What started as a weed-control problem is becoming a thriving ecosystem where renewable energy and regenerative agriculture graze side by side.
By Ainura Kalau
Published September 3, 2026 · How we edit
A solar farm is, underneath all the technology, just a field that refuses to stop being a field. Grass keeps growing between twenty thousand panels the same way laundry keeps piling up in a house with two small kids in it, not because anyone is careless, but because the job simply doesn’t have an off switch.
For years the industry’s answer was gas mowers and weed trimmers, crews driving between rows of hardware every few weeks to keep the grass from shading the lower edge of a panel. Now, in more states than you’d guess, the answer has four legs and a wool coat.
I don’t have a solar farm or a flock of sheep. What I have is a household that runs on the same basic math: some tasks never disappear, they just need a system that doesn’t burn you out repeating them by hand. So when I came across how many solar operators have quietly swapped mowers for sheep, the appeal wasn’t the novelty of it. It was how unglamorous and obvious the fix turned out to be once someone actually tried it.
Sheep have grazed under solar panels informally for years, but the practice has an actual name now: solar grazing. It works because sheep are short enough to fit under the lowest panel racking without touching the equipment, and because they’d rather eat grass than chew on cables.
Lewis Fox, a sheep farmer who runs the vegetation program at Agrivoltaic Solutions in Vermont, put it plainly to public radio this spring: “We’re in charge of keeping the vegetation within certain limits, and the sheep are the tools that we use to do it.” He also pushed back on the idea that solar and farmland are natural enemies. “It’s often difficult for people to see solar being built on ag land, for various reasons, and I think you could argue the merits either way,” he said. “But we can help bridge the gap in that. What we’re able to do is have solar production coexist with agriculture. And it’s not just window dressing. It’s real agriculture.”
Sheep work under panels in a way cattle or goats generally don’t, for a practical reason. Fox has also described sheep as “pretty short stature, so they can really fit into nooks and crannies,” adding that “they’re also not really interested in chewing on wires or jumping on panels,” which is the entire job in one sentence: get the grass without touching anything electrical.
That framing matters more than it sounds like it should. A lot of the public pushback against utility-scale solar comes from the sense that panels take farmland out of production for good. Solar grazing doesn’t erase that tension entirely, but it does something more useful than arguing about it: it puts working livestock back on the acreage and pays a farmer to be there. Chad Farrell, co-CEO of Encore Renewable Energy, one of the companies that hires grazing flocks for its sites, frames the arrangement as a long-term commitment rather than a marketing line. “At the end of the useful life of the project, we’re actually able to return that land in a better condition than what we found,” he said. That’s a promise that only gets tested decades from now, but it’s a different kind of promise than “we’ll mow it and hope for the best.”
How big is this, really? Bigger than the industry itself had assumed. The American Solar Grazing Association, working with the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, ran a census of solar grazing sites and found that as of October 2024, 113,050 sheep were grazing 129,261 acres across 506 solar sites in 30 states. The association’s own summary of the results doesn’t hedge: “The scale of solar grazing in the U.S. is much larger than previously understood and undergoing rapid growth.” For comparison, the industry’s working estimate just a few years earlier had been closer to 15,000 acres, so the real footprint turned out to be nearly nine times bigger than assumed.
Thirty states is not a rounding error. The same census found solar grazing acreage in the South now outpaces the Midwest, Northeast, and West, and that more than 40 percent of the reporting sites were utility-scale installations rather than small community solar arrays. That’s the difference between a regional curiosity and a genuinely national practice, and it happened quietly enough that even people inside the industry were surprised by their own numbers.
Vermont’s own solar-grazing story predates the national count by years. Agrivoltaic Solutions, the operation Fox co-founded with Niko Kochendoerfer, started with a small flock in 2017 as a side project meant to bring in some extra income. Vermont’s Green Energy Times reported that by 2022, partnering with farms in New York, the operation had grown to 1,700 sheep rotating through 24 solar sites across Vermont, New York, and Pennsylvania. That’s not a demonstration flock brought out for a press photo. That’s a working seasonal operation, moving sheep from array to array as the grass in each one grows back, the same way a rancher rotates cattle between pastures.
What strikes me about that number isn’t its size on its own. It’s how ordinary the underlying method actually is. Nobody invented a new breed of sheep or a new kind of solar panel to make this work. Someone noticed that a very old form of land management could solve a very new problem, and then did the unglamorous work of scaling it up, one contract and one flock at a time.
I’m generally suspicious of any story that treats a new idea as a total reinvention of how something works, because in my own experience the reinvention is rarely the part that holds up. What actually works is a plain, repeatable habit done consistently, long after the novelty has worn off. Solar grazing fits that pattern better than almost any other clean-energy story I’ve come across this year. Nobody involved is claiming sheep will transform the electric grid. They’re just quietly doing the same job, panel row after panel row, cheaper and more reliably than a mower crew ever did.
Part of what makes it work, too, is that nobody is trying to solve the whole 129,000-acre problem at once. Each flock handles one site, then moves to the next, then comes back around when the grass has grown in again. Break a genuinely large task into small, checkable moves and it stops feeling impossible, whether the task is vegetation management across 30 states or just getting through a full day of errands with two kids in tow. The scale only looks overwhelming from a distance. Up close, it’s just one paddock at a time.
If nothing else, it’s a decent argument for asking whether the fix you actually need is the exciting one, or just the one nobody bothered to try yet.
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Ainura was born in Central Asia, spent over a decade in Malaysia, and studied at an Australian university before settling in São Paulo, where she’s now raising her family. Her life blends cultures and perspectives, something that naturally shapes her writing. When she’s not working, she’s usually trying new recipes while binging true crime shows, soaking up sunny Brazilian days at the park or beach, or crafting something with her hands.
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A group of Cambria Heights fourth graders get their solar-powered bugs activated from artificial light inside the elementary school’s cafeteria Thursday since it was raining outside. Once powered, the bugs vibrated and many of the students’ faces lit up with smiles. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Cambria Heights senior Mitchell Weiland (standing) helps a group of fourth graders build their solar bugs Thursday in the elementary school's cafeteria. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Cambria Heights second grade teacher Tasha Paronish helps her students assemble their solar bugs Thursday in her classroom. From left are Wolfgang Howlett-Oliver, John Reasbeck, William Anna and Bryson Warner. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Cambria Heights Elementary School Principal Eric Nagel visits second grade students in Tasha Paronish's homeroom Thursday as they learned about solar energy and built solar-powered bugs in class. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Cambria Heights Superintendent Ken Kerchenske speaks with a group of fourth grade students Thursday in the elementary school's cafeteria. The students built solar-powered bugs with the help of volunteers from Schneider Electric. The fifth grade class later built solar racers with the volunteers. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
A group of Cambria Heights fourth graders get their solar-powered bugs activated from artificial light inside the elementary school’s cafeteria Thursday since it was raining outside. Once powered, the bugs vibrated and many of the students’ faces lit up with smiles. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Cambria Heights senior Mitchell Weiland (standing) helps a group of fourth graders build their solar bugs Thursday in the elementary school's cafeteria. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Cambria Heights second grade teacher Tasha Paronish helps her students assemble their solar bugs Thursday in her classroom. From left are Wolfgang Howlett-Oliver, John Reasbeck, William Anna and Bryson Warner. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Cambria Heights Elementary School Principal Eric Nagel visits second grade students in Tasha Paronish's homeroom Thursday as they learned about solar energy and built solar-powered bugs in class. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Cambria Heights Superintendent Ken Kerchenske speaks with a group of fourth grade students Thursday in the elementary school's cafeteria. The students built solar-powered bugs with the help of volunteers from Schneider Electric. The fifth grade class later built solar racers with the volunteers. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
CARROLLTOWN — Cambria Heights Elementary School students assembled solar-powered bugs and racers Thursday morning as part of an activity with representatives of Schneider Electric, the company that installed solar panels on the school’s rooftop earlier this year.

In the school’s cafeteria, fourth graders built solar bugs with help from the Schneider Electric team and some Cambria Heights seniors who volunteered to help celebrate the district’s renewable energy and sustainability projects with the students.
Since it was raining outside at the time, students took their bugs to Drew Thomas, the district’s maintenance director, who used artificial lighting to power the solar batteries attached to the paper bugs.
One by one, as the bugs would vibrate in their hands, the students’ faces lit up with joy.
Fifth graders also put their knowledge of solar energy to the test as they built solar racers with the Schneider Electric team. As the sun came out later in the day, fifth grader Michael Hendrix was able to play with his racer outside during the district’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, which was held just outside of the school’s library, at the playground area where students enjoy recess.
District officials celebrated the completion of several energy-saving and renewable energy improvements that will reduce the school’s utility costs, improve building comfort and support long-term sustainability goals while providing students with opportunities to learn about clean energy technologies.
“It’s just to emphasize the project that we did here with the solar panels on the school building to get (students) to understand more about solar energy and the benefits of it as a renewable energy source,” said Donna Byrd, Schneider Electric’s regional client coordinator.
Byrd said it’s always fun to watch the students’ reaction to seeing solar energy in action with their bugs or racers.
“When it goes as planned and comes together perfectly like that, it just means a lot to see them learning about the solar measures that we have implemented here with the school system,” she said.
Mitchell Weiland, one of the seniors who volunteered to help with the day’s activities, said it was a cool experience to be a part of.
“They’re learning about new technology that’s coming around, and it’s supposed to be a big thing. So, I think it’s very important for them to get early access to learning about it,” Weiland said.
Principal Eric Nagel said it’s important to show the students how solar power works, so they have a better understanding of how it’s being used to produce energy for the school.
“It’s a great hands-on activity for the kids to understand the importance of what we have here and how it’s going to improve the school,” Nagel said.
Nagel also visited second grade teacher Tasha Paronish’s homeroom, who also made solar bugs and learned about solar energy in class. The students designed their own bugs and then had help from Paronish, who attached solar batteries to the bugs.
Shannon Crooker of the Generation 180 nonprofit organization was there to document the day and celebrate with the students.
According to Crooker, Pennsylvania is among the top 10 states with the most solar power projects, and school districts like Cambria Heights are leading the way.
“They’re really making a difference here,” Crooker said. “We want to celebrate that and lift that up to say, look what’s happening in rural areas just as much as urban areas.”
Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.

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Jay Select Board sends solar farm moratorium to November ballot  The Maine Monitor
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By Hou Liqiang | China Daily | Updated: 2026-09-03 20:15
A recent study published in the journal Science on the impact of China’s solar power expansion on bird diversity has triggered a heated discussion. Based on data covering 2,344 county-level areas from 2014 to 2023, the study argues that photovoltaic development was associated with a decline in local bird diversity, mainly because some projects were converting cropland and grassland into developed areas, thereby reducing vegetation.
Although some observers have criticized the report as one that depends heavily on bird-watchers’ records, the study deserves attention. No form of human development leaves nature untouched, and solar power is no exception. Almost every modern infrastructure — be it roads, cities, farms, mines and dams — reshapes ecosystems in one way or another. Therefore, it is not whether solar energy development has any adverse ecological effect, but how that effect should be assessed and reduced in a broader balance sheet.
That is where media coverage has fallen short. Some Western media outlets have framed the study in highly negative terms, with one headline saying solar panels in China are “killing” bird diversity. The wording might be eye-catching, but it risks turning a complex governance issue into a simplistic accusation. The study itself does not conclude that solar power is inherently harmful. Nor does it deny the significant role renewable energy plays in mitigating the threat from climate change that has been looming larger.
After all, climate change itself is triggering extreme weather events and destroying habitats, exacerbating global biodiversity loss. By mitigating climate change, the development of solar energy can play an important role in promoting biodiversity conservation.
A balanced assessment will show that China’s solar panel boom has made a major contribution to clean energy development, lowered the cost of renewable technologies worldwide and helped reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
In fact, in some arid regions, solar projects have even reversed desertification, and enabled the recovery of vegetation and new models of rural development, showing that the climate and ecological benefits of solar energy development far outweigh its costs.
In discussions on social networking sites in China, many, including industry insiders, have raised questions about the study. They noted, for example, that the bird-watchers’ records may reflect uneven observation intensity that deserves professional scrutiny.
That does not mean the concerns raised by the study should be dismissed. On the contrary, green development must be judged not only by installed capacity, but also by planning quality, ecological management and long-term monitoring.
Greater emphasis should be placed on biodiversity assessment in the planning phase, especially in areas with complex habitats, rich bird diversity or important migratory routes. Sensitive habitats and migration corridors should be avoided. More attention should be given to solar projects that do not invade natural spaces, such as rooftop solar, distributed solar and agrivoltaic projects. In large solar farms, ecological restoration should focus on diverse native vegetation rather than replacing complex habitats with single cash crops or monotonous greenery.
The government is already treading cautiously. In late 2024, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment released a draft notification to solicit public opinion on strengthening ecological and environmental protection for land-based wind and photovoltaic power projects.
The document calls for full life-cycle environmental management of such projects while advancing the green and low-carbon energy transition and supporting the country’s climate goals of peaking carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and realizing carbon neutrality before 2060. It includes stronger policy and planning-level environmental impact analysis, improved project-level environmental impact assessment, enhanced supervision during and after construction, and ecological restoration after decommissioning.
The green transition in China will not happen overnight. And there will be challenges, including how to ensure biodiversity conservation while developing renewable energy. But the transition to renewable energy is not a choice between climate mitigation and biodiversity protection. Done well, it can and should serve both.

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Victoria’s State Electricity Commission (SEC) has connected the 119MW solar PV plant component of its SEC Renewable Energy Park in Australia to the grid for the first time.
The milestone follows the completion of all 212,296 PV modules across the site in late 2025, and means the solar PV plant has now finished every major construction task, including the tracker system, a 162.5-tonne transformer, a switch room substation and high-voltage infrastructure, cables and earth grid.
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SEC executive general manager of assets Lane Crockett said the step marks one of the most important milestones on any renewable energy project.
“Before this stage, a project must complete thousands of installation, construction, and safety activities, which must then pass inspections, testing, and safety checks to ensure they operate correctly and safely,” Crockett said.
The solar PV plant will now proceed through hot commissioning and hold point testing, a staged process that involves gradually switching on and testing the substations, transformers, underground cables, inverters and other electrical equipment.
The 100MW/200MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) has not yet arrived on site, with the SEC stating that its next step is preparing for the system’s arrival and installation later this year.
Once operational in 2027, Crockett said the project would support the state’s planned retirement of coal assets, including the Yallourn power station, scheduled to close in 2028.
The Horsham project’s ownership history traces back to Victoria’s second Renewable Energy Target auction.
Under its original name, Horsham Solar Farm won VRET2 in October 2022 under ESCO Pacific ownership, one of six successful projects that together added 623MW of solar and 365MW/600MWh of battery storage across the state, backed by AU$1.48 billion (US$0.95 billion) in investment.
At that stage, Horsham was specified at 118.8MW of solar paired with a comparatively modest 50MW/100MWh battery.
The project later changed hands to Swedish developer OX2 before the SEC acquired it in September 2024, doubling the planned battery storage component to its current 100MW/200MWh specification as part of a broader AU$370 million investment.
OX2 has continued as a development partner following the ownership transfer, with construction officially beginning in April 2025, following pre-construction works that started in February.
The SEC’s return to energy generation follows the Victorian government’s revival of the entity, historically the state’s public electricity provider before privatisation in the 1990s, as a vehicle to drive the renewable energy transition while retaining public ownership of the resulting assets.
The Horsham development will operate alongside the SEC’s larger Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub, a 600MW/1.6GWh facility which became operational in December 2025, with the two projects together positioning the SEC to supply approximately 5% of Victoria’s electricity market once it re-enters the retail sector.

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From Mercom India
ROSI, a France-based solar module recycling company, has secured over €20 million (~$23 million) in funding to support its expansion across Europe.
The funding includes a Series B round along with French and European grants. The company said the capital will support the rollout of its industrial projects, including a planned facility in Teruel, Spain.
New international investors and existing shareholders participated in the Series B round, led by InnoEnergy, CMA CGM, the European Innovation Council, and Spanish family office G3T. Finadvice, a Zurich-based corporate finance advisory firm focused on deep tech, acted as a strategic financial advisor and also participated in the investment round, alongside Swiss and Polish family offices.
The company has also appointed Thierry Galvez as Production Site Director of ROSI Alpes. Galvez assumed the role on April 1, 2026.
“This funding marks an important milestone for ROSI,” said Yun Luo, President and Co-founder of ROSI. “It gives us the means to accelerate our industrial deployment, strengthen our operational execution, and prepare for a new phase of growth in Europe. Our ambition is to build a European-scale industrial platform for circular management and the production of strategic raw materials, transforming end-of-life solar panels into a reliable source of high-purity materials for the European industries of tomorrow.”
The company plans to develop a photovoltaic module recycling facility in Teruel with an annual processing capacity of 10,000 tons. The plant will use an integrated and automated production line designed for large-scale deployment.
According to the company, the facility will process end-of-life solar panels and recover materials, including silver, silicon, copper, aluminum, and glass.
ROSI said the project builds on its first industrial site, ROSI Alpes. The company added that the Spain facility is intended to support a scalable recycling model for photovoltaic modules in Europe and reduce reliance on imported raw materials.
According to Mercom’s Annual and Q4 2025 Solar Funding and M&A report, Global VC and private equity funding in the solar sector in 2025 totaled $3.5 billion across 75 deals, 22% lower than the $4.5 billion raised in 60 deals in 2024. There were eight VC funding deals of $100 million or more in 2025.
In 2025, OnePlanet Solar Recycling (OnePlanet), an advanced materials recovery processor specializing in end-of-life solar modules, secured $7 million in a seed financing round led by Khasma Capital, a low-carbon infrastructure investment firm.

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Aresearch group led by scientists in Saudi Arabia and Greece has developed a stabilizer-free, seed-assisted growth strategy to produce the pure α-phase of formamidinium lead iodide (α-FAPbI₃) perovskite.
FAPbI₃ is one of the leading absorber candidates for single-junction perovskite solar cells. However, it is unstable under ambient conditions, typically requiring chemical stabilizers that can widen the bandgap and limit its photovoltaic potential.
“This research presents an exciting approach to one of the biggest challenges facing FAPbI₃ perovskite solar cells: stabilizing the highly efficient α-phase without relying on compositional additives that compromise the material’s ideal bandgap,” corresponding author Essa A. Alharbi told pv magazine. “Rather than using conventional α-phase stabilizers such as cesium (Cs), rubidium (Rb), or methylammonium (MA), we introduce a seeded-growth strategy in which α-FAPbI₃ seed crystals are incorporated directly into the precursor solution to guide crystallization.”
Alharbi added that “the work combines experimental characterization with multiscale simulations to reveal the underlying mechanism of seeded growth. This provides a scientific explanation for the exceptional efficiency and long-term stability achieved.”
The study consisted of two parts – experimental work and simulations. In the first, the researchers fabricated control and seed-assisted perovskite solar cells with an n-i-p architecture. For the seed-assisted devices, instead of using conventional chemical stabilizers, they incorporated preformed α-FAPbI₃ seeds directly into the PbI₂ precursor to guide crystallization toward the desired α-phase.
The target devices were then produced through a second deposition step using formamidinium iodide (FAI) and methylammonium chloride (MACl), followed by annealing at 150 C for 20 minutes. The control devices were fabricated under the same conditions but without the seeds.
“The pre-existing α-FAPbI₃ seeds lower the nucleation barrier and direct the growth of the desired photoactive α-phase while suppressing the formation of the photoinactive δ-phase. This results in highly crystalline, compact films with larger grains, fewer defects, lower surface roughness, and significantly reduced non-radiative recombination,” Alharbi said.
“As a result, the devices achieve a power conversion efficiency of 23.51%, compared with 15.5% for conventionally processed control devices, while maintaining 99% of their initial performance after 3,000 hours of continuous operation under ambient conditions and one-sun illumination without encapsulation.”
In the second part of the study, the researchers used multiscale simulations to investigate how the seeds influence crystallization and device performance. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations compared the energetics of α- and δ-phase growth on an existing α-FAPbI₃ seed, while molecular dynamics simulations tracked the dissolution of a 10 nm α-FAPbI₃ seed in the precursor solution and compared it with a seed-free solution.
The researchers also used metadynamics to examine nucleation pathways, while separate optical-electrical simulations assessed the effects of carrier mobility, lifetime, and non-radiative recombination on solar cell performance.
“The multiscale simulations showed that dissolving α-FAPbI₃ seeds retain structural motifs that preferentially promote α-phase nucleation while suppressing the competing δ-phase. This reveals that seeded growth not only improves film morphology but fundamentally alters the crystallization pathway, resulting in fewer defects, reduced non-radiative recombination, negligible hysteresis, and more balanced charge transport,” the academics explained.
The research team now plans to extend the seeded-growth strategy from laboratory-scale devices to large-area perovskite solar modules using scalable sequential deposition processes.
“We will optimize seed concentration, size, and processing conditions to ensure uniform crystallization over large substrates while maintaining high efficiency and long-term operational stability,” Alharbi said.
“The seeded-growth strategy is fully compatible with sequential deposition, making it well suited for large-area manufacturing and commercial-scale perovskite photovoltaics,” he concluded. “The approach also has potential to improve other perovskite optoelectronic devices, including light-emitting diodes, where suppressing defect-assisted recombination is essential for high performance.”
The research, “Stabilizer-free pure α-phase FAPbI3 perovskite through seed-assisted growth yields efficient photovoltaics,” was published in Materials Horizons.
Researchers from Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University and Taibah University; Greece’s Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), Hellenic Mediterranean University (HMU) and University of Ioannina; and the UK’s University College London (UCL) contributed to the study.
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Alberta’s solar recycling program imposes a $14 environmental fee on eligible panels
CanREA says the charge is much higher than the estimated future cost of recycling a panel
The association is also questioning the fee’s timing and its impact on renewable energy costs
Starting October 1, 2026, Canada’s Alberta will launch a new solar panel recycling program aimed at keeping end-of-life panels out of landfills. However, the ‘inflated’ recycling fee under the program has drawn criticism from the renewable energy industry. 
The Canadian province plans to collect solar panels for recycling to recover valuable components such as glass, aluminum, silicon, silver, copper and other metals to be reused in new products while supporting local collection and processing capacity.
It will come at a cost since it plans to impose a CAD 14 environmental fee to each new solar panel supplied, starting next month. For a typical 20-panel residential system for instance, the fee would total CAD 280.
This money will cover future recycling costs to collect, transport and recycle solar panels when they reach the end of their lives. It prevents municipalities and taxpayers from paying the bill decades from now.  
The government specifies that the fee will be imposed on new panels when the program begins, and won’t be imposed retroactively on panels already installed.
Alberta’s Minister of Affordability & Utilities RJ Sigurdson stressed that this will protect taxpayers from future cleanup costs and keep power affordable and sustainable for generations to come.
Administered by the Alberta Recycling Management Authority, the CAD 14 fee will apply to solar panels measuring at least 1 square meter and will cover both crystalline silicon and thin-film technologies used in residential, commercial, industrial and utility-scale projects.
The program follows a solar panel recycling pilot conducted between 2022 and 2025. Alberta said the pilot was designed to examine future solar waste streams and work with industry, recyclers and communities on end-of-life management.
Under the rollout, suppliers are required to report and remit the environmental fee from next month. The program will also begin collecting end-of-life panels from October 1, 2026. Alberta plans to engage stakeholders on panel reuse from 2027 and explore investment to expand local recycling capacity.
However, the government’s CAD 14 environmental fee is too high, according to the Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) that questions both the size and timing of the fee.
In a July 17, 2026 opinion piece, CanREA Director of Policy for Alberta Radha Rajagopalan noted that recycling a television in Alberta costs CAD 2.75, compared with CAD 14 for a solar panel. She argued that the difference is difficult to justify, particularly because most solar panels installed in recent years are not expected to reach end of life for decades.
The government expects more than 95% of solar panels currently installed in Alberta to reach the end of their lives by 2045, generating 72,700 tons of material.
CanREA said independent research commissioned by the association estimates the present-value cost of recycling a solar module at about CAD 5, after accounting for cost increases over 20 years and potential panel reuse. It therefore considers the CAD 14 charge significantly higher than the estimated cost of recycling.
The association has also raised concerns about the treatment of renewable energy compared with other forms of power generation. CanREA said solar and wind are the only electricity generation technologies required to pay a recycling surcharge in Alberta. This will be on top of existing reclamation security requirements for utility-scale solar and wind projects, which include recycling and disposal costs.
The association calls for greater focus on panel reuse, certification standards and collection infrastructure before imposing what it considers an inflated fee.
“Imposing an inflated, single-industry fee now, decades before most panels need recycling and at nearly three times the estimated cost, is so far off the mark that it will ultimately take away consumer choice and drive up electricity costs,” stated Rajagopalan.
TaiyangNews 2024

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Ultrasonic Sprayer and Coater: JH’s Precision Ultrasonic Coating Systems for Thin Film and Solar Cell Manufacturing  EIN News
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Updated: September 3, 2026 @ 9:52 pm

NonStop Local Reporter
Northwest Harvest solar project aims to save money for meals
YAKIMA, Wash. — Northwest Harvest said a new solar project at its Yakima distribution center is expected to lower operating costs and send more money back into food support programs.
The statewide hunger relief organization invited media to the site to show the construction and explain how the project ties into its larger food distribution work. In Yakima, the group runs a program that helps students across the county get food they need.
Mike Doonan, the supply chain operations manager, said the student support program had been in place for more than a decade.
“It’s usually a little breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There’s a snack. Just some things that get them over,” he said.
Doonan said the food is meant to help students who may not have enough to eat at home.
“We know that some kids don’t get food at home. If that’s the only place to get food is at school. So this is a supplemental thing that they can use,” he said.
Northwest Harvest partnered with Ellensburg Solar to install more than 300 solar panels at the facility. The organization said the added renewable energy will reduce power use.
Acting CEO Gary Newte said the savings could top $1 million and would be put back into the food distribution system.
“Times are tough, and expenses are up. So any opportunity that we have to save on operational costs and redirect them back into direct services is always a great opportunity,” he said.
Northwest Harvest says it wants the project to stand for more than solar energy. The organization said it also saw the effort as part of building resiliency in the food system.
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A group of Cambria Heights fourth graders get their solar-powered bugs activated from artificial light inside the elementary school’s cafeteria Thursday since it was raining outside. Once powered, the bugs vibrated and many of the students’ faces lit up with smiles. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Cambria Heights senior Mitchell Weiland (standing) helps a group of fourth graders build their solar bugs Thursday in the elementary school's cafeteria. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Cambria Heights second grade teacher Tasha Paronish helps her students assemble their solar bugs Thursday in her classroom. From left are Wolfgang Howlett-Oliver, John Reasbeck, William Anna and Bryson Warner. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Cambria Heights Elementary School Principal Eric Nagel visits second grade students in Tasha Paronish's homeroom Thursday as they learned about solar energy and built solar-powered bugs in class. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Cambria Heights Superintendent Ken Kerchenske speaks with a group of fourth grade students Thursday in the elementary school's cafeteria. The students built solar-powered bugs with the help of volunteers from Schneider Electric. The fifth grade class later built solar racers with the volunteers. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
A group of Cambria Heights fourth graders get their solar-powered bugs activated from artificial light inside the elementary school’s cafeteria Thursday since it was raining outside. Once powered, the bugs vibrated and many of the students’ faces lit up with smiles. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Cambria Heights senior Mitchell Weiland (standing) helps a group of fourth graders build their solar bugs Thursday in the elementary school's cafeteria. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Cambria Heights second grade teacher Tasha Paronish helps her students assemble their solar bugs Thursday in her classroom. From left are Wolfgang Howlett-Oliver, John Reasbeck, William Anna and Bryson Warner. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Cambria Heights Elementary School Principal Eric Nagel visits second grade students in Tasha Paronish's homeroom Thursday as they learned about solar energy and built solar-powered bugs in class. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Cambria Heights Superintendent Ken Kerchenske speaks with a group of fourth grade students Thursday in the elementary school's cafeteria. The students built solar-powered bugs with the help of volunteers from Schneider Electric. The fifth grade class later built solar racers with the volunteers. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
CARROLLTOWN — Cambria Heights Elementary School students assembled solar-powered bugs and racers Thursday morning as part of an activity with representatives of Schneider Electric, the company that installed solar panels on the school’s rooftop earlier this year.

In the school’s cafeteria, fourth graders built solar bugs with help from the Schneider Electric team and some Cambria Heights seniors who volunteered to help celebrate the district’s renewable energy and sustainability projects with the students.
Since it was raining outside at the time, students took their bugs to Drew Thomas, the district’s maintenance director, who used artificial lighting to power the solar batteries attached to the paper bugs.
One by one, as the bugs would vibrate in their hands, the students’ faces lit up with joy.
Fifth graders also put their knowledge of solar energy to the test as they built solar racers with the Schneider Electric team. As the sun came out later in the day, fifth grader Michael Hendrix was able to play with his racer outside during the district’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, which was held just outside of the school’s library, at the playground area where students enjoy recess.
District officials celebrated the completion of several energy-saving and renewable energy improvements that will reduce the school’s utility costs, improve building comfort and support long-term sustainability goals while providing students with opportunities to learn about clean energy technologies.
“It’s just to emphasize the project that we did here with the solar panels on the school building to get (students) to understand more about solar energy and the benefits of it as a renewable energy source,” said Donna Byrd, Schneider Electric’s regional client coordinator.
Byrd said it’s always fun to watch the students’ reaction to seeing solar energy in action with their bugs or racers.
“When it goes as planned and comes together perfectly like that, it just means a lot to see them learning about the solar measures that we have implemented here with the school system,” she said.
Mitchell Weiland, one of the seniors who volunteered to help with the day’s activities, said it was a cool experience to be a part of.
“They’re learning about new technology that’s coming around, and it’s supposed to be a big thing. So, I think it’s very important for them to get early access to learning about it,” Weiland said.
Principal Eric Nagel said it’s important to show the students how solar power works, so they have a better understanding of how it’s being used to produce energy for the school.
“It’s a great hands-on activity for the kids to understand the importance of what we have here and how it’s going to improve the school,” Nagel said.
Nagel also visited second grade teacher Tasha Paronish’s homeroom, who also made solar bugs and learned about solar energy in class. The students designed their own bugs and then had help from Paronish, who attached solar batteries to the bugs.
Shannon Crooker of the Generation 180 nonprofit organization was there to document the day and celebrate with the students.
According to Crooker, Pennsylvania is among the top 10 states with the most solar power projects, and school districts like Cambria Heights are leading the way.
“They’re really making a difference here,” Crooker said. “We want to celebrate that and lift that up to say, look what’s happening in rural areas just as much as urban areas.”
Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.

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By Sethuraman N R
NEW DELHI, May 20 (Reuters) – A solar industry group has asked India’s power market regulator ‌to increase the cap on electricity prices on power ‌exchanges, saying the current limit is hurting companies and slowing investment, with demand ​at record highs.
• The National Solar Energy Federation of India told the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission that the existing cap of 10 Indian rupees ($0.1032) per unit makes it difficult for some players, including ‌energy storage firms, to ⁠operate profitably.
• The petition comes as India’s power demand has surged to record levels over the ⁠past two days due to heat waves.
• Peak power demand jumped to 260.45 gigawatts on Tuesday, according to the country’s power ministry, ​surpassing Monday’s ​record of 257.37 GW.
• A ​separate market segment created to ‌allow higher prices has not worked well because there are very few buyers willing to purchase power at those levels, the group said in a regulatory filing made public late Tuesday.
• India’s power producers are often forced to sell electricity at low ‌prices during periods of weak demand, ​but cannot make up for those ​losses when demand rises ​because of the price ceiling, the industry body ‌told the regulator.
• Keeping the price ​cap unchanged is ​discouraging investment in areas such as energy storage, which could help manage supply and demand swings in the future, ​the industry body ‌said in the filing.
• The regulator has heard the matter ​and reserved its order.
($1 = 96.9100 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Sethuraman ​NR; Editing by Sonali Paul)
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Botley West Solar Farm’s deadline extension follows a lengthy approval process, with the site initially proposed in November 2022.
September 3, 2026
The deadline for a decision on Botley West Solar Farm’s development consent has been extended, as the government has allowed more time to consider the application.
The news comes as part of an Energy Infrastructure Planning Projects statement released by Martin McCluskey, minister for local energy and jobs.
The application for development consent was submitted by Photovolt Development Partners (PVDP) on behalf of SolarFive Ltd, under the Planning Act 2008. The examination of the application closed on 13 November 2025; on 24 March 2026, the government set the decision deadline to 10 September, which has now been extended to 10 November.
McCluskey explained: “I have decided to allow an extension and set a new deadline… for deciding this application. This is to enable my department and other interested parties to consider further information received from the applicant.”
On completion, Botley West could deliver 840MW of renewable power to the national grid. It will connect to a National Grid substation near Farmoor reservoir in Oxfordshire and has an anticipated grid connection date of Autumn 2029.
Related:New South Yorkshire solar and BESS site breaks ground
As of the 2024 proposals, Botley West’s development site covers 1,300 hectares – 890 of which would be covered by installed panels. While this site plan was a reduction from its original proposed size of 1,400 hectares with 1,000 hectares of panels, it is still classed as a nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP) under the Planning Act 2008.
The site plan reduction was issued in March 2024, when the local council requested revisions to minimise the farm’s scale and impact on Oxfordshire’s environment.
For PVDP, the project is a £800 million investment in both renewable energy and the local area. The site proposals include new foot and cycle paths across the farm, community benefits, and a minimum biodiversity net gain of 70%.
Regarding the site’s future following the application deadline extension, the planning inspectorate stated that the decision was made “without prejudice” to whether the proposed solar farm would be granted or refused development consent.

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Solar energy: record growth thanks to technology and research  Il Sole 24 ORE
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Victoria’s State Electricity Commission (SEC) has achieved a first-time grid connection for the 119MW solar PV array at its SEC Renewable Energy Park in Australia. This achievement comes after the installation of all 212,296 PV modules was completed across the site in late 2025, signifying that all major construction work on the solar plant is now finished, including the tracker system, a 162.5-tonne transformer, a switch room substation, high-voltage infrastructure, cabling, and the earth grid.
Lane Crockett, SEC’s executive general manager of assets, noted that this event is among the most significant milestones for any renewable energy venture. He explained that reaching this point requires completing thousands of installation, construction, and safety tasks, all of which must undergo inspections, testing, and safety verifications to confirm proper and safe operation. The solar facility is now set to move into hot commissioning and hold point testing, a phased procedure that entails progressively energizing and evaluating the substations, transformers, underground cables, inverters, and other electrical components.
The 100MW/200MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) has yet to be delivered to the site, with the SEC indicating that its immediate focus is on preparing for the system’s delivery and installation in the latter part of this year. Once the project becomes operational in 2027, Crockett stated it would aid the state’s planned phase-out of coal generation, which includes the Yallourn power station, slated for closure in 2028.
The Horsham project’s origins can be traced to Victoria’s second Renewable Energy Target auction. Initially named Horsham Solar Farm, it secured a VRET2 contract in October 2022 while under ESCO Pacific’s ownership, being one of six winning projects that collectively contributed 623MW of solar capacity and 365MW/600MWh of battery storage, supported by AU$1.48 billion (US$0.95 billion) in funding. At that time, the project was configured for 118.8MW of solar generation alongside a smaller 50MW/100MWh battery system.
The project subsequently transferred to Swedish developer OX2 before the SEC took ownership in September 2024, at which point the battery storage capacity was doubled to its present 100MW/200MWh configuration, part of a larger AU$370 million investment. OX2 has remained involved as a development partner after the ownership change, with construction formally commencing in April 2025, following preliminary works that began in February.
The SEC’s re-entry into power generation comes after the Victorian government revived the entity, which had historically served as the state’s public electricity provider until its privatisation in the 1990s, positioning it as a tool for advancing the renewable energy transition while keeping assets under public control. The Horsham development is set to function alongside the SEC’s larger Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub, a 600MW/1.6GWh facility that came online in December 2025, with both projects together enabling the SEC to provide roughly 5% of Victoria’s electricity demand when it returns to the retail market.
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Pennar Industries has deployed INR 5.8 crore, roughly equivalent to US$700,000, into ZAP91 Solar India Pvt Ltd, according to a report published by pv magazine on May 27, 2026. This entity is a joint venture with Zetwerk dedicated to solar PV module production in Telangana, India.
The capital injection, scheduled as a single payment, will secure Pennar Industries a 45% ownership position in the venture. The transaction is anticipated to finalize by June 30, 2026. ZAP91 Solar India was officially incorporated on December 27, 2024.
Pennar Industries entered into a joint venture agreement with Zetwerk Manufacturing Businesses and additional partners on December 31, 2024, to establish the solar manufacturing unit. Within the joint venture, Zetwerk Manufacturing Businesses controls a 50.1% stake, Pennar Industries holds 45%, and other shareholders possess the remaining 4.9%.
ZAP91 Solar India is currently building a solar module manufacturing plant in Sadashivpet, Telangana. The company noted that the investment will aid in completing the factory, encompassing commissioning and the initiation of commercial production. At present, the facility remains under development and has not yet started commercial output.
The joint venture intends to produce and sell solar PV modules to both domestic and international markets. Pennar Industries offers renewable energy services across the entire value chain, including solar engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, along with the production of solar modules and module mounting structures.
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India's largest solar module manufacturer
Part of Adani Group, integrated manufacturing
Leading manufacturer, part of Tata Group
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Historical leader in solar manufacturing
Makes solar cells, modules, encapsulants
Module and cell manufacturer
Solar PV module manufacturer
Solar panel manufacturer and distributor
Manufactures solar modules and inverters
Solar panel manufacturer
Solar panel manufacturer
Solar panel manufacturer
Solar cell and module manufacturer
Major LED lighting products manufacturer
Leading electrical goods co, major LED player
Major manufacturer of LED lights and fixtures
Major player in LED lighting segment
LED lighting manufacturer
Manufactures LED displays and lighting
Indian subsidiary, major LED mfg in India
Manufactures LED lights and fixtures
Major Indian electrical brand, produces LEDs
LED lighting products manufacturer
Manufactures LED bulbs and lighting
Major player in consumer LED lighting
Leading LED lighting solutions provider
Manufactures LED lights under Finolex brand
Wires & cables major, also manufactures LEDs
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Solex Energy Secures INR 74.77 Crore Solar PV Module Supply Orders  SolarQuarter
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Perovskite/CIGS tandem solar cell developed by the KIER research team
NLR’s Best Research-Cell Efficiencies Chart (KIER result highlighted)
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Newswise — The Photovoltaic Research Department of the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) achieved a certified world-record efficiency of 26.7% for perovskite/CIGS tandem solar cells, opening a new chapter in next-generation thin-film photovoltaics.
 This achievement was officially certified by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) in Germany and listed in the Best Research-Cell Efficiencies Chart published by the US National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR, formerly NREL).
 The previous world-record efficiency of 26.3%, set a year earlier by a joint research team from Seoul National University and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), was surpassed by another Korean research team at KIER, demonstrating the country’s leading role in next-generation thin-film solar cell technology. 
 Silicon solar cells, currently the most widely used solar cell technology, have already reached technological maturity, leaving limited room for further efficiency improvements due to fundamental physical limitations. Against this backdrop, tandem solar cells are emerging as a promising next-generation solution for high-efficiency photovoltaics. This technology uses multiple solar cells with different characteristics stacked in layers to capture a broader range of sunlight wavelengths.
 The perovskite/CIGS tandem solar cells developed by the KIER research team have a perovskite cell at the top and a CIGS cell at the bottom. This unique configuration enables the two cells to absorb different wavelengths of sunlight simultaneously. Since both perovskite and CIGS are well suited for thin-film processing, the technology combines high efficiency, light weight, and flexibility.
 Assembling the two cells may, however, degrade the perovskite light-absorbing layer. In addition, some cell layers may absorb unwanted light, reducing the overall efficiency. To address these challenges, the KIER research team conducted a comprehensive analysis of the root causes of such efficiency losses. As a result, they developed an advanced interfacial layer material and processing technology to mitigate potential damage to the perovskite layer. The team also successfully minimized undesired light absorption and potential photocurrent loss by optimizing the structure of the top transparent electrode and charge transport layer.
 This approach resulted in a laboratory-measured efficiency of 27% and a Fraunhofer ISE-certified efficiency of 26.7%.
 The developed technology is expected to increase electricity generation per unit area and thereby expand the potential applications of photovoltaic power generation. Furthermore, owing to their lightweight and flexible thin-film design, they are promising not only for buildings and automobiles but also as power sources for small satellites and space-based data centers for future space applications, where weight and space constraints are critical.
 Inyoung Jeong, a senior researcher at KIER who led the research, said, “This achievement is significant in that both cell efficiency and stability can be enhanced by minimizing potential interfacial and optical losses during the integration of perovskite and CIGS. The resulting efficiency was also officially certified by a world-renowned institute and recognized as a world-record performance, underscoring Korea’s technological competitiveness.” 
 Going forward, the research team will focus on ensuring that large-area modules achieve the same efficiency as the small-area devices developed in this study. They will collaborate with industry partners interested in mass production and commercialization and pursue technology transfer. In the long term, they will expand the technology to next-generation space solar cells capable of reliable operation in space due to their light weight and high efficiency.

Credit: KOREA INSTITUTE OF ENERGY RESEARCH
Caption: Perovskite/CIGS tandem solar cell developed by the KIER research team
Credit: KOREA INSTITUTE OF ENERGY RESEARCH
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Technical advisory firm Intertek CEA has released its Q2 2026 PV Price Forecasting Report, projecting a strategic realignment across global solar manufacturing hubs. While Chinese suppliers push to restore profit margins following extended price compression, module pricing in the United States, India, and other major rest-of-world markets is expected to hold relatively flat through 2027.
Annual global solar installations are forecast to remain constrained in the low-600 GW range in 2026 and 2027, down from roughly 650 GW in 2025. This slowdown is primarily driven by the stagnating domestic Chinese market, reinforced by the phase-out of demand-side subsidies, tighter energy consumption rules, and new efficiency standards, said the report.
Chinese suppliers pivot to margin expansion
Domestic policy in China is accelerating domestic price increases, which are expected to spill over into international markets, said the report. Major Chinese manufacturers are guiding toward reduced export volumes while actively pursuing higher-margin international sales.
According to Intertek CEA’s regional cost modeling, integrated production costs globally show a massive spread. Fully integrated production costs for TOPCon modules in China remain the global floor at under $0.12/W. In Southeast Asia and India, regional manufacturing costs hover near $0.17/W for TOPCon technology.
Meanwhile, unsubsidized all-in U.S. manufacturing costs for TOPCon modules using U.S. cells exceed $0.37/W prior to incentives. However, factoring in Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Credits brings net U.S. TOPCon production costs down to approximately $0.21/W.
The Section 45X subsidies effectively eliminate much of the historical cost penalty for domestic U.S. manufacturing, narrowing the net cost gap between U.S.-made modules and non-Chinese imports from Southeast Asia or India to just $0.01/W to $0.03/W.
Trade policy and policy mandates dictate regional pricing
U.S. module prices are projected to stay elevated as buyers await final clarity on the tariff structures emerging from the ongoing polysilicon Section 232 investigation. While operational cell capacity outside duty-subject nations remains tight, expanding non-duty ingot, wafer, and cell capacity throughout 2026 and 2027 is expected to alleviate acute procurement bottlenecks.
In India, pricing dynamics are increasingly governed by domestic procurement mandates. The Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) List-II, which requires domestic module makers to utilize domestic cells for public tenders, is officially in effect.
While Indian module prices are expected to linger near $0.20/W due to grandfathered 2026 projects, developers face near-term cell supply shortages for late-2026 and 2027 deliveries. A secondary cost adjustment is anticipated in 2028 when ALMM List-III mandates the use of domestically produced wafers.
Across all international sea lanes, elevated freight costs continue to compound baseline module pricing, said the report. Logistics disruptions tied to ongoing Middle East conflict and early peak-season surcharges have pushed ocean freight rates above $0.01/W, adding cost pressures to cross-border deliveries through 2027.
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WTO body agrees to examine Indian solar tariffs, official says  reuters.com
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Solar Power World
By Kelly Pickerel | September 3, 2026
The 346-MW Gibson City Solar Project, developed by Earthrise Energy and constructed by Burns & McDonnell, achieved commercial operation in Illinois using Earthrise Energy’s surplus interconnection strategy. By connecting through the existing switchyard of an adjacent gas-fired peaking facility, the project leveraged available grid capacity rather than requiring a new interconnection, illustrating one approach to accelerating renewable energy deployment while maintaining grid reliability.
The Gibson City Solar Project in Illinois. Credit: Burns & McDonnell
As utilities and renewable energy developers across the United States face growing delays connecting new generation to the electric grid, this project demonstrated faster ways to bring renewable generation online using existing assets. In addition to the innovative grid interconnection strategy, Burns & McDonnell paired advanced construction technologies and terrain-following solar trackers to reduce environmental impacts and improve construction execution.
“Interconnection has become one of the defining challenges for new energy projects,” said Jami Stone, construction project manager for Burns & McDonnell. “Projects like Gibson City demonstrate how developers can take advantage of existing infrastructure while combining innovative construction methods to deliver new renewable generation more efficiently. It’s an example of how the industry can rethink traditional approaches to meeting growing energy demand, and we applaud Earthrise Energy for this creative solution to help bring clean power online faster.”
Spanning approximately 1,700 acres across McLean and Ford counties, the facility is expected to generate enough renewable electricity to power approximately 46,000 homes.
The scope of work for Burns & McDonnell spanned EPC services. AZCO, a construction subsidiary of Burns & McDonnell, self-performed construction of underground electrical systems for a portion of the project, drove piles, and installed trackers and modules. The project team also provided environmental support, constructed a 34.5-/138-kV collector substation featuring a two-transformer station, and built a gen-tie line connected to a new line position in the existing Gibson City energy center substation. The site was built with union labor under the National Maintenance Agreement.
Burns & McDonnell worked with Nextpower to provide the terrain-following trackers, Shoals to provide the aboveground collection system and SMA to supply the inverters for this project. Earthrise procured Runergy solar modules, high-voltage breakers and transformers.
The project was developed to serve multiple power purchase agreements. To support this coordinated operation, Burns & McDonnell designed and commissioned the project’s supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, providing the controls needed to safely manage both generating resources.
The Gibson City site also served as a proving ground for next-generation construction automation. Burns & McDonnell deployed AI software and robotics from Gritt to install a portion of the solar modules on-site. Gritt combines AI and robotics to automate labor-intensive construction activities by creating intelligent systems that can be attached to standard construction equipment. At Gibson City, the Gritt machines lifted and placed solar modules, reducing the need for repetitive heavy lifting while improving safety and productivity.
The project also demonstrated how engineering and technology can substantially reduce construction impacts. Using Nextpower terrain-following tracker technology, the design follows the site’s natural contours, limiting grading to fewer than 40,000 cubic yards across the project’s footprint. Compared with conventional utility-scale solar construction, the approach reduced grading requirements by as much as 90%, helping preserve existing landscapes, minimize erosion risks and reduce reseeding requirements. Burns & McDonnell also worked with the owner to establish a native seed mix and start growth before mobilizing to the site, enhancing the appearance of the finished project.
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Kelly Pickerel has more than 15 years of experience reporting on the U.S. solar industry and is currently editor in chief of Solar Power World. Email Kelly.

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WyoFile
An independent, reader-funded, non-profit news organization focused on the people, places, and policy of Wyoming.

A measure to help renters and homeowners save on their monthly electric bills with plug-in solar panels died in committee this week amid safety concerns from monopoly utilities.
House Bill 146, “Affordable electricity act of 2026,” died Tuesday in the House Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Committee for lack of a motion to move it forward. 
Sponsored by Jackson Democratic Rep. Liz Storer, the bill would have clarified that small plug-in solar devices, unlike rooftop solar systems, are exempt from state-level regulations — things like city inspections and an interconnect approval from a utility.
A typical plug-in or “balcony solar” panel sold at a box store converts solar energy to household alternating current and can be plugged into a standard outlet, injecting about the same amount of electricity as a blow-dryer. Proponents estimated it could save renters or homeowners up to a couple hundred bucks a month — significant for an investment of about $300 to $2,000, compared to $10,000 or more for a rooftop solar array.
Utah passed similar legislation last year, and at least 24 other states are considering following suit, proponents noted.
“This legislation would empower renters, folks that live in prefabricated or manufactured homes and people for whom, they are homeowners of a regular stick-built home, but the math just does not work in their favor for installing a full-size home-solar system,” said Stephen Magnifico, community organizer for the Sheridan-based landowner advocacy group Powder River Basin Resource Council.
“I think it would save people a lot of money,” Patrick Lawson of Riverton told the legislative panel while video streaming from an electric vehicle. “I’m also a member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, and I know there’s a lot of our members that would benefit a lot.”
Though Wyoming still enjoys among the lowest electric rates in the nation, a series of rate increases have shocked customers and elected officials alike. But some recent legislative policies have added to customers’ bills.
Last year, lawmakers passed House Bill 192, “Public utilities-wildfire mitigation and liability limits,” restricting what wildfire victims can claim damages for when an electric utility sparks a blaze. Utilities argued it’s necessary to protect their essential services from billion-dollar class-action lawsuits, claiming such legal action could bankrupt a utility. Part of that bargain, however, requires utilities to increase wildfire mitigation measures — a cost that is passed on to ratepayers. 
Utilities claim the extra costs will be minimal because they already have wildfire mitigation programs and continually upgrade power systems. Critics, however, have worried that banning class action lawsuits against utilities could shift the burden of rising insurance costs to property owners.
Wyoming’s 2020 coal carbon capture mandate, intended to extend the life of coal power plants in the state, has tapped ratepayers for a collective $5 million so far, according state officials. House Bill 56, “Carbon capture mandate-repeal,” which would cancel the law, is advancing through the Legislature.
Though not in play this budget session, the Legislature has made repeated attempts to revise or squash Wyoming’s net-metering law for rooftop solar. The argument, according to proponents, is that net-metering creates an unfair cost shift to those without rooftop solar.
Net-metering requires utilities to compensate rooftop solar owners for extra electricity they pump back into the grid. Last year, some Wyoming ranchers backed a measure — House Bill 183, “Net metering amendments” — to extend the state’s net-metering cap of 25 kilowatts. Proponents argued it would empower agricultural operations to be more self-reliant and protect ag operations from skyrocketing electricity costs.
The measure failed.
Though plug-in solar devices are supposed to adhere to Underwriters Laboratory and National Electrical Code standards, utilities cannot be assured their customers won’t buy and install some knock-off product that isn’t up to snuff, several utility representatives testified to the committee.
Like a rooftop solar array, plug-in solar panels are supposed to shut off when a utility cuts power — in the case of a fire, for example. That’s for the safety of electricians who need assurances a system isn’t energized. There have been instances when that didn’t happen with rooftop solar arrays, attorney Nathan Nicholas, of Cheyenne firm Koch Law, told the panel.
Plug-in solar devices could also pose a potential hazard by “overloading” home wiring systems, said Nicholas, who spoke on behalf of client Rocky Mountain Power, the state’s largest electric utility.
If wiring is overloaded, he said, “You start overheating wires, you start subjecting the house to electrical fires and other types of injuries and damage.”
A Black Hills Energy representative shared those concerns, as did Wyoming Rural Electric Association Executive Director Shawn Taylor.
Taylor, however, noted that its members are customer-owned, nonprofit rural co-ops. Safety concerns likely are not insurmountable, he suggested. “If our members want to do something like this, we want to work with them.”
Testimony regarding safety hazards felt like a canard, Lawson told WyoFile.
“They’re afraid of linemen getting zapped or something,” Lawson said. “It’s basically not even possible. It’s pretty simple: If they don’t have power, the inverter doesn’t run, and they don’t produce power.”
Lawson reiterated that plug-in solar is a particularly viable option for low-income households to withstand rising electricity bills — especially on the Wind River Reservation. “The poverty level is pretty high, and if there was a device that could help them cut their electric bill by any amount, it would be a big deal.”
It was “weird” that there was no motion to move HB 146, Lawson added. “The power companies were the only ones that were against it, and everybody else was for it.”
For Cheyenne Republican Rep. Landon Brown, chair of the Transportation Committee, the bill’s death might be inconsequential.
“I honestly don’t think the law is needed,” Brown told WyoFile via email. “There’s no need to actually create the law because there’s nothing prohibiting the use of them. I feel like the idea of us creating a law right now to allow this actually may create more issues rather than fix something that’s not broken.”
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Americans are told over and over how we have a “free market” compared to those over-regulated, over-protected Europeans. But they can get balcony solar that these American legislators say is too dangerous. They can get heat pumps using common “natural” refrigerants, but our regulators say those are too dangerous. They can install solar on rooftops w/o months hung up with building inspections and utility interconnection paperwork. Add in our protectionism and non-tariff barriers from vested interests, and one can start to see why, even for things invented in American research facilities, development and deployment of innovative energy and building and transportation systems don’t happen here until years or decades later. And then we cry…. “OMG, all these things are imported.”
It is telling that Rocky Mountain Power retained an outside law firm to oppose this bill while relying on safety narratives that have already been scrutinized in other jurisdictions. The lineworker electrocution argument, in particular, does not reflect how modern UL-listed, IEEE 1547–compliant inverters actually perform in the field.
I was present at the Utah State Capitol for the committee hearing and final vote on HB340. Rocky Mountain Power did not appear in opposition. The bill moved forward without the dire warnings now being repeated in Wyoming.
So what changed?
Plug-in PV did not suddenly become more dangerous when it crossed a state line. The technology is the same. The standards are the same. What changed is that Utah demonstrated a workable regulatory pathway, and that precedent carries national implications.
When a utility supports silence in one state and escalates to organized legal opposition in another, it is fair to ask whether the concern is public safety or regulatory control.
If states are unwilling to modernize their interconnection frameworks, federally recognized Tribes such as the Northern Arapaho Nation possess inherent sovereignty to adopt their own building codes and exercise Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) status. Many Tribes are already asserting that authority in other infrastructure domains. Energy policy need not be an exception.
Policy debates should be grounded in technical evidence, not hypothetical hazards that have already been engineered out of compliant systems. Wyoming lawmakers deserve a discussion rooted in facts and grid performance, not in fear of the much needed progress.
As an electrical engineer, I can tell you that a properly designed and UL-listed plug-in solar system poses no danger and should be allowed by law. In addition, it is easy to place a device at the electric meter that prevents backfeeding if you’re not “net metering,” which is a good safety measure in general. But the electric monopolies are too cheap to do that.
Probably another case of our legislators not understanding how it all works.
I have had solar on my house for 10 years, haven’t had an electric bill since. It powers my house and car. It has already paid for itself and I really like being energy independent.
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Solex Energy has secured ₹74.77 crore worth of domestic orders to supply Solar PV Modules. The entire contract is fast-tracked for full execution by December 2026, boosting H2 FY27 revenue visibility. This order expands the company's active short-term pipeline alongside an existing executable backlog of ₹845.84 crore.
Market snapshot: Solex Energy Limited has received new domestic work orders valued at ₹74.77 crore for the manufacture and supply of solar PV modules. Formally disclosed to stock exchanges on September 3, 2026, the entire order is slated for complete execution by December 2026. This fast-turnaround contract is expected to immediately boost the company's financial performance in the second half of the fiscal year.
This quick-execution domestic win is a strategic positive for Solex Energy. After reporting compressed margins in Q1 FY27 due to monsoon-led delivery delays and high depreciation, this ₹74.77 crore order ensures high utilization across its newly expanded 4 GW module manufacturing facility in Gujarat. Quick-turnaround contracts of under four months allow the company to rotate working capital rapidly, addressing short-term cash flow needs while building up to its larger long-term projects.
The order reflects persistent domestic demand for high-quality PV modules under India's local sourcing mandates. Fast-execution order books protect solar players from inventory risks and allow smaller-to-medium-scale companies like Solex to sustain operational momentum. The shift of module deliveries from Q1 to the second half of the year (H2 FY27) highlights that industry capacity utilization is set to ramp up sharply.
Market Bias: Bullish
This ₹74.77 crore order win represents ≈28.1% of Solex's Q1 FY27 revenue, providing vital near-term cash rotation. Short-run execution by December 2026 will accelerate revenue conversion, offsetting seasonal margins pressure.
Overweight: Renewable Energy, Solar Equipment Manufacturers
Trigger Factors:
Time Horizon: Near-term (0-3 months)
India's solar manufacturing landscape continues to adapt to regulatory policy developments. Local supply mandates and the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) regulations are creating a highly favorable domestic environment for Indian PV manufacturers. These structural shifts are helping local players scale up capacity and technical quality, despite broader headwinds like export duties in western markets.
In August 2026, Solex completed its listing on the BSE, enhancing investor reach. On August 17, 2026, the company reported steady Q1 FY27 consolidated revenue of ₹265.63 crore, though PAT fell 66.6% YoY to ₹8.26 crore due to monsoon seasonality. This followed a massive ₹628.37 crore order in July 2026 from a global renewable energy group for N-Type TOPCon modules and a proposed ₹4,000 crore manufacturing MoU signed with the Government of Gujarat.
Solex Energy's aggressive domestic order accretion underscores strong manufacturing alignment with India's clean-energy transition. As the company manages its massive cap-ex scale-up, these bite-sized, high-velocity domestic wins provide the necessary operational liquidity to support its ambitious growth roadmap.
High Performance Trading with SAHI.
Disclaimer: This news section may include AI-generated or AI-assisted news, summaries, drafts, or insights. All content is subject to human review before publication. While we aim for accuracy, readers should independently verify information before relying on it.
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As per Market Research Future analysis, the Solar Photovoltaic System Market was estimated at 235.94 USD Billion in 2024. The Solar Photovoltaic System industry is projected to grow from 254.44 USD Billion in 2025 to 541.34 USD Billion by 2035, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8% during the forecast period 2025 – 2035
The Solar Photovoltaic System Market is experiencing robust growth driven by technological advancements and increasing adoption in emerging markets.
CAGR
7.84%
The Solar Photovoltaic System Market is currently experiencing a transformative phase characterized by rapid technological advancements and increasing adoption across various sectors. The shift towards renewable energy sources is becoming more pronounced, as governments and organizations worldwide recognize the necessity of sustainable energy solutions. This market is witnessing a surge in investments, driven by favorable policies and incentives aimed at reducing carbon footprints. Furthermore, the integration of solar technologies into residential, commercial, and industrial applications is expanding, indicating a broader acceptance of solar energy as a viable alternative to traditional power sources. In addition to technological innovations, the Solar Photovoltaic System Market is influenced by evolving consumer preferences and heightened awareness regarding environmental issues. As individuals and businesses seek to lower energy costs and enhance energy independence, the demand for solar photovoltaic systems is likely to grow. The emergence of energy storage solutions and smart grid technologies further complements this trend, enabling more efficient energy management. Overall, the Solar Photovoltaic System Market appears poised for sustained growth, driven by a combination of regulatory support, technological progress, and changing societal attitudes towards energy consumption.
The Solar Photovoltaic System Market is witnessing continuous innovations in technology, enhancing efficiency and reducing costs. New materials and designs are being developed, which may lead to higher energy conversion rates and longer system lifespans. This trend suggests that advancements in solar technology could significantly impact market dynamics.
Emerging economies are increasingly embracing solar photovoltaic systems as a means to address energy shortages and promote sustainable development. This trend indicates a growing recognition of solar energy’s potential to provide reliable power in regions with limited access to traditional energy sources.
The integration of solar photovoltaic systems with energy storage technologies is becoming more prevalent. This trend may enhance the reliability and efficiency of solar energy, allowing users to store excess energy for later use. Such developments could transform how solar energy is utilized, making it a more attractive option for consumers.
The Solar Photovoltaic System Market is significantly influenced by the rising global energy demand. As populations grow and economies expand, the need for sustainable energy sources becomes more pressing. Projections indicate that energy consumption could increase by over 25% by 2030, necessitating a shift towards renewable energy solutions. Solar photovoltaic systems offer a viable alternative to traditional fossil fuels, providing clean energy that can be harnessed locally. This shift is particularly evident in regions with abundant sunlight, where solar energy can be efficiently captured and utilized. The increasing demand for energy, coupled with the declining costs of solar technology, positions the Solar Photovoltaic System Market for substantial growth in the coming years.
Technological innovations play a pivotal role in shaping the Solar Photovoltaic System Market. Advances in solar panel efficiency, such as the development of bifacial and perovskite solar cells, are enhancing energy output and reducing costs. As of 2025, the average efficiency of commercial solar panels has reached approximately 20%, with some cutting-edge models exceeding 25%. These innovations not only improve the performance of solar systems but also contribute to lower installation and maintenance costs. Additionally, the integration of smart technologies, such as IoT and AI, is optimizing energy management and consumption patterns. This continuous evolution in technology is likely to attract more investors and consumers to the Solar Photovoltaic System Market, driving its expansion.
The Solar Photovoltaic System Market is experiencing a surge in growth due to favorable government incentives and policies. Many countries are implementing tax credits, rebates, and grants to encourage the adoption of solar energy. For instance, in several regions, feed-in tariffs guarantee fixed payments for solar energy producers, enhancing the financial viability of solar projects. As of 2025, it is estimated that these incentives could account for up to 30% of the total installation costs, making solar energy more accessible to both residential and commercial users. Furthermore, regulatory frameworks are increasingly supportive, streamlining the permitting process and reducing bureaucratic hurdles. This supportive environment is likely to drive further investments in the Solar Photovoltaic System Market, fostering innovation and expansion.
The decentralization of energy production is transforming the Solar Photovoltaic System Market. With advancements in technology, consumers are increasingly able to generate their own electricity through solar installations. This shift towards distributed energy resources empowers individuals and communities, reducing reliance on centralized power grids. As of 2025, it is estimated that residential solar installations could account for over 40% of new solar capacity additions. This trend is particularly pronounced in urban areas, where rooftops can be utilized for solar panels. Furthermore, the rise of community solar projects allows multiple stakeholders to benefit from shared solar resources. This decentralization not only enhances energy security but also fosters local economic development, thereby driving further growth in the Solar Photovoltaic System Market.
The growing awareness of environmental concerns is a significant driver for the Solar Photovoltaic System Market. As climate change becomes an increasingly urgent issue, there is a collective push towards sustainable energy solutions. Solar energy, being renewable and clean, presents a compelling alternative to fossil fuels, which are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Reports suggest that transitioning to solar energy could reduce carbon emissions by millions of tons annually. This shift is not only beneficial for the environment but also aligns with corporate sustainability goals, prompting businesses to invest in solar technologies. The heightened focus on sustainability is likely to propel the Solar Photovoltaic System Market forward, as both consumers and corporations seek to minimize their ecological footprints.
In the Solar Photovoltaic System Market, Mono-Crystalline Silicon has emerged as the dominant technology, accounting for a significant share of the market due to its high efficiency and performance. Following closely, Poly-Crystalline Silicon also holds a commendable market position but trails behind Mono-Crystalline. Thin-Film Silicon and Concentrated Solar Photovoltaic, while smaller in market share, are gaining traction as innovations enhance their efficiency and applicability in diverse settings, leading to a dynamic market landscape.
Technology: Mono-Crystalline Silicon (Dominant) vs. Thin-Film Silicon (Emerging)
Mono-Crystalline Silicon is recognized for its superior efficiency and longevity, making it the preferred choice for large-scale solar installations and residential applications. Its ability to perform better under low-light conditions and its sleek aesthetics contribute to its dominance in the market. On the other hand, Thin-Film Silicon is gaining momentum as an emerging technology, particularly in niche applications where flexibility and lightweight design are essential. Although generally less efficient, advancements in production techniques are reducing costs and enhancing performance, positioning Thin-Film Silicon as a viable alternative in specific scenarios.
In the Solar Photovoltaic System Market, Grid-Connected systems hold the largest share, dominating the landscape due to their integration with existing power grids and reliable energy supply. These systems primarily benefit residential and commercial sectors, offering increased energy efficiency and lower electricity costs. As more consumers and businesses opt for renewable energy sources, Grid-Connected installations continue to expand their market presence.
System Type: Grid-Connected (Dominant) vs. Off-Grid (Emerging)
Grid-Connected systems are recognized as the dominant force in the Solar Photovoltaic System Market, providing consistent power through connectivity to the electrical grid. These systems are favored for their ability to leverage net metering, allowing users to sell excess power back to the grid. On the other hand, Off-Grid systems are seen as an emerging trend, particularly in remote areas lacking grid infrastructure. These systems are gaining traction due to advancements in battery storage technology and an increasing desire for energy independence, especially in regions prone to power shortages.
The Solar Photovoltaic System Market is predominantly led by the Residential sector, which boasts the largest market share due to increasing consumer adoption of solar energy solutions for home use. Residential applications are favored for their ability to reduce energy bills and enhance energy independence. Meanwhile, the Utility-Scale segment is gaining credibility and swiftly capturing market attention, fueled by higher investments in large-scale renewable projects and advancement in solar technologies.
Application: Residential (Dominant) vs. Utility-Scale (Emerging)
The Residential segment stands out as the dominant force in the Solar Photovoltaic System Market, characterized by a decentralized energy approach tailored for individual homes. This segment benefits from supportive government incentives and increasing consumer awareness of environmental sustainability. In contrast, the Utility-Scale segment is emerging rapidly, marked by significant investments in large-scale solar farms that benefit from economies of scale and the ability to generate cleaner energy for thousands of homes. This segment is vital for the transition towards renewable energy, driven by utility companies and governmental policies aimed at reducing carbon footprints.
The Solar Photovoltaic System Market is increasingly dominated by the Rooftop mounting type, which captures a significant share due to its suitability for urban environments and the rising trend of residential solar installations. Ground-Mounted systems, while traditionally popular in larger energy projects, are expanding their share as more organizations and utilities invest in larger-capacity installations, contributing to the diversification of the market.
Rooftop (Dominant) vs. Ground-Mounted (Emerging)
Rooftop solar systems represent the dominant segment in the Solar Photovoltaic System Market, favored for their accessibility and efficiency in utilizing unused space on homes and buildings. Their integration into residential solar initiatives and commercial projects makes them a preferred choice for consumers looking to reduce energy costs. Meanwhile, Ground-Mounted systems are emerging rapidly, driven by installations on larger open sites and utility-scale projects. These systems allow for higher capacity outputs and flexibility in design, appealing to developers seeking to maximize energy production and return on investment.
North America is witnessing a robust growth in the solar photovoltaic (PV) system market, driven by favorable government policies, technological advancements, and increasing environmental awareness. The United States holds the largest market share at approximately 60%, followed by Canada at around 15%. Regulatory incentives such as the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and state-level renewable energy mandates are significant catalysts for this growth. The competitive landscape is dominated by key players such as First Solar, SunPower, and Enphase Energy, which are leading innovations in solar technology. The U.S. market is characterized by a mix of large-scale solar farms and residential installations, while Canada is focusing on utility-scale projects. The presence of established companies and new entrants is fostering a dynamic market environment, enhancing competition and driving down costs.
Europe is at the forefront of the solar photovoltaic system market, propelled by ambitious renewable energy targets and stringent climate policies. Germany and France are the largest markets, holding approximately 30% and 20% of the market share, respectively. The European Union’s Green Deal and national initiatives are pivotal in driving solar adoption, aiming for a significant reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. Leading countries like Germany, Spain, and Italy are enhancing their solar capacities, supported by a competitive landscape featuring companies such as Trina Solar and Canadian Solar. The region is witnessing a surge in both residential and commercial solar installations, with innovative financing models and community solar projects gaining traction. This collaborative approach is expected to further accelerate market growth and technological advancements.
The Asia-Pacific region is emerging as a powerhouse in the solar photovoltaic system market, driven by rapid industrialization, urbanization, and government support for renewable energy. China is the largest market, accounting for over 40% of global solar installations, followed by Japan and India, which hold approximately 10% and 8% respectively. Government policies, such as feed-in tariffs and renewable energy certificates, are crucial in promoting solar energy adoption across the region. China’s dominance is reflected in its extensive manufacturing capabilities and the presence of major players like JA Solar and LONGi Green Energy. Japan and India are also expanding their solar capacities, focusing on both utility-scale and rooftop installations. The competitive landscape is characterized by a mix of domestic and international companies, fostering innovation and cost reductions in solar technologies.
The Middle East and Africa region is witnessing a burgeoning interest in solar photovoltaic systems, driven by abundant sunlight and the need for energy diversification. Countries like South Africa and the UAE are leading the market, with South Africa holding approximately 15% of the market share. Government initiatives and international investments are crucial in developing solar infrastructure, aiming to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and enhance energy security. The competitive landscape is evolving, with local and international players entering the market. South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) has attracted significant investments, while the UAE is focusing on large-scale solar projects like the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. This growth is expected to create numerous opportunities for innovation and collaboration in the solar sector.
The Solar Photovoltaic System Market is currently characterized by a dynamic competitive landscape, driven by increasing global energy demands and a pronounced shift towards renewable energy sources. Key players such as First Solar (US), Trina Solar (CN), and Enphase Energy (US) are strategically positioning themselves through innovation and regional expansion. First Solar (US) focuses on advanced thin-film technology, which enhances efficiency and reduces costs, while Trina Solar (CN) emphasizes large-scale solar projects and international partnerships to bolster its market presence. Enphase Energy (US) is leveraging its expertise in microinverter technology to enhance system performance, indicating a trend towards specialization in product offerings that cater to specific market needs.
The competitive structure of the Solar Photovoltaic System Market appears moderately fragmented, with numerous players vying for market share. Companies are increasingly localizing manufacturing to mitigate supply chain disruptions and optimize logistics. This tactic not only enhances operational efficiency but also aligns with regional sustainability goals, thereby appealing to environmentally conscious consumers. The collective influence of these key players shapes a competitive environment where innovation and operational agility are paramount.
In August 2025, First Solar (US) announced a significant expansion of its manufacturing capacity in the United States, aiming to produce 10 GW of solar panels annually by 2026. This strategic move is likely to enhance its competitive edge by reducing reliance on overseas supply chains and responding to the growing demand for domestically produced solar technology. Such an initiative underscores the importance of local manufacturing in achieving energy independence and sustainability goals.
In September 2025, Trina Solar (CN) launched a new line of high-efficiency solar modules designed for residential applications, which could potentially capture a larger share of the growing residential market. This product innovation reflects a strategic pivot towards meeting the specific needs of homeowners, thereby enhancing customer engagement and satisfaction. The introduction of these modules may also position Trina Solar favorably against competitors who have yet to address this segment effectively.
In October 2025, Enphase Energy (US) unveiled a new software platform that integrates AI-driven analytics for solar energy management. This development is indicative of a broader trend towards digitalization within the industry, as companies seek to enhance system performance and user experience. By harnessing AI, Enphase Energy is likely to differentiate itself in a crowded market, offering customers advanced tools for optimizing energy consumption and maximizing savings.
As of October 2025, the Solar Photovoltaic System Market is witnessing a pronounced shift towards digitalization, sustainability, and technological integration. Strategic alliances among key players are increasingly shaping the competitive landscape, fostering innovation and collaborative advancements. The evolution of competitive differentiation appears to be moving away from mere price competition towards a focus on technological innovation, reliability in supply chains, and enhanced customer experiences. This trend suggests that companies that prioritize these aspects will likely emerge as leaders in the market.
Recent developments in the global solar photovoltaic system market indicate a surge in demand for renewable energy solutions. Governments worldwide are implementing supportive policies, including incentives and tax breaks, to promote solar adoption.
Technological advancements, such as the development of high-efficiency solar panels and cost reductions in manufacturing, are making solar energy more accessible and cost-effective. The market is witnessing strategic partnerships and acquisitions among key players to strengthen their market position and expand their product offerings. Ongoing research and development efforts are focused on improving solar cell efficiency, reducing system costs, and enhancing energy storage capabilities. These advancements are expected to drive the growth of the solar photovoltaic system market in the coming years.
In December 2023, Nio, the top producer of electric vehicles, announced a partnership with Longi Solar, an important participant in the global PV market, to furnish its battery swap stations with photovoltaic systems. This cooperative venture is likely to assist in the promotion of sunlight energy utilization in the automotive industry, thereby improving the functionality of Nio’s battery charging facilities. By 2025, the corporation sets a more ambitious target to deploy photovoltaic systems on over 3,000 battery swapping stations with an envisaged cumulative capacity of 300 MW​.
In the year 2023, Microsoft continued its sustainability quest by collaborating with Pivot Energy for up to 500 MW of community-scale solar projects. They are one of the measures taken by Microsoft as part of a more general effort to attain its clean energy targets, including supplying 100% of its data center operations with renewable sources by 2025​.
In June 2023 Starbucks worked together with Nexamp, where they aim to deploy 40 MW of community solar projects in Illinois. This will enable more sources of energy, bettering Starbucks’s operations as well as helping local communities by providing energy credits to more than 1,100 small businesses and residents​.
In June 2024, EcoFlow presented its new hybrid inverter which is called PowerOcean Plus that can support up to 40 kW solar input. Much like its predecessors, the inverter is engineered to serve larger domestic photovoltaic systems which is what the clients need larger and more efficient solar systems​
The Solar Photovoltaic System Market is projected to grow at a 7.84% CAGR from 2025 to 2035, driven by technological advancements, regulatory support, and increasing energy demand.
New opportunities lie in:
By 2035, the market is expected to be robust, driven by innovation and strategic partnerships.
The projected market valuation for the Solar Photovoltaic System Market is 541.34 USD Billion by 2035.
The overall market valuation of the Solar Photovoltaic System Market was 235.94 USD Billion in 2024.
The expected CAGR for the Solar Photovoltaic System Market during the forecast period 2025 – 2035 is 7.84%.
The Mono-Crystalline Silicon technology segment is projected to reach 230.0 USD Billion by 2035.
The Grid-Connected system type is projected to reach 392.0 USD Billion, while the Off-Grid system type is expected to reach 149.34 USD Billion by 2035.
The Utility-Scale application segment is projected to reach 311.34 USD Billion, making it the largest segment by 2035.
The Rooftop mounting type is expected to reach a valuation of 160.0 USD Billion by 2035.
Key players in the Solar Photovoltaic System Market include First Solar, Trina Solar, Canadian Solar, and SunPower, among others.
The Thin-Film Silicon technology segment is projected to reach 70.0 USD Billion by 2035.
The Commercial application segment is projected to reach 70.0 USD Billion, while the Residential segment is expected to reach 100.0 USD Billion by 2035.
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The application covers five total assets in three locations and came after an August 6 earnings call where Evergy CEO David Campbell told investors it was a “priority” for the company to obtain prior approval for new power plants.
The Hutchinson News reported the application covers five total assets in three locations:
● A combined-cycle gas natural gas turbine facility near Frazier in Buchanan County, Missouri, that would be 100% owned by Evergy Kansas Central. It would be called the Buchanan Bluffs Energy Center Unit 1.
● A solar generating facility near Parsons in Labette County, Kansas. There would also be a battery energy storage system, or BESS, near the Parsons solar facility. Both the solar farm and the battery system would be owned 50% by Evergy Kansas Central and 50% by Evergy Kansas Metro. They would be known as the Iron Horse Energy Center and Iron Horse Storage.
● Another solar facility plus another battery system in Barber County, Kansas. They would be owned 100% by Evergy Kansas Central. They would be known as Pixley II Hybrid and Pixley Energy Storage.
As the newspaper stated, “The case before the KCC allows regulators to predetermine ratemaking principles, which could allow Evergy to charge higher electric rates during the construction process to pay for the construction. The process was established by lawmakers and the governor in 2024 after Evergy argued it would ultimately save customers money on financing and interest costs. Filings indicate Evergy wants the natural gas plant to follow that process, having customers pay a construction work in progress rider on their electric bills until the investment is incorporated into base rates. Evergy already has CWIP rider approved for two other gas plants that are being built. Ron Klote, the senior director of regulatory affairs, said the estimated impact of the gas plant CWIP rider on customer bills would be between 1.22% and 4.85% compared to current rates. When the power plant goes into service, Klote said, the “all-in bill impact” is estimated to be 8.93%.”
 
Jerry Bohnen is the founder and creator of OK Energy Today, which began in 2012. He is an Edward R. Murrow Investigative award winner and has been recognized by other national, regional and state institutions during his 50 years as a broadcast journalist. Contact Jerry at editor@okenergytoday.com
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Nature Communications volume 17, Article number: 6070 (2026) Cite this article
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The formation and evolution of the Solar System’s two major comet reservoirs, the Oort Cloud and the Scattered Disk, remain poorly constrained. Observations of comet flux imply a population ratio between these reservoirs that exceeds predictions from models of giant planet instability by more than two orders of magnitude. A major source of uncertainty lies in determining comet sizes, as the nucleus is often obscured by the surrounding coma. Here we derive independent nucleus sizes for 28 comets by activity modeling with artificial intelligence to infer sizes directly from variations in water emission. We find that long-period comets possess significantly larger nuclei than short-period comets with comparable absolute brightness. Our results indicate that the Oort Cloud is nearly three orders of magnitude more populated than the Scattered Disk, implying that processes such as stellar flybys could have played an important role in shaping the outer Solar System.
Our knowledge of the extent and structure of the Solar System beyond Neptune remains incomplete, primarily due to the observational challenges posed by its vast distance and the faintness of its constituents^1,2. The architecture of that remote region is conventionally inferred from the observed fluxes of various types of comets^3,4. Long-period comets (LPCs)–which approach the inner Solar System from nearly isotropic directions and have orbital periods exceeding 200 years–are believed to originate from the distant, spherical Oort Cloud (OC)⁵. Short-period comets (SPCs), particularly Jupiter-family comets (JFCs), are dynamically linked to the Scattered Disk (SD), a region consisting of Trans-Neptunian Objects with high eccentricity and inclinations⁶.
It is widely accepted that the present-day OC and SD were populated during the phase of giant planet instability in the early Solar System (see Nesvorný⁷ and references therein). Primordial planetesimals were dispersed primarily due to the migration of the giant planets, particularly the outward movement of Neptune^2,4. Numerical simulations stated that  < 1% of the objects in the outer protoplanetary disk were implanted into the SD, and up to about 5% into OC, yielding an OC/SD population ratio of approximately 5–20^2,4,8,9. However, this theoretical ratio is two to three orders of magnitude lower than that inferred from the observed comet flux. Observational data suggest that roughly 3–7 dynamically new LPCs per year have absolute magnitudes brighter than about 11 and perihelion distances less than 4 au^10,11,12, implying an OC population of 7−8 × 10^{11 13}. Estimates of the SD population, based primarily on the observed population of JFCs, are more uncertain due to the so-called “fading” problem^14,15. As a result, the prediction of SD population ranges broadly from 4.4 × 10⁸ to 6 × 10⁹ (see Kaib & Volk⁴ and references therein), leading to an OC/SD population ratio of approximately 100–2000.
Efforts have been made on both fronts to reconcile this discrepancy. From the modeling perspective, recent works incorporate interactions between planetesimals and the early solar nebula, as well as perturbations from stellar encounters in the Sun’s birth cluster, offering a more comprehensive picture of outer Solar System evolution^8,16,17,18. Meanwhile, observational interpretations have been revisited on the relationship between comet flux and the inferred populations of the OC and SD, for which a central issue is the poorly constrained sizes of cometary nuclei^4,9,19.
Determining the sizes of comets poses significant challenges due to their extreme faintness during inactive phases and the obscuration caused by dust comae during periods of activity^20,21,22,23. Existing methods include photometric techniques, infrared and thermal modeling, dynamical analysis, and direct imaging (a comprehensive review of these methodologies can be found in the literature^21,23). Photometric and infrared analyses are most widely applied. However, as most comets are observed in the active phase, both approaches face the challenge of subtracting signals from the dust coma. The contamination of residual coma, together with unconstrained surface albedo, could lead to large uncertainties in the estimated nucleus size²⁴. Dynamical modeling, which reconstructs the observed non-gravitational forces exerting on the comet by its gas emission, is less sensitive to coma-related uncertainties but is influenced by the diverse and often poorly understood activity patterns of individual comets²⁴. Direct spacecraft imaging provides the most accurate measurements of cometary nuclei, yet its applicability remains limited to the small number of comets that have been visited by space missions.
The European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission, which conducted an in-depth investigation of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P) over more than two years, has significantly advanced our understanding of cometary activity^25,26,27. A key discovery was the ubiquitous presence of water ice in the shallow subsurface of the nucleus²⁵, giving rise to the release of water vapor controlled by insolation^26,27,28. Nucleus thermophysical models could reproduce 67P’s time-varying water production rates by optimizing physical properties of the nucleus^29,30. This modeling approach inherently avoids complications associated with dust coma, and could be in principle applied to any comet with reliable measurements of water production rates. However, producing complete water production profiles with sophisticated thermophysical models and vast parameter spaces remains computationally intensive–particularly for comets with limited prior information.
Recent advancements in deep learning (DL) offer promising solutions to the computational bottleneck encountered by traditional numerical approaches^{31,32,33,34,35,36,37}. Leveraging the deep operator neural network (DeepONet)³⁸, we developed ThermoONet–a DL-based thermophysical modeling tool for small bodies^39,40. Similar to conventional numerical methods, ThermoONet predicts the temperature at the subsurface ice front of a comet, which governs the sublimation rate of water ice. However, it achieves this with computational speeds several orders of magnitude faster than traditional models⁴⁰. This substantial performance advantage enables integration with computationally intensive global optimization techniques, such as simulated annealing (SA), to infer time-dependent water production rates and constrain key physical parameters, including nucleus size.
In this study, we utilize a unique dataset of water production curves (hereafter “water curves”) derived from Lyman-α observations by the Solar Wind ANisotropies (SWAN) ultraviolet spectrometer aboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)^41,42. SWAN’s all-sky coverage and consistent observational cadence have enabled continuous monitoring of comets throughout their perihelion passages, providing water curves for over sixty comets spanning nearly three decades^43,44. By applying ThermoONet to these water curves, we derive independent estimates of nucleus sizes across a diverse population of comets, which lead to updated estimates on the population of cometary reservoirs. We find that the Oort Cloud is significantly more populated than the Scattered Disk by almost three orders of magnitude, indicating that various dynamical processes could have contributed to shaping the architecture of our Solar System.
We analyzed water curves for a total of 28 comets: 26 derived from SWAN observations^45,46, and two–comet 1P/Halley and 67P–were derived from earlier HI Lyman-α observations⁴⁷ and in situ Rosetta/ROSINA measurements⁴⁸, respectively. This sample includes 7 SPCs, comprising 5 JFCs and 2 Halley-type comets (HTCs), as well as 21 LPCs that are further categorized as Old Long-period (OL), Young Long-period (YL), and Dynamically New (DN) comets, following the classification scheme in A’Hearn et al.⁴⁹.
We applied the ThermoONet-based fitting procedure to retrieve physical parameters of the nucleus that best reproduce the observed water curve (see “Methods”). To ensure the robustness of the derived size estimates, we further employed a post-optimization perturbation strategy (see “Methods”). Figure 1 displays the measured water curves of all 28 comets alongside the corresponding fits, and Fig. 2 shows the distribution of size estimation resulting from the perturbation analysis. The mean values (μ) of each distribution is adopted as the best-fit nucleus diameter, with the 1 − σ standard deviation representing the uncertainty, which is about 17% on average. Dynamical and physical properties of the comets and fitting results of their sizes are listed in Table 1.
Water production rates are shown as black points for HI Lyman-α measurements obtained by SOHO/SWAN^45,46, and by IUE for 1P/Halley⁴⁷. The water production rates of 67P, shown as rectangles, were obtained by Rosetta/ROSINA⁴⁸. The error bars indicate observational uncertainties reported in the original literature. For each comet, the red curve represents the best-fit water curve after global optimization of nucleus parameters, while the pink bands indicate solutions with a mean absolute percentage error below approximately 30%, obtained through random perturbations of the optimized solution. The vertical dashed line indicates the perihelion epoch of the corresponding comet. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.
Blue histogram bars represent probability densities across different diameter intervals for approximately 400 samples per comet, with the red dashed curves as the fitted normal distribution. The pink vertical line ithe mean value adopted as the effective diameter of the nucleus for the corresponding comet, and black vertical dashed lines indicate the 1-σ confidence interval adopted as the error bar. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.
We compare size estimates for six comets, four SPCs and two LPCs, derived using various data sources and methods (Table 2). For the SPCs, which were all spacecraft mission targets, we consider direct imaging results as ground truth, and found size estimates by water curve fitting achieve a mean relative error of about 20% with respect to the actual size (Fig. 3). Since no LPC has yet been visited by a spacecraft, most reliable estimates of their nucleus sizes are inferred from extremely distant observations, for example the observation of comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) at 32 au⁵⁰. Using this benchmark, water curve fitting yielded a relative error of about 8%. Dynamical analyses provide reasonable size estimates for SPCs, but exhibit larger errors when applied to LPCs, likely due to the difficulty in accurately constraining the non-gravitational effects of LPCs with limited astrometric data^51,52.
Color coding corresponds to individual comets, and symbol notation distinguishes different estimation techniques as listed at the top of the figure. The error bars indicate the uncertainties of the estimations as stated in Table 2. References of the data points are listed in Table 2. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.
A widely accepted theory posits that LPCs are intrinsically more active than SPCs due to their more “primitive” nature⁹. Consequently, an LPC with the same absolute magnitude as an SPC is expected to have a smaller nucleus^{3,4,9,53,54,55}. We re-examine this hypothesis in light of the updated size estimation. Unlike asteroids, a comet’s absolute magnitude–defined as its apparent magnitude when located at one au from both the Sun and the Earth–reflects the combined brightness of its nucleus and coma, and is therefore dependent on its activity level^56,57. To ensure consistency throughout our analysis, we adopt the absolute magnitude values reported in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Small-Body Database (https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html).
The majority of LPCs in our sample have effective diameters in the range of 4 to 20 km, whereas most SPCs have diameters between 1.5 to 5 km (Fig. 4). The largest LPC is C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp), with a diameter of 68.13 ± 10.42 km, while the largest SPC is 1P/Halley, with a diameter of 11.64 ± 2.13 km. To investigate the potential systematic size differences between LPCs and SPCs, we incorporated additional size estimates from Bauer et al.¹² and Knight et al.²³, and compared the average diameters of LPCs and SPCs within equivalent intervals of absolute magnitude. As shown by the green bars in Fig. 4, all LPC/SPC size ratios, except the one in the 11–11.5 magnitude bin, are greater than one, indicating that, on average, LPCs possess larger nuclei than SPCs of the same absolute magnitude over a broad range of brightness between 4 to 13. This result contradicts the prevailing expectation that LPCs should have smaller nuclei than equally bright SPCs.
Absolute magnitudes are sourced from the JPL Small-Body Database. Data for LPC with absolute magnitudes larger than 14 are excluded to avoid observational biases. Filled circles with error bars represent water curve fitting results. Triangles denote data complied by Knight et al.²³, and squares denote data estimated by Bauer et al.¹². Red symbols represent LPC and blue symbols represent SPC. The error bars of the filled circles represent the 1-σ confidence intervals of the size inversion results reported in Table 1. All other error bars are adopted from the corresponding literature. Light green bars (referenced to the right y-axis) show the ratio between the average effective diameter of all LPC and all SPC within each absolute magnitude bin of 0.5 magnitude. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.
We subsequently derived updated correlations between the absolute magnitudes and effective diameters using newly estimated nucleus sizes. For LPCs, we find a relationship of
where H_T is the JPL absolute total magnitude and D_LPC the effective diameter in kilometers (Fig. 5a). Compared to previous correlations found based on non-gravitational effect analyses⁵³, our updated relationship predicts larger nuclei for the same absolute magnitude. We also note that DN comets and YL comets follow a more confined linear trend than OL comets, possibly reflecting enhanced erosion of OL over repeated perihelion passages. We did not classify 1P/Halley and 55P/Tempel-Tuttle as OC objects because HTCs may originate from both SD⁵⁸ and OC⁵⁹, and the grouping has limited impact on the statistics (Supplementary Fig. 1).
a Linear correlations between absolute magnitudes and effective diameters of LPCs. The color coding of the filled circles represents water-curve-fitted sizes of subgroups of LPCs: red for DN comets, green for YL comets, and blue for OL comets. The black dashed line shows the linear fit. The pink bands, ranging from dark to light, indicate the 1-σ to 3-σ confidence intervals for this fit. Beige triangles indicate results from Sosa and Fernández⁵³ (corresponding to JPL absolute magnitudes), with the dashed line being the linear fit of their data. b Linear correlations between absolute magnitudes and effective diameters of SPCs. Green circles represent HTCs, and blue circles represent JFCs. All other follow the conventions described for Panel a. The error bars in Panels (a, b) indicate uncertainties of the estimated size as reported in Table 1. c Dependence of the OC/SD population ratio on the slope and intercept of the linear relationship between absolute magnitude and effective diameter of LPCs. The black dashed line denotes the contour derived from the direct simulation result of the Nice model⁹. The purple asterisk denotes the ratio estimated by Brasser and Morbidelli⁹ based on the linear relationship derived by Sosa and Fernández⁵³. The red asterisk denotes the ratio derived in this work. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.
The D–H_T distribution for SPCs shows greater scatter, likely due to their more evolved nuclei (Fig. 5b). To provide a direct and intuitive comparison with D–H_T of LPCs, we also fit their correlation of
The SPC regression line exhibits a shallower slope and lower intercept than that of LPCs, consistent with the trend observed in our statistical comparison of their nucleus sizes (Fig. 4). Interestingly, for comet 81P/Wild, which has a JPL absolute magnitude of 9.8, this correlation yields a diameter of 4.7 km, closely matching the space mission-derived value of 4.17 km⁶⁰.
Assuming similar size-frequency distribution (SFD) slopes for LPCs and SPCs with diameters exceeding 1 km⁶¹, the population ratio between OC and SD can be inferred from the parameters of the D_LPC − H_T relationship (see “Methods”). By applying our newly derived D_LPC − H_T correlation, we estimate a revised OC/SD population ratio of (99{8}_{-794}^{+2045}) (Fig. 5c).
This ratio, approaching three orders of magnitude, confirms that OC is significantly more populated than SD, substantiating the long-standing discrepancy between OC and SD population estimates derived from comet flux observations and formation models^4,9. It naturally results in a more massive OC than previous estimations, as larger nuclei are inferred with the same magnitude. This suggests that mechanisms beyond giant planet migration may be required to account for the populating of the OC, and/or possibly depopulating of the SD.
The influence of the Sun’s birth cluster has been suggested as a mechanism that could significantly alter the populations of both the OC and SD^8,16,62,63. More recently, stellar flyby events have gained attention as a plausible explanation for the orbital distributions of Sedna-like objects, high-inclination trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs), and cold classical Kuiper Belt objects¹⁸. To investigate the potential impact of such stellar encounters on OC and SD formation, we constructed a toy model using similar parameters as the stellar flyby event proposed by Pfalzner et al.¹⁸. By integrating the trajectories of 10⁵ massless test particles initially distributed between 100 and 500 au (see “Methods”), we find that such a flyby could efficiently disperse the initial disk with only approximately 40% of the particles remaining gravitationally bound to the Sun 100 kyr after the encounter. Intriguingly, a substantial fraction (about 30%) of the remaining bound particles subjected to significant gravitational perturbations are excited to large semi-major axes (lower right section of Fig. 6), shown as particles orbiting along large elliptical trajectories in the animation (Supplementary Movie 1). These particles are likely to become part of the OC under the influence of Galactic tides and stochastic stellar perturbations^3,19. Approximately 60% of the particles were scattered into hyperbolic trajectories and escaped the Solar System, shown in the animation as particles flying out of the field of view at high speed. They have, in general, high inclinations due to the inclined flyby trajectory of the star. If such a flyby event happens early when the Sun was still in its birth cluster⁶⁴, it could have created a heterogeneous initial distribution of OC and SD objects, setting the stage for subsequent planet migration to reshape them further. Conversely, a flyby occurring after giant planet migration may have transferred some SD objects into the OC, thereby amplifying the OC/SD ratio.
Dots represent the distribution of semi-major axes and eccentricities for the massless model particles after 10 kyr of the flyby, with colors indicating their orbital inclinations. Particles with eccentricities larger than one (denoted by the horizontal dashed line) are considered escaped. The ratio between the number of particles escaped and bounded is approximately 3:2. The region on the right side of the vertical dashed line denotes the classical Oort cloud. An animation of the flyby event is displayed in Supplementary Movie 1. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.
Comets are not only key to understanding the primordial conditions of the Solar System but also serve as critical tracers of the dynamical processes that occurred during planetary system formation. However, gaining insights from comets hinges on accurately determining their physical properties, particularly their nucleus sizes. Recent advancements in deep learning, as demonstrated in this study, have enabled an alternative and efficient approach for independently estimating nucleus sizes from cometary water production curves.
Despite this progress, the number of comets with continuous water production rate measurements remains limited, particularly for those with large perihelia. Expanding these observational datasets is essential to reduce selection biases and to derive a statistically more robust relationship between absolute magnitude and effective diameter. To date, spacecraft explorations have exclusively visited SPCs. Observations of LPCs, especially for their activity patterns and direct size measurements, remain a critical knowledge gap. The upcoming ESA Comet Interceptor mission is expected to help address this need by providing the first in situ observations of a dynamically new LPC⁶⁵.
As a close stellar flyby offers a compelling explanation for the high OC/SD population ratio, its actual impact depends on the detailed configuration. Determining the precise timing, geometry, and influence of such an event needs further investigation.
Additionally, recent results from Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) observations have shown that primordial protoplanetary disks are often far from uniform⁶⁶. Many exhibit irregular density distributions and concentric ring-like substructures. Such complexities in the initial mass distribution of planetesimals can significantly influence their dynamical response to perturbations, including planetary migration and stellar encounters⁶⁷. Thus, adjusting assumptions about the primordial architecture of the Solar System’s protoplanetary disk may also strongly affect the resulting OC/SD population ratio. A more comprehensive understanding of the Solar System’s early evolution requires the synthesis of nuanced dynamical models with refined observational evidence.
We model the cometary water outgassing in the framework of the so-called “dust mantle” model for cometary water activity, where the cometary nucleus is treated as a thin desiccated mantle overlying the dust-ice mixture⁶⁸. Assuming the thickness of the dust mantle is X, the energy balance at the interface between the dust mantle and dust-ice mixture can be expressed as^40,68,69:
The temperature T at the interface is determined by the solar irradiation on the surface of the nucleus, based on the law of energy conservation along with the longitudinal heat conduction^28,68. κ_d, κ_m respectively correspond to the thermal conductivity of the dust mantle and dust-ice mixture. l is the latent heat of water ice, and Z_(X) is the mass flux of sublimation determined by^68,70
where f is called the icy area fraction and represents the microscopic areal abundance of water ice at given depth within the dust-ice mixture. f will enter inside the thermal equilibrium calculation, influencing the temperature at the sublimation front in a nonlinear way. Ψ is a reduction factor determining the permeability of the dust mantle to gas flow and is determined by 1/(1 + pH)^68,71, with a constant coefficient p and H = X/d related to the diameter d of the spherical dust aggregates forming the dust mantle⁷². Z^H−K(T) is the Hertz-Knudsen formula, describing the sublimation flux from the surface of pure solid ice into vacuum^71,73,
where (widehat{m}) is the mass of a water molecule, and k_B is the Boltzmann constant. P_V(T) is the saturation vapor pressure. α(T) is the sublimation coefficient, representing the reduction in sublimation flux due to the reattachment of gas molecules to the ice surface after impacting with each other. They are respectively evaluated as^71,73,74,75
with a, b, c₀, c₁, c₂, c₃ constants⁶⁸.
ThermoONet, the DL-based comet thermophysical modeling tool, was developed to approximate the above thermophysical process⁴⁰. It retrieves an accuracy of T_(X) better than 95% compared to traditional numerical approaches, while reduces simulation time by nearly six orders of magnitude⁴⁰. Each iteration of the global optimization requires a full thermophysical simulation of the water production rate, which involves solving the heat conduction equation for every facet at all orbital phases. A single solve of global temperature takes about 10⁴ s using traditional finite-difference methods, but only 10⁻² s with ThermoONet. As a result, a full SA inversion, which would formerly require months of CPU time, can now be completed in a matter of minutes within our ThermoONet-based framework.
The leap in computation efficiency enables ThermoONet to reproduce the water curve of a comet with an irregular shape, as well as the exploration of a large and high-dimensional parameter space.
For a nucleus represented as a polyhedron with k facets, its water outgassing rate n_Z(t₀) at time t₀ could be expressed as the total global outgassing rate averaged over one spin period P, starting from t₀:
where Z_k, S_k indicate the sublimation flux and the area of the k-th facet.
In this sense, the size of the nucleus can be treated as an independent scaling factor for a normalized water curve. However, it is essential to first assess the influence of other model parameters to avoid the potential degeneracy. To this end, we performed benchmark analysis with comet C/2001 Q4 (Neat) and C/2012 F6 (Lemmon), focusing on the influence of the key parameters shaping the water curve, including the icy area fraction f, the thickness of dust mantle X, thermal conductivity κ, a composite parameter p_s (defined as the square root of the product of density ρ, specific heat capacity C, and rotational angular velocity ω), the obliquity of spin axis β, and the nucleus effective diameter d_n. To isolate the effects of each parameter, we apply the control variate method by oscillating a certain parameter while fixing the others. The results demonstrate that the size of the nucleus only controls the overall intensity of the water emission and has no effect on the shape of the water curve. On the contrary, other parameters do not contribute significantly to the level of production rate compared to the size, but mainly alter its trend (Fig. 7). Therefore, as long as the highly nonlinear shape of the water curve is fitted by optimizing these parameters, we could retrieve the size of the nucleus simply as a scaling factor.
Column (a) Results based on the orbital parameters of C/2001 Q4. Column (b) Results based on the orbital parameters of C/2012 F6. The first row shows the influence of the icy area fraction of 1% (black), 5% (red), and 10% (blue). The second row shows the influence of dust mantle thickness of 5 mm (black), 8 mm (red), 10 mm (blue). The third row shows the influence of thermal conductivity (in W m⁻¹ K) corresponding to 0.002 (black), 0.004 (red), and 0.007 (blue). The fourth row shows the influence of a combined parameter p_s (defined in Zhao et al.⁴⁰) of 5 (black), 10 (red), 15 (blue). The fifth row shows the influence by the obliquity of the spin axis of 20^∘ (black), 50^∘ (red), and 80^∘ (blue). And the last row shows the influence of the effective diameter, corresponding to 1.52 km (black), 7.63 (red), and 15.26 km (blue). The vertical dashed lines indicate times of perihelia. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.
The influence of icy area fraction f on the slope of the water curve is a noteworthy phenomenon, for which we provide a concise explanation. A lower f reduces the energy consumed by sublimation, resulting in a higher equilibrium temperature at the ice front under the same insolation. Since the Hertz-Knudsen sublimation rate depends exponentially on temperature, a given temperature increase (e.g., 20 K) causes a more substantial rise in the sublimation rate at higher temperature ranges (e.g., 200 K to 220 K) than at lower ones (e.g., 160 K to 180 K). Consequently, a lower f leads to a steeper increase in water production as the comet approaches the Sun, thereby altering the slope of the curve, the behavior clearly illustrated in Fig. 7(first row).
We initialize our inversion by constructing the nucleus as a normalized tri-axial ellipsoid with semi-axes (a_n, b_n, c_n) where a_n = 1 km. The actual axial ratios are applied for those comets with measured shape. Statistical investigations of light curves have demonstrated that the axial ratios of most comets distribute between 1 and 2, with a median value of 1.5^21,23,76. In our previous work on comet 21P⁴⁰, we showed that the axial ratio has a negligible impact on insolation received and the resultant water production rate per unit area, unless it arrives at an extremely large value (i.e.,  > 4). The axial ratio primarily affects the results through its determination of the surface area and volume of the ellipsoid. We quantify the effect on diameter estimation by comparing results for different axial ratios while holding the semi-major axis constant at 1 km and the observed-to-modeled water production ratio at unity (Eq. (9)). The derived diameters are respectively 0.55 km, 0.56 km, and 0.54 km for axial ratios of 1.5, 1 (sphere), and 2. This narrow range of values demonstrates that the assumed shape has only a minor effect on the estimated diameter for typical cometary shapes. Therefore, for comets with unknown axial ratios, we model their nuclei as a spheroid with an axial ratio of 1.5.
We adopt the Simulated Annealing (SA) global optimization scheme⁷⁷ to find the parameters that reproduce the overall normalized water production curves. The algorithm proceeds as follows: It starts with an initial set of parameters. At each step, it proposes a new set of parameters by randomly perturbing the current set. If the new parameters yield a better fit, they are always accepted. Critically, if they yield a worse fit, they can still be accepted with a probability that depends on the current fitting quality and the level of increase in the misfit. This controlled acceptance of worse solutions allows the algorithm to escape from local minima in the parameter space. The misfit is gradually decreased according to a predefined schedule, and the process converges towards a set of parameters corresponding to a global optimum.
Twelve variables are fitted through the procedure, including f, X(x₁, x₂, x₃, x₄, x₅), κ_d, κ_m, p_s, the spin axis orientation (RA, Dec) and the effective diameter d_n. For comets with measured spin axis orientation, RA and Dec are excluded from the fitting. Investigations of 67P by Rosetta have revealed that comets possess extremely low thermal conductivity⁷⁸. Low thermal conductivity of comets is also predicted by recent works on comet formation and evolution via pebble accretion^24,79,80. Therefore, we set an upper limit of κ as 0.01 W m⁻¹K⁻¹.
Based on the aforementioned sensitivity analysis for parameters, we decouple d_n from the rest of the variables, reserving it as a scaling factor of the water production rate, while optimizing the other five or seven parameters to reproduce the trend of the curve.
Rosetta observations of comet 67P have demonstrated a varying dust mantle thickness through its perihelion passage, thinning on the inbound and thickening on the outbound^81,82. We include this dynamic behavior into our SA optimization by formulating X as a heliocentric distance r-dependent variable with monotonic reduction before peaking of the water activity, followed by a gradual recovery. Based on the spectral slope analysis by Filacchione et al.⁸², we model the thickness of dust mantle X as a piece-wise function:
where ∣*∣₀₋₁ denotes normalization to the [0, 1] interval. Parameters x₃, x₄, x₅ respectively represent the dust mantle thicknesses corresponding to three critical phases of the observed water production rate curve: initiation (t₀), termination (t_end), and peak (t_p). The functional dependence on x₁ and x₂ exhibits a positive correlation with system nonlinearity, where increasing parameter values correlate with enhanced nonlinear behavior. The five-dimensional parameter set (x₁, x₂, x₃, x₄, x₅) is explicitly incorporated into the SA framework as the mathematical parameterization of the crucial variations on the surface dust.
Optimal fitting is achieved by minimizing the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) between the observed and reconstructed curves, both normalized: ({{{boldsymbol{W}}}}_{o}/{W}_{o,max }) and ({{{boldsymbol{W}}}}_{f}/{W}_{f,max }). Here W_o denotes the observed curve with its maximum value of ({W}_{o,max }), and W_f is the corresponding fitted curve derived from SA and ThermoONet with its maximum of W_f,max. The effective nucleus diameter D is subsequently calculated as
To address potential over-fitting issues arising from the high-dimensional parameter space and the broad distribution of observational data, we implement a post-annealing perturbation strategy. Following the completion of SA, we generate normally distributed random sampling points centered on the optimized parameter set while maintaining a relatively large parameter space. Water curves are produced with these perturbed parameter combinations. We then select all curves exhibiting MAPE below approximately 30% relative to the observed curve, perform size inversion and retrieve a distribution of estimated sizes. For each comet, we analyse approximately 400 qualified parameter sets to establish size distribution statistics. The resulting distributions followed normal distributions, from which the mean values combined with 1-σ confidence intervals (encompassing 68.27% of the data) are adopted as the final size estimates with corresponding uncertainties (Fig. 2).
SPCs experience mass loss during repeated perihelion passages. To assess the extent of erosion they underwent and its impact on the estimate of the OC/SD ratio, we introduce an indicator of erosion probability factor. The precise timing of an SPC into its current orbit remains largely unknown, and constructing accurate physical models for cometary mass loss presents significant challenges, making it difficult to precisely quantify mass loss for individual comets. However, we can perform a statistical analysis at a probabilistic level based on their current orbit configurations. Specifically, we combine the Hertz-Knudsen formula (Eq. (5)) with the characteristic temperature of the comet at different orbital phases to qualitatively assess the total amount of erosion over one complete orbital period. The erosion probability factor of the comet is defined as the average erosion over the orbit, obtained by dividing the total erosion by the comet’s orbital period. Statistical analysis between this erosion probability factor and cometary magnitude reveals a general trend (Supplementary Fig. 2). Comets with smaller magnitudes tend to have lower erosion probability factors, implying a lower probability for them to have undergone severe erosion. Based on the relationship between the erosion probability factor and magnitude, we can infer that currently observed JFCs larger than 10 km, those we use for inferring the OC/SD ratio, have statistically experienced relatively limited erosion. Therefore, from a statistical perspective, we propose that the current sizes of these objects can reasonably represent their primordial sizes within the SD.
By integrating comet observations^56,83, the flux of new LPCs with absolute magnitudes  < 6.5 is estimated to be (0.7{6}_{-0.33}^{+0.33}) per year⁹. Combined with the absolute magnitude-size linear relationship proposed by Sosa and Fernández⁵³ and the average fraction of OC reported by Kaib and Quinn¹³, it was predicted that the number of OC objects with nuclei  > 2.3 km was (7.{6}_{-3.3}^{+3.3}times 1{0}^{10})⁹. To revise this estimation, we need to first reassess the linear regression between nucleus sizes from Sosa and Fernández⁵³ and corresponding absolute magnitudes from JPL (the beige dashed line in Fig. 4a). The updated correlation reveals that, according to Sosa and Fernández⁵³, a nucleus size of 2.3 km corresponds to a JPL magnitude of about 10. This critical magnitude translates to a nucleus size of about 10 km according to the updated D_LPC − H_T found in our study. Therefore, based on the estimation by Brasser et al.⁹, there should be (7.{6}_{-3.3}^{+3.3}times 1{0}^{10}) OC objects exceeding 10 km in diameter. The possible higher new LPC influx found by Fouchard et al.¹¹ as well as inactive OC objects detected by Meech et al.⁸⁴ indicate a potentially larger number.
Based on a sample of (11{7}_{-50}^{+50}) visible JFCs with nuclei  > 2 km⁸⁵, and a cumulative JFC size-frequency distribution N(N > D) ∝ D^{−2 86,87,88}, a model connecting the population of SD with JFCs was established⁹, indicating that there are (1.{7}_{-0.9}^{+3}times 1{0}^{9}) SD objects with diameters  > 2.3 km. Above calculations of OC population have revised the nucleus size constraint for LPCs, the minimum nuclear diameter is 10 km, and the size cutoff for JFCs should also be updated. Utilizing the same size distribution of JFC and starting from the count of SD objects with diameters greater than 2.3 km, we estimate that the population of SD objects with nucleus diameter  > 10 km through standard scaling is (7.{6}_{-4}^{+13}times 1{0}^{7}). Given the similar slope of the size-frequency distribution for LPCs and SPCs with diameters exceeding 1 km⁶¹, the OC/SD population ratio is larger than (99{8}_{-794}^{+2045}).
Considering the uncertainties inherent in the determination of cometary absolute magnitudes due to their model-dependent nature, and to underscore the importance of employing a self-consistent photometric model, we have supplemented our analysis with an independent assessment of the comet size-magnitude relationship and the derived OC/SD ratio using the MPC (Minor Planet Center) database. This procedure was conducted in a manner consistent with that used for the JPL database. Our results are presented in the Supplementary Fig. 3. Based on the cometary nuclear size from⁵³, a nucleus of 2.3 km corresponds to an MPC magnitude of approximately 8. Applying this magnitude to our revised relationship yields an estimated LPC size of about 9 km, which is comparable to about 10 km derived from the JPL data. Furthermore, we calculated an OC/SD population ratio of 715 under the MPC photometric model, a value that differences less than 30% with the result of 998 obtained using the JPL model.
One recent work demonstrated that a stellar flyby involving a (0.{8}_{-0.1}^{+0.1}) solar mass perturber with closest encounter distance at (11{0}_{-10}^{+10}) au and an inclination of ({7{0}^{circ }}_{-10}^{+5}) can adequately explain the dynamical evolution of Sedna-like TNOs, high-inclination TNOs, and cold Kuiper Belt objects¹⁸. We adopt a similar scenario to investigate the simultaneous effects of this stellar flyby on the more distant disk objects. We initiate the outer debris disk as a nearly circular thin annulus, regardless of whether it originated from nebular evolution or emerged through the giant planet migration process. Based on the typical sizes of protoplanetary and debris disks of 100–500 au^18,89,90, and the size of the scattering disk from giant planet migration^3,4,19, we set the initial annulus to have a size of 100–500 au.
The initial disk consists 10⁵ massless particles with semi-major axes sampled between 100–500 au, following a radially decreasing density, and eccentricities uniformly sampled between 0–0.1, inclinations uniformly sampled between 0–5^∘, and other angular elements (longitude of ascending node, argument of perihelion, eccentric anomaly) uniformly sampled across their full value ranges. Each particle is propagated in the framework of a three-body problem during the stellar encounter with the Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg 7(8) (RKF78) adaptive integration scheme, neglecting the interparticle interactions. To capture both pre-encounter orbital configurations and post-encounter dynamical evolution, the simulation time extends from 10 kyr before to 100 kyr after the stellar closest encounter. Following the simulation, particles escaping the solar gravitational influence are excluded based on their orbital elements. After 100 kyr, the flyby star has receded to a considerable distance, leaving the remaining particles in Keplerian orbits around the Sun. The current simulation omits the subsequent long-term dynamical evolution, since the main goal is to get a qualitative idea of the OC populating efficiency by a stellar flyby. It is foreseeable that during subsequent evolution, perturbations from distant stars would replenish some inner Oort cloud objects into the outer Oort cloud region^91,92. Combined with Galactic tidal effects, the spatial distribution would become isotropic^3,19.
All data supporting the findings of this study are publicly available. The SOHO/SWAN comet water production rate data that support the findings of this study are available in the NASA PDS small body node with the identifier: https://doi.org/10.26007/8716-yz09⁴⁴. The Rosetta-derived water production rate data of comet 67P are available in Läuter et al. 2020⁴⁸. The water production rate data of comet Halley are available in Combi et al. 1993⁴⁷. Source data are provided with this paper.
The AI-empowered small body thermophysical model is available at: https://github.com/zsjnb7/ThermoONet-Comet.
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The authors gratefully acknowledge Dr. Michael R. Combi and his team for their dedicated efforts in deriving and curating the invaluable SOHO/SWAN cometary water production rates collection. S.J.Z thanks Dr. Liu Tao for helpful discussions about the Oort Cloud. This work is financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 12233003, 12573063).
School of Astronomy and Space Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
Shunjing Zhao & Hanlun Lei
Key Laboratory of Modern Astronomy and Astrophysics in Ministry of Education, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
Shunjing Zhao & Hanlun Lei
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
Shunjing Zhao, Xian Shi, Man-To Hui & Jianchun Shi
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X.S. conceived and designed the study. S.J.Z. performed thermophysical modeling, size estimation, and dynamical simulations. S.J.Z. and X.S. drafted the manuscript. H.L.L., M.T.H., and J.C.S. contributed to the interpretation of the results and revising the manuscript.
Correspondence to Xian Shi or Hanlun Lei.
The authors declare no competing interests.
Nature Communications thanks Hai Jiang, Nalin H. Samarasinha and the other anonymous reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. A peer review file is available.
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Zhao, S., Shi, X., Lei, H. et al. Deep learning-enabled size estimation of comets indicates a more dynamic early solar system. Nat Commun 17, 6070 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-72646-8
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China Delivers Second 5,000‑Solar‑System Donation to Cuba Amid Energy Crisis  telesurenglish.net
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China’s installed photovoltaic (PV) power capacity surpassed coal-fired power capacity for the first time, making PV the country’s largest power source by installed capacity, the National Energy Administration said Tuesday.
China’s installed PV power capacity reached 1.286 billion kilowatts at the end of July, edging past coal-fired power capacity of 1.285 billion kilowatts, according to the administration.
“This marks a milestone in China’s green and low-carbon energy transition,” said Liu Zhiqiang, an expert from the China Electricity Council, adding that the country’s new power system, with new energy as the mainstay, is taking shape at an accelerated pace.
By the end of July, PV power accounted for more than 30 percent of China’s total installed power generation capacity. Measured by newly added capacity, the share rose to more than 40 percent in the first seven months, underscoring the rapid expansion of the PV sector.
China has built a complete PV industry chain covering research and development, design and integrated manufacturing. Technological advances, including repeated breakthroughs in PV conversion efficiency, have helped drive continuous upgrades and rapid cost reductions.
China’s rapid development of PV power and other forms of new energy is also making a positive contribution globally.
With the world’s largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system, the country supplies more than 80 percent of the PV modules and 70 percent of the wind power equipment around the world, assisting the green transition in many countries.
In particular, amid uncertainties in global supplies of energy and key raw materials, China’s growing new energy capacity helped it meet domestic energy demand while contributing to the stability of global energy markets and supply chains, experts said.

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Coal provided under 50% of the country’s electricity output in the first half of 2026 for the first time on record.
Photo Credit: iStock
In China’s power buildout, solar has now edged past coal on an installed-capacity basis, marking a major milestone for the country’s clean-energy expansion.
The shift is a striking sign of how quickly renewable energy is scaling up.
Using figures from China’s National Energy Administration (NEA), Oilprice.com reported that installed solar capacity reached 1,286 gigawatts by the end of July, pushing it ahead of coal in China.
As of the end of June, China’s solar capacity was 1,274 gigawatts, still narrowly below coal-fired capacity at 1,275 gigawatts. By July 31, solar represented 31.5% of the country’s installed power generation capacity. 
That result had been foreshadowed in July, when Chinese officials said solar could surpass coal. The newest numbers show that point has now been reached.
The milestone reflects installed capacity rather than the amount of electricity actually produced. Coal therefore still has a major role in supplying power across China.
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July data showed coal provided under 50% of the country’s electricity output in the first half of 2026 for the first time on record.
During that period, coal’s share averaged 49.7% of total electricity generation, while renewable electricity generation rose about 9% from a year earlier. Those figures also showed renewables at 41.2% of China’s total electricity generation, with wind and solar together supplying nearly one-quarter of all power output.
Because China plays such a massive role in the global economy, shifts in its energy mix can influence everything from planet-warming pollution to supply chains for solar panels, batteries, and electric vehicles.
Years of heavy investment in renewable energy are now materially changing China’s power mix. On an installed-capacity basis, those efforts have now ended coal’s long-standing lead.
The renewable boom has lost some momentum because of policy changes, while grid bottlenecks and higher coal-fired generation have driven up curtailment rates for solar and wind. China is adding more clean-energy capacity than ever, but it still needs stronger transmission, storage, and grid management to make full use of that power.
The challenge is a familiar one around the world. Building solar farms is only part of the equation; modernizing the grid so electricity can move where it is needed is just as critical.
Renewables are no longer a niche technology. They are increasingly becoming the backbone of major power systems, even in places where coal once seemed untouchable.
China’s solar-over-coal milestone is part of a much bigger shift in its power system. Several factors are altering the energy landscape, including declining coal use, rapid renewable growth, and clean power that still gets wasted when the grid can’t keep up.
• Across China, coal power and emissions fell for the first time in a decade.
• In China, coal contracts stranded 170 TWh even as wind and solar surged.
Adding renewable capacity is one step, but making sure grids and markets can absorb all that power will shape what happens next. That’s now a live question not just in China, but anywhere clean energy is starting to take a larger share of the system.
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The US has become a unique market when it comes to the technology choice for solar PV. The majority of the manufacturing announcements made until late 2025 had PERC as the technology of choice for module or solar cells, but more recently, several manufacturers have either brought online or announced plans to build heterojunction (HJT) manufacturing capacity for solar cells and/or modules.
One of the main reasons for the rise of HJT as the n-type technology of choice in US solar manufacturing is the history of intellectual property issues surrounding TOPCon technology. Over the past couple of years, there has been a flurry of patent infringement cases not only in the US but also in Europe. This was further escalated earlier this year when the US International Trade Commission (ITC) began a Section 337 investigation into TOPCon solar products in the US, following a complaint by US thin-film module manufacturer First Solar.
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However, this year has seen several new announcements focused on heterojunction, with Canadian Solar and SEG Solar among the first to bring online either cell or module capacity for that technology.
This is despite the fact that even in China, the number of companies making HJT has decreased over the years in favour of TOPCon or back contact, as shown earlier this year by Kiwa PVEL’s PV Module Reliability Scorecard. Tristan Erion-Lorico, vice president of sales and marketing at Kiwa PVEL, told PV Tech at the time that there were fewer HJT testings than in previous years.
In the US, the trend is going the opposite direction, as shown from the conversations held at PV ModuleTech USA earlier this year and from recent data from PV Tech Research, which forecasts that HJT cell production capacity could account for around 10% of total US cell production capacity in 2027, as shown in the chart below.
Amongst the companies planning to build new solar cell capacity in the US is Japanese solar cell and module manufacturer Toyo. The company recently announced plans to build HJT capacity in the US with a 1.5GW solar cell nameplate production capacity at its Houston, Texas, manufacturing facility, where it is already producing TOPCon modules with a 1GW annual nameplate capacity that will increase to 2GW in the coming weeks. Another is California-based module manufacturer DYCM, which expects to begin commercial shipments of its first HJT line in Q4 2026.
Rhone Resch, chief strategy officer at Toyo, explains that the HJT solar cell expansion factors in the recent Section 232 tariffs on polysilicon and its derivatives.
“What that proclamation really does is it allows you to bring product in at a reduced tariff level, or maybe tariff-free, if you’re building out capacity in the United States,” says Resch.
Certainly, having an import tariff not only on polysilicon but also on its derivatives helps balance the price of foreign-made cells and modules compared to domestic ones, making HJT technology more financially viable.
Both Resch and DYCM explain that the capital expenditure required for HJT manufacturing is higher, with Resch saying that “we fully expect that to come down”.
For Resch, Section 232 tariffs on polysilicon and its derivatives create a structure that “does support investment into advanced solar technologies”.
He also adds that one of the benefits of having more companies manufacturing HJT cells is improved equipment scalability: “The benefit of having more companies manufacture HJT cells is that the equipment that’s used to produce the cells is going to be manufactured at a much greater scale, and subsequently at a much lower cost.”
However, equipment procurement has been highlighted as one of the main challenges for HJT technology by both SEG Solar and DYCM.
SEG Solar’s CEO Jim Wood highlighted the difficulty of procuring equipment for HJT lines from Chinese suppliers in an interview with PV Tech in July. “I could definitely see companies that didn’t already secure their HJT equipment having issues,” said Wood at the time.
“Securing specialised overseas production gear is increasingly tight as Chinese policymakers weigh advanced technology export curbs on key suppliers such as Suzhou Maxwell Technologies, compounding US customs reviews. The US policy regarding tariffs on imports from China has compounded the issue,” a DYCM spokesperson further explains to PV Tech.
DYCM adds that “its historic relationship with European equipment manufacturers has secured excellent cooperation in addressing its requirements of turnkey production line”, and that the entire production line will be set up by DYCM in collaboration with European manufacturers.
Ascribing the move by many US manufacturers from PERC to HJT in preference to TOPCon purely to the latter’s IP risk would be to oversimplify. After all, several of the companies that are manufacturing HJT also have TOPCon manufacturing in the US.
“First and foremost, HJT has the highest commercially available efficient solar cell on the marketplace. When we talk to our customers, who are primarily utility-scale developers or asset owners, they are looking to generate greater output from a similar footprint, and that means higher efficiency,” explains Resch regarding the advantages of HJT technology.
Another advantage for HJT technology over TOPCon or IBC (interdigitated back-contact) is its better energy yield over the lifetime of a solar system. DYCM adds that HJT offers “outstanding low-light performance, minimal heat-related power loss and very low annual degradation”.
Resch adds that the lower-temperature coefficient for HJT is really important for utility-scale developers, especially in projects built in the Southwest Texas desert areas and other similar areas. “If you use typical solar panels, obviously, they’re going to overheat, and the efficiency drops off. HJT doesn’t have that same type of drop-off in performance,” says Resch, adding that HJT also has better bifaciality than a TOPCon module.
Another key challenge that solar cell manufacturing faces is the high silver consumption for metallisation. The latest edition of the International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaics (ITRPV) highlighted that slightly more than a fifth (21.4%) of the entire silver supply was consumed in solar PV modules shipped in 2025.
In that same report, the silver consumption in 2025 for HJT cells was higher than for TOPCon bifacial cells, at 12mg/W versus 10 mg/W, respectively. The ITRPV roadmap projects a drastic reduction in silver consumption for both technologies over the coming decade, with HJT cells set to be lower at 4.3 mg/W compared to 6.3 mg/W for TOPCon cells.
“Silver is an increasingly expensive part of a solar cell, and if you can move towards technologies that reduce it, in the long run, you are going to have a potentially more competitive product from a manufacturing perspective,” says Resch.
He adds that the higher silver consumption in HJT cells, which in itself increased manufacturing costs, was also one of the reasons why companies shifted to TOPCon years ago.
“The reality is today the silver gap has narrowed dramatically, and frankly, HJT is moving away from silver entirely,” says Resch, adding that “cell manufacturers have reduced the silver consumption for HJT through finer screen printing, multi busbar and zero busbar designs, better paste formulations, copper-assisted metallisation.”
Resch adds that Toyo’s target is to reach single-digit use of silver per watt for when its HJT solar cell processing line comes online and that the company has a technology roadmap that uses even less silver through copper metallisation.
Indeed, last year, scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) developed a new HJT solar cell that used 1.4mg/W of silver. The scientists replaced the silver with copper in the new HJT cell, replacing it entirely on the rear side.
“The industry is rapidly transitioning towards copper-based metallisation, and so we believe that the silver usage is going to continue to decline, while HJT retains these fundamental advantages in efficiency, energy yield, degradation and, clearly, compatibility with perovskite tandem cells,” explains Resch.
Looking further ahead, HJT can also offer a bridge towards tandem-perovskite technology, as shown by perovskite-silicon tandem cell manufacturer Swift Solar earlier this year when it acquired Meyer Burger’s manufacturing assets and patents.
“For us, thinking about how to progress a two-terminal architecture for tandems, it comes down to picking the right bottom cell. And for us, the bottom cell choice was heterojunction, so that’s been on our roadmap,” explains Geoff Dunican, VP, commercial strategy & partnerships at Swift Solar. “We can code on both TOPCon and heterojunction, but heterojunction for us provides better cost efficiency, better process efficiency, as well as a bump in overall power efficiency.”
Dunican adds that HJT ended up being a better bottom-cell technology choice for Swift Solar, which is why the company jumped at the opportunity to acquire Meyer Burger’s assets.
“It’s just a way for us to go bigger and faster sooner, as opposed to just focusing on perovskites as a standalone, which would not get to the scale as quickly as having a heterojunction backbone behind it,” he adds.
Dunican says that both HJT and tandem-perovskite solar cell and module production will be brought online in parallel during the second half of 2028 in the same facility. And this is because, for Dunican, scale is currently one of the main gaps towards commercially manufactured perovskites.
“The pathway to scaling up is really important, and the pathway that we’re going down, which is using the heterojunction as our foundation for tandems, is something that is important for the market.”
Resch adds that HJT technology is “widely recognised as the preferred base technology for perovskite tandem solar cells”, which helps make the bridge between the technologies that are currently in the market and what will be the next technological solar PV jump in the coming years.
“We don’t want to do mono-PERC. It’s last year’s technology. TOPCon’s great for this year’s technology, but we want to be shooting out into the future, and HJT certainly provides that long-term manufacturing platform that can evolve as the industry advances,” concludes Resch.
The technology trends shaping US PV manufacturing will be under discussion at our PV CellTech USA event in California on 13-14 October. For full details, click here.

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The first three articles in this series treated US manufacturing capacity as a single, undifferentiated pool at each stage of the supply chain. That simplification is useful for mapping overall capacity and identifying structural gaps, such as the wafer shortage in the US supply chain. But it obscures a critical dimension: which cell technologies that capacity is actually built around, and whether the technology mix emerging in the US is the result of a deliberate competitive strategy or a defensive response to trade-enforcement risk.
The US is home to what is likely the largest concentration of thin-film solar capacity anywhere in the world, entirely owned by First Solar. PV Tech Research puts thin-film module capacity at 19.5GW against production of 15.4GW, a utilisation rate of roughly 79%, comfortably the healthiest ratio of any technology tracked in this series. The cell-stage figures are identical to the module figures, and that is not a coincidence: thin film’s cadmium telluride process deposits the semiconductor layer directly during module fabrication, so there is no separate wafer-to-cell step to create a gap between the two numbers. Thin film is the one technology in the US market where the cell-to-module bottleneck that defines the rest of this series simply does not apply. 
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Crystalline silicon tells a very different story, and the same cell-to-module gap that showed up at the whole-of-market level in Part 2 of this series reappears, with variation, inside each individual technology. 
PERC module capacity stands at 24.8GW against 15.4GW of production (63% utilisation), while PERC cell capacity is just 7.5GW against 4.6GW of production (61% utilisation). Domestic PERC cell capacity covers only about 30% of domestic PERC module capacity, meaning well over half of the silicon going into US-assembled PERC modules must originate as imported cells. 
HJT shows an almost identical pattern at a smaller scale: module capacity of 5.5GW versus 2.4GW of production (44% utilisation), and cell capacity of 2.1GW versus 1.3GW of production (62% utilisation). HJT cell capacity covers roughly 38% of HJT module capacity, essentially the same shortfall as PERC, just on a smaller base. 
TOPCon is both the largest technology by capacity and the one with the widest internal gap. Module capacity reaches 32.7GW against 22.2GW of production (68% utilisation, the strongest of the three), but cell capacity is only 1GW against 311MW of production, a utilisation rate of just 31%, the weakest cell-stage figure of any crystalline technology in this dataset and mainly due to the fact that it is newer and still ramping up and carrying a lot more legal risk. TOPCon cell capacity covers barely 3% of TOPCon module capacity, the largest cell-to-module gap in the market. TOPCon has become the default technology for module assembly, but the domestic cell base beneath it has not kept pace. 
The US exhibits an unusual degree of technology diversification compared to global standards, where TOPCon has emerged as the dominant crystalline silicon technology with limited competition from PERC or HJT. Rather than reflecting a deliberate efficiency or cost optimisation strategy, the US pattern appears to function as a hedge against legal risk. 
The industry’s typical migration path (from PERC to TOPCon and onward to back-contact architectures) has been consistently shadowed by patent litigation at each transition point. This legal uncertainty has driven a significant portion of US manufacturers to bypass the conventional TOPCon-to-back-contact progression entirely. Instead, they have pursued one of two alternative strategies: committing to HJT as a parallel technology pathway or maintaining PERC production rather than following the migration trajectory that has become standard in other markets.
The technology split within the under-construction pipeline in PV Tech Research’s ‘US Domestic Solar Manufacturing Tracker’ suggests that the hedge is intensifying rather than resolving. At the cell stage, TOPCon leads newly announced capacity with 13.1GW, HJT at 12.16GW, PERC at 11.8GW and the remainder distributed across other technologies, including perovskite. At the module stage, HJT dominates announced capacity at 16.56GW, significantly outpacing TOPCon at 1GW and PERC at 4GW. 
That divergence is worth examining closely. TOPCon remains a technology that manufacturers are willing to build new cell capacity around, likely because it is the most commercially proven route and offers a clear efficiency advantage over PERC. However, when it comes to new module capacity, HJT is where the announced pipeline is concentrated (a signal that a meaningful share of US manufacturers are positioning module assembly around a technology they view as further removed from the patent risk building up around the TOPCon-to-back-contact transition), even while a separate cohort continues building TOPCon cell capacity in parallel. 
The result, at least through the current wave of announcements, is a market that is not converging on a single dominant crystalline technology the way most of the rest of the world has. This creates a cell-to-module capacity gap that appears set to persist across all three technologies through 2030, regardless of which one ultimately prevails. 
This technology divergence is not simply a transitional phase. It reflects a structural feature of the US solar manufacturing landscape, one shaped as much by legal strategy as by technical or economic logic. The question now is not which technology will dominate, but whether this multi-technology approach can sustain itself as capacity scales and competitive pressures intensify. The final article in this series addresses that question directly. It moves beyond the current state of the supply chain to project where US solar manufacturing capacity is headed by 2030, across each stage of production and each competing technology, and explores what those projections mean for manufacturers, policymakers, and the broader market dynamics that will define the next phase of this buildout. 
Learn more about the technology trends shaping US PV manufacturing at our PV CellTech USA event in California on 13-14 October. For full details, click here. Further analysis of the emerging HJT manufacturing trend in the US is available here (subscription required). 

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“I swear I’m obsessed with my power generation/usage now.”
Photo Credit: ProSolar Caribbean
For one new solar panel owner, the honeymoon phase was in full swing. 
Two weeks after installing rooftop panels, the homeowner said they had entered a new phase that included compulsively tracking battery charge, power use, and solar generation. 
The individual took to Reddit’s r/solar community to see who else was “obsessed” with tracking their solar stats.
“Love checking battery level, how much power I’m stealing from the sun, and what I’m using,” the original poster wrote. “How long does it take until the fun in checking that goes away to a reasonable level?”
“Three years in. I never stopped checking,” one wrote, while another joked: “Went solar nearly four years ago. Now I only check once or twice daily.” 
A third commenter provided a more measured response, adding: “I check my production every evening. Not so much for fun, the novelty wore off after a month or two. But I still check just to make sure the inverters are working properly. Eventually I need to automate that.”
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Solar is often discussed through the lens of policy, utility rates, or grid infrastructure, but for many families, the experience is much simpler. It just feels good to produce your own electricity.
For households, solar turns electricity from a background expense into something visible and interactive. Instead of waiting for a monthly utility bill, homeowners can see when their panels are producing, when the battery is charging, and which appliances are driving consumption.
That kind of visibility can make everyday routines easier to manage. A homeowner who knows when their system is generating the most power can run the dishwasher, charge devices, or cool the house at the best times, maximizing the value of the installation.
Even when the first burst of excitement fades, that awareness often remains. Many long-term owners still find themselves checking their app regularly.
Consistently checking production graphs and battery levels reflects that solar lets homeowners see their energy use in real time. The articles below look at that experience from a few angles, including savings, battery choices, maintenance, and the market factors that shape solar ownership after installation.
• One homeowner’s home battery backup savings data showed how storage changes the math.
• After a year, one homeowner’s honest review of energy savings showed panels still paying off.
• Routine upkeep matters because solar panel maintenance can protect output, savings, and long-term reliability.
These stories help explain why apps can stay interesting long after the new-system excitement fades. When people can watch their energy use as it happens, it is easy to spot savings opportunities, plan upgrades, and decide whether solar is paying off.
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Clivet’s range starts with five single-module models offering 25.2 kilowatts to 45 kilowatts of cooling capacity.
Photo Credit: Clivet
Italian heat pump manufacturer Clivet has unveiled a new variable refrigerant flow, or VRF, lineup for homes and businesses that can connect with photovoltaics without relying on a conventional solar inverter, a move that could simplify how buildings use on-site solar electricity for heating and cooling.
For buildings that generate their own solar electricity, Clivet says its latest VRF heat pumps can use that power more directly.
The Italy-based manufacturer, part of Midea, introduced the residential and commercial series with photovoltaic compatibility, eliminating the need for a traditional solar inverter and potentially simplifying on-site solar use for heating and cooling.
According to pv magazine, the new CVT9 outdoor units expand Clivet’s variable refrigerant flow offerings for homes and commercial buildings. Clivet is an Italian manufacturer and a subsidiary of Chinese appliance company Midea.
Rather than depending on a standard PV inverter, the units are meant to pair with a PV Box that delivers a steady 400- to 600-volt DC supply. That is what enables the direct photovoltaic connection.
Clivet’s range starts with five single-module models offering 25.2-45 kilowatts of cooling capacity. Installers can combine two modules for systems rated from 50 kilowatts to 90 kilowatts, and the biggest setup reaches 100 kilowatts at maximum heating output.
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According to Clivet, the new series will work with indoor units and control systems from the earlier V8 generation.
Clivet expects its integrated PV control system to become available in 2027.
The technical specifications suggest Clivet is aiming for year-round performance in demanding conditions.
The CVT9 units use R32 refrigerant and DC inverter compressors with enhanced vapor injection and a secondary microchannel heat exchanger. Clivet says that combination allows the systems to operate in outdoor temperatures down to -22 degrees Fahrenheit (-30 C) while still maintaining nominal heating capacity at 23 F (-5 C).
A compressor that can modulate down to 7% of capacity could improve efficiency when full output is not needed, helping reduce wasted electricity while keeping indoor temperatures more stable.
Single-module units are listed with seasonal energy efficiency ratios of 8.00 to 8.58 and seasonal coefficients of performance of 4.78 to 4.89, with similar figures for dual-module systems.
The units come with an integrated digital ammeter for real-time consumption monitoring, Modbus RTU connectivity for building management systems, and a Bluetooth module with a USB Type-C port for diagnostics.
For buildings with limited electrical capacity, the systems are adjustable from 40% to 100% in 1% increments.
Two-module systems can automatically shift the load if one outdoor unit triggers an alarm, and they can alternate operating hours between modules to balance wear.
The units also use the company’s SafeBox2 protection system for electronic components.
Clivet’s inverter-free PV heat pumps land at the intersection of two fast-changing technologies: HVAC and solar.
The articles here show how better air-conditioning systems and more advanced panels could make on-site solar power more useful inside buildings.
• Researchers have unveiled a complete rethinking of air conditioning that could slash building energy use.
• Oxford PV has established its first-ever beachhead in the US for perovskite solar.
• Solar developers are racing to make solar electricity even cheaper as advanced silicon technologies improve.
That progress helps explain why direct solar-powered heating and cooling may become more practical as both parts of the system continue to improve.
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Renewable Energy
China has just crossed a historic milestone in its electrical system: the installed capacity of photovoltaic energy reached 1,286 billion kW, surpassing for the first time the 1,285 billion kW of coal-fired plants and making solar the largest source in the country based on installed capacity. This achievement was reported by China.org.cn, with information from Xinhua News Agency and the National Energy Administration of China, and is based on data available up to the end of July 2026.
Moreover, the difference between the two sources is small in absolute terms—only about 1 million kW—but the symbolism is enormous. For decades, coal has supported China’s industrialization and occupied the center of its energy system. Now, however, the capacity of solar panels installed in deserts, rooftops, rural areas, industrial zones, and hybrid projects has managed to surpass the total power of fossil fuel-fired thermal plants.
Nevertheless, it is crucial to distinguish between installed capacity and actual generation. One gigawatt of solar does not produce electricity continuously over the full 24 hours, while coal-fired plants can operate for much longer periods. Therefore, this milestone does not mean that China is now producing more solar electricity than coal electricity. It shows that, in terms of nominal installed capacity, the country now has more photovoltaic capacity than thermal coal capacity.
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The numbers released by the National Energy Administration show a narrow lead.
As of the end of July, China’s photovoltaic capacity reached 1,286 billion kW, equivalent to 1.286 GW.
Meanwhile, the installed capacity of coal-fired power plants stood at 1,285 billion kW, or 1.285 GW.
Thus, solar has taken the lead by an approximate margin of 1 GW.
In another country, such a small difference might seem statistically insignificant.
In China, however, the point is noteworthy because both bases exceed 1.2 terawatts each.
Consequently, the competition is happening on an energy scale that few power systems in the world can even approach.
This surpassing did not arise from a single project.
On the contrary, it is the result of years of accelerated installation.
China has simultaneously expanded large plants in deserts, distributed rooftop projects, rural systems, and industrial ventures.
Furthermore, the country has created vast domestic manufacturing chains for polysilicon, wafers, cells, modules, inverters, and electrical equipment.
This industrial scale has reduced costs and allowed photovoltaic capacity to grow much faster than conventional sources.
Thus, the expansion of renewable generation has ceased to represent merely an environmental policy and has begun to structurally alter the electrical matrix of large economies.
This is the most crucial point for correctly interpreting the news.
Installed capacity indicates how much a source could produce under certain conditions, and not necessarily how much it actually generates over a year.
Solar panels depend on light availability.
At night, their production drops to zero.
Moreover, clouds, location, season, and atmospheric conditions affect performance.
On the other hand, a coal-fired thermal plant can generate electricity for many consecutive hours as long as it is supplied and operational.
Therefore, even after losing its lead in installed capacity, coal continues to play a significant role in actual electricity generation in China.
The more accurate reading is different.
China did not shut down 1.285 TW of thermal plants.
Nor did it instantly replace coal with solar panels.
What happened was a shift in the capacity structure.
While the thermal fleet remains enormous, solar grew so rapidly that it surpassed it.
Thus, the milestone demonstrates where new investments are shifting.
At the same time, it shows how the matrix can coexist for years with rapidly growing new technologies and older sources still responsible for a significant share of the electricity supplied.
The transformation also depends on the manufacturing industry.
China concentrates a dominant share of the global production of photovoltaic components.
Consequently, the country can produce enormous volumes of modules at competitive costs.
This vertical integration helped accelerate internal projects.
Additionally, Chinese manufacturers export equipment to practically every continent.
Thus, China’s solar industrial policy has produced two simultaneous effects:
rapidly expanded its own energy capacity and transformed the country into the leading global supplier of the technology.
An important part of the expansion occurs in regions with large available areas.
Deserts in northern and western China have begun to host enormous energy bases that combine solar, wind, and long-distance transmission networks.
These ventures are able to install millions of panels in areas with high solar incidence.
On the flip side, there is a geographical challenge.
Much of the electricity demand is located in industrial and urban centers far away.
Consequently, building plants is not enough.
It is also necessary to transport electricity for hundreds or even thousands of kilometers.
As more solar capacity enters the system, the need to strengthen the grid increases.
Production varies throughout the day.
Moreover, certain provinces can generate far more electricity than they can consume locally.
Therefore, transmission, storage, digital control, and interconnection are becoming increasingly important.
China has already announced efforts to develop new types of electric grids to manage a more distributed matrix dominated by variable sources.
Thus, the next bottleneck may shift from simply manufacturing panels.
It may become integrating all this capacity without wasting energy.
This problem explains the race for storage.
During certain hours, large volumes of solar energy can enter the grid simultaneously.
However, early in the evening, production drops quickly while demand may remain high.
Batteries can store some of the electricity during excess periods and return it later.
Additionally, pumped-storage hydropower plants, flexible grids, and demand management also help.
The expansion of storage systems is expected to become even more relevant as variable renewables occupy larger shares of capacity.
China still considers energy security a priority.
Therefore, even while installing solar at a record pace, the country maintains a significant amount of thermal capacity.
Coal provides a strategic characteristic: it can generate in a controllable manner when fuel is available.
Thus, authorities can use it to offset times when solar and wind produce less.
This behavior explains an apparent contradiction.
China simultaneously leads the global expansion of renewables and global coal consumption.
In practice, it tries to transform the energy matrix without quickly abandoning the sources that ensure stability.
Imagine two plants with the same nominal power.
One of them produces for a large part of the 24 hours.
The other depends on the sun.
Although both have, for example, 1 GW of capacity, the annual amount of electricity can be quite different.
Therefore, comparing only installed gigawatts offers an incomplete view.
The indicator is extremely useful for measuring built infrastructure.
However, it needs to be accompanied by actual generation, capacity factor, and share in consumption.
In the Chinese case, solar’s victory in capacity is historic.
But the transition in generation will take longer.
Transforming 1.286 billion kW into another unit helps to visualize.
That amounts to 1.286 gigawatts.
Or 1.286 terawatt of photovoltaic capacity.
This number refers only to solar.
Thus, it does not include hydropower, wind, nuclear, gas, or coal.
The scale shows why any changes in China affect global statistics.
When Beijing adds several dozen gigawatts, that can be equivalent to the entire electrical system of smaller countries.
At the moment recorded by the data, solar has surpassed coal by just 1 GW.
However, the two sources are not growing at the same pace.
Photovoltaic capacity continues to receive huge volumes of new projects.
Conversely, the net expansion of coal tends to occur much more slowly relative to the existing base.
Consequently, if the recent pace continues, the gap could increase rapidly in the coming years.
The milestone of July may thus represent only the exact moment of the crossover.
The future distance may become much larger.
The energy transformation is also occurring within a massive economy.
China has set new goals to expand domestic consumption and aims to increase total consumer goods sales to about 60 trillion yuan by 2030.
This means more factories, appliances, vehicles, data centers, and infrastructure.
As a result, electricity demand will remain huge.
Therefore, renewable expansion is not just meant to replace old sources.
In many cases, it also needs to accommodate new consumption growth.
China has become the world’s largest electric vehicle market.
At the same time, millions of chargers add new loads to the system.
Each individual car consumes relatively little compared to a plant.
However, millions of vehicles connected to the grid change the scale.
Thus, solar, batteries, and smart grids begin to interact with automotive expansion.
The accelerated electrification of transport shows how the energy transition is not happening solely within the plants.
It also alters what consumes electricity.
Another crucial element is that expansion is ongoing.
Various solar and hybrid projects are still under construction.
Additionally, Chinese provinces continue to approve renewable capacity.
Therefore, the 1.286 TW recorded in July does not represent a ceiling.
They are merely a snapshot of that moment.
This detail emphasizes the significance of the milestone.
Solar surpassed coal while its own expansion is still underway.
Large installations in arid regions attract attention due to their scale.
However, China employs various other configurations.
There are projects over reservoirs.
There are also systems that combine aquaculture and photovoltaic generation.
Furthermore, factories and homes receive distributed installations.
A photograph released by Xinhua in August showed workers maintaining a hybrid project of aquaculture and photovoltaic generation in Yangzhou, illustrating this diversity.
Thus, the expansion does not depend on a single model.
This logic appears in various projects.
Industrial rooftops become small power plants.
Reservoirs host floating structures.
Agricultural areas can combine food and energy production.
Moreover, desert regions gain massive renewable corridors.
The advantage of this diversity lies in the ability to bring part of the generation closer to consumption centers.
On the flip side, each configuration has its own costs, environmental impacts, and technical challenges.
Even with over 1.2 TW of solar capacity, China may continue to approve thermal plants.
This seems contradictory only when capacity and generation are treated as the same thing.
A thermal plant can serve as a power guarantee during periods of low renewable generation.
Therefore, Chinese authorities view part of the new thermal plants as support for the system.
Still, as more storage and flexibility enter the grid, the need to operate these units for extended hours may decrease.
Thus, the role of coal may change before its capacity disappears.
When a region produces more electricity than it can consume or transport, the operator may need to limit generation.
This phenomenon is known as curtailment.
The higher the solar capacity, the greater the risk of excess generation at certain times.
Therefore, China invests in ultra-high voltage transmission lines and energy storage.
Additionally, it aims to create markets and systems capable of shifting consumption to times of higher renewable production.
Consequently, the next stage of the solar revolution may rely less on adding panels and more on making better use of what has already been installed.
Producing at a massive scale has lowered prices.
However, it also caused oversupply during certain periods.
Chinese manufacturers face decreasing margins and intense competition.
Thus, energy expansion helps absorb part of the domestic production.
Simultaneously, it consolidates more efficient companies and pressures less competitive manufacturers.
This cycle demonstrates how industrial policy and energy policy go hand in hand.
For years, the country was already the world leader in manufacturing photovoltaic equipment.
Then, it became the largest market for installations as well.
Now, solar has reached another symbolic milestone.
It has become the largest source of electricity in the country by installed capacity, surpassing coal, a fuel historically associated with Chinese industrialization.
This change does not mean that coal has disappeared.
It occurs because another technology has grown quickly enough to overtake it.
In the end, the entire story can be summed up in two numbers.
On one side:
1.286 billion kW of photovoltaic capacity.
On the other:
1.285 billion kW in coal-fired thermal plants.
The difference is minimal.
However, the order has reversed.
For decades, coal sat at the top.
Now, at least when comparing installed capacity, the sun holds that position for the first time.
Still, China’s transition is far from over. The country needs to expand grids, storage, and flexibility while continuing to sustain an economy that consumes enormous volumes of electricity.
Thus, the milestone of July does not signify the end of coal.
It represents something different and equally significant: the first time that China has built more capacity to convert solar light into electricity than capacity to produce energy by burning coal.
Did you expect that China had already installed more solar capacity than coal capacity, or did you think that this surpassing would still take many years to happen?
Author for the Click Petróleo e Gás portal since 2019, responsible for publishing over 8,000 articles that have garnered millions of views, combining technical expertise, clarity, and engagement to inform and connect readers. A Petroleum Engineer with a postgraduate degree in Industrial Unit Commissioning, I also bring practical experience and background in the agribusiness sector, which broadens my perspective and versatility in producing specialized content. I develop content topics, disseminate job opportunities, and create advertising materials tailored for the industry audience. For content suggestions, job vacancy promotion, or advertising proposals, please contact via email: santizatagpc@gmail.com. We do not accept resumes
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The 346-MW Gibson City Solar Project in Illinois has reached commercial operation, as announced on September 3, 2026. Developed by Earthrise Energy and constructed by Burns & McDonnell, the project utilized a surplus interconnection strategy by connecting through the existing switchyard of an adjacent gas-fired peaking facility. This approach leveraged available grid capacity instead of requiring a new interconnection, illustrating a method to accelerate renewable energy deployment while maintaining grid reliability.
According to Burns & McDonnell, the project demonstrated faster ways to bring renewable generation online using existing assets, amid growing delays for new generation connections across the United States. The construction firm paired advanced construction technologies and terrain-following solar trackers to reduce environmental impacts and improve execution.
Jami Stone, construction project manager for Burns & McDonnell, commented that interconnection has become a defining challenge for new energy projects. Stone noted that projects like Gibson City show how developers can take advantage of existing infrastructure while combining innovative construction methods to deliver renewable generation more efficiently, and praised Earthrise Energy for the creative solution.
Spanning approximately 1,700 acres across McLean and Ford counties, the facility is expected to generate enough electricity to power about 46,000 homes. Burns & McDonnell’s scope included EPC services, with its subsidiary AZCO self-performing underground electrical systems for part of the project, pile driving, and tracker and module installation. The team also provided environmental support, constructed a 34.5-/138-kV collector substation with a two-transformer station, and built a gen-tie line to a new line position in the existing Gibson City energy center substation. The site was built with union labor under the National Maintenance Agreement.
Burns & McDonnell worked with Nextpower for terrain-following trackers, Shoals for the aboveground collection system, and SMA for inverters. Earthrise procured Runergy solar modules, high-voltage breakers, and transformers. The project serves multiple power purchase agreements, and Burns & McDonnell designed and commissioned the SCADA systems to manage both generating resources safely.
The site also served as a proving ground for construction automation, with Burns & McDonnell deploying AI software and robotics from Gritt to install a portion of the solar modules. The Gritt machines lifted and placed modules, reducing repetitive heavy lifting while improving safety and productivity.
The project reduced grading requirements by as much as 90% compared with conventional utility-scale solar construction, limiting grading to fewer than 40,000 cubic yards by following the site’s natural contours. Burns & McDonnell also worked with the owner to establish a native seed mix before mobilizing, enhancing the project’s appearance.
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A little over a decade ago, solar energy occupied only a small place in India’s electricity system. High costs and limited deployment meant it was often viewed as a technology for the future rather than a practical solution for the present.
That has changed dramatically. Today, India has over 150 GW of installed solar power capacity, making it one of the world’s largest solar markets. Solar panels have become a familiar sight on rooftops, industrial facilities, agricultural fields, and utility-scale solar parks across the country. More importantly, solar energy has moved from the margins to become a key component of India’s energy mix.
Several factors have driven this transformation. Falling technology costs have made solar power increasingly affordable, while supportive government policies have encouraged investment across the value chain. As India’s electricity demand continues to rise with rapid urbanisation, industrial expansion, and the growth of digital infrastructure, solar energy is playing an increasingly important role in meeting that demand.
Government programmes have helped broaden access to solar energy. The PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana aims to expand rooftop solar installations among households, while PM-KUSUM supports the use of solar-powered irrigation pumps by farmers. At the same time, initiatives such as the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme have encouraged investment in domestic manufacturing of solar equipment, reflecting a broader effort to strengthen India’s clean energy supply chain.
The growth of solar energy extends beyond electricity generation. It has created employment in manufacturing, project development, engineering, installation, operations, and maintenance. The sector is also attracting significant private investment and supporting the growth of industries that depend on reliable and affordable power, including data centres and advanced manufacturing.
Behind every solar panel lies a complex manufacturing process. Highly purified silicon is converted into ingots, sliced into wafers, processed into solar cells, and finally assembled into modules. India has substantially expanded its manufacturing capacity for solar cells and modules in recent years. However, much of the upstream supply chain, particularly polysilicon and wafers, continues to rely on imports. Developing these capabilities domestically remains one of the next milestones for the industry.
The rapid expansion of solar energy has also brought new challenges. As a variable source of power, solar generation must be complemented by investments in battery storage, transmission infrastructure, and a more flexible electricity grid to ensure reliable supply throughout the day. Land availability, project financing, and faster grid connectivity will also influence the pace of future growth.
India’s energy transition will ultimately depend on a diverse mix of technologies, including solar, wind, hydro, nuclear, and conventional power. Within that mix, solar has emerged as one of the country’s most important sources of new generation capacity because of its scalability, declining costs, and widespread availability.
The past decade has demonstrated how technological progress, policy support, and private investment can accelerate the adoption of clean energy at scale. The next phase will be shaped not only by how much solar capacity India adds, but also by how effectively it builds a resilient manufacturing ecosystem and modernises the power system to support a growing economy.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those held by pv magazine.
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Adding battery storage to a solar setup is one of the best ways to protect your home during outages.
Photo Credit: Reddit
A New Jersey homeowner’s pre-installation post on Reddit offered a glimpse of a moment many solar shoppers look forward to: the day the panels and battery finally show up.
The thread became a mini how-to guide, with experienced owners sharing tips that could make installation day go more smoothly and future troubleshooting easier.
The homeowner said on the r/TeslaSolar subreddit that the equipment had arrived ahead of a Tesla solar installation. When asked about the system details, the OP replied, “One Powerwall with expansion pack and it’s a 10.08 kW system. 24 panels I believe.”
That is a sizable home system, and adding battery storage can make rooftop solar even more practical in everyday life. A battery can help keep essential devices running during outages while also storing excess solar energy for later use.
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.
Among the practical suggestions in the thread was this advice: “Take photos of the bar code label under the front cover of the PW3.”
Going solar is one of the best ways to save money on home energy costs, especially for households facing high utility bills. If you’re exploring your options, EnergySage lets you get free solar installation estimates and compare quotes.
Other Redditors shared more advice, such as, “If you want to do certain things with Netzero for Tesla or the Tesla One app, you need the information on that label. The information is not available on the outside the cabinet. I used it to discover one of my MPPT’s wasn’t working.  The installer had too many panels wired to it, and it was overloaded.”
Users also touched on scheduling and system access. One said a straightforward installation could take “2 to 3 days” if no issues arise, and noted that some homeowners may be able to operate their systems before final utility approval depending on state rules.
FROM OUR PARTNER
Want to go solar but not sure who to trust? EnergySage has your back with free and transparent quotes from fully vetted providers that can help you save as much as $10k on installation.
To get started, just answer a few questions about your home — no phone number required. Within a day or two, EnergySage will email you the best local options for your needs, and their expert advisers can help you compare quotes and pick a winner.
They added, “Tesla app is limited compared to others.”
Homeowners preparing for a solar install can take a few simple steps: Ask where batteries will be mounted, confirm the expected timeline, and keep photo records of labels, equipment, and wiring progress. It’s also worth asking the installer what monitoring tools will be available after commissioning.
While installing solar can lower utility bills, adding battery storage to a solar setup is one of the best ways to protect your home during outages, save even more money on energy, and go off grid. If you want to compare battery options and competitive installation estimates, explore EnergySage for information about home battery storage.
EnergySage’s free services can also be valuable for anyone still in the browsing phase.
💡Go deep on the latest news and trends shaping the residential solar landscape
Homeowners can also use EnergySage’s solar map. Together, those resources can help you get the best price for rooftop solar panels and access available incentives.
Many Redditors were also excited for the homeowner.
One user said, “Excited for you. Solar is awesome!” 
Another added: “Just take a photo of it when the cover is off.  Believe me, you will want it someday.”
Tesla’s Powerwall and other home batteries are playing a bigger role in rooftop solar, especially for homeowners thinking about backup power and how they’ll monitor a new system. Battery storage is catching on, and more families are adding it during their solar installation process, but it’s also catching on in other ways: 
• Tesla has surpassed half a million installations as Powerwall adoption keeps rising worldwide.
• Homeowners are adding battery storage for home solar to boost savings and outage protection.
• Across the US, families are installing home solar battery technology as federal incentives cut costs.
• In Colorado, officials backed plug-in solar panels to help more residents power their homes.
Knowing how batteries, incentives, and access fit into the bigger solar picture can be useful before installation day, whether you’re comparing options or figuring out what to ask your installer.
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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China’s solar capacity overtakes coal in landmark clean-energy milestone  Yahoo
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A New York college is set to get its first on-site solar array. It will power campus facilities.  Stock Titan
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India’s solar cell and module manufacturing capacity has grown significantly. However, the nation still imports essential upstream components like polysilicon. China dominates global photovoltaic manufacturing, supplying most of India’s imports. India’s solar capacity is expanding, requiring greater domestic component production. Expanding from polysilicon to cell manufacturing is critical for future integration.
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According to the latest IndexBox report on the global Electrical Bonding Compounds market, the market enters 2026 with broader demand fundamentals, more disciplined procurement behavior, and a more regionally diversified supply architecture.
The global electrical bonding compounds market is entering a period of sustained expansion, with demand projected to increase at a compound annual rate of 4-6% through 2035. This growth is underpinned by the rapid scaling of electronics manufacturing, the accelerating deployment of solar photovoltaic systems, and the deepening automation of industrial processes. Electrical bonding compounds, which include conductive pastes, greases, and adhesives, are essential for establishing electrical continuity, preventing static discharge, and ensuring reliable grounding across a wide spectrum of applications.
The market encompasses not only the compounds themselves but also components, integrated bonding systems, and consumables, reflecting a value chain that extends from raw material supply to aftermarket replacement. Electronics and optical systems currently represent the largest end-use segment, accounting for 35-40% of global consumption by value, while semiconductor and precision manufacturing applications are driving demand for specification-grade products with enhanced corrosion resistance and thermal stability.
Supply chain concentration remains a defining feature, with the top five producing countries contributing over 60% of world output, creating vulnerabilities for import-dependent regions. Formulation innovation is increasingly focused on metallurgy-specific variants that perform reliably under harsh environmental conditions, including salt spray, high humidity, and thermal cycling. At the same time, quality management certifications such as ISO 9001 and IATF 16949 are becoming de facto entry barriers, lengthening supplier qualification cycles and raising the cost of market participation.
This report provides a comprehensive analysis of market size, historical trends, and forecasts to 2035, offering stakeholders a data-driven foundation for strategic planning, sourcing decisions, and competitive positioning.
The baseline scenario for the electrical bonding compounds market points to steady growth through 2035, with global demand expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 4-6%. This trajectory is supported by structural shifts in end-use industries, particularly the continued miniaturization of electronic assemblies, the proliferation of connected devices, and the global push toward renewable energy infrastructure. Solar photovoltaic installations, which require robust bonding solutions for junction boxes and grounding systems, are expected to be a major demand catalyst, especially in Asia-Pacific and Europe.
Industrial automation and instrumentation are also contributing to growth, as factories adopt more sophisticated control systems that demand reliable electrical continuity. The aftermarket segment is gaining importance, with recurring orders now representing 55-65% of annual volume, driven by shorter replacement cycles in miniaturized assemblies. However, the market faces headwinds from input cost volatility, particularly for petrochemical-derived resins and specialty metal powders, which compresses margins for standard-grade products.
Regulatory fragmentation across major markets, including REACH in Europe, TSCA in the United States, and China’s new chemical substance notification, adds compliance burdens and testing costs. Supply chain concentration, with the top five producers controlling over 60% of output, poses risks of lead time extension and landed cost increases for import-dependent regions. Despite these challenges, the market is expected to benefit from ongoing formulation innovations that improve performance in harsh environments, enabling penetration into new applications such as marine electronics and electric vehicle battery systems.
Overall, the market is set to grow from an index value of 100 in 2025 to approximately 150-160 by 2035, reflecting cumulative gains in both volume and value.
Electronics and optical systems represent the largest end-use segment, accounting for 35-40% of global consumption by value. This segment includes applications in printed circuit boards, connectors, sensors, and optical modules where electrical bonding compounds ensure reliable conductivity and prevent corrosion. The demand is driven by the proliferation of consumer electronics, data centers, and telecommunications infrastructure. As devices become smaller and more powerful, the need for precise, high-performance bonding materials intensifies.
Through 2035, growth will be supported by the rollout of 5G networks, the expansion of the Internet of Things, and the increasing complexity of optical systems used in medical and industrial equipment. Key demand-side indicators include global electronics production indices, semiconductor sales, and capital expenditure in data center construction. The trend toward lead-free and halogen-free formulations is shaping product development, while the need for thermal cycling resistance in automotive and aerospace electronics is pushing innovation. Major companies in this segment include Henkel, 3M, and Dow, which supply a range of conductive adhesives and greases tailored to specific metallurgies and environmental conditions.
Current trend: Dominant segment with steady growth, driven by miniaturization and performance requirements..
Major trends: Miniaturization of electronic assemblies increases demand for precision-applied bonding compounds, Shift toward lead-free and halogen-free formulations to meet environmental regulations, Growth of 5G infrastructure and IoT devices expands application base, and Need for thermal cycling and humidity resistance in harsh operating environments.
Representative participants: Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, 3M Company, Dow Inc, Momentive Performance Materials, and Master Bond Inc.
Semiconductor and precision manufacturing is the fastest-growing end-use segment, driven by the increasing complexity of chip packaging, wafer-level processes, and the need for ultra-clean, high-reliability bonding solutions. Electrical bonding compounds are used in die attach, substrate bonding, and EMI shielding applications, where they must meet stringent purity and electrical performance specifications. The segment’s growth is closely tied to global semiconductor capital expenditure, which has been rising due to the expansion of fabs and the push for advanced nodes.
Through 2035, the adoption of heterogeneous integration and 3D packaging will create new opportunities for conductive adhesives and pastes that can handle fine pitch and high thermal loads. Quality certifications such as IATF 16949 and ISO 9001 are becoming mandatory, raising the barrier for new suppliers. Demand-side indicators include semiconductor revenue, fab utilization rates, and the number of new packaging lines. The trend toward automation in semiconductor manufacturing also increases the need for consistent, high-purity bonding materials. Key players in this segment include Henkel, 3M, and Aremco, which offer products designed for cleanroom environments and extreme reliability.
Current trend: Fastest-growing segment, driven by advanced packaging and stringent quality standards..
Major trends: Advanced packaging and 3D integration drive demand for fine-pitch bonding materials, Stringent purity and reliability standards favor premium-grade compounds, Growth of semiconductor fabs in Asia-Pacific and North America boosts consumption, and Automation in manufacturing requires consistent, high-performance bonding solutions.
Representative participants: Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, 3M Company, Aremco Products Inc, Master Bond Inc, and Permabond LLC.
Industrial automation and instrumentation rely on electrical bonding compounds to ensure reliable grounding and static discharge protection in control panels, sensors, and field instruments. As factories adopt Industry 4.0 technologies, the number of connected devices and sensors increases, each requiring robust electrical continuity to prevent electromagnetic interference and ensure safety. The segment is driven by investments in manufacturing automation, particularly in automotive, food and beverage, and chemical processing industries. Through 2035, the trend toward remote monitoring and predictive maintenance will further increase the deployment of instrumentation, supporting demand for bonding compounds.
The need for corrosion resistance in harsh industrial environments, such as chemical plants and offshore platforms, is pushing the development of metallurgy-specific formulations. Demand-side indicators include industrial robot shipments, factory automation spending, and the installed base of process control equipment. Key companies in this segment include Parker Hannifin, H.B. Fuller, and Electrolube, which provide compounds that withstand vibration, temperature extremes, and chemical exposure. Current trend: Moderate growth, supported by factory automation and process control investments..
Major trends: Industry 4.0 and smart factory initiatives increase sensor and controller density, Need for corrosion-resistant compounds in harsh industrial environments, Growth of predictive maintenance drives demand for reliable instrumentation, and Expansion of process automation in emerging economies.
Representative participants: Parker Hannifin Corporation, H.B. Fuller Company, Electrolube (Ametek), LORD Corporation, and 3M Company.
OEM integration and maintenance covers the use of electrical bonding compounds during original equipment manufacturing and subsequent repair and replacement activities. This segment is characterized by recurring demand, as bonding compounds are often consumed during assembly and then again during maintenance or rework. The trend toward miniaturized electronic assemblies has shortened replacement cycles, as smaller components are more prone to failure and require more frequent re-bonding. This has led to aftermarket and replacement procurement representing 55-65% of annual volume in the overall market.
Through 2035, the growth of electric vehicles and renewable energy systems will create new OEM integration opportunities, as these applications require robust bonding for battery packs, inverters, and junction boxes. The segment is also influenced by the trend toward modular design, which facilitates easier replacement of bonded components. Demand-side indicators include OEM production volumes, maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) spending, and the average age of installed equipment. Key companies include LORD Corporation, Permabond, and MG Chemicals, which offer a range of products designed for both assembly and field service. Current trend: Stable demand, with aftermarket replacement cycles shortening due to miniaturization..
Major trends: Shortening replacement cycles in miniaturized electronics boost aftermarket demand, Growth of electric vehicles and solar PV creates new OEM integration opportunities, Modular design trends simplify replacement and increase use of bonding compounds, and MRO spending in industrial sectors supports steady demand.
Representative participants: LORD Corporation, Permabond LLC, MG Chemicals, Master Bond Inc, and H.B. Fuller Company.
Other applications, including automotive, aerospace, and marine, represent a smaller but growing share of the electrical bonding compounds market. In automotive, the shift toward electric vehicles increases the need for bonding compounds that can handle high voltages and thermal stress in battery systems and power electronics. Aerospace applications require compounds that meet stringent flammability and outgassing standards, while marine electronics demand corrosion resistance against salt spray and humidity. These niche segments are characterized by high specification requirements and longer qualification cycles, but they offer premium pricing and strong growth potential.
Through 2035, the expansion of electric vehicle production and the increasing use of electronics in aircraft will drive demand for specialized bonding solutions. The trend toward lightweight materials, such as aluminum and composites, also creates challenges for bonding, as these materials require metallurgy-specific formulations. Demand-side indicators include electric vehicle sales, aircraft delivery schedules, and marine electronics production. Key companies in this segment include Henkel, 3M, and Momentive, which have dedicated product lines for harsh environments. Current trend: Niche but growing, driven by electric vehicles and harsh-environment requirements..
Major trends: Electric vehicle adoption drives demand for high-voltage bonding compounds, Aerospace standards require low-outgassing and flame-retardant formulations, Marine electronics need corrosion resistance against salt spray and humidity, and Lightweight materials in automotive and aerospace require specialized bonding solutions.
Representative participants: Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, 3M Company, Momentive Performance Materials, LORD Corporation, and Dow Inc.
Interactive table based on the Store Companies dataset for this report.
Asia-Pacific leads global consumption, driven by electronics manufacturing in China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Solar PV deployment in China and India adds further demand. The region also hosts major producers, but supply chain concentration and raw material sourcing remain key considerations. Direction: Dominant and fastest-growing.
North America benefits from reshoring of electronics and semiconductor manufacturing, supported by government incentives. Aerospace and defense applications drive demand for high-reliability compounds. The region faces regulatory complexity under TSCA, but innovation in formulations supports market expansion. Direction: Steady growth.
Europe’s market is driven by automotive electronics, industrial automation, and renewable energy investments. REACH compliance adds costs but also encourages development of safer, sustainable products. The region is a net importer of some raw materials, affecting price dynamics. Direction: Moderate growth.
Latin America shows gradual growth, with Mexico emerging as a manufacturing hub for electronics and automotive. Brazil’s renewable energy sector offers opportunities. However, economic volatility and infrastructure gaps limit faster adoption of advanced bonding compounds. Direction: Emerging growth.
The Middle East & Africa region is a small but growing market, supported by investments in solar energy and oil & gas infrastructure. Import dependence is high, leading to longer lead times. Local manufacturing is limited, but demand for corrosion-resistant compounds is rising in harsh environments. Direction: Slow but steady.
In the baseline scenario, IndexBox estimates a 5.0% compound annual growth rate for the global electrical bonding compounds market over 2026-2035, bringing the market index to roughly 160 by 2035 (2025=100).
Note: indexed curves are used to compare medium-term scenario trajectories when full absolute volumes are not publicly disclosed.
For full methodological details and benchmark tables, see the latest IndexBox Electrical Bonding Compounds market report.
This report provides an in-depth analysis of the Electrical Bonding Compounds market in the world, covering market size, growth trajectory, demand structure, supply capability, trade flows, pricing, competitive landscape, and forecast to 2035.
The study is designed for manufacturers, distributors, importers, exporters, investors, procurement teams, advisors, and strategy teams that need a consistent, data-driven view of market dynamics and a transparent analytical definition of the product scope.
This report covers the market for electrical bonding compounds, which are conductive materials used to establish electrical continuity between metallic surfaces, prevent static discharge, and ensure grounding in various industrial and electronic applications.
The report combines the standard market-statistics backbone with strategic chapters that are useful for commercial planning, sourcing decisions, market entry, competitor monitoring, and portfolio prioritization.
The market is segmented into decision-relevant buckets so that demand drivers, pricing logic, supply constraints, and competitive positions can be compared across the same analytical frame.
The report segments the market by product type (electrical bonding compounds, components and modules, integrated systems, consumables and replacement parts), by application (industrial automation and instrumentation, electronics and optical systems, semiconductor and precision manufacturing, OEM integration and maintenance), and by value chain (upstream inputs and critical components, manufacturing/assembly/quality control, distribution/integration/channel partners, after-sales service/replacement/lifecycle support).
Coverage includes global totals, major demand markets, production and sourcing hubs, leading exporters and importers, and country profiles for the top national markets.
The report combines official statistics, trade records, company disclosures, product-level evidence, and analyst validation. Data are standardized, reconciled, and cross-checked to keep market sizing, trade flows, pricing, and forecasts comparable across countries and time periods.
All indicators are mapped to a consistent product definition and reviewed against the segmentation framework used in the Table of Contents.
Report Scope and Analytical Framing
Concise View of Market Direction
Market Size, Growth and Scenario Framing
Commercial and Technical Scope
How the Market Splits Into Decision-Relevant Buckets
Where Demand Comes From and How It Behaves
Supply Footprint, Trade and Value Capture
Trade Flows and External Dependence
Price Formation and Revenue Logic
Who Wins and Why
Where Growth and Supply Concentrate
Commercial Entry and Scaling Priorities
Where the Best Expansion Logic Sits
Leading Players and Strategic Archetypes
Detailed View of the Most Important National Markets
How the Report Was Built
Dominant in conductive adhesive and bonding solutions for electronics and electrical markets.
Key supplier under Loctite brand for automotive and electronics bonding.
Strong in industrial and electronic assembly bonding solutions.
Provides high-performance bonding materials for power and telecom sectors.
Specializes in high-temperature and dielectric bonding materials.
Offers thermally conductive and electrically insulating bonding solutions.
Known for custom formulations for aerospace and electronics.
Chomerics brand provides specialized electrical bonding for defense and telecom.
Focus on EMI shielding and thermal management bonding.
Specializes in precision bonding for microelectronics.
High-reliability compounds for medical and aerospace electronics.
Key player in Asian electrical bonding markets.
Specializes in fine-pitch electrical bonding for displays and semiconductors.
Regional arm of Henkel with tailored products for Asian markets.
Niche supplier for industrial and laboratory electrical bonding.
Innovator in printable electrical bonding materials.
Focus on precision bonding for sensor and optoelectronics.
Distributor and formulator of specialty bonding materials.
Fast-cure bonding solutions for medical and electronics assembly.
Known for aerospace and automotive electrical bonding compounds.
Offers conductive and insulating bonding solutions for infrastructure.
Specializes in high-performance bonding for power electronics.
Integrated manufacturer with focus on electrical connectivity.
Provides custom gaskets and bonding materials for EMI shielding.
Niche supplier of high-purity bonding compounds.
Major distributor for multiple brands in North America.
Popular in prototyping and maintenance electrical bonding.
Specializes in protective and conductive coatings.
Focus on high-reliability bonding for harsh environments.
Key supplier to Korean electronics manufacturers.
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Some interesting thoughts here from RiskSTOP on plug-in solar panels;
Risk assessment experts RiskSTOP are highlighting the introduction of new solar panel technology to the UK market and the need for insurers, brokers, property owners and landlords to be fully aware of it and the potential insurance risks involved.  From 27 August 2026, plug-in photovoltaic (PV) solar panel systems can legally be bought and used in the UK, following changes announced by the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero. Already becoming familiar in parts of Europe, this new technology is designed to make small-scale solar generation much more accessible.
Johnny Thomson, Head of Strategic Planning at RiskSTOP said: “Unlike conventional roof-mounted PV systems, plug-in systems are designed to be installed by householders and connected directly to a standard electrical socket. They offer a relatively simple means of generating renewable electricity and may be particularly attractive to residents in flats, apartments, rental properties and homes unsuitable for traditional roof-mounted solar installations.
“Whilst plug-in PV systems are generally smaller than conventional solar installations, they should not be considered risk-free. They introduce many of the same electrical, fire and structural hazards associated with traditional PV systems, together with additional risks arising from user installation, product compliance, mounting arrangements and interaction with existing electrical circuits.”
A different type of solar installation
Smaller Plug-in PVs are less complex than roof mounted installations, but they are still electrical generation equipment and introduce some specific considerations.
One of the main differences is how electricity enters the property involved. Rather than being hard-wired into the electrical distribution system, plug-in PV feeds electricity through an existing socket circuit. This means product compliance, the condition and suitability of the existing electrical installation, and the protection built into the system all remain important parts of the risk assessment.
There are also practical considerations. Where panels are positioned on balconies, walls, terraces or other external areas, secure mounting and exposure to wind and weather need to be considered. Depending on the property, landlord, freeholder, planning permissions and insurance company requirements may also be relevant.
Network operator notification requirements may still apply, while regular visual inspection can help identify deterioration, damaged cables, loose fixings or signs of overheating.
Keeping the risk proportionate
Johnny Thomson concludes: “Compared with larger conventional PV installations, these systems are generally lower in complexity and scale. However, the important point is that as they become more widely available, they may begin appearing on properties where solar generation has not previously formed part of normal risk assessment.
“For insurers and brokers, understanding what has been installed, where it has been positioned and how it is being managed will become increasingly important. As with many developing technologies, effective risk management is about recognising the exposure early and making sure the controls remain proportionate.”

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The findings arrive as solar installation activity is picking up across Britain.
Photo Credit: iStock
Rooftop solar can still pay off in parts of Great Britain better known for clouds and rain than bright skies, according to The Guardian.
Figures from UK solar firm Recharge Renewable, cited by The Guardian, suggest that a typical rooftop system could trim about £450 (about $607) a year from electricity bills even in some of Britain’s least sunny areas. In the brightest parts of the country, the yearly savings could rise above £600 (about $810).
The projected gains were strongest in southern England, at roughly £571 (about $770) a year in Brighton. But the estimates remained sizable farther north as well, at about £440 (about $594) in southern Scotland based on Glasgow solar generation.
The improved outlook comes from changes on two fronts. Wholesale electricity prices have increased, and the cost of installing solar at home has fallen. That makes rooftop panels a more attractive financial option for many households.
Recharge Renewable said that, even in places without much sunshine, a standard 4-kilowatt setup can still noticeably reduce energy bills.
The findings arrive as solar installation activity is picking up across Britain. Based on official government data, the first half of 2026 produced more new solar installations than any other six-month period since 2011, when the U.K. built its first large-scale solar farm.
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Much of that recent expansion has come from residential rooftops. Smaller household systems now represent just under a third of the nation’s total solar power capacity.
The growth is also showing up more clearly in electricity generation data. Solar supplied 14.4% of Great Britain’s power in July, the highest monthly share yet recorded. Especially sunny weather in some parts of the U.K. helped, and so did the large amount of new solar capacity added.
Recharge Renewable said actual savings depend on household-specific factors, including roof direction and when people use electricity.
The company’s analysis used a standard south-facing 4-kilowatt rooftop system. It assumed the average home directly uses only half of the electricity generated over a year and didn’t factor in a battery. That means households with someone home during the day, or those able to run appliances in daylight hours, may consume more of their own solar power and save more.
Even after the government removed VAT on solar upgrades, however, a typical 4-kilowatt system still costs about £7,000 (about $9,450 USD). For many families, that remains too expensive, prompting calls for extra support to help lower-income households access the technology.
At the same time, other options are emerging. Plug-in solar panels are on sale in the U.K., giving people who cannot install a standard rooftop system another way to use the technology.
“Households should compare any regional headline with their own annual use, then look at whether a battery or more daytime demand would keep more of that generation on site,” a spokesperson for Recharge Renewable told The Guardian.
These U.K. estimates focus on cloudier regions, but the same tradeoffs show up elsewhere as households weigh upfront costs against long-term savings.
• Across the U.S., rooftop solar can shave hundreds off monthly household energy bills.
• For many homeowners, save over $1,500 every year once rooftop panels are installed.
• Energy experts say homeowners will save $31,000 to $120,000 over a system’s lifetime.
• Some installers say federal incentives can get you $5,000 for rooftop solar upfront.
While the above stories focus on rooftop solar, that isn’t the only possible route either. Depending on where you live, community solar may be the right move instead.
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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India has moved from more than 90% import dependence to become the world’s second-largest solar photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturing hub, with 233 GW of capacity as of June 2026. However, module manufacturing capacity has expanded faster than market demand, leaving factories operating at just 35–40% utilisation—well below the 50–65% generally considered necessary for sustainable operations. 
A new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and JMK Research, ‘Assessing overcapacity risk in India’s solar PV manufacturing market’, finds that solar manufacturing expansion has been overwhelmingly concentrated at the module stage. Module capacity now stands at nearly 7x cell capacity and 116x ingot-wafer capacity, leaving upstream segments such as cells, wafers, and polysilicon underdeveloped and the supply chain dependent on imported inputs, predominantly from China.
“India has added module capacity faster than the market can absorb it,” says Prabhakar Sharma, Senior Consultant at JMK Research and lead author of the report. “With around 135GW more already planned or under construction and factories running at 35–40%, the pressure on utilisation, margins, and returns will only intensify. Standalone module manufacturers face a real risk of stranded assets.”
The report finds this imbalance is unlikely to ease by 2030. India’s solar deployment is expected to grow strongly, but not fast enough to absorb the capacity already committed. New demand from data centres, green hydrogen and ammonia, and exports offers the most credible upside, an incremental 17–22GW by 2030, with green hydrogen the single largest avenue given the dedicated renewable capacity it requires. Even so, this is unlikely to fully offset the planned scale of expansion.
Exports will therefore be pivotal, and here the picture is shifting fast. India’s export base is heavily exposed to a single market: the US absorbed around 97% of module export volume in financial year (FY) 2026. That channel has since been disrupted by combined US duties exceeding 200% on most Indian manufacturers, which have cut exports to the US by 44–47% from their FY2024 peak. The European Union, whose recent supply-chain and sourcing rules increasingly reward diversification, now offers the most structured medium-term alternative.
“India may have the opportunity to unlock new export markets, provided Indian solar PV manufacturers can effectively compete with Chinese manufacturers by investing in R&D and the manufacturing of polysilicon, ingots, wafers, and cells,” says Charith Konda, Lead Energy Specialist at IEEFA, and contributing author of the report along with Vibhuti Garg, Director, South Asia, IEEFA. “But market access alone will not be enough. Sustained export growth depends on closing the cost and technology gap with China through scale, integration, and operational efficiency.”
On the supply side, the report expects the gap between capacity and demand to reshape the industry. Smaller, non-integrated manufacturers will come under greater pressure, while larger, vertically integrated players are positioned to gain. Domestic manufacturing is also likely to move upstream, from modules into cells, wafers, and eventually polysilicon, reducing reliance on imported inputs.
“The challenge is no longer building capacity; it is using it well and deepening the value chain. That means spreading incentives evenly across cells, wafers, and polysilicon rather than rewarding modules alone, strengthening industry-research collaboration, and giving exporters targeted, time-bound support,” says Chirag H. Tewani, Senior Research Associate, JMK Research, and report co-author. “India’s entry into the Pax Silica coalition is a real opportunity to diversify silicon inputs and cut its reliance on China,” says Pulkit Moudgil, Senior Research Associate, JMK Research, and co-author of the report.
Alongside these measures, the report calls for faster power transmission and right-of-way (RoW) clearances to sustain domestic deployment, and a framework to repower ageing solar assets. It concludes that today’s module overcapacity is best viewed as a transitional feature of a fast-expanding industry, one that can be resolved through demand absorption, consolidation, and disciplined upstream investment over the coming decade.
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By Kris Millgate
Published Sep 3, 2026 6:06 PM EDT
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A newly proposed data center that would be built on public land near Boulder City, Nevada, just hit a roadblock. On Sept. 1 a judge placed a hold on the project’s permit with the justification that the initial permit issued in 2023 was meant for a solar power plant. 
The stay, granted by administrative judge David Gunter, halts data center development by Townsite Solar 2, LLC. The company originally planned to build a solar power plant with battery storage on Bureau of Land Management ground about 5 miles southwest of Boulder City. That project was federally approved in 2023 after public meetings and an environmental assessment, which is required under the National Environmental Policy Act.
The judge stated that there was evidence the BLM “acted arbitrarily or capriciously when it determined that the data center project is ‘substantially the same’ as the solar plant project for purposes of its NEPA analysis.”
In 2025, Townsite returned to BLM with an amended project requesting use of the acreage for an AI data center instead. BLM approved the amended request in July citing similar use as reason enough for not requiring another environmental assessment. Those opposing the amendment say a data center is not similar to a solar farm.
“The two are vastly different,” said Nevada Rep. Dina Titus. “I’ve said since day one that this was not only improper, but illegal.”
While they function differently, there is a connection between solar and data. Solar farms can produce the power that AI data centers need to operate. Building the two next to each other cuts grid transmission out of the mix for energy transfers. Reducing transmission distance is a plus because the increasing amount of power required for data centers puts a strain on rural utility services. 
The proposed AI data center would require approximately 900,000 gallons of water during construction, according to the Nevada Current. The data center is also expected to consume more electricity annually than Boulder City itself consumes, according to an August report by Field & Stream.
“Rural communities are becoming the nexus of a national data center build-out that is moving fast and creating high pressure decisions regarding land use, fiscal policy, workforce development and resource management for local leaders and communities,” concluded researchers Anthony F. Pipa and Adam Aley in their 2026 Brookings Institution report for America’s Rural Future virtual symposium. 
Townsite was also in negotiations with Boulder City for an 88.5-acre city-owned parcel adjacent to the federal public land in question. But Boulder City’s planning commission voted unanimously against constructing the data center on city land, according to the Current.
The city estimated an initial minimum lease value of $1.47 million for the data center on city-owned land before the company pulled its request and pursued the public-land project through the federal government, which is now on hold. 
Read Next: The Real Reason the Forest Service Is Killing the Roadless Rule
“The judge ruled for transparency and public accountability in granting a stay based on BLM’s misuse of an environmental impact statement for a solar farm as justification for a data center,” Titus said.  
If built, Townsite would be the first data center built on public land managed by BLM on behalf of all Americans. It could also set a precedent for public land in other Western states. The BLM has until Sept. 21 to respond to the order issued by the Interior Board of Land Appeals.
Kris Millgate is a multimedia journalist based in eastern Idaho. She’s a fly fisher, a bird hunter and an avid seeker of awkward moments. Read and watch more of her work at tightlinemedia.com
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I assume it’s no coincidence the World Bank made announcements of new support for clean energy in both India and Pakistan on the same day. If you’re going to support one, you better support the other!
Anyway, the good news is that the World Bank is facilitating much more clean energy deployments in both major countries.
First of all, we’ve got the India story, which is perhaps a little more exciting since it concerns rooftop solar. (Also, India is … well, a bit bigger and more romanticized around the world, right?)
“The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved financing to accelerate India’s national program for solar rooftops to bring clean energy to millions of homes and create 1.7 million job opportunities across the renewable energy manufacturing, installation, and services value chain,” the World Bank wrote yesterday. 1.7 million jobs! … Or job opportunities. I’m not sure what that means, but if they actually mean jobs, that’s great.
They also mention India’s net zero commitment. Though, personally, I just find that embarrassing. Apparently, the country has committed to achieving net zero emissions … by 2070. (Yikes.) More notably, the country plans to have 60% of its electricity coming from non-fossil-fuel-based energy resources by 2035.
“While large-scale solar has grown rapidly, residential solar adoption has been limited. To unlock this potential, the Government of India established the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana program to incentivize solar rooftop installation for 10 million rural and urban households nationwide, reduce household electricity costs, and encourage local manufacturing of solar rooftop equipment,” the World Bank adds. That’s the program the financial agency is supporting.
“The financing package for the program includes an $820 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), a $60 million concessional loan from the Clean Technology Fund, and a $10 million grant from IBRD’s Livable Planet Fund. In addition, the World Bank will mobilize $4.2 billion in private financing in the form of commercial loans enabling them to install solar rooftops for households.”
I don’t know enough about the workings of the World Bank to know where this stands amongst its broader work, but this is clearly a significant boost to the rooftop solar industry in India. It should be greatly appreciated.
“The program will transform the residential solar market by removing financial barriers and building the capacity of distribution companies, banks, and vendors to deliver integrated service solutions,” notes Moez Cherif, Task Team Leader of the program. “Through collateral-free financing, households can install solar power and significantly reduce their monthly electricity bills.”
The World Bank also noted that it has supported solar power in India for several years. “The World Bank has been supporting India’s solar rooftop sector for over a decade, mobilizing more than $2 billion to catalyze market growth from 500 MW to over 27 GW of installed capacity,” said Paul Proccee, World Bank Acting Country Director for India. “This new financing will help India scale up residential solar, while creating job opportunities across the supply chain and installation ecosystem.”
In a little more complicated of a program, the World Bank is also supporting clean energy growth in Pakistan.
“The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved US$375.9 million in financing for Pakistan’s Grid Stability Enhancement Project, to strengthen its national power transmission network under the Boosting Energy Security through Transmission in Pakistan (BEST-PAK) Multiphase Programmatic Approach (MPA). The Project is the first phase of a 10-year program  to help Pakistan modernize its electricity transmission network, reduce power outages, and bring more clean energy to homes, businesses, and industries,” the World Bank wrote yesterday.
This will help integrate a lot more wind energy, and also boost grid stability and resilience. “The project will install advanced equipment to stabilize the transmission grid and improve the flow of electricity at key substations. This includes Static Synchronous Compensators, or STATCOMs, at three major 500 kV substations, as well as fixed reactors and capacitor banks across 26 grid substations. These upgrades will help bring 640 MW of currently curtailed wind energy onto the grid, enabling the full use of 1,840 MW of wind capacity in southern Pakistan by moving power to major demand centers. They will also support the integration of approximately 491 MW of planned private sector-led renewable energy projects. Together, these improvements will help Pakistan move toward its national commitment of achieving 60 percent renewable energy in its electricity mix by 2030, in line with the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement. Over its lifetime, the project is expected to avoid approximately 832,500 tons of CO₂ emissions each year, or more than 20.8 million tons cumulatively over 25 years.”
60% renewable electricity by 2030! That beats India! (Come on, let’s make this a competition.)
“Pakistan’s energy challenges are deeply interconnected with its broader economic stability,” said Bolormaa Amgaabazar, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan. “By investing in advanced technologies for more resilient transmission infrastructure, this project will contribute to reducing electricity costs, bring more renewable energy onto the grid, and lay the groundwork for a power sector that works better for households, businesses and industries, as well as overall Pakistan’s economy.”
Indeed.
It’s nice to see the World Bank supporting clean energy like this. Much better than subsidizing more coal and fossil gas power plants!
Zach is tryin’ to help society help itself one word at a time. He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its editor-in-chief and CEO. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about electric vehicles and renewable energy at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada, and Curaçao.
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