Solar Now

India’s solar boom faces a new test as rising costs squeeze returns  business-standard.com
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She spent 30 years in banking. Now she farms cucumbers between solar panels in Big Lake.  CBS News
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Global EV sales hit 20 million units in 2025, and the adjacent batteries and fuel cells industries saw equal growth, all trends shaped by composite technologies.
Strato-V project and NordSpace develop Type 5 composite pressure vessels while new U.K. government report and NLR report advances toward hydrogen-powered flight.
Lightning strike protection has traditionally been achieved via single sheets of metallic materials potentially compromised by paint while AFP provides a path toward tailored conductivity and connectivity plus multifunctionality.
The Chaparral aircraft flew uncrewed cargo missions across the Gulf Coast as part of the U.S. DOT and FAA's eVTOL Integration Pilot Program.
Complete materials portfolio is designed for faster production and extended battery range, and is qualified for immediate use by eVTOL manufacturers.
SNAPSHOT: The 1-meter-diameter Type 5 demonstrator, made from carbon fiber/LMPAEK was developed under an ESA-funded project targeting hydrogen and methane storage.
CAMX 2026: ZwickRoell’s new G1C Mode I testing setup pairs a ZwickiLine universal testing machine with automated crack-length measurement for ASTM D5528 double cantilever beam tests.
Anaglyph takes full ownership of the composite design tool co-developed with NPL, with version 3.4 out now and continued support for existing users.
The now-operational 300,000-square-foot Ciudad Juárez facility offers closer access to large-scale manufacturing capacity and technical support operations for the U.S., Mexico and Americas.
A one-way attritable UAV or USV should not carry the same material qualification and specification burden as a crewed, long-life aircraft or vessel.
SNAPSHOT: Francois Geuskens says the Approval in Principle validates the vision that led him to start Curve Works 10 years ago, replacing costly one-off tooling with adaptive mold, panel-based composite construction.
SNAPSHOT: Founded in 2025, the additive manufacturing company has installed CEAD robot printer, signed materials agreement with Airtech and fielded four composite unmanned surface vessels.
The newly installed Mikrosam Libra system processes a variety of composite materials on a single platform with swappable end effectors, closed-loop thermal control and full data acquisition built in, expanding capabilities for aerospace, industry and government partners.
Standard 3K twill and UD T700 plates at 1.5 and 3.0 millimeters thick, plus round, square and oval tube profiles are now supplied from stock to shorten lead times for customers.
The Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) is funding 18 teams to develop aircraft capable of operating persistently in the stratosphere including Structural Solar project integrating perovskite photovoltaics onto carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP).
The Derbyshire startup is seeking investment to fund the unit, using a steam-and-pressure process that separates hard-to-process composites derived from maritime and wind industries.
Hyke is recognized for its clean, quiet and more efficient public transportation solution as it pursues new partnerships and vessel deployment in Qatar and the wider Middle East.
KVE is adding nearly 1,800 square meters of production space for composite blades, wing structures and other components to support growing customer demand, marking 30 years in industry and 4 years under Daher's ownership.
The newly installed Mikrosam Libra system processes a variety of composite materials on a single platform with swappable end effectors, closed-loop thermal control and full data acquisition built in, expanding capabilities for aerospace, industry and government partners.
Standard 3K twill and UD T700 plates at 1.5 and 3.0 millimeters thick, plus round, square and oval tube profiles are now supplied from stock to shorten lead times for customers.
Process simulation platform is available to defense and aerospace composites fabricators who are using Renegade materials, helping to rapidly transition design to manufacturing.
Funding follows $20 million in U.S. government contracts and growing adoption of the composites additive system across aerospace, defense and advanced manufacturing.
The automakers are among the first users of Stratasys’ new large-format F870 additive manufacturing system, which prints carbon fiber-reinforced Nylon 12CF parts for shop floor tooling and fixtures.
CAMX 2026: Sharp & Tappin Technology’s Compcut ACS 300 saw, aimed at composite test specimen preparation, launches in the U.S. via partner Measured Solutions.
Global EV sales hit 20 million units in 2025, and the adjacent batteries and fuel cells industries saw equal growth, all trends shaped by composite technologies.
Lightning strike protection has traditionally been achieved via single sheets of metallic materials potentially compromised by paint while AFP provides a path toward tailored conductivity and connectivity plus multifunctionality.
With the space sector in a race for strategic dominance and the lunar economy coming into view, composite materials are accelerating into an era of high-rate production, advanced autonomous manufacturing and structural innovation that would have seemed like science fiction a generation ago.
Composites continue to drive energy innovations, from new materials and installations of recyclable wind blades to nuclear CMC and offshore oil pipelines.
The autoclave has long defined thermoset composites processing — snap-cure epoxy prepreg systems are built around the premise that it doesn't have to.
Market outlook highlights commercial, defense and bizjet upturn, shift to Asia/rise of India while supply chain struggles to meet rate, AAM begins pivot toward commercial routes plus trends in civil UAS, electric aircraft and the latest in composites developments.
Are you looking for new ways to reduce weight, improve recyclability and stay ahead of evolving circularity requirements without compromising performance?As sustainability and resource efficiency become increasingly important across industries, extruded PP foam composite solutions are emerging as a powerful enabler for the next generation of composite applications.Join experts from SPUR and Borouge International as they share the latest trends, challenges and opportunities shaping the future of composite structures. Discover how extruded PP foam core technology can help you develop lightweight, durable and recyclable sandwich structures for automotive, building and construction and industrial applications.During this webinar, you will gain valuable insights into design considerations, manufacturing approaches, emerging application developments and the future potential of extruded PP foam composite solutions. Learn how you can unlock new opportunities to meet performance, sustainability and circularity goals while preparing your products for tomorrow’s market demands.AgendaWelcome and IntroductionIndustry, Market & Application ChallengesMaterial routes to solve these ChallengesApplication fit and development RoutesConclusionQ&AClosing 
Building systems are evolving. Increasing performance requirements, stricter fire regulations and growing expectations around durability and sustainability are putting pressure on traditional material choices. At the same time, manufacturers are expected to deliver higher performance without increasing complexity or cost.In this webinar, we explore how composites can work alongside aluminum to address these challenges in a practical and effective way. The session is designed especially for teams who are curious about composites but may still have questions or hesitation: Where do composites really add value? Are they strong enough? What about fire performance, processing, durability, sustainability and cost? The session will focus on how composites can be used in targeted areas of aluminum system to improve performance where it matters most.Our experts will walk through the key differences between composites and aluminum in real applications, answering the kinds of questions designers, engineers and product teams often raise when considering a new material. Through concrete examples, from window and door systems to structural facade interfaces, you’ll see where composites can add measurable value and how hybrid solutions can simplify design while enhancing performance.We’ll also introduce a practical hybrid design approach: replacing selected components, not entire systems. This can help reduce part counts, improve installation efficiency and support more durable, high-performing solutions while making the transition to composites easier and more manageable.Join us to get practical answers to common questions about composites and learn how combining materials can help you improve your building systems, meet evolving requirements and create more competitive, future-ready solutions.AgendaUnderstand where composites add real value in building systemsLearn how composites and aluminum can work together to improve performance without redesigning entire systemsGet clarity on key performance questions, including thermal behavior, fire performance, durability, and sustainabilityDiscover a practical hybrid design approach that reduces complexity while enhancing system performanceGet practical examples on how to transition into composites effortlessly
Aerospace and defense manufacturers face the challenge of increasing throughput while maintaining structural performance and controlling costs as production demands rise. Fast-cure composite materials offer one way to shorten manufacturing cycles, but understanding performance and processing tradeoffs is essential before implementation. Join us as we examine the engineering considerations behind fast-cure composites, including cure kinetics, exotherm behavior and comparative performance data. We will also demonstrate how cure simulation provides additional insight during process development. Attendees will gain practical insight into evaluating fast-cure composite materials for high-rate aerospace and defense manufacturing. Agenda Manufacturing Opportunities: Finding the right balance between throughput, cost and structural performance in aerospace and defense composites Setting the Baseline: Reviewing established, qualified prepreg performance data and what “equivalent performance” really means when evaluating a faster-cure alternative The Data: Comparing mechanical performance, cure time, exotherm behavior and processing options for a proven prepreg system and a fast-cure alternative Cure Simulation: Live demo of a cure simulation tool that helps manufacturers predict cure behavior before starting production
Surface contamination and inadequate surface preparation remain leading causes of adhesion failures, product defects and costly recalls across industries, including automotive, aerospace, composites and medical device manufacturing. Yet many organizations continue to rely on subjective inspection methods rather than measurable surface quality data. This webinar explores how manufacturers can establish objective cleanliness standards, implement surface energy measurement techniques and monitor contamination throughout the product lifecycle to improve adhesion reliability, manufacturing quality and first-pass yield. Attendees will learn why developing a formal adhesion specification — and enforcing it consistently from initial process development through full-scale production and sustainment — is critical to reducing failures and improving manufacturing outcomes. The session will explore the latest ASTM standards supporting adhesion testing, surface cleanliness verification and quality assurance, while sharing real-world examples of companies that have successfully implemented adhesion monitoring programs to drive measurable improvements in reliability and yield. Participants will also have the opportunity to assess the maturity of their own surface energy management practices, benchmarking current processes against industry best practices. The webinar will conclude with a look at how Brighton Science's surface intelligence tools, including water contact angle (WCA) measurement and the Brighton Process Monitor, enable objective, repeatable surface energy analysis that supports faster troubleshooting, stronger first-pass yield and long-term quality control. This webinar is designed for manufacturing engineers, quality professionals, process development teams and operations leaders responsible for adhesion reliability, surface quality and manufacturing performance across the product lifecycle. Agenda   Why surface contamination and poor surface preparation cause adhesion failures, defects and product recalls Best practices for developing an adhesion specification and quality control strategy Understanding ASTM standards for adhesion testing and surface cleanliness verification Real-world case studies improving bonding reliability and manufacturing quality Assessing the maturity of your surface energy management and contamination control program Using water contact angle (WCA) measurement and process monitoring tools for surface energy analysis and quality assurance Strategies for improving first-pass yield, reducing defects and accelerating troubleshooting  
As modern warfare evolves towards increased speed, autonomy, and precision, the role of advanced composite materials has become more critical than ever. This webinar explores how high-performance carbon fibers and advanced composite materials enable breakthrough capabilities across air, land, sea, and space- based domains. Key topics include light-weighting for extended range and endurance, thermal performance, producibility, connectivity, and affordability.Drawing on recent applications in unmanned systems and higher operating temperature platforms, the discussion highlights how material selection and architecture directly influence mission effectiveness and survivability. Attendees will gain insight into emerging material technologies, manufacturing considerations, and qualification opportunities with defense applications.The session concludes with a forward-looking perspective on how composites will shape future battlefield dynamics, including increased autonomy, increased rate, and distributed systems all within rapid decision-making environments.AgendaOverview of the evolving battlefield and how advanced composite materials act as key enablersAdvancing affordable mass manufacturing for defense platforms through high-rate composite solutionsDatabase materials for accelerated, cost-effective part qualificationAdvanced material solutions engineered for structural performance, high-temperature environments, and radar transparency (low dielectric applications)
Despite the versatility of fluoropolymers in demanding, high-performance applications under harsh environments, many of them have been classified as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and are facing increasing regulatory scrutiny. However, polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) is outside all current regulatory definitions of PFAS due to the lack of full fluorination and the presence of hydrogen on each carbon in the backbone of the polymer. This positions PVF as a sustainable alternative to traditional fluoropolymers while retaining outstanding weatherability, durability and chemical resistance. In this talk, DuPont will review composite applications currently commonly utilizing PFAS materials and the status of PVF as a non-PFAS fluoropolymer within the regulatory landscape. DuPont will highlight PVF's exceptional surface protection and barrier properties, its compatibility with multiple composite manufacturing processes and its multifunctional use as a release film. Agenda Review of current PFAS regulations and in-scope materials Use cases for PFAS materials (films and coatings) in composite applications Non-PFAS options: range from non-fluorinated lower-performance materials to non-PFAS polyvinyl fluoride Overview: what PVF is, why it is non-PFAS and what its attributes are Real-world case studies
NDIA hosts 2026 Undersea Warfare Fall Conference on Sept. 21-23, 2026 in Groton, CT.
Taking place in conjunction with the American Society for Composites 41st Annual Technical Conference.
New this year, Top Shops Conference will expand to include CNC machining and industrial finishing. Modern Machine Shop Top Shops and Products Finishing Top Shops, Gardner Business Media’s two largest and longest running benchmarking and business improvement survey programs, will join forces to host concurrent Top Shops Conference programs. In addition to dedicated conference programming, Top Shops Conference attendees will benefit from access to several shared general sessions, keynotes, exhibit rooms and special networking events enabling these two critical manufacturing service groups – CNC machining and industrial finishing – to learn, exchange ideas and make valuable business connections.
New this year, Top Shops Conference will expand to include CNC machining and industrial finishing. Modern Machine Shop Top Shops and Products Finishing Top Shops, Gardner Business Media’s two largest and longest running benchmarking and business improvement survey programs, will join forces to host concurrent Top Shops Conference programs. In addition to dedicated conference programming, Top Shops Conference attendees will benefit from access to several shared general sessions, keynotes, exhibit rooms and special networking events enabling these two critical manufacturing service groups – CNC machining and industrial finishing – to learn, exchange ideas and make valuable business connections.
IBEX is a North American event for boatbuilders, manufacturers and suppliers looking to source innovative technology and new products. Every year it delivers a forum where the marine industry can do business, share ideas and accelerate new product development. 
ACMA hosts Thermoset Resin Formulators Assn 2026 Annual Mtg on Oct. 26-28, 2026 in Cleveland, OH.
Thousands of people visit our Supplier Guide every day to source equipment and materials. Get in front of them with a free company profile.
Jetcam’s latest white paper explores the critical aspects of nesting in composites manufacturing, and strategies to balance material efficiency and kitting speed.
Arris presents mechanical testing results of an Arris-designed natural fiber thermoplastic composite in comparison to similarly produced glass and carbon fiber-based materials.
Cevotec, a tank manufacturer, Roth Composite Machinery and Cikoni, have undertaken a comprehensive project to explore and demonstrate the impact of dome reinforcements using FPP technology for composite tanks.   
Initial demonstration in furniture shows properties two to nine times higher than plywood, OOA molding for uniquely shaped components.
The composite tubes white paper explores some of the considerations for specifying composite tubes, such as mechanical properties, maintenance requirements and more.
Foundational research discusses the current carbon fiber recycling landscape in Utah, and evaluates potential strategies and policies that could enhance this sustainable practice in the region.
Global EV sales hit 20 million units in 2025, and the adjacent batteries and fuel cells industries saw equal growth, all trends shaped by composite technologies.
The industry’s workforce gap is real, decades in the making and widely felt. Researchers, educators, trainers and advocates weigh in on who may be responsible for closing it, and how.
A collaboration led by Mitsubishi Chemical developed a composite devices to match thermal conductivity of an aluminum NTN satellite heat dissipation device while reducing weight by 47%.
A surge in production and new orders lifted the index to 55.9 in August, a fresh sign of momentum for composites fabricators.
Lightning strike protection has traditionally been achieved via single sheets of metallic materials potentially compromised by paint while AFP provides a path toward tailored conductivity and connectivity plus multifunctionality.
Direct stamping and infrared welding produce a 64-ply thermoplastic wing rib that's 22% lighter than aluminum, an innovation detailed further in this ThermoForged video short and CW’s Daher’s Shap'in TechCenter plant tour.
The hybrid RoRo ship, due for 2030 delivery, will rely on three automated OceanWings composite wingsails alongside conventional propulsion to transport European launch vehicle cargo.
The NCC-led program finds recycled wind blade glass fiber can match virgin fiber’s carbon footprint if recyclers cut emissions and recover more polymer during pyrolysis.
Seven bio-based, renewable, recycled or repurposed raw composite material types were used in this mass-market vehicle, reimagining EV capabilities.
The startup’s Woodflow technology places wood fibers only where needed, enabling complex geometries and a Woodflow-core slab product that promises concrete-level strength at lighter weight and up to 75% fewer trees than mass timber.
The 50-year-old, family-owned recycler will carry forward Vartega’s rCF platform, which includes 1,000/tons of annual production capacity, for thermoplastics industry and automotive programs.
In a project between LATI, Crossen Engineering and Bloc Blinds, a fiberglass-reinforced PA6 material enabled ≈70% GWP reduction, maintained mechanical performance and 1,000+ operating cycles.

The materials, manufacturing processes, market and energy trends driving use of carbon fiber composites in global hydrogen storage applications for fuel cell-powered trucks, buses, trains and passenger vehicles.
In this resource, CGTech offers vital information about the benefits, processes, and vendors behind automated composite manufacturing.

CW’s editors are tracking the latest trends and developments in tooling, from the basics to new developments. This collection, presented by Composites One, features four recent CW stories that detail a range of tooling technologies, processes and materials.
The composites industry is increasingly recognizing the imperative of sustainability in its operations. As demand for lightweight and durable materials rises across various sectors, such as automotive, aerospace, and construction, there is a growing awareness of the environmental impact associated with traditional composite manufacturing processes.

As defense and space missions push the boundaries of performance, the demand for advanced materials that can endure extreme environments and conditions continues to grow.
CompositesWorld’s CW Tech Days: Infrastructure event offers a series of expert presentations on composite materials, processes and applications that should and will be considered for use in the infrastructure and construction markets.
Explore the cutting-edge composites industry, as experts delve into the materials, tooling, and manufacturing hurdles of meeting the demands of the promising advanced air mobility (AAM) market. Join us at CW Tech Days to unlock the future of efficient composites fabrication operations.
Thermoplastics for Large Structures, experts explored the materials and processing technologies that are enabling the transition to large-part manufacturing.
Explore the technologies, materials, and strategies that can help composites manufacturers become more sustainable.
CompositesWorld’s Tech Days: Design, Simulation and Testing Technologies for Next-Gen Composite Structures is designed to provide a multi-perspective view of the state of the art in design, simulation, failure analysis, digital twins, virtual testing and virtual inspection.
Explore the technologies, materials and strategies used by composites manufacturers working in the evolving space market.
Explore the latest technologies and strategies involving bonding and welding, essential processes in the assembly and manufacturing of composite materials, providing reliable methods for joining components.
During this CW Tech Days event, sponsored by Composites One, experts will offer presentations to review and evaluate the composite materials, processes and applications that should and will be considered for use in the infrastructure and construction markets.
In these sessions, experts will discuss the emerging hydrogen economy and the opportunities for composites in this lucrative space.
A report on the demand for hydrogen as an energy source and the role composites might play in the transport and storage of hydrogen.
This collection features detail the current state of the industry and recent success stories across aerospace, automotive and rail applications.
This collection details the basics, challenges, and future of thermoplastic composites technology, with particular emphasis on their use for commercial aerospace primary structures.
This collection features recent CW stories that detail a range of tooling technologies, processes and materials.
The Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) is funding 18 teams to develop aircraft capable of operating persistently in the stratosphere including Structural Solar project integrating perovskite photovoltaics onto carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP).
Source | Getty Images with AI rendering of how solar cells could be applied to power high atmosphere unmanned aircraft.
The U.K.’s Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) has committed £70 million to 18 engineering teams developing aircraft for extended stratospheric operation.  The funding, announced under ARIA’s Enduring Atmospheric Platforms program and reported by The Engineer, targets aircraft able to continuously supply 300 watts of power to a communications payload for a full week while holding station above the U.K. Success would establish a new infrastructure layer between Earth and space, delivering connectivity to underserved regions in the U.K. and worldwide.
Part of the Structural Solar team, Limosaero is developing solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Source | Limosaero
One project, led by David G. Lidzey at the University of Sheffield (Sheffield, U.K.), uses carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) as a structural substrate for perovskite photovoltaics. The full team also includes members from AMRC Sheffield, solar-powered drone/UAV developer Limosaero (Cambridge, U.K.) and University of Loughborough.
The project, titled “Structural Solar: Integrating perovskite PV onto carbon fiber for high specific power,” is one of eight teams funded under Technical Area 1 (Enabling Technologies), which backs materials and power technologies intended to de-risk development of a full stratospheric platform. It aims to develop high-performance, spray-cast perovskite solar cells (PSCs) integrated onto CFRP substrates to power enduring
atmospheric platforms.
By using low-temperature, solution-processed materials, this approach targets a specific power of up to 10X photovoltaic efficiency per unit mass compared to conventional gallium arsenide (GaAs) technologies while offering disruptive cost reductions. The resulting PSC/CFRP composite panels will then be engineered to enable long-endurance, solar-powered flight by combining established manufacturing processes with innovative thin-film coatings preventing impacts from moisture infiltration.
The approach builds on Lidzey’s earlier published research combining perovskite photovoltaics with CFRP substrates. That work showed this approach produces materials with high mechanical strength that also generate electrical power. The goal is multifunctional structures that are lightweight yet provide energy-harvesting capacity in aerospace and automotive applications. Lidzey’s group has since demonstrated spray-coating perovskite cells directly onto CFRP, including curved surfaces, reaching efficiencies of about 14%.
For a high-altitude pseudo-satellite (HAPS) aircraft, embedding power generation into a load-bearing carbon fiber composite skin removes the added mass of a separate photovoltaic layer — an advantage for the endurance target of the ARIA program.
ARIA is backing a range of approaches, says Rico Chandra, program director for Enduring Atmospheric Platforms at ARIA, “from fixed-wing solar aircraft to designs nobody predicted, including aircraft that fly on spinning wings instead of propellers.” Sixteen of the 18 funded teams are based in the U.K.; two more, based in Australia and the U.S., are relocating operations to the U.K. as a result of the award.
H2 economy is set back by Trump policies, tariffs and funding pivot to defense and AI, but composite tanks remain a key segment with sales in CNG/RNG, growth in New Space and potential for H2-electric aviation.
Fully automated, Industry 4.0 line for hydrogen pressure vessels advances efficiency and versatility in small footprint for next-gen, sustainable composites production.
A new approach for high volumes of small satellite structures uses low-CTE, low-cost CFRP cellular core, robust single-ply skins and modular panel systems to cut lead time, labor and cost for reflectors, solar arrays and more.
CompositesWorld is the source for reliable news and information on what’s happening in fiber-reinforced composites manufacturing. All original technical content on our sites and in our publications is created by Gardner Business Media staff and contributing writers. About Us 
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RFAs: Solar for Apartment Residents Grant Program (Australia)  fundsforngos.org
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Australian renewable energy developer Potentia Energy has completed its 98MW Quorn Park Solar Hybrid project in New South Wales, Australia, combining solar PV with a 20MW/40MWh battery energy storage system (BESS).
The project, located around 10km northwest of Parkes, represents an investment of AU$ 190 million (US$ 136.5 million), according to the firm.
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The company said that Quorn Park is the first hybrid project in Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM) to receive approval for a single hybrid generator performance standard (GPS). The facility is expected to generate around 250,000MWh of electricity annually.
Permitted in 2020, construction began in late 2024. Potentia delivered the project alongside engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor Beon Energy Solutions, with inverter manufacturer SMA Australia, module manufacturer LONGi, BYD and solar PV equipment provider Nextpower also involved.
Australian electricity retailer Zen Energy has signed a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) covering most of the project’s generation. In March 2026, Potentia completed the installation of nearly 161,000 solar modules at the project following six months of construction.
Potentia Energy, a joint venture between Italian clean energy developer Enel Green Power and Japan-headquartered Inpex Corporation, operates over 800MW of renewable energy assets across Australia.
Earlier this year, the developer secured AU$830 million (US$557 million) in portfolio financing from seven banks to support its renewable energy operations and project development in Australia.
The financing covered more than 600MW across six wind, solar and hybrid BESS assets. The syndicate comprised financial institutions Bank of China, BNP Paribas, HSBC, Mizuho Bank, Société Générale, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Westpac Banking Corporation.

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Solar manufacturer ES Foundry has joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Initiative for New Manufacturing (INM), committing $1.5 million over three years to the initiative.
The partnership aims to strengthen the U.S.’s manufacturing workforce in the solar and energy storage sector, ES Foundry officials. Additionally, the collaboration will bolster the company’s recent research into AI-driven efficiencies and advanced operating models “in an effort to ensure U.S. manufacturing remains globally competitive.”
“We have made a significant investment in bringing solar cell manufacturing back to the United States. This commitment to MIT’s Initiative for New Manufacturing is an investment in making that manufacturing stronger,” says ES Foundry CEO Alex Zhu. “We are operating at commercial scale every day, which gives us a very practical view of where technology, automation and workforce development can make a difference.
“Working with MIT gives us an opportunity to research solutions to manufacturing challenges and develop new ideas and approaches.”
Alongside strengthening the workforce, the partnership aims to close a glaring gap in the American solar supply chain: solar cells themselves. ES Foundry’s manufacturing facility, combined with the knowledge and workforce assistance of MIT’s new program, hopes to bridge the gap.

Building on the new building

In July 2026, ES Foundry completed a new expansion of its Greenwood, South Carolina manufacturing facility, adding 2 GW onto its annual capacity. In total, the expansion now supports more than 400 manufacturing jobs and brings the company’s total solar cell manufacturing capacity to over 3 GW per year.
“Manufacturing challenges become very real when you are running a factory 24 hours a day,” says Lionel Moss, general manager of operations for ES Foundry. “You are constantly looking at how to improve yield, productivity, equipment performance, processes and workforce capabilities. We have a lot to learn from the work happening at MIT, but we also have experiences from Greenwood that can contribute to that work. That exchange is what makes this collaboration valuable.”
The relationship between ES Foundry and MIT is designed to work bidirectionally, the company says. ES Foundry will draw on the bright young minds of MIT’s next generation, and the school will bring the experience of a national-level manufacturer to MIT’s initiative in return.
The company’s work within MIT’s INM program “builds on the company’s broader effort to establish a durable domestic solar cell manufacturing base,” representatives say. With production capacity booming for the firm throughout the U.S., the focus now is on making sure the country has the ability to continue improving its solar manufacturing processes.
“ES Foundry brings a valuable perspective to the Initiative for New Manufacturing,” says John Hart, Class of 1922 Professor, head of the MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering, and faculty co-director of the Initiative for New Manufacturing. “We’re excited to collaborate and we welcome ES Foundry to the INM community.”


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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.
“The fire department requires both an interconnected heat detector and sprinklers.”
Photo Credit: iStock
A Tesla Powerwall buyer went online looking for a simple answer after a site survey recommended installing the Tesla Powerwalls outside, but the homeowner believed them to be better inside.
The discussion highlights a common issue for homeowners investing in backup power, as installer preferences do not always align with what local code actually allows.
In a discussion on Reddit’s r/TeslaSolar, the original poster said: “He stated he wanted to put the PW’s outside, I thought inside would offer better protection. Can you guys recommend the best place to store them?”
Commenters repeatedly pointed to local code and enforcement as the real deciding factor, rather than any universal Tesla rule.
One user said Tesla may still push exterior placement on its own jobs, writing: “If Tesla is doing the work, they have an internal policy to only install outside.”
Another commenter said Tesla eventually acknowledged “their AHJ rules for my area were incorrect and fixed them internally.”
Battery storage can protect a home during outages, save money on energy, and support off-grid use when necessary. A battery can store solar power or cheaper off-peak electricity for later use, helping homeowners avoid expensive peak rates while keeping essential appliances running during blackouts. 
You can check out EnergySage’s free tools for information about home battery storage options, including competitive installation estimates. Plus, EnergySage has teamed up with Qmerit to guarantee you get the best price. If you’re not ready for a big investment, Pila’s plug-and-play batteries cost a fraction of a whole home backup system. 
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 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.
Solar panels can save you more than $50k over their 25-year lifespan, and EnergySage can help you save as much as $10k on installation. Which begs the question — isn’t that worth an email or two?
“Inside or outside” is not just a matter of convenience. It can affect equipment exposure, garage space, permitting timelines, and peace of mind. Some homeowners prefer indoor placement because batteries and associated electronics may be better protected from heat, weather, and debris.
Garage installations may also come with extra requirements from the local authority having jurisdiction, which is often a city building department or fire official.
In the thread, one commenter said: “My city requires both heat detectors and sprinklers in the garage.”
Another described a broader list of conditions: “The city just asks for solid core, self closing door leading into the house, can’t be within X amount of feet of that door, and vehicle impact protection if required. The fire department requires both an interconnected heat detector and sprinklers.”
Homeowners considering a Powerwall or similar system can protect themselves by asking for the exact code basis behind any installer recommendation. If a company says indoor installation is prohibited, it is reasonable to ask whether that rule comes from local code, fire department guidance, or internal company policy and to seek a copy to fully understand the ins and outs.
It may also help to speak directly with the local permitting office or inspector before approving a final design. Some buyers have found a disconnect between what sales or survey staff say and what officials will actually allow.
These articles look at Tesla Powerwall alternatives, installation growth, rebates, battery earnings, and financing.
• A master electrician says the best next-gen alternatives to Tesla batteries changed his mind.
• California homeowners could make up to $1,500 a year by sharing battery power.
• Some homeowners can now get home backup batteries without paying upfront installation costs.
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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Market Research Analyst specializing in industry intelligence, market trends, competitive analysis, and data-driven insights. Skilled in transforming complex market data into actionable strategies, identifying growth opportunities, and delivering impactful business research across global markets.
Australia Solar Panel Recycling Market
The Australia solar panel recycling market grew from USD 4.01 Billion in 2025 to USD 4.64 Billion in 2026 and is projected to reach USD 11.60 Billion by 2034, expanding at a CAGR of 12.15% during 2026-2034. Rising end-of-life PV panel volumes nationwide, coupled with regulatory mandates including Victoria’s landfill ban, and growing circular economy initiatives and industry partnerships, are the primary growth catalysts. The Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics (ACAP) estimates that the cumulative volume of decommissioned solar panels in Australia could reach 1 million tons by 2035.
Request a Sample Report for In-Depth Market Insights:
https://www.imarcgroup.com/australia-solar-panel-recycling-market/requestsample
The Australia solar panel recycling market encompasses mechanical, thermal, and laser processing for crystalline silicon and thin film panels, recovering materials including glass, aluminum, silicon, and metals.
These recycling services are valued for their role in diverting end-of-life solar panels from landfill, recovering valuable materials, and supporting circular economy principles.
The ecosystem includes collection providers, recycling processors (Sircel, PV Industries, PanPacificRecycling), research institutions (UNSW), government regulators, and manufacturer partnerships.
Major segments identified in the market include process (mechanical, thermal, laser), type (crystalline silicon, thin film), material (metal, glass, aluminum, silicon), shelf life (normal loss, early loss), and region.
The market is benefiting from rising end-of-life PV panel volumes, regulatory mandates including Victoria’s landfill ban, and circular economy initiatives.
In April 2026, Australia launched its first dedicated solar panel recycling research hub to develop scalable solutions for recovering valuable materials.
Competitive Rivalry: Moderate, with leading recyclers (Sircel, PV Industries, PanPacificRecycling) competing on processing capacity, technology, and facility network. Business implication: Companies must differentiate through technology, scale, and partnerships.
Supplier Power (End-of-Life Panels): Low. The growing volume of decommissioned panels ensures a steady supply, giving recyclers some negotiation power. Business implication: Recyclers should focus on efficient collection and processing.
Buyer Power (Material Off-takers): Moderate. Manufacturers of glass, aluminum, and silicon have some leverage, but growing demand for recycled materials and limited supply moderates this power. Business implication: Recyclers should focus on material quality and long-term partnerships.
Threat of Substitutes: Low. While landfilling is an alternative, regulatory bans and environmental concerns support recycling. Business implication: The industry should emphasize environmental and regulatory compliance benefits.
Threat of New Entrants: Moderate. Higher barriers for advanced recycling facilities (capital, technology, regulatory compliance), but lower barriers for smaller, specialized processors. Business implication: Established players should build defensible positions through technology, scale, and partnerships.
The Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics (ACAP), led by UNSW Sydney, estimates that the cumulative volume of decommissioned solar panels in Australia could reach 1 million tons by 2035, further driving sustained recycling infrastructure investment. This growing volume of decommissioned panels, driven by Australia’s high solar adoption rate, creates a pressing need for recycling capacity and infrastructure development.
Australia has progressively strengthened solar panel waste regulations, with Victoria implementing a landfill ban on solar panels in July 2019, while South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) introduced restrictions on e-waste disposal. Western Australia commenced e-waste regulation measures in July 2024. These regulatory mandates create a compliance-driven demand for recycling services, forcing waste generators to seek alternatives to landfill.
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Oyster Renewable Energy, a hybrid renewable energy solutions provider for commercial and industrial (C&I) consumers, has commissioned a 10 MW solar power project for Aster Medcity hospital—a multispecialty hospital of Aster DM Quality Care in Kerala.
The milestone project marks a significant step in Aster’s efforts towards building a more sustainable and energy-efficient healthcare infrastructure.
Developed by Oyster Renewable, the ground-mounted solar project is located at Ambalathara and adjoining villages in Hosdurg Taluka, Kasargod District. The developer said the project integrates high-efficiency bifacial solar modules optimised for Kerala’s tropical climate and is designed to deliver reliable and cost-efficient clean power to support the round-the-clock energy requirements of Aster Medcity.
The project is expected to generate approximately 17.7 million units (MUs) of renewable energy annually, meeting over 90% of the total energy requirement of Aster Medcity on a captive basis. The power is supplied through Oyster Green Hybrid Two Private Ltd, in which the Aster Group holds a 26% equity stake. The project, once fully operational, is expected to abate approximately 23,138 metric tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually, significantly reducing the carbon footprint of Aster’s operations.
Aster DM Quality Care has invested INR 3.87 crore in this project. The commissioning marks the first operational phase of the project, with full commissioning to follow in subsequent phases.
Siddharth Bhatia, managing director & CEO, Oyster Renewable Energy, said, “The Aster Medcity project marks Oyster’s second-largest solar installation for a healthcare institution to date and sets a new benchmark for what clean energy infrastructure in this sector can look like. Healthcare facilities demand uninterrupted, reliable power, and this project has been engineered to meet exactly that standard.” 
“This 10 MW solar project for Aster Medcity will not only help meet a significant proportion of the hospital’s energy requirements through clean power but also strengthen our efforts towards reducing the environmental footprint of our operations,” said Varun Khanna, Managing Director & Group CEO, Aster DM Quality Care.
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Households could soon be able to borrow money for solar panels, batteries and heat pumps at lower interest rates under a new government-supported loan scheme expected to begin rolling out in the coming weeks.
The Warm Homes Loan Scheme is designed for homeowners who can afford to repay a loan but have been put off green home improvements by the high upfront cost or expensive finance.
Under the scheme, the government is making £300m of grant capital available to participating lenders, with the aim of reducing the cost of borrowing for home energy upgrades. The first round of applications from lenders has already closed.
Government rules describe an initial consumer launch phase beginning in September 2026, although the timetable is indicative. Lloyd Greenfield, founder and CEO of solar installer Glow Green, told The Independent that lenders working with the company are now expecting products to become available sometime in October.
The scheme could be particularly significant for solar panels, where households have traditionally had to find several thousand pounds upfront or take out relatively expensive finance.
“I think this is going to open up a massive part of the market,” Greenfield says, arguing that solar has until now largely appealed to people with enough savings to pay for an installation outright. “There are so many people out there who aren’t as fortunate to have savings of £10,000 or £15,000,” he said.
Read more: Best solar panels, compared
Despite being government-supported, the loans themselves will not come from the government.
Instead, banks and other participating lenders will offer their own finance products. The government will then provide lenders with a non-repayable capital grant worth up to 20 per cent of the eligible loan, once the installation has been completed and verified.
That effectively reduces the amount of capital the lender has at risk, allowing it to pass the benefit on to the customer through a lower interest rate. The scheme is intended to cut a lender’s normal annual fixed interest rate by up to around five percentage points, although the reduction can be smaller depending on the loan and the scheme’s grant cap.
It’s important to note that this doesn’t mean everyone will be offered the same rate. Individual lenders will continue to set their own prices, repayment terms and lending criteria.
Glow Green, which operates as an FCA-regulated credit broker rather than a lender, said the lenders on its panel currently enable it to offer finance at 8.9 per cent. Greenfield expects government support under the new scheme to allow it to offer some eligible customers a rate of 3.9 per cent, with finance available over as long as 10 years. Other installers and lenders could offer different rates.
Consumers should not have to make a separate application to the government to receive the support.
“There’s nothing that the homeowner needs to do,” Greenfield explains. “They don’t need to apply for a grant or jump through loads of hoops.”
Instead, participating lenders will handle the government side of the process after the customer applies for finance and passes the lender’s usual affordability and credit checks.
Under the scheme, government support is only available for loans lasting three years or longer.
The Warm Homes Loan Scheme covers a range of low-carbon home improvements. For solar PV, the maximum supported loan is £15,000, while another £15,000 limit applies to electrical battery storage. Batteries can be installed alongside new solar panels or added as a standalone system.
Air-to-water heat pumps can qualify for loans of up to £20,000 before any Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant is deducted, while the cap for ground-source heat pumps is £35,000.
An EV charger can also form part of an eligible solar or battery installation, although it cannot be financed by the scheme on its own.
Solar panels, batteries and heat pumps financed through the scheme will generally need to use MCS-certified products and be fitted by an MCS-certified installer.
Unlike some solar panel grants and funding schemes, the Warm Homes Loan Scheme is not specifically targeted at low-income households.
It is primarily intended for owner-occupiers and private landlords who can afford repayments but might not have the savings available to pay for an installation upfront.
There is no government-set income threshold. Instead, lenders will carry out their normal affordability and credit assessments before deciding whether to approve an application. Domestic properties anywhere in the UK can qualify, although the scheme will operate alongside existing programmes run by the devolved administrations.
That target market is one reason Greenfield believes the scheme could broaden the appeal of rooftop solar.
He described the market to date as being in an “early adoption phase”, dominated by households able to spend their savings on solar in return for lower electricity bills over the following years.
“I think we’ll move from this early adoption phase into what I think will be more of a mass adoption,” he said.
One potentially attractive feature of cheaper, longer-term borrowing is that some households could find the monthly savings from their solar panels cover a significant part of their loan repayments.
Greenfield said that, in theory, it might even be possible in some circumstances for the savings to exceed the cost of financing the installation. But he stressed that this is not something Glow Green promises customers.
Whether that happens will depend on several factors, including the cost and size of the solar installation, the interest rate and length of the loan, how much electricity the panels generate, how much of that power the household uses itself and how much it earns by exporting surplus electricity to the grid.
A lower interest rate therefore doesn’t automatically make a solar installation profitable, and households should compare the total amount repayable over the full loan term rather than looking only at the monthly payment.
The government’s latest scheme rules describe an initial consumer launch phase from September 2026, although they make clear that timings may change. The first application window for lenders has closed, and another is expected later in 2026.
Greenfield said that lenders working with Glow Green are now expecting the scheme to start rolling out during October.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has also published an end-user privacy notice setting out how information will be handled when consumers start receiving loans through the scheme.
However, participating lenders, rates and the precise availability of individual products have yet to be fully announced publicly. Homeowners considering taking out finance now should therefore check the latest offers available rather than assuming a particular rate or launch date.
The government describes the Warm Homes Loan Scheme as a multi-year programme, meaning more lenders and finance products could become available as it expands.
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Countries are embracing clean power and taking steps to use less energy because of the war against Iran, but it is not yet enough to help address climate change.
When the U.S. and Israel launched the war in February, some backers of renewables opined it could drive a green transition as oil and gas prices spiked. So far, more than 30 governments have enacted policies to move away from fossil fuels or improve energy efficiency. Yet at the same time, global emissions of greenhouse gases increased slightly and investments in clean energy fell compared to the same period last year.
The Associated Press talked to a dozen experts who said that while the Iran war appears to be helping the adoption of clean energy, the world is still heavily dependent on fossil fuels. They said it will take more time for new policies to show results.
“Governments are currently doing a dance between acknowledging the importance of clean power while continuing to support fossil fuel expansion,” war studies lecturer Pauline Heinrichs at King’s College London wrote in an email. “We are seeing an old and a new world interact in contradiction with each other.”
There has been a surge in solar installations in the United Kingdom. The government is also considering expanding natural gas production. In Asia, where there’s massive demand for solar power and electric vehicles, Indonesia is replacing some diesel power plants with solar, while also doubling down on coal for heavy industries.
Global investment in wind and solar deployment fell in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period last year, after several years of growth, according to Rhodium Group’s Clean Investment Monitor. China accounted for most of the global decline. In the U.S., Europe and India, where economies are more exposed to gas and oil prices, solar investment grew and wind investment held stable or grew, said Hannah Pitt, a director at Rhodium.
In February, Stanford University climate scientist Rob Jackson said it was “just wishful thinking” that the new war would boost support for homegrown renewables over imported fossil fuels — unless it turned out to be a sustained conflict.
Six months later, Jackson said he didn’t anticipate oil prices hurdling past $90 or $100 a barrel for so long. If dozens of countries are promoting electric vehicle incentives, charging infrastructure and electrification in general, that can help in the fight against climate change, added Jackson. But only if those actions are sustained.
“We need that action over years, to decades, to make a dent in the climate problem,” Jackson said Monday.
Thirty-three governments adopted policies to switch from fossil fuels to electricity or improve energy efficiency in response to the Middle East conflict, as of Sept. 9, according to the International Energy Agency. This includes supporting EV adoption, promoting renewable energy, replacing gas boilers with electric heat pumps and retrofitting homes and businesses to use less energy. The Netherlands, Spain and the U.K. are doing everything on that list.
China is working to make heavy industry more energy efficient and pushing to electrify heavy vehicles. India and Indonesia are shifting to electric stoves to replace imported liquefied petroleum gas as a cooking fuel. Laos suspended gas and diesel car imports through 2026 to boost EVs.
These efforts haven’t moved the needle yet. Incentivizing EV purchases or encouraging energy efficiency take time and scale, according to researchers for the Climate TRACE database of emissions.
At the same time, many governments are cutting fuel taxes. That provides immediate relief to consumers but disincentivizes switching to EVs. And, the war itself will spike emissions.
Global greenhouse gas emissions increased 0.2% in the first half of 2026, compared with the first half of 2025, according to Climate TRACE. While emissions from road transportation increased, Climate TRACE found that power sector emissions declined, despite concern that disruptions in oil and gas markets would push countries to use more coal for electricity. Shipping emissions also declined, likely due to the Strait of Hormuz closure.
Those bills would have been even steeper, though, if not for the clean power added since 2020.
Fossil fuel importers have paid prices that are $330 billion higher compared to prewar market expectations, making it the largest sustained price shock since the 1990 Gulf War, according to research by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. The European Union, China and India paid the most.
Countries that invested in clean energy after past energy crises saved an estimated $36 billion in avoided fossil fuel imports in the first five months of the conflict, the research found. China and Japan saved the most, followed by Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Brazil and India.
Governments are trying to insulate themselves from geopolitical volatility and fuel price instability, said Caspian Conran, lead economist at the global consultancy firm Baringa. China knows it can rely on coal and the U.S. won’t run out of domestic natural gas, he said. Europe’s politicians feel the most urgency to adopt new energy policies because their fossil fuel production is limited, said Conran, who is based in London.
“We simply don’t have a choice,” he said.
At this point, the signal would be small and there is a lot of other variation in the system, according to Michael Oppenheimer, a Princeton climate and international affairs professor.
“One thing is clear, however. When the trouble began, lots of people said there would be a rush to other, readily-available fossil fuel sources to replace Gulf oil and compensate for the price run-up, which would presumably bury any gain in carbon-free energy,” he wrote in an email. “Instead, at this point, it looks like events could turn out to be a net winner for renewables.”
Brookings Institution scholar Samantha Gross said the war is changing how people think about transitioning away from fossil fuels — that it’s not just for the climate, it’s an energy security strategy.
“That widens the appeal,” Gross said. “It brings in not just people concerned about the green side, but people concerned about hard security.”
President Donald Trump is shifting the U.S. away from renewables. The war underscores the risks of his relentless focus on fossil fuels.
“The Trump administration has been really focused on fossil fuels, but since they started this conflict, you have to ask the question, is this good for fossil fuels? And in short, I really think not,” Gross said. “Because the high prices and the uncertainty brought about by this war are helping to push other countries away from fossil fuels.”
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India’s rooftop solar market jumps 125% as PM Surya Ghar drives a home-installation surge  Yahoo Finance
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21 September 2026
Ohio’s largest solar and battery project can finally move forward after years of slogging through legal and regulatory challenges.
The Ohio Power Siting Board on Thursday approved a permit for Oak Run Solar, which will combine 800 megawatts of solar with 300 MW of battery storage. The Madison County development will also include an agrivoltaics component, with around 1,000 sheep grazing among the rows of panels.
Barring any more hiccups, Oak Run will become the rare example of a utility-scale solar farm able to succeed in a state that is notoriously hostile to renewable energy. Over the last dozen years, the Ohio legislature has more than doubled wind turbine setbacks, gutted clean energy standards, and created extra hurdles for wind and solar farms that don’t apply for fossil fuel developments. Since 2021, the Power Siting Board has also increasingly relied on local government opposition to deny solar permits.
Oak Run developer Savion first sought a permit in 2022 and won approval from the Power Siting Board in March 2024. But the government of Madison County and three of its townships appealed the decision to the Ohio Supreme Court later that year.
That put Oak Run in a holding pattern. Judges finally weighed in this spring, after Savion asked the court to expedite its ruling so that there would be enough time to start building the project and meet contract obligations to grid operator PJM Interconnection.
The court’s split decision rejected all objections to the project except one: a need for renderings of the expected visual impacts from the project’s substations, which step up the voltage of the electricity produced and feed it onto the grid. The court sent the case back to the Ohio Power Siting Board, telling it to more thoroughly consider evidence on that issue and then make a final call.
Savion submitted a report with pictures as well as testimony, which sufficiently convinced the board’s staff to recommend permit approval. The nonprofit Ohio Environmental Council and John Boeckl, a local resident who had intervened in the case, filed briefs in support of Oak Run, too. Madison County and the three townships still objected.
The board voted 7–2 to approve the project’s permit, with the nays coming from a county representative and a representative of the townships. Those two individuals got to vote as ad hoc board members under Senate Bill 52, a 2021 state law that gives local governments more say in blocking or siting renewables even though they do not have that authority over fossil fuel development.
The board specifically rejected the local governments’ argument that it should have made Oak Run go through extra procedural steps for meetings and notices, as if the company were filing a new permit application instead of additional evidence.
“The Court’s remand directive was narrow in scope,” the board’s order said. ​“The only question remaining was the substations’ specific visual impact.”
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Clean energy advocates celebrated the approval, saying solar projects like Oak Run will help meet skyrocketing energy demand in Ohio and make power more affordable for households. Renewable energy is typically the cheapest, fastest way to add electrons to the grid, which is why more than 90% of new power generation built in the U.S. in recent years has been wind, solar, or batteries.
Oak Run’s win ​“emphasizes that bold renewable projects have a place in Ohio’s electric generation portfolio,” said Chris Tavenor, general counsel for the Ohio Environmental Council.
Samantha Sawmiller, senior development manager for Oak Run, said the company is pleased by the decision and thanked the Power Siting Board and others for their hard work to advance the project.
The local governments opposing Oak Run could seek reconsideration from the Power Siting Board or maybe even appeal the board’s decision to the Ohio Supreme Court again. Canary Media received no response to multiple requests for comment sent to their lawyer in the case, Jack Van Kley, who has often represented opponents to wind and solar projects. Nor did Madison County prosecutor Nicholas Adkins answer questions sent to his office.
Meanwhile, solar proponents are waiting on the Ohio Supreme Court to deliver another important ruling.
That case deals with Kingwood Solar, a 175-MW project in Greene County that was not subject to SB 52. The Power Siting Board rejected developer Vesper Energy’s application for the project in late 2022, saying unanimous local government opposition meant that Kingwood did not meet a statutory requirement that the array be in the public interest. The board largely ignored whether that opposition was based in fact or on misinformation, resistance to change, or political pressure. Kingwood met all other criteria for issuance of a permit.
The company appealed to Ohio’s high court, and the judges finally heard oral argument in early 2025.
The case could determine whether the Power Siting Board can continue to apply the state’s public interest requirement in a way that lets local opposition determine the fate of renewable energy projects.
The appeal has been pending since 2023. The developer asked the judges in February to speed up their ruling so that the company could meet a July deadline under its contract with PJM for eventually feeding power onto the grid, but the court refused. Some say that sluggishness and uncertainty are unnecessarily holding Ohio back from adding power to the grid just as the state needs it most.
“Given the electric affordability issues we’re seeing across Ohio and the nation, as well as the need for clean energy to counter the causes of climate change, we encourage the Ohio Supreme Court to decide any solar case before it as quickly as possible,” Tavenor said. 

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Indian infrastructure company Dilip Buildcon (DBL) has signed definitive agreements with asset management company Alpha Alternatives for the divestment of its stake in 10 special purpose vehicles (SPVs) developing a 1.36GWac solar portfolio in Madhya Pradesh, India.
Commercial operations for the solar PV projects in the portfolio are targeted for September 2027.
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The agreements, signed on 18 September, follow DBL’s announcement on 10 August regarding the proposed transaction.
The portfolio has an estimated total project cost of INR68.29 billion (US$712.8 million), with approximately INR12.53 billion (US$130.7 million) of equity required.
DBL’s wholly owned subsidiary, DBL Renewable Private (DBRL), and Alpha Alternatives will fund the equity requirement in a 51:49 ratio during the construction period. The investment will be made through multiple instruments and tranches into the project SPVs.
Devendra Jain, managing director and CEO, Dilip Buildcon, said: “This transaction marks another important milestone in our DBL 2.0 journey as we continue to build a multi-asset infrastructure platform anchored by long-duration, contracted assets. Following the execution of definitive agreements for our Mekhali transmission project, this transaction further builds on our partnership with Alpha Alternatives and enables us to recycle capital early in the asset lifecycle, while maintaining our disciplined focus on strengthening our balance sheet and building a more asset-light business.”
DBRL is developing the portfolio across 163 locations in Madhya Pradesh through 10 SPVs. The projects are being developed under power purchase agreements with the Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company (MPPMCL) as part of the Feeder Level Solarisation component of the PM-KUSUM Component C scheme.
Under the agreed structure, Alpha Alternatives-led funds or an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) will acquire DBL’s remaining 51% stake following completion of the portfolio.
DBL said the transaction forms part of its asset-light “DBL 2.0” strategy, with the company seeking to recycle capital, deleverage its balance sheet and reinvest in new opportunities.
The transaction remains subject to the fulfilment of conditions under the definitive agreements and required regulatory approvals. PV Tech has contacted Dilip Buildcon for further information on the transaction and the scope of the solar portfolio.
In recent months, the Madhya Pradesh government has advanced its renewable manufacturing and digital infrastructure. According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Madhya Pradesh has 10.36GW of cumulative installed solar capacity as of early 2026, making it India’s fifth-largest state by solar installations.
The state’s Renewable Energy Policy 2025 aims to meet 50% of annual electricity demand from clean energy by 2030, with an interim 30% target by 2027. The policy also aims to attract INR500 billion (US$6 billion) in renewable energy investment by 2027 and develop a 10GW renewable energy technology park.
At the upstream level, companies including Fujiyama Power, Jakson and INA Solar have announced plans for module, wafer and ingot manufacturing facilities in Madhya Pradesh.
In May 2026, Indian public solar developer Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL) tendered 50MW and 200MW solar-plus-storage projects in the state, designed to supply peak-period power alongside daytime solar generation.
Last month, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) agreed to support Madhya Pradesh in developing three renewable energy projects through public-private partnerships, including a solar-plus-storage project at Shajapur. The initiative is expected to mobilise up to US$1 billion in private investment.

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Significantly more photovoltaic capacity could be connected to substations between medium- and high-voltage connections if battery storage systems absorbed peak generation, thereby improving the utilization of existing transformers. This is the conclusion of a short study conducted by the Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology IEE on behalf of the German Solar Association (BSW-Solar), focused on German rural substations.
For a defined group of 1,313 substations heavily reliant on renewable energy sources in rural areas, the Fraunhofer IEE modeled a theoretical expansion potential of approximately 150 gigawatts of additional photovoltaic capacity and 60 gigawatts of battery storage capacity. The starting point was real-world operating data from 20 transformers in 13 substations. The results obtained were then extrapolated to the larger group of substations using similarity analyses.
The study focuses primarily on transformer capacity, which has not been fully utilized to date: Since transformers only reach their power limit temporarily, intelligently controlled battery storage systems could absorb peak generation and release the energy later.
In the reference scenario, the researchers assume that the installed capacity from existing renewable energy plants and additional photovoltaics can reach 200% of the respective transformer capacity. A sufficiently sized battery storage system absorbs power peaks when the transformer would otherwise reach its load limit.
According to the calculations, the resulting curtailment of the additionally installed photovoltaics decreases to an average of about 1% across the investigated transformers. This requires that the substation, battery storage, and photovoltaic systems are considered together and dynamically monitored and limited. The storage systems would have to adjust their operating mode accordingly to the actual power flows at the substation.
The calculated 150 GW, however, are not matched by a correspondingly large, already proven, available grid connection capacity. The study does not include detailed calculations of grid bottlenecks and grid conditions within the upstream and downstream networks. Rather, it examines what additional potential could arise from better utilization of existing transformers throughout a 24/7 cycle. According to the authors, this approach could reduce or postpone grid expansion measures.
This study was presented in advance at a recent conference in Berlin, with charts showing an example of a substation where transformer use does peak at maximum capacities throughout the day. However, by identifying regular windows when the transformer is not fully loaded, a substation could avoid being classified as fully congested.
The German Solar Association links the study results to demands regarding the grid package planned by the German Federal government. The Association opposes the long-term designation of large regions as grid bottleneck areas, where further expansion of renewable energy could be restricted by a planned redispatch reservation. Instead, existing grid capacities should be better utilized first.
The association is calling for, among other things, greater digitalization of medium- and high-voltage grids and the deployment of grid-supporting storage systems at bottleneck points. It refers to tenders under Section 11a of the German Energy Industry Act. Furthermore, the association argues that charging storage systems with solar power downstream of the grid connection point should not be hindered during temporary bottlenecks. According to BSW-Solar, such measures should complement the still necessary grid expansion and reduce its scope.
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Households could soon be able to borrow money for solar panels, batteries and heat pumps at lower interest rates under a new government-supported loan scheme expected to begin rolling out in the coming weeks.
The Warm Homes Loan Scheme is designed for homeowners who can afford to repay a loan but have been put off green home improvements by the high upfront cost or expensive finance.
Under the scheme, the government is making £300m of grant capital available to participating lenders, with the aim of reducing the cost of borrowing for home energy upgrades. The first round of applications from lenders has already closed.
Government rules describe an initial consumer launch phase beginning in September 2026, although the timetable is indicative. Lloyd Greenfield, founder and CEO of solar installer Glow Green, told The Independent that lenders working with the company are now expecting products to become available sometime in October.
The scheme could be particularly significant for solar panels, where households have traditionally had to find several thousand pounds upfront or take out relatively expensive finance.
“I think this is going to open up a massive part of the market,” Greenfield says, arguing that solar has until now largely appealed to people with enough savings to pay for an installation outright. “There are so many people out there who aren’t as fortunate to have savings of £10,000 or £15,000,” he said.
Read more: Best solar panels, compared
Despite being government-supported, the loans themselves will not come from the government.
Instead, banks and other participating lenders will offer their own finance products. The government will then provide lenders with a non-repayable capital grant worth up to 20 per cent of the eligible loan, once the installation has been completed and verified.
That effectively reduces the amount of capital the lender has at risk, allowing it to pass the benefit on to the customer through a lower interest rate. The scheme is intended to cut a lender’s normal annual fixed interest rate by up to around five percentage points, although the reduction can be smaller depending on the loan and the scheme’s grant cap.
It’s important to note that this doesn’t mean everyone will be offered the same rate. Individual lenders will continue to set their own prices, repayment terms and lending criteria.
Glow Green, which operates as an FCA-regulated credit broker rather than a lender, said the lenders on its panel currently enable it to offer finance at 8.9 per cent. Greenfield expects government support under the new scheme to allow it to offer some eligible customers a rate of 3.9 per cent, with finance available over as long as 10 years. Other installers and lenders could offer different rates.
Consumers should not have to make a separate application to the government to receive the support.
“There’s nothing that the homeowner needs to do,” Greenfield explains. “They don’t need to apply for a grant or jump through loads of hoops.”
Instead, participating lenders will handle the government side of the process after the customer applies for finance and passes the lender’s usual affordability and credit checks.
Under the scheme, government support is only available for loans lasting three years or longer.
The Warm Homes Loan Scheme covers a range of low-carbon home improvements. For solar PV, the maximum supported loan is £15,000, while another £15,000 limit applies to electrical battery storage. Batteries can be installed alongside new solar panels or added as a standalone system.
Air-to-water heat pumps can qualify for loans of up to £20,000 before any Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant is deducted, while the cap for ground-source heat pumps is £35,000.
An EV charger can also form part of an eligible solar or battery installation, although it cannot be financed by the scheme on its own.
Solar panels, batteries and heat pumps financed through the scheme will generally need to use MCS-certified products and be fitted by an MCS-certified installer.
Unlike some solar panel grants and funding schemes, the Warm Homes Loan Scheme is not specifically targeted at low-income households.
It is primarily intended for owner-occupiers and private landlords who can afford repayments but might not have the savings available to pay for an installation upfront.
There is no government-set income threshold. Instead, lenders will carry out their normal affordability and credit assessments before deciding whether to approve an application. Domestic properties anywhere in the UK can qualify, although the scheme will operate alongside existing programmes run by the devolved administrations.
That target market is one reason Greenfield believes the scheme could broaden the appeal of rooftop solar.
He described the market to date as being in an “early adoption phase”, dominated by households able to spend their savings on solar in return for lower electricity bills over the following years.
“I think we’ll move from this early adoption phase into what I think will be more of a mass adoption,” he said.
One potentially attractive feature of cheaper, longer-term borrowing is that some households could find the monthly savings from their solar panels cover a significant part of their loan repayments.
Greenfield said that, in theory, it might even be possible in some circumstances for the savings to exceed the cost of financing the installation. But he stressed that this is not something Glow Green promises customers.
Whether that happens will depend on several factors, including the cost and size of the solar installation, the interest rate and length of the loan, how much electricity the panels generate, how much of that power the household uses itself and how much it earns by exporting surplus electricity to the grid.
A lower interest rate therefore doesn’t automatically make a solar installation profitable, and households should compare the total amount repayable over the full loan term rather than looking only at the monthly payment.
The government’s latest scheme rules describe an initial consumer launch phase from September 2026, although they make clear that timings may change. The first application window for lenders has closed, and another is expected later in 2026.
Greenfield said that lenders working with Glow Green are now expecting the scheme to start rolling out during October.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has also published an end-user privacy notice setting out how information will be handled when consumers start receiving loans through the scheme.
However, participating lenders, rates and the precise availability of individual products have yet to be fully announced publicly. Homeowners considering taking out finance now should therefore check the latest offers available rather than assuming a particular rate or launch date.
The government describes the Warm Homes Loan Scheme as a multi-year programme, meaning more lenders and finance products could become available as it expands.
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Delhi govt to provide free solar panels to 2.3 lakh households using up to 400 units  indiatoday.in
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New government-supported loans could make solar panels cheaper to finance  Yahoo News UK
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The United States passed a special solar manufacturing landmark during the second quarter of 2026; cumulative domestic production of solar PV modules reached 100 GWp-dc.
While this production landmark seemed like a distant dream just a few years ago, it now serves as a sharp wake-up call to the U.S. solar industry, with domestic solar manufacturing officially shifting from optional to essential status.
The announcement here is also in stark contrast to years of hype surrounding factories that were never built, meaningless capacity metrics being added up, and a fixation on imported data.
And it is a reminder that the U.S. solar sector should stop referring to misleading third-party capacity graphs or PR-driven ‘map pins’ – and start tracking actual production numbers to see the real market.
The 100 GW number represents modules physically produced at factories in the United States, with the analysis covering more than five decades and linked directly to bottom-up company and site-level data across hundreds of factories through to today.
This research project was done in the months leading up to the inaugural Solar Manufacturing USA 2026 conference in Austin, Texas on 22-23 September 2026, forming much of the background content for the event itself, including my opening talk at the start of the first day.
Since the early 1970’s, U.S. solar PV manufacturing has gone through repeated cycles of investment, expansion, retrenchment and reinvention. Many factories were announced but never built. Others were built but operated at very low utilization rates, changed ownership or closed before producing any meaningful volume.
The 100 GW module-production crossing therefore provides a useful point to look backwards before attention turns to the next phase of the domestic U.S. solar manufacturing build-out – tracking production metrics for ingots, wafer and cells with a similar level of scrutiny from the factory-floor level.
Figure 1: Cumulative U.S. solar PV module production reached 100 GW during Q2 2026, with more than 70% added since the introduction of the Inflation Reduction Act late in 2022.
Looking back on my two-decades-plus as a solar PV market analyst, this is an article I never imagined I would write. Still less did I expect that by 2026, I would be diving deep into the factory-floor metrics of more than fifty companies across the United States—uncovering site-specific output in a furious nationwide rush to onshore an entire solar ecosystem.
Twenty years ago, during my early days at Solarbuzz, the landscape looked entirely different.Back then, my research was consumed by the entire thin-film phenomenon. I often spent my days mapping the nuances of fifteen-plus process-flow variants of CIGS panel manufacturing, an era when the U.S. was the undisputed driver of that technology.For years, U.S. solar manufacturing felt like a fascinating playground for technological learning – but not a force of global commercial significance.
My U.S. solar journey began with factory visits to the likes of Frederick and Fremont. In the intervening decades, the geographical center of manufacturing ownership radically shifted, taking me on an endless loop of flights across India, Taiwan, China, South Korea, and Southeast Asia to track the industry’s massive wave of global commoditization.
Now, the story seems to have come full-circle, and I find myself right back where I started: returning my research focus to U.S. soil, hunting down capital expenditures, process flow variants, and true production volumes at the company level.
To be the one tracking this data, at this exact moment in history, makes the announcement of this landmark milestone all the more personal and rewarding.
The origins of U.S. PV manufacturing go back to the earliest commercial years of the solar industry in the 1970’s. Until 1985, the United States had produced and shipped about 100 MW of PV modules, accounting for almost all global sales over that period. At the peak, companies like Arco Solar and Solarex had annual production volumes in the mid-megawatt range – tiny numbers by today’s standards, but global solar production leadership status at the time.
During the 1990’s, Japan became the first country to build PV manufacturing plants at scale and with a supporting government/industry infrastructure that included companies with deep electronics and manufacturing experience. Linked directly to the first subsidized domestic solar end-market, this allowed Japanese PV module production to grow quickly, ultimately exceeding annual domestic U.S. production volumes by the end of the decade.
To capitalize on the growing U.S. market, these leading Japanese solar manufacturers began establishing localized module assembly plants directly within the United States. This overseas manufacturing strategy allowed them to minimize the logistical costs of shipping modules while navigating evolving local content preferences. This move ignited a broader trend, drawing a wave of foreign-owned companies eager to invest in and supply the expanding U.S. solar infrastructure.
Sharp established module manufacturing in Memphis, Tennessee, while Kyocera later assembled modules in San Diego. Sanyo invested upstream in ingot and wafer production in Salem, Oregon. However, U.S.-specific production volumes were modest compared with the manufacturing scale being created then across Asia as a whole.
This same theme was repeated with other international entrants. Chinese company Suntech opened a module factory in Arizona, while China Sunergy later established production in Sacramento.
Korean companies eventually became visible in the United States, with LG Electronics manufacturing modules in Huntsville, Alabama and Qcells (then branding/trading globally as Hanwha Q CELLS) beginning production in Dalton, Georgia.
Some of these operations lasted, but most were short-lived and of minimal long-term significance.
The most dramatic U.S. manufacturing cycle (before the introduction of the Inflation Reduction Act at the end of 2022) came between roughly 2007 and 2012.
SolarWorld expanded its U.S. c-Si operations in Oregon, Evergreen Solar built out string ribbon production in Massachusetts, and a large group of thin-film companies attracted substantial amounts of capital.
Unisolar, Solyndra, Global Solar, MiaSole, Stion, Abound Solar and others collectively made the United States unusually thin-film-heavy during this period. The investment footprint was large, but significant production volumes failed to materialize.
Indeed, this period forms one of the most useful lessons from our 100 GW story. Capacity announcements and factory spending in the United States can dominate headlines for years without translating into sustained output.
First Solar is the major exception. Its CdTe manufacturing base in Ohio provided continuity through periods when much of the rest of U.S. module manufacturing was contracting, while recent factory builds in Alabama and Louisiana have taken domestic production volumes to significantly higher levels.
Adding up First Solar’s domestic production volumes from each of its factories in the United States, through to the end of Q2 2026, shows that approximately 39% of all solar modules ever manufactured in the United States have come from this one company.
This is an astonishing statistic—and all the more commendable given that First Solar single-handedly forged a viable thin-film alternative to the mountainous silicon-based capacity being amassed in China during this period.
Figure 2: By the end of Q2 2026, First Solar had accounted for almost 40% of all solar module production volumes accumulated since the U.S. entry into solar module manufacturing in the early 1970’s. South Korean Hanwha Solutions/Chemical’s U.S. manufacturing operations, Qcells/Q_CELLS, is the second major solar module manufacturing entity by production volumes.
For crystalline-silicon (c-Si) modules, the modern U.S. recovery began before the Inflation Reduction Act. U.S. c-Si production remained small and volatile through much of the 2010’s. The Section 201 safeguard period then encouraged a new group of module factories, including Qcells in Georgia and JinkoSolar in Florida, alongside LG Electronics, Silfab and Heliene.
The much larger paradigm shift arrived with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 and its Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit. The lucrative 7 cents-per-watt module credit provided an immediate economic windfall for domestic assembly, while First Solar’s vertically integrated thin-film operations stood uniquely positioned to sweep up the additional, highly lucrative upstream credits available
From 2023 onward, the ranks of meaningful U.S. c-Si producers expanded rapidly. Qcells aggressively scaled its Georgia platform; T1 Energy successfully ramped its newly acquired 5 GW facility (originally built by Trina Solar) in Wilmer, Texas; and Canadian Solar established a major multi-gigawatt footprint in Mesquite.
A wave of further capacity from SEG Solar, Waaree, Illuminate, Imperial Star, JinkoSolar, Silfab, and Heliene rapidly injected volume into the market, even as First Solar pushed domestic output to historic levels with its new builds in Alabama and Louisiana
It took the U.S. solar industry roughly half a century to achieve its first cumulative 100 GW of module production, yet global output is now measured in hundreds of gigawatts every single year. While this disparity emphasizes how far the dominance of global manufacturing hasbshifted away from the United States, it also highlights why the domestic expansion since 2023 is fundamentally different from the smaller, volatile cycles that preceded it.
Going forward, the true test of this expansion lies entirely in factory execution: what these new facilities will actually produce, at what utilization rates, and using which technologies and supply chains. Crucially, the ultimate question is whether the wave of capital currently being deployed into domestic cells, wafers, ingots, and upstream materials can successfully coalesce into a durable, self-sustaining manufacturing ecosystem.
Given that U.S. capacity figures have lacked any real correlation to actual manufactured products since the early 2000’s, the sector must urgently move past misleading, headline-driven ‘capacity-mismatch’ metrics across the c-Si value chain. True domestic progress can only be measured by focusing on verified production metrics within an integrated ecosystem.
I will return to these critical questions in much greater detail on September 22, when I deliver the opening address at Solar Manufacturing USA 2026 in Austin, Texas.
For now, the 100 GW milestone deserves to stand on its own. It is a landmark forged over decades of U.S. solar manufacturing history – stretching from the early days of Arco Solar and Solarex, through the thin-film boom, the Section 201 restart, and the current post-IRA surge. While the next 100 GW of domestic module production is likely to materialize within just three years, long-term success will be determined by the health of the entire ecosystem, not simply module production alone.
If the silicon-based ecosystem fails to integrate as an effective, functional unit, it will simply open the door for the next major landmark in U.S. solar history: the day First Solar reaches the 100 GW milestone entirely on its own, driven purely by its independent, domestic production volumes.
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The new issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
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Martedì, 22 Settembre 2026
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pv magazine USA hosts its multi-day virtual event on U.S. solar and energy storage, covering domestic manufacturing, distributed energy and the growing role of solar-plus-storage in meeting AI-driven power demand.
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Sedona Plans Solar and EV Charger Updates  Signals AZ
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Plug-in solar has been one of the biggest solar policy success stories of 2026. In the United States, bills to authorize so-called balcony solar installations have been taken up by legislatures in 36 states, and nine states have now passed laws to establish rules for the use of plug-in photovoltaics (PIPV). 
Many of these laws require plug-in solar setups to be certified under standards created by a nationally recognized products standards laboratory. Earlier this year, Underwriters’ Laboratories (UL) released the UL 3700 Outline of Investigation for Interactive Plug-in Photovoltaic Equipment and Systems, which identifies how PIPV solutions can meet standards for overcurrent protection, touch safety and ground fault protection.
While the text of some state PIPV laws simply identify a generic “nationally recognized standard” that products must meet, others identify UL 3700 by name as the standard to which plug-in solar systems must be certified for installation, making it essentially the de facto standard in the country.
Now, Mango Power has announced that its Mango Power S solution has been certified by Intertek to UL 3700 standards. The announcement makes Mango Power the third company to obtain such a certification, following Hoymiles and APSystems, which announced their own certifications earlier in 2026.
Mango Power sells the Mango Power S plug-in system on its website as a kit, which features four 300 watt solar panels, four of the company’s microinverters, a smart gateway, cables and mounting hardware. 
Bright Saver launches successful crowdfunding
Bright Saver, a California-based nonprofit that both advocates for state-level PIPV legislative action and sells its own PIPV kits to members at its cost, has announced the launch of a crowdfunding campaign on the Climatize platform.
The funding request seeks at least $150,000 and up to $300,000 to help the nonprofit bring in new stock that will be sold to its members in the coming years. The Regulation Crowdfunding 
As of press time, the effort has resulted in more that $170,000 from 130 investors, making it successful as it approaches the group’s stretch goal. More details can be found at the Bright Saver project page on the Climatize platform.
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The new issue of pv magazine Global is out now!
Available in print and digital – get your copy today!
Monday, October 26, 2026
10:30 am – 11:30 am CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
A two-day conference in Austin, Texas, bringing together leaders in US solar manufacturing, equipment specification, and factory execution.
Thursday, October 7, 2026
11:00 am – 12:30 pm CEST, Berlin, Paris, Madrid
pv magazine USA hosts its multi-day virtual event on U.S. solar and energy storage, covering domestic manufacturing, distributed energy and the growing role of solar-plus-storage in meeting AI-driven power demand.

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Premier Energies commissions ₹3,293 cr solar cell facility in Andhra  Business Standard
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Stuff / Features / Are plug-in solar panels legal in the US?
Small solar kits promise cheaper electricity without covering your roof in panels. Whether you can plug one in depends on where you live – and what you buy.
A couple of solar panels, a sunny spot, and a plug socket. It’s certainly an appealing alternative to having people clamber over your roof – particularly if you rent or, simply want to shave a little off your electricity bill while you doomscroll on the latest iPhone. But can you actually use plug-in solar panels in the US? In some circumstances, yes! 
States including Utah and Colorado have passed laws making qualifying plug-in systems easier to connect. That doesn’t mean every kit sold online is legal to use at your address, mind. The kit and its installation still need to meet the rules where you live. 
That, incidentally, is where this article comes in… 
Often called balcony solar setups, these small systems feed electricity into your home’s wiring through a suitable outlet. Panels generate direct current, which an inverter converts into the alternating current your appliances use. The idea is to cover some of your household demand while the sun shines, reducing how much electricity you buy.
This is different from using a folding panel to charge a standalone portable power station – that setup doesn’t feed electricity into your home’s wiring.
Utah is a good starting point. Its 2025 law covers portable systems with a maximum output of 1200W, designed for a standard 120V outlet. They must meet electrical-code and certification requirements, and qualifying devices don’t need a utility interconnection agreement.
Colorado has also passed legislation creating exemptions for qualifying portable solar systems – but its rules differ from Utah’s. This is why a seller saying “legal in the US” is rather less helpful than it sounds.
California’s position is different again. As of 20 September 2026, SB 868 had passed the legislature but was still awaiting the governor’s decision. A headline announcing that lawmakers have approved a bill doesn’t necessarily mean you can start using its proposed exemptions tomorrow.
These are examples, rather than a complete state list. Elsewhere, the absence of a special plug-in solar law doesn’t automatically mean a ban – existing solar connection and installation rules may apply instead. Yes, it’s all rather confusing. 
Sometimes. Your solar kit shares an electrical connection with the grid – which is where the utility’s interconnection rules come in. These govern how generating equipment can safely connect to its network.
Utah’s law removes prior utility approval for qualifying devices. Under Colorado’s legislation, a provider can still require notification of a qualifying system and its size, even though it cannot require prior approval. In other words, you may still have to tell the utility what you’re installing.
You shouldn’t assume you’ll be paid for spare electricity, either – check whether your utility offers export payments for your installation before counting them towards your savings.
Don’t assume so just because the plug fits. The system, outlet, and circuit need to meet the applicable requirements. Feeding electricity into a circuit presents different safety questions from plugging in a lamp, including the risk of overloading wiring. UL’s safety guidance also identifies electric-shock hazards and the need for appropriate protective features.
In January 2026, UL Solutions launched a dedicated certification programme based on UL 3700 for plug-in solar equipment and systems. Check exactly what a product’s certification covers. A certified inverter isn’t proof that every panel, cable, and connection arrangement bundled with it forms an approved system.
Don’t assume the panels will keep your fridge running in a blackout, either. Utah’s law requires qualifying systems to stop energising the building’s wiring during an outage, while Colorado’s requires protection against energising the grid. Backup power needs equipment specifically designed for it.
Get the exact model details and certification documentation from the seller. Then confirm the installation requirements with your local electrical or building authority, and establish whether your utility needs an application or notification. Check landlord or homeowners’ association rules where relevant, too.
Then check how much sun the panels will actually get. Shade and panel direction affect output, while your daytime electricity use affects how much you can use yourself. Ask for a savings estimate based on your location and electricity tariff. And include any electrician or outlet costs – you’ll want the full price before clicking buy.
Esat has been a gadget fan ever since his tiny four-year-old brain was captivated by a sound-activated dancing sunflower. From there it was a natural progression to a Sega Mega Drive, a brief obsession with hedgehogs, and a love for all things tech. After 7 years as a writer and deputy editor for Stuff, Esat ventured out into the corporate world, spending three years as Editor of Microsoft's European News Centre. Now a freelance writer, his appetite for shiny gadgets has no bounds. Oh, and like all good human beings, he's very fond of cats.
Plug-in solar can cut electricity bills without a full rooftop installation, but you’ll definitely want to read this first
The Anker SOLIX Solarbank 4 Pro stores solar power for later, although its easiest trick isn’t legal just yet
The UK’s energy revolution will be powered by the sun
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The Ceramic Shield 2 makes eyesore screen protectors unnecessary, Apple says.
The variable aperture feature in the iPhone 18 Pro range is a “feat of engineering” iFixit says, but boy would it be hard to fix.
For travellers who refuse to leave their tech at home, these pocketable picks bring private entertainment, dependable connectivity, and serious power wherever their next trip takes them
Apple Pencil support is coming to iPhone Duo, but a dedicated model didn’t make the cut.
Small solar kits promise cheaper electricity without covering your roof in panels. Whether you can plug one in depends on where you live – and what you buy.
A new Apple TV 4K and HomePod Mini have been rumoured for what feels like forever, while they might also be joined by a HomeHub smart display
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Solar rooftop photovoltaic power generation facilities are seen on a building in Qingdao, East China’s Shandong Province, on June 23, 2026. Photo: VCG
The European Commission (EC) has recommended that EU member states exclude Huawei and ZTE gears from their local …
Specific arrangements reached between China and Canada to properly address trade issues related to electric vehicles, steel and …
Six major Chinese industry associations and business groups jointly voiced support on Saturday for the Ministry of Commerce’s …

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Patria announced the sale of Puerta de Oro t…  BNamericas
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Amazon's solar, wind, nuclear, and battery storage investments drove economic growth across the U.S. from 2023 through 2025, per an Oxford Economics study.
Written by Kara Hurst, Chief Sustainability Officer at Amazon
4 min read
Carbon credits help unlock private sector climate finance at scale, and drive impact beyond our own operations.
New commitments include funding for emergency services, a water stewardship project, and a new community gathering space enabled by data center investments.
The facility brings production of custom hardware to the U.S. and strengthens domestic manufacturing capacity for Amazon’s infrastructure.
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Homeowners warned that missing this deadline could cost up to R36,000  businesstech.co.za
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RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – Mayor Danny Avula’s administration introduced a proposal to install solar panels on the rooftops of nearly 40 city-owned buildings on Monday.
The ordinances called for the installation, operation, and maintenance of rooftop solar panels to reduce energy costs and increase renewable energy usage.
The project will also reduce the amount of electricity the city gets from Dominion Energy. The city estimates the panels could save taxpayers more than $19 million over 25 years.
View the full list of potentially impacted buildings here.
The proposal still needs to be approved by City Council.
Copyright 2026 WWBT. All rights reserved.

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Leading this week’s Monday Green Deals is the newly launched EcoFlow Early Prime Day Fall Sale with increased power station savings up to 57%, FREE gifts with purchases of $600 or more, and a bonus extra savings code. One notable offer that doesn’t have a short-term flash window is the 3,072Wh DELTA 3 Ultra Plus Power Station with a 500W modular solar panel down at $1,899, among many other offers. There’s also the brand’s first early Prime Day flash sale with up to $2000 power station savings starting from $839. From there, we spotted the EGO 21-inch Cordless Electric Snow Blower with 2x 7.5Ah batteries getting increased savings to a $949 2026 low, as well as the Worx 20V JawSaw Cordless Electric PowerShare Chainsaw down at $87, and some ongoing soon-to-end sales. As it is the start of a new week, the hangover deals from last week can be found down at the bottom of the page, collected together in our latest edition of Electrified Weekly roundups.
Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.
EcoFlow is the first major power station brand to launch its Early Prime Day Fall Sale with up to 57% of increased power station savings, FREE gifts on orders over $600, and a bonus extra savings code EFPDFAFF to use at checkout for 5% additional savings. One notable return price during this event is on the 3,072Wh DELTA 3 Ultra Plus Power Station with a 500W modular solar panel at $1,899.05 shipped, after using the above code. We saw a flash sale on this same bundle in the previous sale that took the $2,799 MSRP down to this same rate, with the closest matching option being this bundle with a 2x 220W solar panels that sits $200 higher in price and comes with a FREE 160W solar panel. Not often seen included in sales, this 500W solar bundle did fall a little lower to $1,799, last seen in April, with the $900 combined markdown here landing it back at the second-lowest price we have tracked for a seriously advanced power companion.
You can browse the entire lineup of EcoFlow’s early Prime Day deals in our original coverage here.
Amazon has increased the savings on the EGO POWER+ 21-inch Cordless Electric Single-Stage Snow Blower with 2x 7.5Ah batteries for $949 shipped. This bundle has been out of stock for a large chunk of 2026, with an earlier deal at the beginning of the month seeing it down at $1,099 instead of $1,199 like we saw at other third-party sellers. That $1,099 rate is the MSRP across retailers (which is where it currently sits elsewhere), while $150 is cut from that price here, landing it at the best price we have tracked this year, not to mention since early December.
You can learn all about this snow blower’s features in our original coverage here.
As part of the newly launched Early Prime Day Fall Sale, which benefits from FREE gifts and the bonus extra savings code EFPDFAFF, which can be used at checkout, the brand also has a current lineup of flash deals with up to $2,000 savings on four power station units. Things start with the 2,048Wh DELTA 3 Max Portable Power Station down at $839 shipped, which cannot have the extra savings stacked on, but still beats out Amazon by $40. Carrying an $1,199 MSRP, this model was regularly available for $799 or less for most of this year until deal pricing started to jump up over the last few months. Today we are getting the best price since July with the sale set to offer it at $879 once these flash savings end. Head below to check out the full lineup of flash offers, or you can browse the full Early Prime Day Fall Sale lineup here (and don’t forget to use the code above).
We just spotted a deal at Amazon to score the Worx 20V JawSaw Cordless Electric PowerShare Chainsaw with a 2.0Ah battery down at $86.71 shipped, after clipping the on-page coupon. Down from $170, discounts have kept it largely keeping between $135 and $99 for most of the year, with some falls to $94, $91, and a one-time drop to $63 during June’s Prime Day event. If you missed out on the Prime Day pricing, you’re getting the next-best rate here with $83 cut from the tag, which also happens to be among the lowest prices we have tracked in its history.
You can learn about this chainsaw’s features in our original coverage of this deal here.
The savings this week are also continuing to a collection of other markdowns. To the same tune as the offers above, these all help you take a more energy-conscious approach to your routine. Winter means you can lock in even better off-season price cuts on electric tools for the lawn while saving on EVs and tons of other gear.

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Constantí processes a solar park with 10,350 panels and 5 MW of nominal power. The Solana project plans to evacuate the energy through a 5.5-kilometer underground high-voltage line.
The proposal is not yet a built installation: it is in the processing and public information phase. Behind it is Olmo Desarrollos Fotovoltaicos España, SL, which has submitted a project with a budget of 3.25 million euros in the municipality of Constantí.
For the residents of Constantí, the main fact is clear: the project proposes a photovoltaic solar power plant with 10,350 panels and a nominal power of 5 MW. Therefore, this is not just a generic announcement about renewable energy, but a proposal with a defined size and budget.
The installation has been named Solana photovoltaic solar park and would be located within the municipality of Constantí, in Tarragonès. The available information does not specify the exact location of the plots, but it does identify the municipality where the plant is planned.
The planned nominal power is 5 MW. This is the reference capacity stated in the project, while the number of panels helps to understand the physical scale of the installation: more than ten thousand modules spread over non-urbanizable land.
The plant does not only include the panels. The project also plans a 5.5-kilometer underground high-voltage line to evacuate the energy and connect it to the grid. It is a fact often hidden behind the number of modules but that explains part of the real scope of the operation.
The line would be underground, according to the submitted project for processing. This means the energy proposal includes both the generation area and the necessary route to bring the electricity to the connection point with the grid.
Simply put: the 10,350 panels are only part of the story. The 5.5 kilometers of line form the other piece of the project, the one that will allow the energy to be taken from the solar park and incorporated into the electrical system.
For the public, the current step opens the period to know and examine the proposal. The Territory Department has submitted for public information the application for several authorizations linked to the Solana solar park.
The procedure includes the prior administrative authorization, administrative building authorization, declaration of public utility, specific action project in non-urbanizable land, and environmental impact assessment. These are five processing areas that form part of the announced file.
This places the project in an administrative phase prior to the execution of the works. The publication of the file does not, by itself, mean the start of construction: authorizations included in the procedure must first be resolved.
The public information allows consulting the application and documentation associated with the project while administrative authorizations are processed. The available statement does not specify the exact term or channel to submit observations, so this data cannot be added to the explanation.
What is defined is the scope of the file: a 5 MW plant, 10,350 panels, a 5.5-kilometer underground line, and a planned investment of 3.25 million euros. These are the figures that allow following the project’s evolution without confusing processing with works already underway.
The central issue for Constantí will therefore be how the file progresses and what resolutions each part of the project receives. Public information is the point where the proposal leaves the developer’s office and enters the administrative circuit that must determine its viability.
The Solana project puts on the table a plant of 10,350 panels, 5 MW of power, and a 5.5-kilometer underground connection in the municipality of Constantí. For now, the decisive fact is that it remains in the processing phase: the budget is fixed, but construction still depends on the requested authorizations and environmental assessment.
Source of the article: Catalan News Agency
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The City of Orillia plans to triple its solar power generation in the next 14 years.
One of the ways it plans to do that is by developing a solar energy master plan. The end goal will be to increase solar power generation from the current 2.5 megawatts produced by Orillia Power Generation to between six to eight megawatts by 2040.
In August, the city's received notice that it is eligible for up to $25,000 from the Province of Ontario's Municipal Energy Plan to foster renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"The funding will support development of a solar master plan to advance Orillia's climate action plan," reads a memo to council.
Orillia's climate change action plan calls for the city to reach net-zero emissions across city operations by 2040 by reducing emissions from municipal buildings, fleet vehicles, infrastructure, and energy use. 
"The city's climate change action plan includes actions aimed at increasing residential solar, business solar and opportunities for community solar programs," said Collin Neveroff, Orillia's environmental sustainability and waste minimization lead.
"The solar master plan is intended to turn that target into a detailed implementation roadmap," Neveroff said.
"It will identify suitable municipal sites, recommend the type and size of solar installation at each location, assess costs and business cases, prioritize projects, and map them across a phased timeline," Neveroff said.
Depending on the site and project, the solar generation can offset electricity consumed at a municipal facility or it could be exported to the local grid, he said.
The next step is to hire a qualified consultant to complete the technical analysis and prepare the solar master plan to the city's project scope. The work will build on existing city studies, identify priority solar sites and explore broader community solar adoption, said Neveroff.
The plan will include a community education component by using the city's solar installations and possibly building a public demonstration project. This would showcase ways in which residents and businesses could add solar projects to their properties.
One of the goals of the plan will be to ease pressure on the local grid and prepare for future growth, according to the council memo.
Provincial grant funds will contribute to the overall project budget, but will not fully fund it. The city already has funding approved for the work under the climate change implementation project and staff will continue to look for more funding, said Neveroff.
Orillia Power Generation, which is owned by the City of Orillia, currently operates seven rooftop solar systems, four in Orillia and three in the Town of Cobourg. The installations have the capability of producing 2.5 megawatts.
"Upon completion, the city will have a prioritized, implementation-ready municipal solar project pipeline; a clear pathway toward its six- to eight-megawatt target," reads the memo.
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Premier Energies said on Monday that it has commissioned its 7 gigawatt (GW) N-type TOPCon G12R solar cell manufacturing facility at Naidupeta in Andhra Pradesh. 
The manufacturing facility has started trial runs, taking the company’s total solar cell capacity to 10.6 GW, making Premier Energies India’s largest solar cell manufacturer the company has claimed.
Spread across 101 acres and developed at a capital expenditure of ₹3,293 crore, the facility is India’s largest solar cell manufacturing plant, it added.
Chiranjeev Saluja, Managing Director of Premier Energies, said: “Commissioning India’s largest solar cell manufacturing facility on time and within budget is an important execution milestone for Premier Energies. We remain positive on the outlook for orders, pricing and demand for high-efficiency solar products.”
The timing of this 7 GW capacity addition is therefore significant: as the line stabilises and ramps up, it gives us the scale to serve that demand with greater supply reliability and operating efficiency. Together with Premier’s planned backward integration-into ingots and wafers, this strengthens the strategy of building a fully integrated and globally competitive solar manufacturing platform while supporting India’s clean energy transition, he added.
Built for high throughput and digitally enabled manufacturing, the facility can produce around 88,000 solar cells per hour.  Advanced digital systems and artificial intelligence support predictive performance analysis, tighter process control and precision manufacturing, while fully automated transport, packing and packaging systems improve throughput, consistency and operating efficiency. 
The commissioning materially expands Premier Energies’ manufacturing scale as India’s largest solar cell manufacturer and strengthens its ability to serve growing demand for high-efficiency solar products across domestic and international markets.
The 7 GW plant is designed to be future-ready, with potential upgrades to next-generation TOPCon+ technologies, including poly-finger metallisation and advanced edge-isolation processes. Following stabilisation and ramp-up, the facility is targeting average solar cell efficiency of approximately 25.8 per cent.
A Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) system has been designed to maximise water recycling and reuse, reinforcing Premier Energies’ focus on responsible resource management and sustainable manufacturing.
Published on September 21, 2026
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“I’ve seen some serious damage caused by panels flying around.”
Photo Credit: Reddit
A Southern California DIYer sparked a practical conversation after asking whether an ambitious footing design for a 16-panel ground-mount solar array was too much — or not enough — for clay soil and strong coastal winds.
The question behind it was less about appearance and more about how to keep an expensive solar installation anchored when Santa Ana winds arrive.
According to a Reddit thread, the project calls for a 7.2-kilowatt array built from four treated-lumber tables, with four 450-watt panels mounted in portrait configuration on each one. The poster weighed two support ideas and asked whether oversized concrete footings at each post were unnecessary or whether treated 6-foot-by-6-foot posts buried directly in concrete would perform just as well.
Most replies centered on the wind hazard. One commenter wrote, “You are absolutely right about the risk. I’ve seen some serious damage caused by panels flying around.” They added that it makes more sense to use calculations or a predesigned system than to rely on instinct alone.
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.
Budget came up quickly as well. The original poster said the mounting structure alone was expected to cost roughly $5,000 and reacted positively to an Integrarack recommendation, writing: “Good thing I asked. So this may be the way to go.. it’s a bit cheaper than building a permanent structure! and fairly mobile.”
Whether you get them installed on your roof or the ground, adding solar power is one of the best ways to save money on your energy bills. If you’re curious what that could look like for your household, EnergySage offers free tools to get quick solar installation estimates and compare quotes.
What makes the discussion especially relevant is that ground-mounted solar can be the best option for homeowners whose roofs are shaded, too small, aging, or poorly oriented. Once panels are installed in an open yard, factors such as wind loading, soil conditions, permitting, and foundation design become much more important.
The thread also filled up with examples from people who had already built similar systems. One commenter praised Integrarack and said it can be installed with ballast, ground screws, or concrete footings. Another described an Iron Ridge array in clay-heavy soil that had handled “strong wind, hail, snow and ice” without any concrete. A different Southern California commenter said their engineered and permitted design used footings that were 12 inches wide and 5 feet deep.
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A solar array is both an energy upgrade and a physical investment. If the structure is underbuilt, repair costs can quickly wipe out any expected utility-bill savings. If it is overbuilt, the total project cost can rise enough to delay or discourage the switch to cleaner, cheaper energy.
For households considering their own systems, EnergySage’s free services can make the process easier to navigate. With EnergySage’s help, the average person can save up to $10,000 on solar purchases and installations. 
Homeowners can also use EnergySage’s solar map, which shows the average cost of a home solar panel system by state, along with details on solar panel incentives for each state. Together, those resources can help readers get the best price for rooftop solar panels and access available incentives.
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. You can check out EnergySage’s free tools for information about home battery storage options, including competitive installation estimates.
💡Go deep on the latest news and trends shaping the residential solar landscape
Local code requirements, wind exposure, and soil conditions all affect whether buried posts, concrete footings, ballast, or ground screws make sense. Pre-engineered racking can also make future expansion easier, which mattered to the original poster, who noted that the system could grow later as budget allows.
As one commenter put it, “you have a choice. You can build something that you think is hell for stout, or you can do some calculations.”
Here are more stories on roofing advice, California solar expansion costs, homeowners association disputes, and a Texas power program.
• Homeowners pushed back after a roofer gave questionable solar installation advice about roof-mounted panels.
• A California homeowner learned PG&E would slash credits by 75% for adding panels.
• One homeowner considered trying to sidestep HOA solar rules by installing panels quietly.
• In Texas, residents can join a state-of-the-art home solar power program at no cost.
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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Jakarta, 12 February 2026 – Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR)–GIZ Energy Programme, convened a high-level policy dialogue entitled “From Ambition to Affordability: Lessons Learned from India’s 3 Cents US/kWh Solar Journey” at Pullman Thamrin Hotel, Jakarta. The dialogue brought together senior policymakers from Indonesia and India to exchange experiences on advancing affordable, reliable, and sustainable utility-scale solar power as part of Indonesia’s energy transition agenda. The event was officially opened by the Honourable Ambassador of the Republic of India to the Republic of Indonesia, Mr. Sandeep Chakravorty, the Director of the GIZ Energy Programme, Ms. Lisa Tinschert, and the Head of the Human Resources Development Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Prahoro Nurtjahyo.  
In his remarks, Ambassador underlined that India’s achievement of solar tariffs at around three US cents per kWh was not merely the result of abundant sunlight, but of structural reform and regulatory clarity. He emphasized that unlocking solar potential requires enabling policies that provide certainty to investors and allow innovation to flourish within the power market. Echoing this perspective, Lisa Tinschert noted that the idea for the dialogue was inspired by Indonesia’s own leadership. “When Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bapak Bahlil highlighted India’s achievement of three US cents per kilowatt hour, we saw an opportunity to facilitate a structured knowledge exchange. GIZ stands ready to support Indonesia in translating ambition into affordable and reliable implementation,” she said.  
Meanwhile, Head of MEMR’s Human Resources Development Agency stressed that Indonesia’s direction is already clear. “We have a Net Zero Emissions target by 2060, the RUPTL as our operational roadmap, and President Prabowo’s commitment to developing 100 GigaWatts of solar power. Learning from India’s experience, particularly the implementation led by Pak Manu and his team, provides us with a concrete reference point to identify what can be adapted and strengthened in Indonesia,” he affirmed. 
The dialogue was organised under the MEMR–GIZ Energy Programme, which supports the Government of Indonesia in achieving its energy and climate policy targets, particularly in accelerating the expansion of variable renewable energy within the national power system. This effort aligns with the Vision of Indonesia Emas 2045 and the national commitment to reach Net Zero Emissions by 2060 or sooner.  
The dialogue featured two senior policymakers from the Government of Madhya Pradesh, India: Mr. Manu Srivastava, Additional Chief Secretary for New and Renewable Energy, and Mr. Aman Bir Singh Bains, Managing Director of Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam Limited. Both speakers shared first-hand experience on the drivers of cost reductions, the evolution of procurement and risk-sharing mechanisms, and policy sequencing that has enabled large-scale solar deployment. 
The event brought together 62 participants, including officials from the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of National Development Planning, as well as representatives of PT PLN (Persero). Discussions focused on identifying lessons that are relevant to Indonesia and aspects that may need to be adapted to national power system characteristics. 
 
Strengthening Indonesia’s Power System for Sustainable Growth  
Indonesia’s power system plays a strategic role in enabling broader national development agenda. Affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity is foundational to economic growth and job creation, strengthening industrialisation and value-added activities, poverty reduction, and social equity. At the same time, growing middle-class aspirations and Indonesia’s ambition to strengthen national sovereignty and regional leadership require a power system that is increasingly resilient, efficient, and adaptive. 
This transformation pathway is reflected in the Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL) 2025–2034, which positions renewable energy as a key pillar of future capacity expansion. Of the planned renewable energy capacity additions, solar power represents the largest share, with an allocation of 17.1 GW, significantly above the current installed capacity of around 1.5 GW, which is largely dominated by rooftop systems and one large-scale floating solar PV project. Beyond the RUPTL, the Government of Indonesia has also articulated a longer-term ambition to develop up to 100 GW of solar power capacity. 
Nevertheless, the key challenge lies not only in setting ambitious targets, but in translating policy ambition to large-scale and cost-competitive implementation. This includes questions related to procurement design, risk allocation, land and grid readiness, long-term contractual certainty, and the sequencing of policies and investments that most effectively reduce tariff while improving investment attractiveness. 
 
What Can Indonesia Learn from India’s Solar Experience  
In this context, India’s experience offers relevant insights for Indonesia. Government experts from India shared that the country’s solar journey evolved from climate-driven ambition into a strong economic case, with solar tariffs now significantly lower than coal-based power. The experts shared the experience in different types of Solar PV: Large scale Ground Mounted Solar PV, roof top Solar PV, Floating Solar PV and Agricultural solarisation.   Recent competitive auctions have achieved tariffs of around 2.15 Indian rupees per kWh (approximately 2.35 US cents), secured under 25-year inflation-proof contracts. 
The key driver for the cost reduction has been the principle of “de-risking” the projects from uncertainties for investors and lenders. The principle of de-risking has been common irrespective of the scale of projects. Some of the important components of derisking projects include large project aggregations, well-structured tender documents, intensive pre-bid meetings, transparent e-auctions, inflation proof 25-year contract and Government backed payment security mechanisms. The de-risked projects attracted strong competition from international and domestic players further contributing to reduced costs. 
The experts suggested that Indonesian government could focus on piloting solar PV projects applying the principles of “de-risking” from Indian experience while contextualising the details as per context in Indonesia. Once there is demonstrated proof of low-cost solar PV projects across different scales, this would create a “virtuous” cycle enabling rapid energy transition in Indonesia.  
The dialogue concluded with a shared understanding that achieving affordable and reliable solar power requires an integrated approach across policy, regulation, power system planning, and investment. In this context, the experts reaffirmed the Government of India’s commitment to partner with GIZ in providing steadfast support to help unlock the potential for large-scale solar PV deployment in Indonesia. Lessons drawn from India’s experience are expected to inform future policy formulation, enhance the competitiveness of solar energy, and contribute to accelerating Indonesia’s energy transition. 
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The solar industry remains mired in supply-demand imbalance, excess capacity, and a low-price competitive spiral. Market-driven capacity rationalization has so far proved ineffective. China released its national standard, Minimum Allowable Values of Energy Efficiency and Energy Efficiency Grades for Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Modules and Inverters, on June 27, with implementation scheduled for Jan. 1, 2027. …
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A Fraunhofer IEE study, commissioned by BSW-Solar, identifies 150 GW of additional PV potential in Germany with the addition of BESS across 1,313 substations
Batteries can shift solar output away from periods when transformers reach their operating limits, according to the study
The modeled 150 GW potential would require around 60 GW/240 GWh of battery storage under the study’s reference scenario
Germany could potentially accommodate 150 GW of additional solar PV through the use of smart battery storage at existing substations, according to a Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology (IEE) study, commissioned by the German Solar Association (BSW-Solar).
Currently, the country targets to achieve 215 GW of solar PV capacity by 2030. It exceeded 129 GW at the end of August 2026 (see Germany’s August 2026 Solar Installations Exceed 1.6 GW).
The study identifies this technical potential across 1,313 rural substations with high renewable generation. It estimates that around 60 GW/240 GWh of battery storage would be needed under its reference scenario.
The analysis starts from the observation that transformers do not operate at their rated capacity throughout the year. Moreover, electricity demand, wind generation and solar output vary by time, leaving transmission capacity unused during many periods.
Intelligently controlled large-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) located directly at a substation could then charge when local solar generation pushes power flows toward the transformer limit. It could then release the stored electricity later. This, according to the analysts, would allow more efficient use of existing transformer capacity, relieving the load on the substations.
As a result, on an annual average, only about one percent of the additionally generated solar power would need to be curtailed due to transformer capacity limits, according to the study.
The analysts offer this conclusion after analyzing data from 20 transformers at 13 substations operating in the networks of Pfalzwerke Netz and Westnetz. The transformers had capacities ranging from 15 to 80 MVA, with simulations based on hourly data for 2025.
“If storage systems charge where and when peaks in solar power generation occur, they can specifically alleviate grid bottlenecks and enable the integration of additional solar power. This could lead to savings of billions in grid expansion costs, among other benefits,” said Carsten Körnig, CEO of BSW-Solar.
The association says the findings are relevant to the Bundestag’s proposed Grid Package which aims to better coordinate renewable energy, storage and grid expansion. BSW-Solar argues that the government must ensure that existing grid capacity is used more efficiently alongside further grid expansion.
It also wants the administration to designate grid bottleneck areas only after grid operators have implemented digitalization of medium- and high-voltage networks and conducted feasible storage tenders.
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Solar farms designed for wildlife are harboring nearly three times more birds than the conventional crops they replaced, challenging long-held assumptions about renewable energy and nature.
By Ainura Kalau
Published September 22, 2026 · How we edit
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Thirty-five birds on one side, twelve on the other, and both counts came from walking the exact same distance under the exact same rules.
That split is the headline result of a peer-reviewed study in the journal Bird Study, and it runs against the instinct most of us carry about solar farms without ever really checking it. My own assumption was that a field of panels sits somewhere between neutral and bad for wildlife, a flat expanse of glass and steel standing in for a flat expanse of wheat or sugar beet.
What a team of ecologists actually found in England’s East Anglian Fens was a solar farm holding close to three times the birds of the cropland nearby, but only when someone had bothered to manage it that way.
The study was led by Dr. Joshua Copping, a conservation scientist at the RSPB, working with Dr. Catherine Waite of the University of Cambridge and several coauthors. Between April and June 2023, the team walked 200-meter transect sections across six solar farms scattered between Cambridge, Peterborough, and Lakenheath, recording every bird seen or heard within 100 meters on either side, which works out to a four-hectare strip per section. They walked the identical kind of route through nearby arable cropland, typically within a mile of each solar site, and did every route twice, once early in the breeding season and once late. Model-fitted results put the wildlife-managed solar sites at 35.1 birds per transect section on average, against 11.9 on the cropland. Round those two numbers and you land on the same 35 and 12 named at the top of this piece.
Across the whole project the team logged 830 individual birds from 44 species over roughly 38 kilometers of walked transects, a large enough sample that the gap between solar and cropland is hard to write off as noise. Worth saying plainly: this was an observational comparison across six existing sites, not a controlled experiment. The paper itself notes that earlier, smaller studies on solar farms and birds have produced mixed results elsewhere, some finding fewer birds inside solar sites and some finding more, depending on what kind of land the panels replaced.
The advantage wasn’t automatic for every solar farm in the study, and that’s the part worth sitting with. The researchers split their solar sites into two groups by management style. What they called mixed habitat solar meant the grass around the panels was cut or grazed only occasionally, letting the sward grow tall and wildflowers take hold, with hedgerows or boundary trees left standing at the edges instead of stripped out. Species richness followed the same pattern as the raw bird counts: these sites averaged 13.5 species per transect section, against 5.5 on cropland and 5.3 on the other kind of solar farm in the study. Wood pigeon turned out to be the single most common bird recorded across the whole project, but the more interesting signal sat with birds that are already running low.
Why single out corn bunting and yellowhammer specifically? Both sit on the UK’s Red List of birds of conservation concern, yellowhammer down 61 percent since 1967 and corn bunting down 83 percent over roughly the same stretch. The paper didn’t run a separate statistical test on every individual species, but it did model the whole group of Red- and Amber-listed birds together, and that group came out significantly higher on the wildlife-managed solar farms: 19.4 birds per transect section, against 7.8 on cropland and 9.6 on the other solar sites, a gap the researchers report as statistically solid rather than a fluke of small sample sizes. Corn bunting and yellowhammer both belong to that group, and both are named in the RSPB’s own account of the results as birds that turned up in the greatest numbers on the sites managed with a genuine mix of habitats.
This is where the compare-and-contrast gets sharper than a simple solar-versus-cropland split. The study’s other solar category, simple habitat solar, sat on the same kind of infrastructure as the first. Same panels, same basic footprint, same region. The difference was maintenance: grass cut or grazed short all summer, no hedgerows, no boundary trees, nothing allowed to grow past ankle height. Those sites averaged 17 birds per transect section, roughly half of what the wildlife-managed solar farms produced and barely above the 11.9 recorded on ordinary cropland.
“Our study shows that if you manage solar energy production in a certain way, not only are you providing clean energy but benefitting biodiversity,” said Waite, in a statement released by the university. That’s the whole argument in one line, from someone who actually ran the numbers. A solar farm isn’t automatically good or bad for the birds around it. What happens to the grass in between the rows decides most of the outcome.
Video recommendation: A related dynamic plays out beneath the grass itself. Roots and fungi form a living network scientists describe as distributed intelligence, sensing and responding without any central control. The Vessel channel has covered this in a video titled The Brain Beneath Our Feet.

I’m not an ecologist, and nothing about breeding bird survey methodology is my actual territory. But I keep coming back to a line I use often, in work and at home: how you do anything is how you do everything. This study is, in its own understated way, that idea applied to infrastructure instead of people. The panels weren’t the variable that mattered most. Two solar farms sitting on nearly identical hardware produced very different outcomes for corn bunting and yellowhammer, and the difference traced back to whether a maintenance crew let the grass grow and left the hedgerow standing, or mowed it flat on a schedule.
Copping put the stakes plainly in comments released alongside the study: “Species such as Corn Bunting, Linnet and Yellowhammer have seen their populations dwindle and finding ways to help them is critical for their long-term survival.” Those are the same two species named at the top of this piece, and Copping isn’t reaching for a random example. Corn bunting and yellowhammer are two of the clearest test cases anywhere in British farmland for whether a change in land management can actually move the needle.
None of this argues that solar farms are automatically good for birds wherever they’re built, and the researchers are careful to say so themselves, noting that siting still matters and that solar development should stay away from land that’s already valuable for wildlife, regardless of how any developer plans to manage the grass. The all-or-nothing question, whether solar farms are good or bad for birds, turns out to be the wrong one to ask. The real question sits in the strip of ground between the rows, and whether anyone treated it like it mattered. Thirty-five birds and twelve birds walked the same 200 meters into this study under identical rules, counted by researchers who never had to touch a single panel to explain the gap. What decided it was the grass.
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The cell had a T80 lifetime of 48,904 hours meaning it could keep 80 percent of its output even after more than five years.
Scientists at the Yunnan University in China have achieved a global first by building a solar power plant underwater. The researchers used a perovskite-based photovoltaic system to build this trial power plant, 33 feet (10 m) below the sea, where red light does not even reach. 
In our bid to move away from fossil fuels, we have embraced renewable energy technologies like wind and solar. While wind power projects must be large to be effective, solar energy is having a private moment, with many do-it-yourself (DIY) solutions available in the market. 
Whether you live in a small apartment on the third floor or a want to charge your smartphone during your hiking trip, there is now a DIY solar-based solution for this. Solar-powered cars have been in the works for quite a few years now and if there was one area where sunlight couldn’t actually generate electricity, it was underwater. However, a research team in China seems to have addressed this too. 
The researchers were looking to ways to power up underwater sensors, cameras, detectors, communication systems and other such devices using solar energy. These devices have become more common in recent years and can help with deeper-sea exploration if they can be reliably powered. 
Work on underwater solar cells has been done before. However, these solar cells were operational in shallow water of depths of about six feet (two meters or less). This is not the depth where real-world underwater devices are used. So, a team led by Zhang Wen-hua at Yunnan University decided to explore this further and make solar cells functional at a depth of 33 feet (10 m). 
The problem, however, is that at these depths sunlight fades rapidly, and red light, where silicon cells perform best, is completely absorbed. The researchers therefore turned to a perovskite solar cells with a wide band gap of 1.96 electron volts, which is in line with the blue-green seawater. perov
Perovskite solar cells are highly tunable and can work in dimmer light. However, researchers also faced the corrosive nature of seawater and the risk of leakage under pressure. To overcome this, they added polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride, or PHMG, a crystallization additive to improve their stability. 
In laboratory test simulations of 33 feet, the researchers trialed a small solar cell measuring 0.014 sq. inches (0.0895 sq cm) which reached a power conversion efficiency of 34.71 percent. A larger module measuring 4.46 sq.in (28.79 sq. cm.) reached 29.4 percent efficiency, demonstrating that even weak light can be used efficiently. 
To ensure durability in saline conditions, the researchers used butyl rubber and cover glass, topped with a transparent epoxy resin outer protective layer to build a waterproof, pressure-resistant, and corrosion-resistant armor. In simulated seawater tests, the device retained 99.58 percent of its initial PCE after 1,000 hours of immersion. 
At 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius), the cell had a T80 lifetime of 48,904 hours, meaning it could keep 80 percent of its output even after more than five years. 
The researchers also carried out real-world tests in the South China Sea to charge lithium-ion batteries at depths of six feet, 18 feet, and 33 feet (2,6 and 10 m), respectively. Under two hours of light, the batteries charged 1,416 mWh, 752 mWh, and 324 mWh at these depths, enough to light up a LED panel. 
The research findings were published in the journal Joule.

Ameya is a science writer based in Hyderabad, India. A Molecular Biologist at heart, he traded the micropipette to write about science during the pandemic and does not want to go back. He likes to write about genetics, microbes, technology, and public policy.
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Western Australian-based resources company Lithium Universe has agreed to a four-year research collaboration with Macquarie University through the CSIRO Industry PhD Program to develop its solar panel recycling technology.
The joint project aims to refine a microwave-assisted delamination process that selectively heats encapsulant layers within end-of-life solar modules, allowing intact separation and recovery of higher-purity glass, silicon, silver and other metals for reuse.
The collaboration will examine microwave system design, process parameters, module variability, recovered-material quality, lifecycle impacts and scale-up requirements.
“The objective is to separate the module layers intact and without cross-contamination, enabling the recovery of glass, silicon and metals in forms suitable for reuse in new products,” Lithium Universe said in a statement.
The Perth-based company said the project will provide it with access to CSIRO and Macquarie University expertise and facilities, adding independent scientific credibility to its solar-panel recycling technology.
Lithium Universe Chief Executive Officer Iggy Tan said the project is an endorsement of the company’s technology and will help reduce research and development costs, support pilot-scale design and commercial modelling.
“The project brings together complementary research and industry capabilities to address a growing challenge: recovering higher-value materials from end-of-life solar panels rather than consigning them to landfill,” he said.
“For Lithium Universe, the program provides a structured pathway to advance microwave-assisted delamination from laboratory proof-of-concept towards a scalable commercial process.”
Government data shows Australia currently generates approximately 3 million end-of-life solar panels, or 60,000 tonnes, annually, with annual waste forecast to increase to approximately 91,000 tonnes by 2030.
Globally, annual PV module retirements are projected to reach approximately 500,000 tonnes by 2030 and more than 19 million tonnes per annum by 2060.
Lithium Universe said each solar panel contains approximately 20 grams of silver, implying approximately 60 tonnes of contained silver in Australia’s current annual end-of-life panel stream alone.

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Premier Energies commissioned a large solar cell manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh. This new plant significantly boosts the company’s total solar cell production capacity. The facility is India’s largest solar cell manufacturing plant and was completed on schedule. It aims to meet rising demand for high-efficiency solar modules in domestic and international markets. This expansion supports India’s broader clean-energy transition goals.
Premier Energies commissioned a large solar cell manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh

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Premier Energies said on Monday that it has commissioned its 7 gigawatt (GW) N-type TOPCon G12R solar cell manufacturing facility at Naidupeta in Andhra Pradesh. 
The manufacturing facility has started trial runs, taking the company’s total solar cell capacity to 10.6 GW, making Premier Energies India’s largest solar cell manufacturer the company has claimed.
Spread across 101 acres and developed at a capital expenditure of ₹3,293 crore, the facility is India’s largest solar cell manufacturing plant, it added.
Chiranjeev Saluja, Managing Director of Premier Energies, said: “Commissioning India’s largest solar cell manufacturing facility on time and within budget is an important execution milestone for Premier Energies. We remain positive on the outlook for orders, pricing and demand for high-efficiency solar products.”
The timing of this 7 GW capacity addition is therefore significant: as the line stabilises and ramps up, it gives us the scale to serve that demand with greater supply reliability and operating efficiency. Together with Premier’s planned backward integration-into ingots and wafers, this strengthens the strategy of building a fully integrated and globally competitive solar manufacturing platform while supporting India’s clean energy transition, he added.
Built for high throughput and digitally enabled manufacturing, the facility can produce around 88,000 solar cells per hour.  Advanced digital systems and artificial intelligence support predictive performance analysis, tighter process control and precision manufacturing, while fully automated transport, packing and packaging systems improve throughput, consistency and operating efficiency. 
The commissioning materially expands Premier Energies’ manufacturing scale as India’s largest solar cell manufacturer and strengthens its ability to serve growing demand for high-efficiency solar products across domestic and international markets.
The 7 GW plant is designed to be future-ready, with potential upgrades to next-generation TOPCon+ technologies, including poly-finger metallisation and advanced edge-isolation processes. Following stabilisation and ramp-up, the facility is targeting average solar cell efficiency of approximately 25.8 per cent.
A Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) system has been designed to maximise water recycling and reuse, reinforcing Premier Energies’ focus on responsible resource management and sustainable manufacturing.
Published on September 21, 2026
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Instead of taking heat from the air, the ground, or water, the technology uses the warmth in fresh milk during milking.
Photo Credit: iStock
A British cheesemaker that has been operating for almost 200 years has found an unexpected way to cut energy waste: capturing heat from milk straight after it leaves the cow.
Three of the seven milking parlors at Barber’s Farmhouse Cheesemakers now use “milk-source” heat pumps, which the south-west England company introduced in 2024, the Guardian reported. The system says it has cut electricity use in half, reduced annual costs by about £70,000 ($93,750), and lowered carbon pollution by nearly 66 tons each year.
Instead of taking heat from the air, the ground, or water, Arkaya Energy’s technology uses the warmth in fresh milk during milking. The U.K. startup’s system then does two jobs at once, cooling the milk to 35 degrees Fahrenheit while heating water to 198°F, just shy of a boil.
That combination fits the daily needs of a dairy farm. Operators need to cool milk and produce very hot water every day for cleaning animals and milking equipment, but older setups often still rely on separate electric-resistance heaters or fossil-fuel boilers to reach the highest temperatures.
For Barber’s, the financial case is hard to ignore. 
Arkaya entered the market in 2024, has 27 units installed, and expects another 34 by the end of 2026. It is focusing on the U.K.’s roughly 7,000 dairy farms before expanding into Ireland and then the wider European market.
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At Barber’s, the family is already planning the next step. After installing the systems at three parlors, it plans to convert the remaining four by 2028. Arkaya’s system received the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers’ innovation award for 2026.
These stories look at dairy technology, solar milking equipment, refrigeration, and efficient heat pump systems.
• At another dairy, milk-powered HVACs save roughly $94,000 a year in electricity.
• Researchers have built a solar-powered cow-milking device aimed at cutting farm energy 
costs.
• Across the food supply chain, sun-powered fridges can help feed more people with less waste.
• In the U.S., heat pumps could drop overall energy demand by about half.
• Harvest Thermal is betting next-gen home heating and cooling will soon become a no-brainer.
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That outcome underscores a part of solar economics many buyers may overlook.
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Even after installing a 17.6-kilowatt solar system, a Texas homeowner says their summer electric bills can still run up to $350. That outcome underscores a part of solar economics many buyers may overlook.
In this case, the bigger issue may be the power plan rather than the panels themselves.
Posting on Reddit, a Central Texas resident said they are served by Oncor and spent more than $20,000 on 40 panels plus an inverter, but skipped battery storage. 
“Invested $20k+ and seeing $200–350 summer electric bills is pretty frustrating,” they wrote.
The system appears to be capable of producing excess power in cooler periods. The homeowner said March came in at about 739 kilowatt-hours imported and 1,264 exported. But the bill showed 2,534 kWh pulled from the grid and 1,030 sent back, with those exports bringing in only $44.
For a house that leans heavily on evening electricity use — especially air conditioning after sunset — the utility plan can shape costs just as much as the rooftop system.
Texas shoppers may be able to choose among wholesale buyback plans, time-of-use rates, and offers such as free nights. One commenter summed up the appeal this way: “If free nights cuts your bill by 100-150 bucks, you’re done.”
Other Reddit users said the homeowner should quantify overnight demand and look for efficiency gains before buying hardware. They recommended energy audits, insulation checks, window and ductwork inspections, and plug-level meters to uncover waste. 
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Solar panels can save you more than $50k over their 25-year lifespan, and EnergySage can help you save as much as $10k on installation. Which begs the question — isn’t that worth an email or two?
Storage can help in a few ways: It provides backup during outages, can lower energy costs, and may support a more off-grid style setup when the system allows it. It also lets homeowners keep more of the solar electricity they generate instead of selling it cheaply during the day and purchasing power back later at higher rates.
These articles look at Texas battery use, homeowner solar outcomes, installation costs, maintenance, and rooftop solar economics.
• In Texas, batteries and solar help the grid hold prices down during brutal summers.
• In Australia, a homeowner said a 20kW solar setup turned blackouts invisible and earned credits.
• At EnergySage, interconnected factors shape solar costs far more than many homeowners expect.
• On rooftops, cleaning and timely repairs can protect panel output and long-term savings.
• Across households, rooftop solar panels can trim energy costs while easing grid strain.
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  Premier Energies has commissioned India’s largest solar cell manufacturing plant with capacity of 7 GW N-type TOPCon G12R solar cell manufacturing facility at Naidupeta in Andhra Pradesh.
With the commissioning of the new facility, Premier Energies’ total solar cell manufacturing capacity has increased to 10.6 GW. The facility has been developed at a capital expenditure of Rs 3,293 crore and is spread across 101 acres. Premier Energies said the plant was commissioned on time and within budget.
The new facility has been designed for high-volume manufacturing and can produce around 88,000 solar cells per hour.
Premier Energies has deployed digital systems and artificial intelligence at the plant to support predictive performance analysis, process control and precision manufacturing. Automated systems for material movement, packing and packaging are also expected to improve production efficiency and consistency.
The company said the facility will strengthen its ability to cater to demand for high-efficiency solar products in both domestic and international markets.
Commenting on the development, Chiranjeev Saluja, Managing Director, Premier Energies, said, “Commissioning India’s largest solar cell manufacturing facility on time and within budget is an important execution milestone for Premier Energies. We remain positive on the outlook for orders, pricing and demand for high-efficiency solar products.”
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This article is part of the series “Power Struggle: Building Clean Energy in Rural America.” Read more.
21 September 2026
Canary Media’s Electrified Life column shares real-world tales, tips, and insights to demystify what individuals can do to shift their homes and communities to clean electric power.

Last year, Coles County, Illinois was debating whether to kill a proposed wind farm. Dorothy Macy wanted to speak up in support of the project — but she had serious self-doubts. 
“‘There are people better than me, … people that can speak to county boards, and they’re good at it,’” Macy recalled thinking at the time. ​“But I care. I decided, ​‘I can do this.’”
So Macy, a retired educator who has called the area home for 30 years, pushed aside her nerves and teamed up with about a dozen others to advocate for the roughly 300-megawatt development. Last July, at a public hearing, she asked the county board to approve the special permit for Coles Wind.
Macy reminded the officials as well as several community opponents in the audience that the wind farm would deliver a windfall. Over the project’s 30-year lifespan, developer Apex Clean Energy expects it to generate over $81 million in taxes, including more than $43 million for school districts.
“This is [a] new revenue source that will provide money for our Charleston public schools,” Macy, whose own children went through that school system, said in her testimony. ​“And it will keep my taxes down.”
Macy’s voice may have helped get Coles Wind across the finish line. Shortly after the public hearing, the county board voted 6–5 to approve the project permit.
A few months later, Macy showed up again before the county board to support the 210-MW Glacier Moraine Solar project. After initially shooting down the permit, the board made a U-turn in October. Both the wind and solar projects are now under construction.
Macy got out of her comfort zone to voice support for clean energy in her community. As opposition to solar, wind, and battery projects grows in pockets across the United States, that kind of determination matters more than ever.
Local permitting is the biggest bottleneck to reducing planet-heating emissions from the power sector, said Matt Traldi, founder and CEO of the nonprofit Greenlight America, which galvanizes grassroots support for clean energy projects. Nearly one in four counties in the U.S. restrict renewables development. And disinformation on how they impact farmland, human health, wildlife, and more spreads on social media, stoking fears in rural communities, where the majority of these projects get proposed.
Although carbon-free energy is necessary to avert the worst of the climate crisis, that motivation often isn’t what’s driving decision-makers. ​“Local governments are not deciding ​‘Is climate change real?’ And they’re not even deciding ​‘Is clean energy good?’” Traldi said. ​“They’re deciding ​‘Should we build this thing here?’” And that calculus, he notes, is based on ​“What do our constituents want? And will I get reelected if I say yes to this?”
Roughly half of Americans support solar and wind projects in their area, according to an April survey by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. But opponents are typically the loudest voices in the room. And while the opposition knows it needs to organize if it wants to stop a project, Traldi said, supporters are often unaware that if they don’t show up, clean energy loses by forfeit.
Just a few individuals turning up at hearings can tip the scales in favor of renewables, Traldi noted: Five or 10 people can take a project from ​“political suicide” to something that could ​“sail through.”
Advocating for local renewables is also one of the biggest opportunities for climate action that an individual can take. Greenlight America calculated that a 270-MW solar project is the emissions equivalent of taking 44,000 gas-powered cars off the road.
“You might think one of the biggest decisions you can make is switching to an EV,” Traldi said. If you’re one of five people that tip the scales at a hearing, ​“it’s like you do that almost 10,000 times.”
Ready to boost renewables in your community? Here’s some expert advice.
You might hear about a clean energy proposal in the local newspaper, on the TV or radio, at the library, or on a city or county website. Or it may be all your neighbors can talk about, in person or online in local Facebook groups and Nextdoor posts. Especially important is to look for when there will be hearings where you can advocate for a project.
Macy in Coles County didn’t go it alone. She was already in touch with local organizer Cindy Shepherd, green team director at the environmental organization Faith in Place, who encouraged Macy to speak up for the wind and solar farm projects. 

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To find opportunities to support clean energy projects near you, you can fill out Greenlight America’s ​“Ask an organizer” online form. You could also connect with one (or more) of the environmental groups that partner with the nonprofit: League of Conservation Voters, The Climate Reality Project, Solar United Neighbors, and Third Act all have local and state chapters across the country.
When Larisa Mednis, advocacy coordinator at Pennsylvania nonprofit Clean Air Council, learns of a renewable energy project and wants to rally supporters, she calls and texts area members. She also contacts several partner grassroots organizations, such as the Environmental Integrity Project, the Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Coalition, and Veterans Power America, to organize local advocates. But ​“it’s amazing when people reach out proactively,” she said.
You don’t have to be exhaustive; you’ll just want to be able to communicate why you support the project. How big will it be? Where will it be sited? And, importantly, what are the expected benefits to the community? You can typically find this information on a website set up by the developer or by contacting a company representative directly, or by talking with landholders interested in hosting the infrastructure.
It’s easier than whipping up a sponge cake. Macy says these are the key ingredients:
Thank the board. 
State your position.
Back up your position.
State your position again at the end.
Simple, right? For examples of prepared speeches, check out the ones Macy drafted (with Shepherd’s help) in support of her local wind and solar projects.
Mednis finds that the arguments that seem to resonate most with leaders and communities are the economic benefits of solar and wind projects, and personal property rights. ​“A lot of these projects are sited on private land,” she said. ​“Farmers who lease their land can get some steady income from that.”
For more tips, check out the nonpartisan Public Interest Network’s primer on public comments and Greenlight America’s DIY guide on boosting clean energy projects.
If someone is violently opposed to a project, you’re probably not going to change their mind. But others may have specific concerns that you can address.
“Listen before you talk,” said Jeff Risley, executive director of Renewable Energy Farmers of America, a nonprofit landowners association. ​“Ask [opponents] questions. Ask them what their real concerns are. … Empathize with them that you know this is a change.” Then you can start to provide information that will help them see your position, he said.
For myth-busting evidence, Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change has put together a handy list of rebuttals that cut through the most common false claims about clean energy.

If you want to support renewable energy in your community, but the thought of speaking up about a project before county officials fills you with dread, Macy has a message for you.
“I felt just like you feel right now, before I did it for the very first time with the Apex wind project,” Macy said. But she reminded herself then, ​“If I believe in this, I’m going to have to say something.”
You’re in the same boat, Macy said. ​“If you really want this to happen, you can’t be quiet.”
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Indian infrastructure company Dilip Buildcon (DBL) has signed definitive agreements with asset management company Alpha Alternatives for the divestment of its stake in 10 special purpose vehicles (SPVs) developing a 1.36GWac solar portfolio in Madhya Pradesh, India.
Commercial operations for the solar PV projects in the portfolio are targeted for September 2027.
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The agreements, signed on 18 September, follow DBL’s announcement on 10 August regarding the proposed transaction.
The portfolio has an estimated total project cost of INR68.29 billion (US$712.8 million), with approximately INR12.53 billion (US$130.7 million) of equity required.
DBL’s wholly owned subsidiary, DBL Renewable Private (DBRL), and Alpha Alternatives will fund the equity requirement in a 51:49 ratio during the construction period. The investment will be made through multiple instruments and tranches into the project SPVs.
Devendra Jain, managing director and CEO, Dilip Buildcon, said: “This transaction marks another important milestone in our DBL 2.0 journey as we continue to build a multi-asset infrastructure platform anchored by long-duration, contracted assets. Following the execution of definitive agreements for our Mekhali transmission project, this transaction further builds on our partnership with Alpha Alternatives and enables us to recycle capital early in the asset lifecycle, while maintaining our disciplined focus on strengthening our balance sheet and building a more asset-light business.”
DBRL is developing the portfolio across 163 locations in Madhya Pradesh through 10 SPVs. The projects are being developed under power purchase agreements with the Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company (MPPMCL) as part of the Feeder Level Solarisation component of the PM-KUSUM Component C scheme.
Under the agreed structure, Alpha Alternatives-led funds or an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) will acquire DBL’s remaining 51% stake following completion of the portfolio.
DBL said the transaction forms part of its asset-light “DBL 2.0” strategy, with the company seeking to recycle capital, deleverage its balance sheet and reinvest in new opportunities.
The transaction remains subject to the fulfilment of conditions under the definitive agreements and required regulatory approvals. PV Tech has contacted Dilip Buildcon for further information on the transaction and the scope of the solar portfolio.
In recent months, the Madhya Pradesh government has advanced its renewable manufacturing and digital infrastructure. According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Madhya Pradesh has 10.36GW of cumulative installed solar capacity as of early 2026, making it India’s fifth-largest state by solar installations.
The state’s Renewable Energy Policy 2025 aims to meet 50% of annual electricity demand from clean energy by 2030, with an interim 30% target by 2027. The policy also aims to attract INR500 billion (US$6 billion) in renewable energy investment by 2027 and develop a 10GW renewable energy technology park.
At the upstream level, companies including Fujiyama Power, Jakson and INA Solar have announced plans for module, wafer and ingot manufacturing facilities in Madhya Pradesh.
In May 2026, Indian public solar developer Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL) tendered 50MW and 200MW solar-plus-storage projects in the state, designed to supply peak-period power alongside daytime solar generation.
Last month, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) agreed to support Madhya Pradesh in developing three renewable energy projects through public-private partnerships, including a solar-plus-storage project at Shajapur. The initiative is expected to mobilise up to US$1 billion in private investment.

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EVERETT —Both city of Everett and PUD leaders cut the ribbon Saturday on El Sol al Alcance de tus Manos (“The sun at your fingertips”) community solar array and public-art installation now standing on 1.75 acres of city land next to Walter E. Hall Park along Casino Road in South Everett.

“This project is a perfect example of that, bringing renewable energy into the community while also reflecting the beauty and creativity and identity of this neighborhood,” Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin opened with the kind of local pride that has marked Everett’s recent work in south-side neighborhoods. “And I just love the artwork showcased on the fence behind us.”

Franklin was equally pleased with the new community pathway the city built to link the Westmont and Holly neighborhoods more safely into the park. Residents and partners had asked for better connections, she said and City crews delivered with an accessible path that now sits beside the solar array.

“These are the kinds of investments that strengthen neighborhoods, improving the places people use every day and creating better connections within our community,” Franklin added.

The 400-kilowatt solar array generates enough electricity in a year to power about 30 homes. Because Casino Road carries a high summer load from nearby industrial activity, the panels also help ease pressure on the local grid on the hottest days ,a PUD official told the Lynnwood Times. All the value from the power the PUD buys from the array goes into the Community Energy Fund,  that is administered by St. Vincent de Paul to provide emergency bill help to income-qualified customers—to date approximately more than $40,000 in assistance to about 200 families.

More than 80% of the roughly $2.5 million project was covered by state and federal grants and tax credits. Those included an $861,814 award from the Washington Clean Energy Fund 3 Low-Income Community Solar Deployment Program, support from the Community Solar Expansion Program run by the WSU Energy Program, and the federal Investment Tax Credit with a bonus credit.

Jennifer Grove, assistant director of energy at the Washington Department of Commerce, told attendees that choosing this project for the large state grant was the easy part.
“What makes projects like this special is that they’re shaped by the people who live here,” Grove said. “When utilities, community organizations and residents collaborate, the result is more than just clean energy on our grid. It’s local art. It’s shared pride.”

She called community solar “protein on solar” — dense with both climate benefit and affordability.
“We’re demonstrating that we don’t have to choose between affordable energy, a healthy community and climate action,” Grove shared.

PUD Commissioner Sid Logan, who served as emcee for Saturday’s ribbon cutting event, described the project as an artichoke with many layers of community benefit. He credited the City of Everett’s public works, parks and real estate staff, specifically Ryan Sass and Katherine Phillips, and recognized former commissioner Rebecca Wolfe, who was on the board when the work began.
The name for the site, El Sol al Alcance de tus Manos, came from neighbors at the 2022 Connect Casino Road Summer Carnival, Logan shared.

Commissioner Julieta Altamirano-Crosby, who represents District 2, returned to that origin story sharing that the PUD wanted a project developed with the neighborhood and not just simply placed it in it.

“That name reflects a powerful idea: that renewable energy, opportunity, and support should be within reach for everyone,” Altamirano-Crosby said. “It reminds us that clean energy is not just about technology. It is about people. It is about access. It is about community.”
She thanked the three local artists, the students whose painted suns and hands now cover the fence, and partners that included Connect Casino Road, Horizon Elementary, the Westmont Holly Neighborhood Association, Denny Juvenile Justice Center, the Mukilteo School District and the Snohomish County Conservation District.

Councilmember Luis Burbano, whose Everett District 4 includes the site, spoke non how infrastructure has often separated people, but now, with the new walk path, it does the opposite.

“We are connecting the Westmont neighborhood with Casino Road,” Burbano said. “When communities are connected, people learn about each other and folks start to take care of each other because it is easy to worry about someone else once you connect a face with a name, with a family, with a kid.”
The trail will also give his daughter Hannah, he added, a shorter walk to the new Walter E. Hall Park playground that is scheduled to open in late 2027. Combined with the solar array already helping neighbors with bills, he said, the project is a practical example of taking care of one another.

CEO John Haarlow said that objective of El Sol al Alcance de tus Manos from the start, was providing not only clean energy to help the grid but also direct community benefit.
“It’s clean energy, but it’s also a place of learning, artwork, and pride for the people who helped bring it to life,” Haarlow said.

The artists of El Sol al Alcance de tus Manos

Luisana Hernandez, Ruben Trujillo and Yessica Marquéz spent more than a year turning a community-chosen name into a single installation. The PUD and city of Everett already wanted hands and suns, and the three Everett artists were asked to design around that idea.

Mary Williams of the Mukilteo School District first approached Marquéz, who had worked with the district before. Marquéz immediately thought of her longtime colleagues — Trujillo, a muralist comfortable at large scale, and Hernandez, a poet and abstract mixed-media artist.
“This is my community. I live here,” Marquéz, a 20-year resident of Everett told the Lynnwood Times. “There’s more than just me as a brown person being an artist here.”
The hands and suns were pained by youth from Horizon Elementary classrooms, the PUD Energy Block Party, Denny Youth Center and other community events.

Hernandez and the others taught a lesson at Horizon Elementary on making art from trash and texture so that students in socioeconomic hardship would also be included in the project. Their efforts resulted in nearly 1,000 treated-wood suns and hands, sealed against weather, so the children can come back years later and find their own work.

The four large panels of El Sol al Alcance de tus Manos tell a connected story.
Trujillo’s opening section shows a solar robot leaving a cityscape. He used CNC-cut pieces, painted surfaces and recycled PUD salvage metal — hinges and bits of equipment. Moths and butterflies, many made from discarded materials, represent change and metamorphosis.

A central butterfly, built with help from the other two artists, stands for the growth that happens when people work together.

Trujillo, whose Everett murals include a large piece at Everett Downtown Storage off Hewitt and work at Rockefeller Art Studio and Jackson Park, said pop culture, color and storytelling pushed him outside his usual box. More of Trujillo’s contributions to art may be found on Instagram at Facebook at Ruben.The.Artist and at https://www.rubentheartist.com/.
Hernandez wrote the poems that appear on scrolls introducing each section.

The robot’s last thought, from the first panel, becomes the next panel’s line: “Surrender what you think you know, plant the seeds you wish to grow.”

The large stained-glass-inspired abstract panels, Hernandez said, are the biggest work she has made.

As singer-songwriter, poet and food-security advocate who has worked in mixed media for decades, Hernandez said community itself is her inspiration. She truly appreciated Snohomish PUD for including women of color to craft this art and would like to see more abstract public art in Snohomish County.

“The number of women of color and abstract art who are represented in public art is so small,” Hernandez told the Lynnwood Times. “The majority of opportunities go…. So, it’s one of those things where this particular project to me means a lot because we’re all artists of color. The majority of the children who did these are children of color because [a lot of] it was done at Horizon Elementary school.”
Research has consistently linked children’s participation in the arts with gains in social-emotional and cognitive development. A National Endowment for the Arts review of early-childhood studies found that music, dance, and visual-art activities are associated with stronger social skills, cooperation, empathy, and emotion regulation. Visual-art practice is tied to improvements in spatial reasoning, working memory, and attention—skills that support classroom learning.

More of Hernandez’s contributions to art may be found on Instagram and Facebook, at SwimmingTheFeels.

Marquéz, a watercolor artist who also works in glow-in-the-dark pieces and sculpture, created the naturescape panel: an aluminum hummingbird whose wings become flowers, plus moths, dragonflies, mushrooms and wildflowers formed from PUD wire and other recycled stock.
Seattle Metalworks did the CNC cutting; she and the others painted and assembled everything by hand. The inspiration came from a walk to the nearby community garden that neighbors started on their own.

The hummingbird, she said, is a full-circle homage to nature and to drawing sweetness from what is already there. Some of her work at El Sol al Alcance de tus Manos glows under black light—however she cautions visitors who come at night to view it, to not walk off the paved trail as the natural ground near the artwork is uneven.

All three artists told the Lynnwood Times that the PUD gave them unusual creative freedom which they appreciated and specifically wanted to thank PUD facilities staff for the raw material.

“I think this project opened up more opportunities for more of these things to come from PUD,” Marquéz said. “The feedback that I got from them was that they want to see more of this.”
Beyond Everett, the PUD is also putting art at the Woods Creek Hydroelectric Project and Sustainability Center in Monroe with a large mural for the powerhouse exterior that is to be unveiled this fall. The work is meant to greet students on field trips and neighbors who visit the run-of-the-river plant, tying clean energy to local ecology, stewardship, and the surrounding woods and water.

Author: Mario Lotmore

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Nano-Scaffold Pushes Perovskite-Silicon Tandem Solar Cell To 34% Efficiency Photograph: (AI)
Researchers at Soochow University have developed a new interfacial architecture for perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells that achieved a laboratory power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 34.0% and an open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 2.014 V in an independently certified device.
The certified device also recorded a steady-state efficiency of 33.5%, while retaining 84% of its initial efficiency after 2,000 hours of continuous one-sun operation at maximum power point.
The study, published in Science Bulletin, uses discrete zirconium oxide (ZrO₂) nanoparticles as a nanoscale interfacial scaffold. The researchers said the architecture addresses two challenges in perovskite-silicon tandem cells — achieving uniform perovskite growth on textured silicon and suppressing non-radiative recombination at the buried interface.
Perovskite/silicon tandem cells combine a wide-bandgap perovskite top cell with a silicon bottom cell, allowing them to utilise sunlight more efficiently than conventional single-junction silicon cells. However, uneven perovskite deposition and interface-related recombination can limit their voltage and overall efficiency.
The research team, led by Prof. Jiang Liu, Prof. Xiaohong Zhang and Dr. Hongbo Mo of Soochow University, together with Dr. Bo He of LONGi Central R&D Institute, inserted discrete monoclinic ZrO₂ nanoparticles between the transparent conductive oxide and a self-assembled monolayer (SAM).
Unlike a continuous insulating layer, the nanoparticles create a nanoscale scaffold with localised contact pathways. According to the researchers, the ZrO₂ nanoparticles modify the surface energy of the interface, allowing the perovskite precursor to spread more uniformly. This resulted in denser, void-free perovskite films with larger grains.
The nanoparticles also provide field-effect passivation, helping suppress non-radiative recombination. At the same time, exposed pathways through the self-assembled monolayer allow efficient hole extraction to continue.
The researchers said the high dielectric constant of zirconia further helps screen local electrical fluctuations, limit charge accumulation and reduce hysteresis in the device.
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated the formation of Zr–O–P bonds between the zirconia and monolayer molecules. Together with bonding between the monolayer and conductive oxide, these connections form what the researchers describe as a dual-anchoring network, improving molecular attachment and interface coverage.
Microscopy and spectroscopy measurements supported the proposed mechanism. Conductive atomic force microscopy and Kelvin probe measurements showed more uniform current and surface-potential distributions following the interface modification.
Time-resolved photoluminescence measurements showed that the average carrier lifetime increased from 1.46 microseconds to 2.81 microseconds after the combined modification.
Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy also indicated improved energy alignment for hole extraction, while impedance measurements showed reduced interfacial recombination. The champion tandem cell achieved a 34.0% efficiency, with a 1.997 V open-circuit voltage, 20.36 mA/cm² short-circuit current density and 83.62% fill factor. Independent certification recorded a 2.014 V open-circuit voltage and 33.5% steady-state efficiency.
The researchers also tested the operational stability of encapsulated devices under continuous one-sun illumination at maximum power point and room temperature. After 2,000 hours of operation, the ZrO₂-modified device retained 84% of its initial efficiency.
The findings suggest that a patterned insulating interface can simultaneously improve perovskite film growth and reduce recombination without creating a barrier to charge extraction. The researchers said the nanoscale interface design provides a route towards improving both the efficiency and operational stability of perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells.
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