-class facilities for the youth of Ladakh,” said Lieutenant Governor Shri Saxena.
Ladakh, being an ecologically sensitive Himalayan region, requires sustainable and climate-responsive infrastructure development. The installation of the Solar Photovoltaic Plant at the NDS Ice Hockey Rink, apart from harnessing the abundance of sunlight, would also contribute towards reducing carbon emissions and further strengthen Ladakh’s efforts to emerge as a carbon-neutral region.
The initiative forms part of the UT Administration’s broader vision to develop environmentally sustainable and modern infrastructure in Ladakh while reducing dependence on conventional energy sources. The rooftop SPV plant is expected to significantly reduce electricity consumption costs and promote clean energy usage at the state-of-the-art ice hockey facility.
The Ice Hockey Rink at Leh has already emerged as a major venue for national-level winter sporting events and has successfully hosted the prestigious Khelo India Winter Games for three consecutive years. Plans are afoot to make this facility operational round-the-year.
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Waaree Enters Specialty Gases Market, Targets Semiconductor And Solar Cell Manufacturing  businessworld.in
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Achieving efficient optimal power extraction of centralized photovoltaic array by migranting whale algorithm under partial shading conditions  Frontiers
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Intelligent fault detection in photovoltaic systems: sensing modalities, AI methods, generalization and future trends  Frontiers
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Pakistan is witnessing one of the fastest and most unusual energy transitions in the developing world. It is not being led primarily by government policy, public investment or climate targets. Households, farmers and businesses are driving it in response to electricity prices and reliability.
The numbers are extraordinary. According to the International Energy Agency’s September 2026 Electrification Special Report, Pakistan imported about 51GW of solar panels between 2021 and 2025. Installed distributed solar capacity in 2025 is estimated at between 28 and 38GW, with rooftop systems accounting for roughly 80 per cent and residential consumers for around half of installations. Battery imports also rose sharply, from about $120 million in 2022 to nearly $300 million in 2025.
Perhaps the most revealing number has nothing to do with solar. The IEA reports that the median firm in Pakistan experiences around 45 hours without grid electricity every month. That helps explain what has happened.
Pakistan’s solar boom is therefore a consumer response to an electricity system that has become too expensive and, for many users, insufficiently reliable. Consumers are no longer waiting for power-sector reform. They are building their own reliability. The solar revolution is, in that sense, a market verdict on the existing system.
For decades, Pakistan’s electricity debate was dominated by shortages and loadshedding. The response was to add generation capacity through long-term, exorbitantly expensive contracts designed to attract investment when the country
desperately needed power.
The problem has now changed. Pakistan has substantial installed generation capacity, yet electricity remains unaffordable for many households and uncompetitive for much of industry. Circular debt continues to accumulate. Distribution losses, theft and poor recoveries remain serious, while transmission constraints impede efficient dispatch. Consumers ultimately pay through tariffs, taxes or public debt.
Then came a technological shock. Global solar-panel prices fell sharply just as grid tariffs were rising. Businesses discovered that electricity generated on their roofs could cost considerably less than electricity purchased from the grid. Households followed. Farmers began solarising tube wells. Falling battery prices are now allowing consumers to store daytime generation and reduce dependence on the grid after sunset.
Consumers responded to economic incentives much faster than institutions. Solar should therefore not be viewed only through the lens of climate policy. For industry, it is about competitiveness; for households, affordability; and for farmers, greater energy independence.
Pakistan has effectively developed a second electricity system alongside the first: decentralised, privately financed and increasingly independent of the conventional grid. That is a remarkable achievement, but also a serious challenge for policymakers. The electricity system was built on the assumption that utilities would sell increasing volumes of electricity and recover fixed generation, transmission and distribution costs through those sales. Distributed solar has severely disrupted that model.
As consumers generate more electricity themselves, grid sales decline. Fixed costs, however, do not disappear. Capacity payments, transmission and distribution networks, debt servicing and other legacy obligations still have to be financed. This has created a vicious cycle. Higher tariffs make solar more attractive. As more consumers install solar, grid sales fall. Fixed costs then have to be recovered from fewer units sold, putting further pressure on tariffs and making solar and batteries still more attractive.
There is also an equity problem. Consumers most able to install solar and batteries tend to have access to capital. Poorer households and small businesses remain dependent on the grid. Unless the system changes, Pakistan risks creating a two-tier electricity economy: affordable and reliable self-generation for those who can invest, and an increasingly expensive grid carrying legacy costs for those who cannot.
The wrong response would be to blame solar. Consumers did not create circular debt, inefficient DISCOs, transmission bottlenecks, poor recoveries or expensive legacy contracts. They responded rationally to the product offered. Punitive charges, abrupt policy changes or barriers to distributed generation may slow the transition temporarily, but they will not solve the economics that caused consumers to leave the grid. The question must change from how we protect the grid from solar to how we redesign the grid for a solar economy.
The grid remains indispensable. Solar produces electricity when the sun shines, while a modern economy requires electricity around the clock. Industry cannot operate on intermittency, hospitals cannot depend on weather and cities need resilient networks. But the grid of the future cannot operate like the grid of the past.
DISCOs will have to evolve from geographic monopolies that depend on selling more units into modern distribution-system operators managing two-way electricity flows among consumers, generators, batteries and the national grid. That requires smart metering, digital networks, better forecasting, storage and tariffs that reflect the changing value of electricity during the day.
Time-of-use pricing should encourage demand when abundant solar makes electricity cheaper and discourage avoidable consumption during expensive peaks. Batteries should not be seen as another way to leave the grid; properly integrated, they can help balance the system.
Pakistan must also move towards a more competitive electricity market. Large consumers should increasingly be able to purchase electricity through wheeling and the Competitive Trading Bilateral Contract Market rather than remain captive to geographic monopolies. DISCO reform and private-sector participation should be judged by investment, governance and measurable performance, not merely by ownership.
Energy policy should also avoid becoming an ideological contest between solar, hydro, nuclear, coal or gas. Pakistan needs the least-cost, reliable and increasingly indigenous energy mix capable of supplying electricity around the clock while reducing exposure to imported fuels.
If solar and storage can reduce production costs for textiles, engineering, agriculture, IT services and SMEs, that is a competitive advantage Pakistan should capture. The objective should not be to force consumers back into an expensive system but to make the grid valuable enough that they choose to remain connected. A modern grid can provide what individual solar installations cannot easily offer: balancing, backup, reliability, electricity trading and access to power generated elsewhere in the country.
Another remarkable feature is that households and businesses have effectively financed tens of gigawatts of generation – capital the government did not have to borrow, guarantee or add to public debt.
Instead of treating that investment as a threat, Pakistan should regard it as a national asset and redesign the electricity market so it can be productively integrated.
The solar revolt is therefore both an opportunity and a warning. It shows how rapidly consumers can move when technology provides a better alternative, and what happens when institutions adapt more slowly than the people they serve.
The answer is not to resist the revolution, but to redesign the grid, DISCOs, tariffs, regulation and the electricity market around a reality that has already arrived.

The writer is a former managing partner of a leading professional services firm and has done extensive work on governance in the public and private sectors. He tweets/posts @Asad_Ashah

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Home – Energy – New Haven turned a landfill that stopped accepting trash more than 20 years ago into a solar farm with over 1,900 panels, enough to generate the equivalent annual electricity use of about 200 homes while bringing the city $72,000 a year in rent
A landfill in New Haven, Connecticut, stopped accepting trash more than two decades ago, but its working life is not over. More than 1,900 solar panels now occupy the capped site, with expected annual production exceeding 1.4 million kilowatt-hours (roughly the electricity use of 200 homes).
The city also receives $72,000 a year in rent under a 20-year agreement with Greenskies Clean Energy, equivalent to $6,000 a month. The bigger lesson goes beyond electricity, showing how land with limited redevelopment options can become useful again without finding an entirely new site.
The array began sending electricity to the local grid on July 9, 2026, ahead of a July 20 completion celebration. “On July 9th, we flipped the switch,” said Steve Winter, the city’s climate and sustainability director. Greenskies built the installation in less than a year, despite what it described as a “tough winter.”
Despite the setting, the new installation gets its energy from sunlight, not the garbage underneath it. Photovoltaic panels convert sunlight directly into electricity, while the landfill’s buried waste remains beneath its protective cover.
Greenskies operates the installation and sells its electricity to United Illuminating, where it joins the wider grid serving homes and businesses. So the 200-home figure expresses estimated annual production, not a promise of dedicated power lines to 200 selected households. Output changes with daylight and weather, so annual totals should not be mistaken for round-the-clock supply.
For New Haven, the direct financial return comes from leasing the land, not selling the electricity itself. At the reported annual rate, 20 years of rental payments would add up to $1.44 million.
Does that mean everyone’s electric bill will fall? Not necessarily, because rental income for the city and household utility charges are different things. Officials have discussed more predictable energy costs, but the lease payment is not a guaranteed discount for individual customers.
A closed landfill is not just an empty building lot. Its cap helps keep rainwater from entering the buried waste, and solar construction must accommodate drainage, gas management, and environmental monitoring systems.
Guidance from the Environmental Protection Agency describes weighted mounting systems that can hold panels in place without driving foundations through that cap. Think of a sturdy base resting on the surface, although engineers still need to account for wind, settlement, and the weight the cover can safely support.
Even with those options, not every landfill is a good candidate. Site conditions, access to the electrical grid, and the cost of construction and maintenance all influence whether a proposal makes sense. Regular access for inspections and repairs must remain available long after construction crews leave.
For communities trying to add renewable electricity, location matters alongside the equipment. The Department of Energy identifies previously developed sites, including landfills, as opportunities for solar where housing or other uses may be unsuitable.
The EPA also lists protecting open space among the advantages of putting renewable energy on previously used or contaminated properties. In practical terms, that can mean less pressure to develop another piece of land simply to find room for panels.
There is a climate benefit to consider, too, although “clean energy” does not mean an installation has no environmental footprint. Solar panels generate electricity without direct air pollution during operation, but manufacturing their materials still requires energy and resources. Reusing a landfill addresses the land-use part of that footprint, not every impact of making and operating a solar system.
This is already more than a one-city experiment. In its December 2024 tracking report, the EPA identified 332 solar projects on former landfills, a historical snapshot rather than a live count of every installation operating today.
At the July celebration, Greenskies reported that city facilities hosted 4 megawatts of solar capacity, with another 3.5 megawatts in development. Officials were also exploring additional panels at the landfill, although that was a possibility rather than a completed expansion. Earlier collaborations brought solar parking canopies to L.W. Beecher Museum Magnet School and Hill Central School.
For this property, the new use adds electricity and rental income without changing its status as a closed landfill.
The project’s completion press release was published on Greenskies Clean Energy.
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“The interesting finding for us was not that silicon is cheaper but where the remaining cost sits.”
Photo Credit: Getty Images
A new study led by the University of Surrey in England suggests one of the best ways to make satellites cheaper may come from a familiar material much closer to home: silicon. 
Researchers estimated that replacing the solar cells now standard in space with newer silicon versions could cut satellite power costs by up to 90% and reduce the amount of solar-cell weight a spacecraft needs by about half, Phys.org reported.
The review in the journal Acta Astronautica found that silicon solar cells could provide a far cheaper option than the triple-junction cells that have long been the norm for spacecraft.
For decades, space hardware has depended on triple-junction cells made with materials such as gallium, indium, and germanium, and those cells cost about $250 to $450 per watt. 
Silicon, by contrast, is priced in the tens of cents per watt. 
As of November 2025, the three main silicon designs — PERC, TOPCon, and heterojunction — averaged $0.275, $0.285, and $0.39 per watt.
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Performance has improved, too. Silicon heterostructure cells have reached 27.8% efficiency, while perovskite/silicon tandems have hit 34.85%.
To test what that could mean in realistic use, the Surrey team modeled two spacecraft setups: one side of a 3U CubeSat and a Micro Sat from Surrey Satellite Technology Limited. 
Even with protective space-qualified glass included, the study found savings of about 85% to 90%.
Silicon has been used in space before. From 1958 to 1977, it was the standard solar-cell material for spacecraft, until gallium arsenide cells took over because they delivered better efficiency and radiation resistance.
What is different now is how far silicon technology has advanced. Today’s designs are much more sophisticated, suggesting that a once-left-behind material could be positioned for a return to orbit.
Lighter, cheaper satellites can ripple through the aerospace sector and beyond. Lower launch mass can free up room for fuel or instruments, while lower hardware costs can make it more affordable for companies and governments to expand services people rely on every day, such as weather forecasting, communications, navigation, and Earth monitoring.
Those services can help cities respond to extreme weather, support agriculture, and improve emergency planning — all while easing the cost pressures that often limit satellite deployment.
The study suggests the next challenge isn’t simply proving that silicon is inexpensive, but figuring out how to shield it in space without adding too much cost and weight.
For silicon arrays, researchers found that the biggest expense comes from the protective coverglass. If engineers can improve radiation tolerance, they may be able to use thinner glass or substrates.
That could create a double benefit: lower costs for satellite operators and lighter spacecraft that are cheaper to launch. For companies building space-based networks or scientific missions, that may open the door to more frequent launches and more affordable systems.
Tommy Richards, a Ph.D. student focused on future space solar cell technology and the review’s first author, discussed the study’s findings.
“The interesting finding for us was not that silicon is cheaper but where the remaining cost sits,” he began. “Once you put silicon cells behind space-qualified glass, the glass is what you are paying for. That changes what we should be working on.” 
“If we can make the cell itself tougher against radiation, we can use thinner glass or substrates, and we cut cost and weight at the same time. It reframes the problem from a materials contest into an engineering one we know how to attack.”
Advanced developments are changing the face of space technology, bringing benefits that can be seen on Earth. 
• NASA and Ascent Solar are testing ultralight solar film for satellites and the space station.
• NASA may be turning perovskite solar cells into a lighter power option for spacecraft.
• At King’s College London, engineers said space-based solar power could supply electricity at continental scale.
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India Has the Sun, But Where Is Its Concentrated Solar Industry? Photograph: (AI)
On the outskirts of Olpad, a coastal village about 30 km from Surat in Gujarat, the problem was not a shortage of water. The sea was right there. What villagers lacked was water they could drink.
The groundwater beneath the village was highly saline, with total dissolved solids (TDS) of around 800 mg/l, and families often depended on water tankers for their daily supply. For a group of four young engineers from Gujarat, this presented a question that was as much about energy as it was about water: could the sun be used to turn seawater into drinking water without depending on the grid?
Few years ago, chemical engineer Yash Tarwadi, then in his early twenties, and three fellow engineers began working on that idea. Their startup, Solnce Technologies, developed Sol-Evo, a solar-thermal desalination system that used concentrated sunlight to generate the heat required to desalinate water. In 2018, the team took the technology out of the laboratory and installed a standalone pilot unit at Olpad.
The concept was relatively simple, but its implications were significant. Instead of relying entirely on grid electricity to run a conventional reverse-osmosis system, the plant used concentrated solar energy as its primary source of heat. The system could process about 1,500 litres of seawater a day and produce potable water — an especially relevant proposition for coastal communities where electricity supply can be unreliable but sunlight is abundant. The usage of Concentrated Solar Project (CSP) for solving this critical problem, hints at the utility of this technology.
The numbers explain why. India’s installed solar capacity crossed 168 GW by August 2026, according to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. In the first five months of FY27 alone, the country added nearly 17.8 GW of solar capacity. But behind that extraordinary growth sits a technology that has never quite found its place in India’s energy transition: concentrated solar power, or CSP.
CSP uses mirrors to concentrate direct sunlight and convert it into heat. That heat can either be used directly in an industrial process or stored — often in molten salts or another thermal-storage medium — and subsequently used to generate steam and electricity after the sun has gone down.
That ability to store heat is the reason CSP once looked like the natural companion to solar PV. It is also the reason the technology has refused to disappear.  Yet more than a decade after India made CSP one of the centrepieces of its first National Solar Mission auctions, the technology remains a niche. The contrast is striking.
In August 2026, India had 168.04 GW of solar power capacity. CSP does not appear as a meaningful standalone category in the country’s current solar-capacity statistics. India’s first major CSP programme was supposed to look very different.
In Phase I of the National Solar Mission, more than 60 bids were received for CSP projects and seven projects totalling 470 MW were selected. But the programme did not produce anything close to the scale originally envisaged. A Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) study found that the government had tendered around 500 MW of CSP but that only about 10% of the targeted deployment had been installed at the time of its assessment.
The reasons were technical, financial and, ultimately, economic. But the story becomes more revealing when viewed through what happened both inside and outside India.
Perhaps the clearest warning about India’s solar-thermal journey does not come from an industry conference or a failed private project. It comes from Parliament. Few years back, the Public Accounts Committee presented its 61st Report on “Non-utilisation of Solar Thermal Power Plant”. The committee examined a 1 MW grid-interactive solar thermal power plant established at the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) in Gurugram.
The project, developed with IIT Bombay and other partners, had cost about ₹46.26 crore. It was not functioning. The PAC said the expenditure had become “infructuous” and asked MNRE to explore the possibility of reviving the plant at the earliest. The CAG had found that the failure to develop a dedicated workforce capable of operating the plant continuously had contributed to its non-utilisation.
That finding is important because it captures one of India’s recurring problems with emerging energy technologies. The country has often been good at announcing demonstration projects. It has been less successful at turning those demonstrations into functioning commercial ecosystems.
The parliamentary committee itself pointed out that three other similar solar-thermal projects — two in Rajasthan and one in Andhra Pradesh — were operating successfully, suggesting that the technology itself was not necessarily the problem. The question, therefore, was not whether concentrated solar could work. It was whether India could build the ecosystem around it. That question remains unanswered.
The first National Solar Mission experiment was ambitious. Seven projects, using different CSP technologies, were awarded a total of 470 MW through reverse auctions. The projects included parabolic trough and linear Fresnel systems, with individual project sizes ranging from 20 MW to 100 MW.
The problem was that the auction mechanism pushed developers towards very aggressive tariffs at a time when the technology was still unfamiliar in India. The Climate Policy Initiative later found that the average tariff produced through the auction was about 25% below the reference tariff for Phase I CSP. But only developers with strong financial backing, access to public debt and considerable risk appetite were able to make progress. The 100 MW Rajasthan Sun Technique project, for example, benefited from about $280 million in long-term foreign public debt and extensive technology guarantees.
In other words, India succeeded in discovering a low theoretical tariff. It did not succeed in creating a commercially repeatable CSP industry.
CSP is not PV. A photovoltaic project can be assembled from standardised modules, inverters, structures and cables, with a relatively straightforward construction cycle. A CSP plant is closer to a conventional power project.
It has a solar field, tracking systems, receivers, heat-transfer systems, steam generation, turbines and, increasingly, thermal storage. Every additional component adds engineering and financing risk. India was trying to learn all of that while simultaneously asking developers to bid aggressively.
The result was delays, financing problems, technology-procurement difficulties and, in several cases, projects that never materialised. A CEEW-NRDC study from the early years of the National Solar Mission had already identified many of these problems. It found that no CSP plant under the programme had been financed on a conventional non-recourse basis; developers struggled to find adequately trained technicians; reliable Direct Normal Irradiance data was inadequate; and heat-transfer-fluid availability was a bottleneck.
The report also warned about another contradiction that remains relevant today: the best CSP locations are often dry regions where water is scarce. Five of the seven National Solar Mission CSP projects were in Rajasthan, and the report noted that their dependence on the Indira Gandhi Canal created a risk to generation because of water-supply shortages.
While India was trying to solve these problems, another solar technology was undergoing a revolution. PV module prices fell. Manufacturing scaled. Utility-scale solar parks became easier to finance. Developers became comfortable with the technology. And tariffs fell to levels that made CSP look increasingly difficult to justify for ordinary daytime electricity.
This is the central economic problem for CSP in India. If the requirement is simply to generate electricity when the sun is shining, PV wins. The CSP argument begins only when the value of heat storage, dispatchability or high-temperature process heat is taken into account. That distinction has become even more important as battery storage has become cheaper.
TERI’s May 2026 consultation on CSP and thermal energy storage brought together government officials, utilities, developers, financial institutions and technology providers. One of the questions raised during the discussion was blunt: with BESS prices falling significantly, why would buyers choose CSP and thermal storage?
That is now the fundamental test for CSP.  But whether what it does is worth paying extra for.
If India wants to understand both the promise and the limits of CSP, it does not have to look far beyond the world’s best-known example. The Noor Ouarzazate complex in Morocco has become synonymous with large-scale concentrated solar.
The complex has around 580 MW of combined capacity, including 360 MW of parabolic-trough CSP, 150 MW of central-tower CSP and 70 MW of PV. Its CSP plants use thermal storage to extend generation beyond daylight hours. Noor was built around a very different institutional model from India’s early CSP programme.
Morocco treated solar thermal as strategic infrastructure. Development banks and international institutions provided large amounts of concessional finance, while the Moroccan solar agency MASEN played a central role in project development.
The World Bank and other institutions were not simply financing a power plant. They were helping build a national solar programme. The result was one of the world’s largest CSP installations. But Noor also provides a warning against romanticising the technology.
The 150 MW Noor III tower plant suffered a major molten-salt storage failure and remained offline for more than a year. It resumed operations in April 2025 after repairs. The plant uses more than 7,400 heliostats and stores heat at temperatures reaching around 565°C.
Reuters reported that the storage problem contributed to a roughly $47 million impact for ACWA Power and raised questions about the technology’s cost and reliability. Morocco’s own next-generation solar programme tells an even more interesting story.
Noor Midelt was initially conceived as a hybrid PV-CSP project. But disputes over the economics and reliability of CSP delayed the project, with Morocco’s energy ministry and grid operator pushing for alternatives involving PV and batteries. Reuters reported that the original $2 billion, 800 MW project had been stalled amid those technology disagreements.
By 2025, the next Noor Midelt projects had shifted towards PV plus battery storage rather than the original PV-CSP configuration. So even Morocco — perhaps the world’s most important CSP laboratory — is asking the same question India is asking. Where does CSP still make economic sense when PV and batteries keep getting cheaper?
This is where India’s less glamorous solar-thermal projects become much more interesting. Take Muni Seva Ashram in Goraj, Gujarat. The institution has been experimenting for years with concentrating solar systems to produce steam for applications including cooking, laundry and other institutional requirements.
This is a completely different proposition from a 100 MW power plant. The solar concentrator is not competing with PV for the lowest electricity tariff. It is replacing a conventional source of heat. That could mean LPG, diesel, electricity or another fuel. Suddenly the economics look different. The same logic appears in India’s solar-cooking experiments.
Janak Palta McGilligan’s work at the Barli Development Institute for Rural Women in Madhya Pradesh has involved training thousands of women in solar cooking and food processing, with hundreds of solar cookers deployed through the programme.
The Brahma Kumaris’ India One solar-thermal plant at Abu Road in Rajasthan provides perhaps the clearest Indian example of CSP being designed around a known energy requirement rather than around an abstract electricity tariff. The 1 MW solar-thermal plant uses hundreds of parabolic dishes and thermal storage to provide energy for the organisation’s large campus. The significance is not its size. It is the business model. The plant has a captive consumer.
There is no need to convince a DISCOM to buy expensive solar electricity simply because it is solar. The energy is produced where it is needed. That model is repeated, in different forms, across India’s solar-thermal installations. And it points towards what may ultimately be the technology’s strongest Indian market.
Maharashtra is beginning to create that market. The emergence of solar-steam tenders in Maharashtra is therefore worth watching. Public agencies have begun procuring Scheffler-based solar steam cooking systems for institutional facilities, including facilities of the State Reserve Police Force.
These are not giant CSP power plants. But they are arguably more important for the industry’s future. A tender creates a customer. A customer creates a performance requirement. A performance requirement creates an O&M market. A growing O&M market creates confidence among lenders and technology providers. And enough installations can eventually create a manufacturing ecosystem. That is precisely what India’s first CSP programme struggled to achieve.
The country’s largest power utility is also testing whether CSP can make sense in the emerging market for firm renewable electricity. NTPC has invited interest in a 50 MW CSP project coupled with thermal energy storage capable of providing eight hours of peak and non-solar-hour generation.
It has also examined a 100 MW renewable round-the-clock configuration combining wind and CSP, with at least 200 MWh of dedicated CSP thermal storage, and another 100 MW configuration using CSP, storage and other renewable sources including PV and wind. This is a fundamentally different proposition from the National Solar Mission auctions. The question is no longer:
“How cheaply can CSP generate solar electricity?” It is: “How much does the grid value renewable electricity that can be dispatched when required?” That is a question India will increasingly have to answer.
Electricity demand is rising rapidly. The IEA expects India’s electricity demand to grow at an average 6.4% a year through 2030, while the share of variable renewables is also expected to increase significantly. As solar and wind penetration rises, the value of flexibility will rise too. The challenge is that CSP is not competing for that market alone.
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Scientists turned a regular camera into a much cheaper solar-panel testing tool  digitaltrends.com
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“These records are probably not going to last very long.”
Photo Credit: iStock
For the first time, Australia’s National Electricity Market reached renewable energy levels of 80% for two consecutive days, with rooftop solar supplying over half the demand.
According to The Independent, on Sept. 18 and 19, the National Electricity Market, which serves eastern Australia, South Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory, hit record levels.
On Sept. 18, the grid was at 79.5% renewables around 1:30 p.m. Five-minute readings indicated it reached 80.1%.
Rooftop solar supplied 47.9% of generation, and utility-scale solar added another 22.1%, while brown and black coal accounted for about 20% and gas stayed below 1%. In total, renewables produced 26,316 megawatts, compared with just over 2,000 megawatts from fossil fuels, according to the newspaper.
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On Sept. 19, the Australian Energy Market Operator logged an 80.4% renewable share. For about 30 minutes around lunchtime, rooftop solar met over half of total demand, while most of the remaining supply came from solar and wind farms along with a small amount of hydropower.
“These records are probably not going to last very long; they’re probably going to be broken in the next couple of weeks,” University of New South Wales energy systems researcher Dylan McConnell told The Guardian, as The Independent noted.
For households, going solar is one of the best ways to save money on home energy. Homeowners who want to see what a project might cost can use EnergySage to get free solar installation estimates and compare quotes.
Australia’s Energy Minister Chris Bowen wrote on Facebook that there was “more clean, cheap, sovereign energy powering our homes and businesses than ever before.” That kind of energy mix means less pollution and less exposure to volatile fuel prices.
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Per The Independent, renewables in the National Electricity Market averaged 46.5% in the first quarter of the year, then 42.1% across the three months to June.
Such milestones require continued investment in solar, wind, transmission, and storage. “There’s a long way to go, but expect more and more of these milestones in the future as Labor gets on with the job of the energy transition and delivering real cost of living relief,” Bowen wrote on social media.
For homeowners, EnergySage can help you go solar by letting you curate competitive bids from local installers without exchanging contact information unless you choose to work with one. With EnergySage’s help, the average person can save up to $10,000 on a solar purchase and installation.
Tools such as EnergySage’s solar map, which shows the average cost of a home solar panel system by state and details solar panel incentives in each state, can help homeowners get the best price for rooftop solar panels and access available incentives.
💡Go deep on the latest news and trends shaping the residential solar landscape
Adding battery storage to a solar setup is one of the best ways to protect your home during outages, save money on energy, and go off-grid. Batteries can store extra daytime electricity for use after sunset or when the grid goes down. Homeowners can also explore EnergySage for information and installation estimates on home battery storage options.
Australia’s grid records show a clear shift toward renewable energy sources. Here are some more stories that dig into solar.
• In Australia, a battery boom is helping steady an increasingly volatile solar-heavy power market.
• Across Australia, an AI system is unlocking rooftop solar for apartment buildings long left behind.
• In Western Australia, Gold Fields is building its largest solar farm for a major mine.
• In New South Wales, 6,000 sheep are thriving beneath 1 million solar panels.
• Worldwide, wind, solar, and storage costs keep falling as renewable deployment accelerates.
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Australia’s main grid hits 80% renewables on consecutive days, rooftop solar tops half of demand  yahoo.com
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HALIFAX COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) – Two men were charged with possession of stolen goods/property after about 2,000 feet of copper wire was taken from the solar panels at Roanoke Rapids Solar Farm, according to deputies.
The copper was recovered and returned to the farm.
Halifax County deputies first responded on Tuesday at around 7 a.m., where they reported the theft.
Deputies went back to the scene the next day at around 8 a.m. in response to two men on the property.
Timothy Joyner and Johnny Miller both admitted to the crime after being caught on cameras set up on the property, according to deputies. They were identified by their clothing and tattoos.
Joyner was also charged with breaking and entering, injury to personal property, and larceny. He received no bond.
Miller was also charged with conspiracy and received a $15,000 secured bond.
The two men will appear in court on Sept. 23.
Copyright 2026 WITN. All rights reserved.

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Off-grid homeowner runs propane generator at 38%, learns the inverter may need AC input  Yahoo Tech
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Portugal launches tender for new photovoltaic plants  theportugalnews.com
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Wind turbines and photovoltaic panels in Yancheng, East China’s Jiangsu Province deliver reliable green energy on August 15, 2024. According to data from the National Energy Administration, as of July, China’s installed renewable energy power generation capacity reached 1.65 billion kilowatts, up 25 percent year-on-year. Photo: VCG

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The responses pointed to a different solution that is often simpler and cheaper.
Photo Credit: iStock
On Reddit, a budget-conscious homeowner asked a question that likely sounds familiar to many first-time solar shoppers: If mini-splits account for most of a home’s electricity use, can those units be separated from the main panel and powered only by solar and batteries?
The responses pointed to a different solution that is often simpler and cheaper. Instead of creating a separate setup just for heating and cooling, it may make more sense to install solar that offsets the household’s overall power use.
The original poster said their 1,500-square-foot home relies entirely on mini-splits for heating and cooling and asked, “Question is: how would we take those off of our panel and have them run solely off of solar/battery? Is this even possible?”
While commenters said that kind of arrangement can be built, most described it as less practical and less cost-effective.
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“The solar panels are going to produce whatever they’re going to produce. There’s nothing special about the electricity that goes to the mini-splits versus the rest of the house… Installing a system that only partially offsets your usage is something that is done all the time,” one commenter explained.
Put another way, homeowners can still lower their electric bills with solar without separating out a single appliance or circuit.
For households looking to reduce utility costs, going solar is one of the best ways to save money on home energy, even if the system does not cover every load in the house. You can use EnergySage to get free solar installation estimates and compare quotes.
Solar savings come from lowering total electricity bought from the grid, not from assigning panels to a particular device. If a system covers part of a home’s daily power demand, it can reduce grid purchases no matter which appliances are running.
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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.
Because the homeowner said they live in Maine, several commenters focused on net metering as a major factor. In that grid-tied setup, extra daytime generation can offset power used later, which may reduce the need for a large battery bank.
Battery storage is often one of the most expensive parts of a solar installation. Creating a dedicated off-grid or mini-split-only battery system can mean more equipment, added electrical work, and a longer payoff period than a standard grid-connected system designed to cut the home’s total bill.
For homeowners in a similar situation, a common starting point is to review utility interconnection and net-metering rules and then look closely at actual household electricity use. From there, a reputable installer or electrician can help compare the economics of a smaller grid-tied system, a whole-home backup design, or a battery add-on.
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 by state, along with details on solar panel incentives for each state. Together, those resources can help homeowners get the best price for rooftop solar panels and access available incentives.
💡Go deep on the latest news and trends shaping the residential solar landscape
Adding battery storage to a solar setup is one of the best ways to protect your home during outages, save money on energy, and go off grid. It can also help keep critical systems running when the grid is down. You can explore EnergySage for information about home battery storage options, including competitive installation estimates.
These stories look at how homeowners are using solar alongside mini-splits, backup batteries, and net metering. They also show what those setups meant for energy bills in practice.
• On Cape Cod, solar paired with mini-splits and net metering left one homeowner 4,100 kWh ahead.
• In Australia, a 20kW solar setup made blackouts invisible and delivered a $545 credit.
• During 90-degree heat, rooftop solar powered whole-house AC and two EVs with energy left over.
• In Connecticut, a mini-split could wipe out 200 gallons of oil.
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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Generally cloudy. High 69F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph..
Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Low 56F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Updated: September 27, 2026 @ 12:45 pm
A crowd listens to a presentation about GreenKey Development’s proposed solar project slated for Fairfield Township.
Supervisors Ernie Henderson and Jim Brown, Secretary Carrie Tantlinger, Solicitor Amber Leechalk and Supervisor Paul Altimus meet for a public hearing for GreenKey Development’s upcoming solar farm Tuesday evening. 
GreenKey Development’s lawyer Pete Zittel gives a presentation about a slated solar project for Fairfield Township Tuesday night. 

A crowd listens to a presentation about GreenKey Development’s proposed solar project slated for Fairfield Township.
Supervisors Ernie Henderson and Jim Brown, Secretary Carrie Tantlinger, Solicitor Amber Leechalk and Supervisor Paul Altimus meet for a public hearing for GreenKey Development’s upcoming solar farm Tuesday evening. 
GreenKey Development’s lawyer Pete Zittel gives a presentation about a slated solar project for Fairfield Township Tuesday night. 
Whether powered by coal, gas or solar, energy companies have proposed a plethora of projects in Westmoreland County, and rural Fairfield Township is no exception.
The township supervisors held a Tuesday public hearing with GreenKey Development LLC to garner resident opinions on a proposed 59-acre solar farm. GreenKey Development plans to purchase a 112.7-acre property for the facility from owner Bertha V. Martin. It’s located at Fort Palmer Road and state Route 711.
Solicitor Amber Leechalk said the project still needs approvals and permits, such as one from the Westmoreland County Conservation District. On top of that, a final plan still needs to be formalized before it can be approved, she said.
The project will not cross the supervisors’ desk for a vote until all the approvals and permits are obtained.
Leechalk said the most likely next step will be an executive session for the board to discuss the solar farm.
Real estate exemptions under the Sunshine Act only apply to properties a municipal government itself is leasing or purchasing.
Leechalk did not respond to a Wednesday voicemail asking for an explanation of why the solar farm would be discussed in a closed-door meeting.
The project, named Bertha Solar, will consist of four quadrants of panels. The nearest residential property would be over 300 feet away from the facility.
“Back in 2024, the board of supervisors passed an ordinance, setting rules and regulations for such developments … Now, it’s being tested,” Supervisor Paul Altimus said at the beginning of the two-hour meeting.
GreenKey’s lawyer, Pete Zittel of Pittsburgh-based law firm Babst Calland, said he believes the project aligns with the ordinance. He emceed a presentation to the supervisors and crowd.
The project will include permanently tilted panels that will generate electricity for the grid. The area is buffered by trees, GreenKey’s Pennsylvania Permitting Coordinator Tracy Tackett said.
She also mentioned that it will cost $20 million to build.
The highest point of the panels will be 9 feet off the ground, Civil Engineering Manager Jackson Nickel said. The facility will be surrounded by a fence with wildlife cameras to protect it from vandalism.
The company also developed an emergency management plan it will share with area agencies if the project is approved.
The most workers on-site at a time would be 50 people during construction, Zittel said.
Tackett outlined a decommissioning plan and said GreenKey will pay for it. They would remove all the panels, concrete and gravel, she said. She mentioned that part of the reason solar companies make these plans is to soothe the “bad taste in everyone’s mouths” from oil and gas companies.
“Everything will be restored,” she added.
Tackett also talked about how GreenKey will plant native grass. On other sites, the company has allowed sheep to graze, she said. She said they will consider partnering with local farmers in Fairfield Township if there is interest.
Next, Nickel went over the equipment, which will involve transformers and inverters. The inverters will make the most sound on-site, hovering around 65 decibels up close. This would be similar to the volume of an air conditioner, he said.
Within 120 feet of the inverters, the sound sits at less than 45 decibels, which is about the volume of a running refrigerator.
Nickel said the six-month construction process is set to take place while animals are hibernating so as not to disturb them.
He said developers performed a glare analysis and learned the panels will have similar reflectivity to a pond and that an anti-reflective coating will be added.
GreenKey’s presentation also included copies of an approval letter signed by the county commissioners.
GreenKey previously proposed a solar farm in Unity Township on Charles Houck Road, but the project was rejected by the Zoning Hearing Board.
Nickel said the Fairfield Township project is the first Westmoreland County project to make it to this point.
Tackett said other GreenKey solar sites have gone up in Crawford and Bradford counties.
Residents question solar farm’s impact
Though the meeting didn’t start until 5 p.m. Tuesday, doors opened at 4 p.m. as board Secretary Carrie Tantlinger said Monday she was expecting a larger audience.
About 22 people crowded the meeting hall before the presentation began and chatted with developers. The meeting grew slightly heated between residents and the developers but simmered down by the end.
Residents expressed concern over the environmental impact of the site, noise levels, safety, traffic and aesthetics.
Tackett said she is happy to perform a noise study and will work with the township on managing traffic if necessary, and repair the road after any wear and tear.
Russel Davies, a longtime resident, questioned the purpose of solar farms in general.
“I could call them ‘ugly,’ but I don’t want to go there,” Davies said. “So the life of the project is at least 25 years … how many years into that will you counteract what environmental disasters you’ve created by putting it in?”
Tackett said no environmental disasters will be created. When asked specifically about cancer-causing agents, she said there is a type of metal some solar panels use that can contribute to the development of cancer. However, GreenKey will not be using any of those panels, she said.
“We don’t use any toxic chemicals,” she said.
Sherry Mitchell, who inherited a neighboring property along with her three siblings, suggested GreenKey post the entire presentation online for the public to view.
Tackett agreed, though she initially thought the township did not have a website. Zittel said he would jot down a list of emails where he would share the presentation as well.
Mitchell was mainly concerned about how a solar farm will look from the perspective of her property, which she said she was planning to turn into an agriculture tourism site.
Tackett said the company could likely work with Mitchell to integrate the solar farm as part of the tourism experience.
GreenKey anticipates residents will have some opposition to solar farms, which is why they welcome public feedback, Nickel told the Bulletin after the meeting.
“It’s pretty typical … a lot of it’s just questions,” he said. “A lot of it’s just things [people] have seen online.”
The supervisors are set to meet again publicly on July 9 at 3 p.m. in the township building at 159 Midget Camp Road.
Annabelle Chipps can be reached at achipps@latrobebulletinnews.com.
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BARBER COUNTY, Kan. (KWCH) – The emergency manager in Barton County provided information surrounding a weekend fire at a solar farm near Medicine Lodge as the investigation into the cause continues.
There were no injuries reported in Saturday afternoon’s fire at the Pixley Solar Facility, and in the immediate aftermath, Barber County Emergency Management reported “no current danger to the environment or human health from the fire.”
The emergency manager said Public Service Company of Oklahoma owns and operates the solar farm.
Copyright 2026 KWCH. All rights reserved. To report a correction or typo, please email news@kwch.com

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Grid and construction problems delay 427MW of new power in South Africa  MyBroadband
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A tipping point in Indian energy  Business Standard
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Vikram Solar retains top PV Brand Tag for second year  manufacturingtodayindia.com
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The Tatarstan company "2P Engineering" has patented a forest fire ground thrower that can use solar energy to additionally power the working mechanism. The machine is based on a tractor with a high-torque hydraulic motor installed at the rear.
The hydraulic motor spins a flywheel with milling cutters that dig into the soil and throw soil into the area of a ground fire. The operator can change the working depth of the mechanism with a hydraulic cylinder.
An unusual part of the design is its own solar power plant directly on the tractor. A group of photovoltaic modules equipped with a sun tracking system is placed on the mast around the support. Electricity from the photovoltaic modules enters a system with a battery that powers an additional electric motor.
The main mechanical work is performed by the hydraulic drive, and the electrical system provides it with additional energy. The developers expect this to reduce energy consumption and increase the operating time of the ground thrower.
The first tech

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–
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis built their Los Angeles farmhouse around solar power, agriculture and water access, creating a 2.4-hectare (6-acre) property whose solar array produces significantly more electricity than the house requires. Known as KuKu Farms, the compound sits on a hilltop above Beverly Hills and includes a main house, a guesthouse and entertainment barn, and a freestanding barbecue pavilion. Architectural Digest documented the completed property in its June 2021 issue, with Howard Backen as architect and Vicky Charles handling the interiors.
The couple’s approach went beyond installing solar panels. A private well irrigates the land, and during the COVID-19 lockdown they planted and harvested a field of corn on the property. Backen has described soil, food and water as practical considerations in the project’s approach to sustainability and regenerative farming.
Kutcher bought the parcel for US$8 million in 2007, Realtor.com has reported. The couple broke ground on the residence in 2017, and the finished compound includes the main house, a two-story guesthouse, and the pavilion on the six-acre lot.
Architectural Digest describes the project as a five-year undertaking without specifying when that period began. Kutcher and Kunis worked with Backen and Charles from the ground up, beginning with separate Pinterest boards they created to collect design ideas. When they compared them, roughly 90% of the images overlapped, and many of the houses they had selected turned out to be Backen’s own work.
No source reviewed for this article puts a figure on the finished construction cost. The US$8 million figure refers to the land purchase.
The photovoltaic system is the most thoroughly documented part of the project. Panels are concealed above the main house’s expansive porch, and the array generates substantially more power than the property consumes. Municipal codes at the time complicated sharing that surplus beyond the property line, a limitation the homeowners hoped would eventually change.
California Energy Designs lists the residence in its portfolio as an MEP engineering project and credits itself with HVAC and plumbing design. The firm’s project information identifies the home’s systems work alongside the solar installation, while Backen & Backen’s project page describes the residence as powered by a solar array.
The engineering also had to account for the architecture. The entertainment barn has floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides, while the main house uses tall ceilings and extensive glazing. Those features created cooling and airflow requirements that formed part of the system’s design.
The six-acre property also supports agricultural use. Kutcher and Kunis drilled the well to irrigate the land, and the corn they planted during the COVID-19 lockdown was later harvested.
Backen has said the couple approached sustainability through practical concerns involving soil, food and water. The firm’s project description identifies regenerative farming practices among the property’s features.
The available documentation identifies the well as an irrigation source and the cornfield as agricultural production. It does not establish that the property supplies all of the family’s drinking water or food.
Backen designed the compound using reclaimed wood, board-formed concrete and glass. The main house connects to the guesthouse and entertainment barn, while the barbecue pavilion stands separately. The buildings are arranged along a central axis, and landscape design firm L.Z. Design Group worked the grounds around the same layout.
A 10-foot crystal chandelier that Kutcher and Kunis already owned became part of the design process. Kunis told Architectural Digest that they built the barn around the chandelier. Charles later incorporated the fixture into the interiors alongside furnishings carried over from the couple’s previous home.
The documented picture is narrower than a claim of complete off-grid independence. KuKu Farms generates more electricity than the house requires, has its own well for irrigation and has produced food on the property. The available record supports describing the residence as energy self-sufficient, but it does not establish complete independence from outside food or water supplies.
See all the latest news from Colombia and the world at ColombiaOne.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow ColombiaOne on Google News, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and subscribe here to our newsletter.
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Ohio village puts 9,222 solar panels on reservoir, now has 13 times the state’s solar per resident  Yahoo
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September 22, 2026 10:33 ET  | Source: Treasure Global Inc. Treasure Global Inc.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Sept. 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Treasure Global Inc. (NASDAQ: TGL) (“Treasure Global” or the “Company”), a Southeast Asia–anchored technology company focused on AI-powered enterprise solutions and digital transformation, today announced that its subsidiary, Tadaa Technology Sdn Bhd (“Tadaa”), has entered into a strategic partnership with Kainan Sdn Bhd (“Kainan”) to provide AI-enabled technology solutions for a proposed US$367 million solar farm development spanning approximately 1,000 acres with a planned capacity of 360 megawatts (“MW”). The project is intended to supply renewable energy to a data centre under a 25-year power supply arrangement.
The project marks Tadaa’s expansion into large-scale renewable-energy technology and provides a long-term commercial framework for the deployment. Upon full deployment, Tadaa is targeting approximately US$7.3 million in annual technology-related revenue from the project.
Under the partnership, Tadaa will provide the AI-powered digital backbone for the solar farm, integrating IoT-enabled infrastructure, intelligent energy management, real-time performance monitoring, data analytics, predictive maintenance, system integration and secure cloud infrastructure. The technology is intended to support reliable, efficient and data-driven management of renewable-energy generation.
“This initiative represents an important step in extending our AI and technology capabilities into large-scale renewable-energy infrastructure,” said Sam Teo, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Treasure Global. “The 360 MW project, supported by a 25-year power supply arrangement for a data centre, provides Tadaa with an opportunity to establish a strong track record in AI-enabled energy management. As data-centre energy demand and renewable-energy infrastructure continue to grow, we believe intelligent monitoring, analytics and predictive capabilities will become increasingly important in improving asset performance, operational efficiency and the reliability of large-scale renewable-energy infrastructure.”
The project positions Treasure Global within one of the world’s fastest-growing energy markets. Global solar PV capacity increased from approximately 710 GW in 2020 to 1,865 GW by the end of 2024, while global investment in solar PV was expected to reach approximately US$450 billion in 2025, according to the International Energy Agency (“IEA”), underscoring the scale of the market opportunity for technology-enabled solar infrastructure.
Malaysia is also accelerating its renewable-energy transition under the National Energy Transition Roadmap (“NETR”), which targets renewable energy accounting for 40% of installed capacity by 2035 and 70% by 2050. The upcoming Large-Scale Solar 6 (“LSS6”) program is expected to add approximately 2,650 MW of new capacity, highlighting the growing domestic pipeline for renewable-energy technology and energy-management solutions.
The initiative also aligns with the global transition toward cleaner energy infrastructure and growing environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) priorities, while extending Treasure Global’s AI and technology capabilities into a high-growth infrastructure sector.
Treasure Global views the 360 MW project as a potential foundation for further expansion into renewable-energy technology serving energy-intensive infrastructure. The Company intends to leverage the deployment as a reference for future solar, data-centre energy and clean-energy opportunities in Malaysia and across Southeast Asia, creating potential for additional recurring technology revenue and long-term growth.
Kainan is a Malaysia-based renewable energy company established in 2007, specializing in the development of solar energy projects and participating in Malaysia’s Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS).
About Treasure Global:
Treasure Global is a Malaysia-based technology solutions provider specializing in innovative platforms that drive digital transformation in retail and services. The Company’s flagship product is the ZCITY Super App, which integrates e-payment solutions with customer loyalty rewards to create a seamless online-to-offline user experience. As of March 31, 2026, ZCITY has attracted 2.71 million registered users, positioning Treasure Global as a key player in Malaysia’s digital economy. Treasure Global continuously leverages cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence and data analytics, to enhance its platform’s capabilities across e-commerce, fintech, and other verticals.
Visit treasureglobal.org for more information.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements reflect the Company’s current expectations, assumptions, and projections about future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements typically include terminology such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “projects,” “seeks,” “should,” “will,” or similar expressions.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, without limitation, the development and completion of the proposed solar project; achievement of the planned 360 MW capacity; performance and duration of the contemplated power supply arrangement; Tadaa’s ability to deploy and commercialize its AI-enabled technology solutions; achievement of targeted annual revenue; project financing and execution; regulatory and permitting requirements; technology performance; data-centre power demand; cybersecurity and data privacy risks; changes in renewable-energy policies; and broader economic and energy-market conditions.
The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date hereof. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.
CONTACT
Investor and media contact:
Investor Relations Team
Treasure Global
ir_us@treasureglobal.org
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Sept. 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Treasure Global Inc. (NASDAQ: TGL) (“Treasure Global” or the “Company”), a Southeast Asia–anchored technology company focused on AI-powered…
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Aug. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Treasure Global Inc. (NASDAQ: TGL) (“Treasure Global” or the “Company”), a Southeast Asia–anchored technology company focused on AI-powered…

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“If the price looks TOO good to be true, don’t trust it.”
Photo Credit: iStock
A shopper trying to buy from Calpak said a fake storefront nearly drained their debit card after mimicking the brand’s real website and dangling a 70%-off sale.
According to a post on Reddit’s r/Scams forum, the shopper was searching for Calpak, a travelwear company, when they landed on what looked like the brand’s website. The page seemed convincing and promoted a major discount.
The warning signs did not stand out until the checkout process was already underway. The OP said a credit-card verification pop-up appeared, and only then did they realize the address “was not just Calpak.com, it was something else ending in .it.”
The charges followed quickly. They said their debit card was used for two transactions — one for $300 and another for $1,700 — money they described as “literally all the money I had on it.” They locked the card, contacted their bank, and stopped the fraud.
This kind of scam is especially troubling because it closely mirrors normal shopping behaviors: people are encouraged to compare prices and hunt for deals, and scammers can exploit that instinct.
Commenters aimed much of their frustration at paid search placements and platform accountability. One commenter warned, “Never click on the sponsored search result sites at top.” Another described the situation: “Search ads are basically a scammer slot machine now.”
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Others pointed to the financial risk of using a debit card online. A debit card can pull money directly from a checking account, leaving victims scrambling to cover bills or everyday expenses while fraud claims are investigated.
Before checking out, look carefully at the full URL, not just the brand name at the start of the page. Scam domains often add extra words, have unusual endings, or include slight misspellings that are easy to overlook.
Avoid clicking sponsored links when searching for a retailer. Several commenters said they skip ads altogether and scroll until they find the official site instead.
One commenter advised, “never use your debit card as a charge card,” arguing that stronger fraud protections on credit cards can make a major difference when something goes wrong.
If a checkout page throws up unusual prompts, asks for strange verification steps, or simply feels off, it may be best to back out immediately and navigate to the retailer through another trusted source.
The OP wrote, “I know now that it’s a scam, but I only know because I was a victim of it.” As another commenter put it, “If the price looks TOO good to be true, don’t trust it.”
Misleading listings, suspicious sellers, and too-good-to-be-true pricing can trip up shoppers online. These stories cover counterfeit Amazon goods, hidden retail pricing, and deceptive resale practices.
• Amazon shoppers said counterfeit and mislabeled products made routine purchases feel like a gamble.
• Retailers still hide prices behind “Add to Cart” to see rules that frustrate shoppers.
• On Vinted, shoppers said a problematic online trend left them realizing the truth too late.
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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95% of the panels now in use are expected to reach end of life by 2045.
Photo Credit: Getty images
Alberta is rolling out a new fee on solar panels in an effort to address what to do with aging equipment once it reaches the end of its useful life.
An environmental charge of 14 Canadian dollars will be added to each new solar panel supplied in Alberta starting Oct. 1, according to pv magazine.
Panels that have already been installed will not be subject to the fee. Instead, the charge is meant to build funds for collecting, transporting, and recycling solar panels after they are retired.
For homeowners, that added expense appears relatively small next to the cost of a full system. The provincial government said that a standard 20-panel residential installation would incur CA$280 in fees, or less than 1.5% of the installation price, pv magazine reported.
Alberta is pairing the policy with projections about a substantial future waste stream. The province says it has the second-largest installed solar capacity in Canada, and 95% of the panels now in use are expected to reach end of life by 2045, creating up to 72,700 tonnes of material to manage.
Alberta describes the effort as North America’s first solar panel recycling program of its kind.
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As solar adoption rises, end-of-life planning is becoming a bigger part of the clean energy conversation.
Alberta also says solar panels will be barred from landfill sites across the province.
The fee has drawn pushback from some renewable energy advocates, who argue that even modest added costs can send the wrong message to investors and developers.
Alongside the fee, Alberta says it will work with the Alberta Recycling Management Authority and industry partners to grow reuse and recycling capacity over time. The money collected is intended to ensure funding is available as more panels reach the end of their useful lives.
Environment and Protected Areas Minister Grant Hunter said Alberta is putting the system in place to recover valuable materials, attract private investment, and create a new recycling industry.
“Alberta needs stable, predictable policy to attract investment and build the affordable, reliable electricity the province needs. Adding unnecessary costs to new renewable energy projects sends the wrong signal at a time when Alberta needs more electricity in the system,” Radha Rajagopalan, director of policy for Alberta at the Canadian Renewable Energy Association, argued in a LinkedIn post, per pv magazine.
Hunter said: “Alberta has never been afraid to lead. We will not wait until mountains of dead solar panels are piling up in our landfills before acting.”
Other parts of North America are wrestling with many of the same issues.
• In Tennessee, BBB Industries is opening a facility to recycle 125,000 solar modules yearly.
• In Odessa, Texas, a company is expanding solar panel recycling capacity as waste concerns grow.
• In Connecticut and Virginia, advocates are pushing faster home solar permitting to lower homeowner costs.
• In the U.S., a lawsuit is pressing officials to reinstate Solar for All funding.
• A new analysis says solar panels save homeowners about $700 a year.
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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Soil protection measures can make agri-photovoltaics more sustainable  Phys.org
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The global solar photovoltaic (PV) market entered a more demanding phase in 2025. After four years of rapid expansion, tracked module shipments declined for the first time, falling by 6% to 643 GW. Meanwhile global installations still reached a record 664 GW, lifting cumulative capacity to around 2.9 TW. The supply-side imbalance has deepened. Global nameplate module capacity reached 1,315 GW in 2025 more than double actual shipments, compressing utilisation rates and tightening margins across the industry¹.
In Europe, the picture combines slowing deployment with a structural manufacturing gap. Installations edged down slightly in 2025 as cumulative capacity crossed 406 GW, but the more consequential challenge lies further up the value chain. Module production capacity has contracted to 10.8 GW, cell manufacturing remains negligible, and ingot and wafer production has effectively disappeared from the EU. The NZIA’s 30 GW manufacturing target by 2030 remains distant for most value chain segments, worsened by the recent cancellation of several gigafactory projects.
Globally, demand remains robust, but is increasingly shaped by grid constraints, permitting delays and financing conditions rather than unconstrained volume growth. Additionally, 2025 marks a transition from volume-driven growth to a market where utilisation rates, supply chain localisation, and financial resilience define competitive positioning.
After four years of uninterrupted growth, global PV module shipments recorded their first contraction in 2025. The top manufacturers tracked by Enerdata shipped a combined 643 GW, down 6% from 687 GW in 2024, marking a clear turning point for a market that had expanded more than fourfold since 2021 (Fig. 1). This decline should be read with caution. Part of the market remains difficult to track, as many small and private manufacturers do not publicly disclose shipment volumes. In addition, some 2025 installations may have relied on inventories built up in previous years. Even so, the slowdown points to a more constrained deployment environment, shaped by grid congestion, limited storage, permitting delays, financing barriers, curtailment, and supply chain adjustments.Consequently, SolarPower Europe has lowered its Medium Scenario for global cumulative solar PV installations by 2030 from 7.1 TW to 6.6 TW².
The path leading to this point had been exceptional. Tracked shipments rose from 172 GW in 2021 to 287 GW in 2022 (+67%), then surged to 519 GW in 2023 (+81%) before slowing to 32% growth in 2024. The 2025 contraction does not indicate a collapse in demand, as global solar installations remain historically high. It does, however, suggest that the market is moving from a phase of rapid volume expansion to one marked by saturation, price pressure, and consolidation.
Figure 1: Tracked PV Modules Shipments (40 largest companies WW) – GW

Source: Enerdata’s own calculation *Methodology¹
The top five hold their positions; the top 2 players trade positions
The ranking of leading module manufacturers changed little at the top in 2025. LONGi regained first place with 87 GW shipped, the only player among the top four to post growth, up 12% from 78 GW in 2024. JinkoSolar followed closely with 86 GW, down 8% from its 2024 market-leading level of 93 GW. JA Solar (70 GW, -9%) and Trina Solar (67 GW, -13%) completed the top four, both recording sizeable volume declines compared with 2024, when each shipped 77 GW. Taken together, the performance of the top four reflects the broader market contraction and marks a reversal for JinkoSolar and Trina Solar after their strong growth in the previous cycle (Fig. 2).
Among mid-tier players, the picture is more mixed. Canadian Solar was the standout performer, growing shipments 29% to 40 GW, one of the strongest year-on-year gains across the entire tracked field. In contrast, TW Solar (Tongwei) declined 12% to 43 GW, while Astronergy (Chint) fell 8% to 37 GW. DMEGC was another notable outperformer, expanding shipments 47% to 25 GW, while GCL held flat at 25 GW. DAS Solar grew modestly by 4% to 24 GW, and Yingli posted a solid 20% increase to 24 GW.
Figure 2: PV Modules Shipment 2024/2025 & Change %

Source: Enerdata’s own calculation *Methodology¹
First Solar (18 GW, +29%) also outperformed the market. As the only non-Chinese manufacturer in the top fifteen, its growth was supported by the US domestic manufacturing push under the Inflation Reduction Act, even as the policy environment around that support has become less predictable. Although Canadian Solar is registered in Canada, its production facilities are predominantly based in China.
Risen Energy recorded the steepest decline among the tracked companies, with shipments falling 52% to 12 GW from 25 GW in 2024. Aiko recorded strong annual growth of 133% to 15 GW, while HuaYao increased shipments by 16% to 10 GW.
Figure 3 World Top PV Modules Shipment 2025 (GW) & (Share %)

Source: Enerdata’s own calculation *Methodology¹
Solar PV deployment reached 2.9 TW in 2025, with the 3 TW milestone approaching ahead of schedule
Global solar PV deployment is now moving at a pace with little historical precedent. It took nearly seven decades, from the first commercialisation of solar cells in 1954, to cross the 1 TW threshold. The second terawatt was added in just two years
In 2025, 664 GW was installed, taking total capacity to around 2.9 TW ² and bringing the third terawatt within reach. By comparison, 449 GW were installed in 2023, followed by 597 GW in 2024, which has brought cumulative global capacity to 2.2 TW. Annual installation growth continues to slow, from 85% in 2022 to 12% in 2025, a trend expected to continue in the coming years.
Annual growth continues to soften, reaching 12% in 2025 with 664 GW of new additions 
As the market matures and international supply chains continue to face geopolitical shocks, 2026 could bring further deceleration or even a minor contraction. Current scenarios place annual installations between 501 GW (-25%) and 724 GW (+9%) ¹. This outlook reflects expectations of a weaker Chinese market, rising curtailment, and continued supply-chain adjustments. Looking further ahead, annual global installations are projected to reach 930 GW by 2029 under the Medium Scenario and could exceed 1.2 TW under the High Scenario. In both cases, a global solar market adding 1 TW per year appears possible before 2030. Cumulatively, these additions would put total solar capacity on track to exceed 6 TW by the end of the decade, strengthening solar PV’s role as the main contributor to the global 11 TW renewable energy target for 2030. 
Figure 4: Global Cumulative Solar PV Market Outlook

Source: Solar Power Europe ²
However, despite the overall market deceleration projection, the recent blockage of Strait of the Hormuz has hiked demand for solar from China doubling exports in March to 68 GW³. Recent geopolitical developments could alter this outlook, as government are placing greater emphasis on energy security and the diversification away from fossil fuels. out of necessity, sovereignty or change of market dynamics.
Production capacity continues to expand, now reaching 1,315 GW — with utilisation rates telling the real story
In contrast with the shipment contraction, global nameplate PV module production capacity continued to grow in 2025, reaching 1,315 GW, up 27% from 1,039 GW in 2024 (Fig. 5). Since 2021, total nameplate capacity has increased more than fivefold from 250 GW. This expansion, well ahead of actual shipment volumes, is a key driver of the industry’s profitability pressure. With 643 GW shipped against 1,315 GW of available capacity, the aggregate utilisation rate stands at roughly 49%, a level that makes healthy margins difficult to sustain for many manufacturers. 2024 has seen significant price drop in solar panel, drastically lowering the profitability of Chinese companies. Several large companies have recorded negative profits despite increased shipment⁴.
Figure 5: World Total Nameplate PV Modules Production Capacity (GW)

Source: Enerdata’s own calculation *Methodology¹
This divergence between capacity and shipments is not new, but it is widening. In 2024, the top manufacturers shipped 687 GW against approximately 1036 GW of combined capacity, resulting in an utilisation rate of around 66%. The drop to roughly 49% in 2025 represents a meaningful operational deterioration, and one that is unevenly distributed across the competitive field. Companies continued investment in overcapacity is an evident symptom of market distortion resulted from substantial subsidies directed to this industrial sector in China. The solar industry in China, which dominates around 90% of the global supply chain, has received subsidies amounting to 3.2% of company revenues, compared to an average of 0.9% across 15 other key industries⁵.
Nameplate production capacity continues to expand far faster than actual shipment volumes, and the divergence is sharpest among the largest players. LONGi’s 67% utilisation rate against 130 GW of capacity and JinkoSolar’s 57% against 150 GW illustrate the tension between scale investment and commercial absorption. JA Solar (70%) and Trina Solar (74%) maintained relatively tighter alignment between capacity and output — among the more disciplined ratios in the top four. TW Solar (Tongwei) stands out as the most capacity-efficient of the major Chinese manufacturers, running at 87% utilisation with 43 GW shipped against 50 GW of nameplate capacity. Canadian Solar similarly achieved approximately 80% utilisation, as did DAS Solar.
Figure 6 Annual Shipments Compared to Nameplate Production Capacity

Source: Enerdata’s own calculation *Methodology¹
Among the manufacturers shown in the graph, Hanwha Qcells recorded one of the lowest utilisation rates, at 36%, after shipping 9 GW against 25 GW of nameplate capacity. Some smaller players also show very low utilisation levels, including Ronma at 16% and Runergy at 14%. These figures should be treated with caution and would require further verification, as public data on shipment and production capacity can be incomplete.
At the opposite end, DMEGC exceeded its rated capacity, shipping 25 GW against a nameplate of 21 GW — a utilisation rate above 100% that points to temporary production overshoots, outsourcing production or inventory drawdowns, marking the company as one of the more commercially aggressive smaller players in the current environment. Risen Energy similarly ran at full capacity (12 GW shipped, 12 GW nameplate), suggesting lean but fully committed production. Yingli and HuaYao PV both recorded 50% utilisation, while First Solar’s 58% reflects a manufacturing base still ramping rather than one operating at steady state.
EU solar installations contract for the first time in a decade, with 65.1 GW expected in 2025
After a decade of near-uninterrupted expansion, the European solar market is entering a more turbulent phase, shaped less by new installation records than by the gap between deployment ambition and domestic industrial capacity. The EU is expected to install 65.1 GW of new solar PV capacity in 2025, marking the first annual market contraction in ten years. The slowdown had already begun in 2024, when growth eased sharply to 2.8%, reaching 65.6 GW after three years of exceptional expansion: +38% in 2021, +48% in 2022 and +51% in 2023. The 0.7% decline expected in 2025 shows that while the EU solar boom is still significant, but now under measurable pressure (Fig. 7).
Figure 7: EU Annual Solar PV Installations (GW)

Source: Solar Power Europe ⁶
Yet cumulative progress remains substantial. By year-end 2025, total installed EU solar PV capacity reached 406 GW, placing the bloc 1.6% above its own 400 GW milestone for 2025. This represents a fivefold increase from the 86 GW installed in 2015 and nearly triple the 2020 level of 141 GW, a testament to the speed of the previous expansion cycle. Looking further ahead, only the High Scenario projecting annual installations rising from roughly 70 GW in 2026 to more than 95 GW by 2030⁶ would keep the EU on a trajectory consistent with its 2030 solar targets.
The NZIA sets a 30 GW manufacturing target; the gap between ambition and reality varies sharply by value chain segment
Beyond deployment, Europe’s more structural challenge is manufacturing. The Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA)⁷, which entered into force on 29 June 2024, sets a target of at least 30 GW of domestic solar manufacturing capacity by 2030 at each stage of the value chain. This responds directly to the EU’s deep dependence on Chinese suppliers, which continue to dominate global module shipments.
The distance to that 30 GW target differs starkly across the value chain. Solar inverter manufacturing has long surpassed it, reaching 96 GW in 2025, underpinned by a mature European industry with solid footholds in international markets including the US and Australia. Polysilicon production, at 26 GW², comes closest among manufacturing segments though capacity is concentrated in a single established company, a portion of which serves the semiconductor sector rather than PV.
Figure 8: EU Operational PV Module Manufacturers — Capacity (MW)

Source: Enerdata’s own calculation *Methodology¹
For the rest of the chain, the challenge is considerably steeper. Module production capacity actually contracted this year, falling from 12.6 GW in 2024 to 10.8 GW in 2025, meaning it must roughly triple by 2030 to reach the NZIA threshold². PV cell manufacturing, still at just 2 GW in 2025, faces an even more daunting trajectory: a 15-fold increase in five years. Cell producers are further constrained by the complete absence of ingot and wafer production within the EU, following the closure of several key players over the last two years — leaving European manufacturers entirely dependent on non-European imports for the critical middle stages of the value chain⁸.
Module segment sees closures and downward revisions, even as gigafactory projects move forward
The 2025 contraction in EU module capacity reflects both statistical re-estimation and real industrial setbacks. The downward revision is largely linked to a reassessment of RECOM Technologies’ output, previously recorded at 3.2 GW but now understood to have peaked at around 500 MW before the company relocated operations from France to Italy in 2024. The segment also recorded several closures. French manufacturer Photowatt, one of the world’s oldest PV companies, ceased operations in early 2025 after years of losses and an unsuccessful sale process, while Aleo Solar, the German branch of Taiwan-based Sino-American Silicon, stopped module production in March 2025. If the announced module pipeline materialises, adding around 20 GW, EU module manufacturing could cover approximately 60% of the 2030 NZIA target.
Figure 9: EU Closed / Descaled PV Module Manufacturers — Capacity (MW)

Source: Enerdata’s own calculation *Methodology¹
The gap between announced capacity and operational factories remains a major uncertainty in Europe’s manufacturing outlook and, as the global context makes clear, closing that gap against a Chinese industry with deeply integrated supply chains, massive production scale, and continued cost advantages will require more than project announcements alone. May 2026 marked the cancellation of Carbon’s gigafactory in France, designed to build a 5 GW integrated solar manufacturing chain, citing insufficient regulatory visibility and investor guarantees⁹.
These Project closures stand in contrast to a pipeline of announced gigafactory projects that, if realised, could underpin the new module production capacity before 2030. Construction has already begun on DAS Solar’s 3 GW plant in Mandeure, France. Additionally, a Chinese manufacturer establishes European production to navigate trade barriers, a pattern increasingly visible across the industry. Further projects include Holosolis (5 GW) and Voltec (5 GW) in France, MCPV (2.5 GW) and Iberdrola (2.1 GW) in Spain, and FuturaSun’s 1.4 GW FENICE project in Italy. Enel’s 3SUN gigafactory has already scaled module production capacity to 1.8 GW, offering a proof point for European-scale manufacturing viability.
Figure 10: Planned PV Module Gigafactories in Europe — Capacity (MW)

Source: Enerdata’s own calculation *Methodology¹
NOTES:
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“Monroeville had water sitting right there doing one job. Now it does two.”
Photo Credit: D3Energy
Monroeville, Ohio, has expanded solar generation without using additional cropland by placing a new array on its reservoir.
For a village of roughly 1,300 residents, 6 megawatts of new capacity is an unusually large solar presence and could offer a path other small towns may consider.
Electricity is now flowing into Monroeville’s local distribution grid from 9,222 panels mounted across three floating platforms on the village reservoir, according to Interesting Engineering. D3Energy says the installation is Ohio’s largest floating solar project and ranks among the five biggest in the United States.
By occupying about 12 acres of reservoir surface, the project avoids the roughly 30 acres a comparable ground-mounted system would have needed. That tradeoff is notable in Ohio, where a 2021 law has allowed about one-third of the state’s 88 counties to restrict large solar developments.
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.
For households, going solar is one of the best ways to save money on home energy. If you’re considering rooftop panels, you can use EnergySage to get free solar installation estimates and compare quotes.
The floating array builds on Monroeville’s earlier solar investment: the village has operated a 4-megawatt ground-mounted facility since 2017. With both projects in place, Monroeville now has about 13 times Ohio’s per-person solar capacity.
Other floating solar systems D3Energy has built in Ohio include projects for Del-Co Water in Delaware and for the City of Lima at Twin Lakes Reservoir, bringing the state’s active floating-solar capacity to nearly 10 megawatts.
Gardner Capital owns the Monroeville system and sells its electricity to the village, while D3Energy developed the project and Ohio-based Appalachian Renewable Power handled the contracting. D3Energy said the installation is its third floating solar project in Ohio.
FROM OUR PARTNER
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.
For homeowners who want solar panels to work for them, tools that simplify the solar-buying process can make a major difference. EnergySage’s solar map shows the average cost of a home solar panel system by state, along with details on solar incentives in each state. Together, those resources can help homeowners get the best price for rooftop solar panels and access available incentives.
Using EnergySage is especially valuable because it can help the average person save up to $10,000 on solar purchases and installations. Adding battery storage to a solar setup is one of the best ways to protect your home during outages, save on energy costs, and go off-grid. Homeowners can explore EnergySage for information about home battery storage options, including competitive installation estimates.
“Solar needs space, and in farm country there’s no such thing as spare ground,” said Stetson Tchividjian, managing director of D3Energy. “Monroeville had water sitting right there doing one job. Now it does two.”
Monroeville’s reservoir is part of a much broader push into floating solar. These stories look at similar projects and research on how water-based arrays can expand solar power while conserving land.
💡Go deep on the latest news and trends shaping the residential solar landscape
• Florida is turning highway ponds into floating solar, with room to power 200,000 homes.
• In Oregon, the state’s first floating solar array will power 60 homes and save water.
• Scientists say floating solar is fast becoming cost-competitive across the African continent’s vast reservoirs.
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We compare the best solar panels available in the UK in 2026, from high-efficiency models to panels offering strong warranties and long-term value
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Choosing the best solar panels for your home is about more than just finding the model with the highest efficiency rating or largest output capability. Your roof space, budget, electricity use and warranty length can all make one panel a better fit than another.
With solar panels expected to generate electricity for decades, it’s also worth considering how well a panel retains its output over time, as well as the manufacturer’s reputation and the support available if something goes wrong.
To help you find the right solar panels for your home, we’ve compared some of the leading options available to UK homeowners in 2026, looking at efficiency, output, installed cost, warranties, degradation and suitability for British conditions. Whether you want maximum generation from a small roof, strong long-term value or reliable performance in lower light, these are the models worth considering.
Read more: First look at plug-in solar panels
Are solar panels worth it in the UK? An expert guide on how they work for your home
How much do solar panels cost? UK 2026 prices guide
Solar panel grants UK: How to apply for government funding schemes and what incentives are available?
Are Octopus solar panels worth it? This is what homeowners should know
What sets the Maxeon 7 apart is its Interdigitated Back Contact (IBC) cell design. Unlike conventional panels, all electrical contacts sit behind the cell, reducing resistance and improving durability. This design also makes the panel more resistant to micro-cracks, corrosion, and heat-related efficiency loss – key factors over a 30 to 40 year lifespan.
Degradation performance is among the best we’ve seen. After three decades, the Maxeon 7 is expected to retain more than 90 per cent of its original output, meaning it continues generating meaningful savings long after many panels have declined.
The high output per panel makes it suitable for homes with limited roof space, while its relatively light weight simplifies installation. In real-world use, installers consistently cite reliability and consistency as standout strengths.
Installers and homeowners regularly praise SunPower panels for long-term reliability and low fault rates. Reviews tend to highlight peace of mind, consistent generation, and strong aftercare support when installed through approved partners.
The SunPower Maxeon 7 is best suited to homeowners who want a premium solar panel and are comfortable paying more upfront for long-term certainty. Its main advantage isn’t just high efficiency, but the combination of strong output, low degradation and unusually long warranty cover.
This makes it a strong choice if you expect to stay in your home for many years, have limited roof space or want to maximise lifetime generation from a smaller system. It may be harder to justify if you have modest electricity use or a large, uncomplicated roof where a cheaper panel could still generate enough power.
Ultimately, you should choose the SunPower Maxeon 7 over the other panels in this guide if you want the strongest long-term warranty and are willing to pay more for peace of mind. It is the best fit for homeowners planning to stay in the same property for many years, or those who want a premium panel with excellent output retention. However, if upfront cost is your main concern, DMEGC or LONGi may offer better value.
Read the full SunPower Maxeon 7 solar panel review
The key strength of the DMEGC Infinity panel is its balanced degradation profile. While it doesn’t quite reach the 90 per cent benchmark of the very top performers, retaining more than 87 per cent output after 30 years is still well above the industry average.
Its N-type cells slow long-term performance loss and reduce light-induced degradation, which is a common issue with older P-type panels. Combined with a robust frame, anti-glare coating, and solid heat tolerance, the Infinity is well-suited to long-term UK use.
Installers often highlight the panel’s consistency rather than any single standout metric, which is exactly why it works so well for a wide range of homes.
DMEGC panels tend to be reviewed positively when installed by reputable UK installers, with customers noting steady generation and few post-installation issues. Feedback commonly reflects satisfaction rather than flashiness.
The DMEGC Infinity is a good fit for homeowners who want a reliable, long-lasting panel without moving into the most expensive part of the market. It doesn’t have the highest efficiency figure in this guide, but it performs strongly across the areas that matter for most homes: output, warranty cover, degradation and installed cost.
That makes it a sensible option if you have enough roof space for a standard domestic solar array and want a panel that delivers steady generation over decades. It is less about chasing the highest specification and more about getting a dependable system at a fair price.
You should buy the DMEGC Infinity if you want a strong all-rounder that balances price, performance and long-term durability. It doesn’t beat SunPower on warranty or Perlight on efficiency, but it’s likely to make sense for more households because it offers dependable performance without the highest installed cost. This is the panel to consider if you want long-term value rather than the most premium specification.
Read the full DMEGC Infinity solar panel review
The Hi-MO X10’s standout feature is LONGi’s HPBC 2.0 back-contact technology. This moves the electrical contacts to the rear of the solar cell, leaving more of the front surface free to capture sunlight. The result is a high-efficiency panel with a clean all-black finish and no visible front grid lines.
The Hi-MO X10 offers a 485W output and efficiency of up to 24 per cent, making it a strong option for homeowners who want good generation from a limited amount of roof space. LONGi also highlights the panel’s performance in lower-light conditions, which is useful for UK homes where cloud cover, winter daylight and roof orientation can all affect output.
Long-term performance is another selling point. LONGi states that the panel has one per cent first-year degradation and retains 88.85 per cent of its original output after 30 years, which is a solid long-term guarantee.
Its all-black design also helps it blend into the roof more discreetly than panels with visible silver lines or busbars, which may appeal if you are concerned about how a solar installation will look from the street.
As a budget pick, the LONGi Hi-MO X10’s advantage is that it combines strong efficiency, a major global brand and a long warranty without the same premium positioning as more specialist panels. However, as with any solar panel, the final value will depend on the installed quote rather than the panel specification alone.
The LONGi Hi-MO X10 is best for homeowners who want high efficiency and modern back-contact technology, but do not necessarily want to pay for the most premium panel in the guide. Its 485W output and clean all-black design make it a strong option for homes where roof space, appearance and long-term performance all matter.
It’s also worth considering if you want a panel from a major global manufacturer with a long performance warranty. However, because installed prices can vary by installer and system size, it is important to compare quotes carefully rather than choosing it on specification alone.
The LONGi Hi-MO X10 is the best solar panel to choose from our list if you want high efficiency and modern back-contact technology without moving into premium-panel pricing. It’s a particularly good alternative to SunPower or Perlight if you have limited roof space but still need to keep costs under control. The main trade-off is that the final value will depend heavily on the installed quote, so it’s worth comparing it carefully against DMEGC and Jinko.
The key differentiator here is power density. With both high efficiency and high wattage, the Black Grid produces more electricity per square metre than any other panel listed, which makes it a favourite among many of the best solar panel installers.
Its bifacial construction and reinforced frame improve resilience, while the long 30-year warranty adds confidence. Although degradation is slightly weaker than some rivals, overall lifetime output remains strong due to the high starting efficiency.
Perlight panels are frequently positively mentioned by installers for build quality and output. Consumer reviews tend to reflect satisfaction with the generation rather than brand loyalty.
The Perlight Black Grid is best for homeowners who need to maximize energy generation from their available roof space. Its high efficiency and 500W output mean each panel can contribute more to the overall system size, which is useful if your roof is small, has awkward sections or cannot fit as many panels as you would like.
It may also appeal if your household electricity demand is likely to rise, for example, because you plan to add an electric vehicle charger, a heat pump, or battery storage. In those cases, a higher-output panel can help you build a more capable system without needing more roof area.
If your priority is generating as much electricity as possible from each square metre of roof space, then the Perlight model is the best solar panel for you. It is the strongest option here for efficiency and wattage, which may justify the cost if your roof is small, awkward or partly restricted. However, if you are more focused on brand scale or long-term degradation, SunPower, DMEGC or Aiko may be a better fit.
Read the full Perlight Black Grid solar panel review
The Aiko Neostar delivers high output in a compact, lightweight format, making it ideal for space-constrained rooftops. These panels deliver the best combination of compact design and high power density, with each panel producing 460W at 23 per cent efficiency while maintaining a relatively light and slim build. The panels also boast excellent durability, retaining almost 89 per cent of their output after 30 years.
The panels also feature cell-level partial shade optimisation, which improves energy yield even when parts of the array are shaded. This means a consistent output will be delivered, despite changing skylines or nearby trees.
Durability is another strength. Aiko highlights its micro-crack resistance technology, ensuring panels withstand impacts from hail, branches, or debris. This robustness, coupled with its sleek all-black aesthetic, makes the Neostar both practical and visually appealing.
At just 21.5kg, it’s lighter than many rivals, which reduces strain on roofs and simplifies installation – another advantage for smaller properties.
The Aiko Neostar is best suited to homes where the roof layout is the main challenge. If you have a smaller roof, dormer windows, chimneys, or areas of partial shade, its compact design and shade optimisation can make it easier to build an effective system.
It’s a strong alternative to Perlight for smaller roofs, especially where shade optimisation and aesthetics matter as much as headline efficiency. If your roof has plenty of usable space, DMEGC or LONGi may offer better overall value.
While perhaps less obvious, it’s also a strong choice if appearance is important to you. The all-black design gives the panels a more discreet look than older-style panels with visible silver lines, which may be useful on street-facing roofs or more design-sensitive homes.
Read the full Aiko Neostar solar panel review
The Jinko Tiger is optimised for consistent generation in weak or diffuse light, making it particularly well-suited to the UK climate.
The panels have an advanced N-type cell construction to maintain higher energy output even in weak sunlight, whether early morning, evening, or cloudy UK days, ensuring steadier performance throughout the year. So, for the UK’s famously overcast skies and shorter winter days, the Jinko Tiger is the standout choice. N-type cells are also slower to degrade and are resistant to salt corrosion, making them a great pick for coastal properties.
These panels are also mid-weight and relatively small compared with some other options, making them a practical fit for most UK rooftops.
Jinko is one of the most frequently reviewed solar brands globally, with homeowners often citing their reliability and steady year-round output.
The Jinko Tiger is the best solar panel to buy if you are more concerned about consistent year-round generation, rather than having the highest efficiency figure. It is a practical choice for UK homes where cloud cover and shorter winter days are a concern. It trails some rivals on efficiency and degradation, but it is worth considering if low-light performance and manufacturer scale are your priorities.
It’s also worth considering if you live near the coast, where salt corrosion resistance and long-term durability may matter more than squeezing out the highest possible peak output. For many UK households, steady year-round generation can be just as important as summer performance.
Read the full Jinko Tiger solar panel review
Choosing the best solar panels that UK homeowners can trust means balancing technical performance with real-world experience. To create this guide, we developed a clear scoring system and combined it with expert insight and real consumer feedback.
Every solar panel was rated across five core factors, each on a simple scale of one to five:
Each factor was given equal weight to produce an aggregate score out of 25. Panels that scored consistently high across multiple categories were ranked more favourably than those that excelled in just one area.
Panel
Efficiency
Cost
Wattage
Warranty
Degradation
Total (out of 25)
SunPower Maxeon 7
4
2
5
5
5
21
Perlight Black Grid
5
3
5
4
3
20
LONGi Hi-MO X10
4
2
5
4
4
19
DMEGC Infinity
3
4
4
3
3
17
Aiko Neostar
3
2
4
3
4
16
Jinko Tiger
2
2
3
3
3
13
Numbers only tell part of the story. By combining technical specifications, expert recommendations, and consumer sentiment, our methodology ensures that this guide reflects both the science of solar panels and the lived experience of UK homeowners.
Read more: Verdict on Sunsave solar panels
To understand how solar panels perform beyond their technical specifications, we also reviewed customer feedback from Trustpilot, Google reviews and independent forums, and spoke directly to homeowners who have installed solar panels.
One was Justin Webb, a graphic designer and founder of Judmedia, who had solar panels installed more than two years ago. When comparing systems, he looked for a clear like-for-like specification covering the panels, inverter and battery, long warranties, an MCS-accredited installer, an in-person survey and a single-brand ecosystem that would work together smoothly.
Webb says buyers should think beyond simple payback calculations. “People always talk about ROI with solar panels, but often forget that there’s no ROI on paying your energy bill, or your gas bill, or your mortgage. You just pay it and it’s gone,” he says. “With solar, I’m fixing my energy price instead.”
His advice is to compare quotes carefully, as prices can vary widely, and to ask about finance options, including green home improvement loans from mortgage lenders. He also recommends doing a simple energy audit before choosing a system, from switching to LED bulbs to checking how much power major appliances use. Reducing waste first, he says, can help your solar panels and battery go further.
We interviewed solar installers, including Glow Green and Solar4Good, and considered guidance from industry bodies such as the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) and the Energy Saving Trust. The clearest takeaway was that the best solar panel is not just the one with the highest efficiency rating; installer reputation, aftercare and real-world durability matter too.
Lloyd Greenfield, founder of Glow Green, says homeowners should prioritise warranty length, manufacturer reputation and cell technology. “There’s a big difference between a panel guaranteed for 30 years and one that only lasts 15,” he says. “You also want a manufacturer with a strong track record, not a new entrant whose panels haven’t been tested in the UK over decades.”
He also warns against choosing on price alone. Lower-wattage panels may reduce the upfront cost, but higher-output models can generate more electricity from the same roof space and deliver better long-term value. The installer matters just as much: Greenfield recommends checking for MCS and NIC accreditations, Trustpilot ratings, insurance-backed deposit protection and whether the company uses the Energy Performance Validation Scheme (EPVS) to validate its performance estimates.
Battery storage is also becoming a bigger part of the decision. Greenfield says more than 95 per cent of Glow Green’s customers now choose a battery alongside their panels, with some later adding a second. His own panel recommendation is Perlight’s Black Grid panel, which he rates for its all-black design, 30-year warranty, bifacial technology and strong reputation.
With dozens of models on the market, the best solar panel often comes down to your priorities. But the best solar panel is the SunPower Maxeon 7, thanks to its exceptional warranty and long-term power production.
Most UK homes are fitted with monocrystalline solar panels, which are typically the most efficient and best suited to limited roof space. You may also come across polycrystalline panels, though these are now less common, and thin-film panels, which tend to be used in more specialist or commercial settings rather than on standard homes.
Plug-in solar panels are becoming readily available in the UK, offering a smaller, more accessible option for balconies, patios and gardens. However, they do not have the same output capacity as a full rooftop solar panel system, so this guide focuses only on rooftop panels designed for whole-home solar installations.
The right option depends on your roof size, budget and how much electricity you want to generate. In most cases, homeowners comparing the best solar panels will be choosing between different types of monocrystalline solar panels, with variations in efficiency, appearance and warranty cover.
Solar panels work by converting sunlight into electricity. Each panel is made up of photovoltaic cells, which generate direct current (DC) electricity when exposed to daylight. An inverter then converts this into alternating current (AC) electricity, which can be used to power your home.
Solar panels can still generate electricity on cloudy days, although output is usually lower than in bright sunlight. Any electricity you don’t use immediately can be stored in a solar battery, if you have one, or exported back to the grid through an export tariff.
For a more detailed explanation, read our full guide to how solar panels work.
Solar panels can be worth it if you own your home, have a suitable roof and expect to stay in the property long enough to benefit from the savings. They can reduce the amount of electricity you need to buy from the grid, and you may be able to earn money by exporting unused electricity through the Smart Export Guarantee or a supplier export tariff.
The payback period will depend on the size and cost of your system, how much electricity you use during the day, whether you add a battery and the export rate you receive. Higher electricity prices generally make solar panels more attractive, but the upfront cost means they are still a long-term investment.
For a fuller breakdown of savings, payback times and key considerations, read our guide to whether solar panels are worth it.
The cost of solar panels in the UK varies depending on the size of the system, the type of panels you choose, the complexity of the installation and whether you add a solar battery. A typical domestic solar panel system can cost several thousand pounds, with larger systems and battery storage increasing the upfront price.
When comparing panels, it’s important to look beyond the panel price alone. Installation, scaffolding, inverter costs, warranties and expected performance over time can all affect the overall value of the system. In this guide, we have listed panel prices as the installed cost per kW to make like-for-like comparisons easier.
Most solar panels are designed to last for 25 years or more, although they will usually continue generating electricity after that point. Their output gradually declines over time, which is known as degradation. This is why many manufacturers provide both a product warranty and a performance warranty.
A product warranty covers defects in the panel itself, while a performance warranty sets out how much of the original output the panel should still produce after a certain number of years. When comparing solar panels, it’s worth checking both the warranty length and the expected degradation rate, as these can affect long-term value.
Yes, brands matter when choosing solar panels. Established Tier-1 manufacturers (such as DMEGC, Jinko, SunPower/Maxeon, and Aiko) are financially stable and more likely to honour 25- to 40-year warranties. While smaller brands can also offer good performance, choosing a reputable manufacturer with a long track record provides extra peace of mind when investing in panels that should last three decades or more.
You may have seen the term ‘Tier-1’ associated with solar panels. It refers to tiers of manufacturers, based on their financial stability and their track record of making high-quality panels. To be seen as a Tier-1 manufacturer, panels should be made in-house, and a track record of at least five years is generally needed. It is a good indicator that a panel maker is of high quality. But it is not the be-all and end-all, since factors that matter little to buyers, such as the quality of a manufacturer’s accounting practices, form part of the criteria. Aiko, Jinko and DMEGC are all Tier-1 firms.
The government currently offers a zero VAT rate on domestic solar installations until at least 2027, cutting upfront costs by 20 per cent. You can also earn money through the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), which pays you for excess electricity you send to the grid. Some local councils and energy providers run additional schemes, so it’s worth checking regional offers before installation. For more on this, see our guide to the top solar panel grants and funding options.
The Independent has been reporting on green energy and climate matters since it was founded in 1986. Since then, we have written hundreds of reviews and news stories on energy matters, including the best solar installers and various other guides on green power. Jeff Meyer is The Independent’s energy editor. He has written extensively on everything from how you can earn money from solar panels to a guide on whether solar panels are actually worth it. His experience is why you can trust his verdict on the best solar panels. Jeff has conducted extensive research, including consulting industry experts and customers, to gain a thorough understanding of which brands are making the best solar panels.
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