ClearVue tests solar window glaze in Macau theaustralian.com.au
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Argophilia
Αργοφιλία: For the love of the journey.
– September 24th, 2026 10:55 am
Halkiadakis partners with Aenaos Energy Systems for a 915 kW Virtual Net Billing solar project to power its Cretan supermarket network.
Crete-based supermarket chain Halkiadakis is expanding its renewable energy investment with a new 915 kW photovoltaic project designed to generate around 1.525 million kWh of clean electricity each year.
The project, reported by CretaLive, is being implemented by AENAOS Energy Systems through an Energy Community using Virtual Net Billing, allowing the photovoltaic installation’s output to offset consumption across multiple Halkiadakis facilities.
The company does not have to consume electricity at the exact location where the solar panels produce it. Through Virtual Net Billing, the generated energy can offset electricity consumption at different company facilities, regardless of location.
The new photovoltaic installation has an installed capacity of 915 kW and is expected to produce approximately 1,525,000 kWh of clean electricity annually.
That gives Halkiadakis another tool for dealing with one of the less glamorous realities of running large supermarkets: electricity consumption.
Refrigeration, freezers, lighting, air conditioning and other equipment keep supermarkets operating around the clock, making energy costs a significant part of the business.
The new investment aims to reduce energy expenditure and make the company less exposed to fluctuations in electricity-market prices.
Halkiadakis says the project forms part of its broader energy transformation strategy, with renewable generation and self-consumption becoming increasingly important to the company’s long-term operations.
The partnership with AENAOS Energy Systems is also continuing, with the energy company selected again to implement another major self-consumption project for the supermarket chain.
AENAOS describes the project as another example of its work with large businesses on Net Billing, Virtual Net Billing and energy-storage solutions.
This offers a practical lesson for businesses across Crete. Solar power is no longer simply about putting panels on the roof and hoping the electricity bill looks nicer at the end of the month. Systems such as Virtual Net Billing allow companies with multiple facilities to manage renewable energy production more flexibly.
For a supermarket chain, that can translate into lower operating costs, greater energy security and less exposure to unpredictable electricity prices.
And there is an environmental benefit too: producing around 1.5 million kWh of electricity from a renewable source every year means a substantial amount of the company’s electricity demand can be covered by clean generation rather than conventional power.
Iorgos Pappas is the Travel and Lifestyle Co-Editor at Argophilia, where he dives deep into the rhythms, flavors, and hidden corners of Greece—with a special focus on Crete. Though he’s lived in cultural hubs like Paris, Amsterdam, and Budapest, his heart beats to the Mediterranean tempo. Whether tracing village traditions or uncovering coastal gems, Iorgos brings a seasoned traveler’s eye—and a local’s affection—to every story.
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We use Gemini to help synthesize data, structure our reporting, and ensure our news remains as sharp as the reality we cover. When it comes to our imagery, we rely on the creative power of Midjourney and NightCafe, unless otherwise noted in our editorial credits.
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Sitia Mayor Giorgos Zervakis discusses island infrastructure, water management, and inter-municipal cooperation at the Smart Islands conference in Gavdos.
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The Ierapetra Port Authority enacts a temporary parking ban around Kales Fortress and the waterfront for World Tourism Day 2026 events.
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Rethymno promoted autumn, winter and 2027 travel at IFTM Top Resa in Paris, highlighting walking, cycling, gastronomy and authentic Cretan experiences.
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Italian Ambassador Paolo Cuculi confirms plans to restore the historic Italian Archaeological School on Albert Street during talks in Heraklion.
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Halkiadakis partners with Aenaos Energy Systems for a 915 kW Virtual Net Billing solar project to power its Cretan supermarket network.
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Caelux Signs Supply Agreements with Navitas Solar and Rayzon Solar for Advanced Photovoltaic Module Manufacturing in India – Global Legal Chronicle globallegalchronicle.com
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According to the latest IndexBox report on the global Residential Battery Storage market, the market enters 2026 with broader demand fundamentals, more disciplined procurement behavior, and a more regionally diversified supply architecture.
The global residential battery storage market is undergoing a profound transformation, evolving from a niche solution for energy independence to a mainstream component of modern household energy management. This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the market landscape as of 2026, projecting trends, competitive dynamics, and strategic implications through to 2035. The convergence of declining technology costs, supportive policy frameworks, and rising consumer demand for resilience and self-sufficiency is creating a robust growth trajectory for the sector. At its core, the market is being reshaped by the synergistic relationship with distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.
Residential batteries are increasingly viewed not merely as backup power sources but as intelligent assets that optimize self-consumption of solar energy, provide grid services, and enhance overall household energy economics. This shift is catalyzing new business models and value propositions, moving beyond hardware sales to integrated energy solutions. The competitive landscape is characterized by the presence of established battery manufacturers, specialized energy storage firms, and vertically integrated solar companies.
Market leadership is contingent upon technological innovation in battery chemistry, software capabilities for energy management, and the strength of distribution and installation networks. The outlook to 2035 points towards further market consolidation, technological diversification beyond dominant lithium-ion chemistries, and the deepening integration of storage into virtual power plants and decentralized energy markets.
The baseline scenario for the world residential battery storage market from 2026 to 2035 anticipates robust expansion, with global installations growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.2%, reaching a market index of 410 by 2035 (2025=100). This growth is underpinned by the accelerating adoption of residential solar PV, which serves as the primary entry point for storage systems, and by increasing consumer demand for energy resilience amid rising grid instability and extreme weather events.
Declining lithium-ion battery pack prices, though moderating, continue to improve the economics of residential storage, while policy incentives such as investment tax credits in the United States, feed-in tariff reforms in Europe, and subsidies in Australia and Japan further stimulate demand. The market is expected to diversify geographically, with Asia-Pacific emerging as the largest regional market by 2035, driven by rapid solar deployment in China, Japan, and Australia. North America and Europe will remain key markets, supported by favorable regulatory frameworks and high retail electricity prices.
Technological advancements, including the commercialization of sodium-ion and solid-state batteries, will gradually reduce reliance on lithium and enhance safety and performance. The integration of storage with EV charging and participation in virtual power plants will create new revenue streams, transforming residential batteries into multi-functional energy assets. However, supply chain constraints, permitting hurdles, and the intermittency of policy support pose risks to the baseline outlook.
Overall, the market is poised for sustained growth, with cumulative installed capacity expected to more than quadruple by 2035, driven by the dual imperatives of decarbonization and energy independence.
Solar self-consumption is the dominant application for residential battery storage, as homeowners seek to maximize the use of their solar generation. Currently, with declining feed-in tariffs and net metering changes, excess solar energy exported to the grid yields lower returns, making storage an attractive option to store surplus power for evening use. Through 2035, as solar PV penetration continues to rise, the demand for storage to enhance self-consumption will accelerate. Key demand-side indicators include the ratio of solar generation to household consumption, retail electricity prices, and the level of export compensation.
The mechanism is straightforward: higher self-consumption reduces electricity bills and improves the payback period of the solar-plus-storage system. This segment is expected to maintain its leading share, driven by the global energy transition and the increasing affordability of battery systems. Current trend: Growing rapidly as solar PV adoption increases and net metering reforms reduce export credits..
Major trends: Integration of smart energy management systems to optimize self-consumption, Growth in retrofitting batteries to existing solar installations, Policy shifts from net metering to self-consumption incentives, Rising adoption of time-of-use tariffs to encourage storage use, and Increasing bundling of solar and storage by installers.
Representative participants: Tesla, Inc, Enphase Energy, LG Energy Solution, Sungrow Power Supply, and Sonnen GmbH.
Backup power remains a critical driver for residential battery storage, particularly in regions prone to grid outages from extreme weather, aging infrastructure, or wildfire risks. Homeowners increasingly view batteries as a reliable alternative to diesel generators, offering silent, emission-free operation and seamless integration with solar. Through 2035, the frequency and intensity of outages are expected to rise due to climate change, further boosting demand. Demand-side indicators include outage frequency and duration, household critical load requirements, and the availability of subsidies for resilience.
The mechanism is resilience: batteries provide uninterrupted power for essential appliances during grid failures, enhancing safety and comfort. This segment will see sustained growth, especially in the U.S., Australia, and Japan, where grid reliability is a growing concern. Current trend: Steady growth driven by grid reliability concerns and extreme weather events..
Major trends: Increasing duration of backup power with higher capacity batteries, Integration with home energy management systems for prioritized loads, Rising adoption in wildfire-prone areas for power shutoff events, Government incentives for resilient energy systems, and Growing consumer preference for silent, emission-free backup over generators.
Representative participants: Tesla, Inc, Generac Power Systems, LG Energy Solution, Panasonic Corporation, and VARTA AG.
Time-of-use (TOU) optimization involves charging batteries when electricity prices are low and discharging during peak periods to reduce costs. This application is gaining traction as utilities implement TOU tariffs to manage grid demand and integrate renewable energy. Currently, homeowners with TOU rates can achieve significant savings by arbitraging price differences, and batteries enable this without changing consumption habits. Through 2035, the proliferation of TOU rates and real-time pricing will expand this segment. Demand-side indicators include the price differential between peak and off-peak periods, the availability of dynamic pricing, and the level of automation in energy management systems.
The mechanism is economic: batteries shift consumption to cheaper periods, lowering bills and providing grid benefits. This segment is expected to grow robustly, particularly in deregulated markets like Texas and parts of Europe. Current trend: Accelerating as utilities increasingly adopt time-of-use rates and demand charges..
Major trends: Expansion of TOU rates and demand charges by utilities, Advanced software algorithms for automated arbitrage, Integration with smart thermostats and appliances for load shifting, Participation in demand response programs for additional revenue, and Growing adoption in commercial and industrial settings, influencing residential.
Representative participants: Tesla, Inc, Sonnen GmbH, Enphase Energy, Huawei Technologies, and AlphaESS.
Off-grid residential battery storage systems are essential for homes not connected to the electrical grid, providing independence and reliability. Currently, this segment is prominent in remote areas, developing countries, and for homeowners seeking complete energy self-sufficiency. Through 2035, as battery costs decline and renewable energy becomes more accessible, off-grid systems will become more affordable and efficient, expanding their reach. Demand-side indicators include the cost of grid extension, reliability of local grids, and government programs for rural electrification. The mechanism is necessity: for off-grid homes, batteries store energy from solar or wind for use when generation is unavailable.
This segment will grow steadily, particularly in Africa, parts of Asia, and remote regions of developed countries, supported by declining costs and sustainability goals. Current trend: Niche but growing, driven by rural electrification and remote locations..
Major trends: Falling costs of solar-plus-storage making off-grid more viable, Government initiatives for rural electrification, Advancements in battery durability for harsh environments, Integration with microgrids for community resilience, and Growing demand for energy independence in remote areas.
Representative participants: Tesla, Inc, BYD Company, Sungrow Power Supply, AlphaESS, and LG Energy Solution.
EV charging support is an emerging application for residential battery storage, as homeowners with electric vehicles seek to manage increased electricity demand and avoid costly grid upgrades. Currently, batteries can buffer EV charging loads, reducing peak demand and enabling charging during off-peak hours. Through 2035, as EV adoption surges, this segment will expand significantly. Demand-side indicators include household EV ownership, electricity rate structures, and the capacity of home electrical panels. The mechanism is load management: batteries store energy during low-demand periods and discharge to support EV charging, avoiding peak charges and reducing strain on the grid.
This segment is expected to grow from a small base, driven by the synergistic relationship between EVs and home energy storage, particularly in regions with high EV penetration like California and Europe. Current trend: Emerging rapidly as EV adoption grows and home charging demands increase..
Major trends: Integration of EV chargers with home battery systems, Smart charging algorithms to optimize battery and EV charging, Utility programs incentivizing off-peak EV charging, Growing adoption of bidirectional charging (V2H) enabled by batteries, and Rising demand for home energy management systems that coordinate EV and battery.
Representative participants: Tesla, Inc, Enphase Energy, LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, and Huawei Technologies.
Interactive table based on the Store Companies dataset for this report.
Asia-Pacific is the largest and fastest-growing market, driven by rapid solar deployment in China, Japan, and Australia, supportive policies, and declining battery costs. Australia leads in per-capita adoption, while China’s market is expanding due to government targets and grid reforms. Direction: Growing.
North America remains a key market, with the U.S. accounting for the majority of installations. Growth is supported by the Investment Tax Credit, rising grid outages, and high retail electricity prices. Canada shows potential with declining costs and provincial incentives. Direction: Growing.
Europe is a mature market, with Germany, the UK, and Italy leading. Growth is driven by high electricity prices, feed-in tariff reforms, and EU decarbonization targets. Eastern Europe is emerging as a new growth frontier with improving economics. Direction: Growing.
Latin America is an emerging market, with Brazil and Mexico showing potential. Growth is driven by unreliable grids, rising electricity costs, and increasing solar adoption. However, economic volatility and limited financing options restrain faster expansion. Direction: Growing.
The Middle East & Africa region is nascent but promising, with South Africa and the UAE leading. Demand is driven by off-grid needs, grid instability, and solar potential. Falling battery costs and government initiatives are expected to accelerate adoption. Direction: Growing.
In the baseline scenario, IndexBox estimates a 12.0% compound annual growth rate for the global residential battery storage market over 2026-2035, bringing the market index to roughly 410 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 Residential Battery Storage market report.
This report provides an in-depth analysis of the Residential Battery Storage market in the World, including market size, structure, key trends, and forecast. The study highlights demand drivers, supply constraints, and competitive dynamics across the value chain.
The analysis is designed for manufacturers, distributors, investors, and advisors who require a consistent, data-driven view of market dynamics and a transparent analytical definition of the product scope.
This report covers residential battery storage systems, defined as rechargeable electrochemical energy storage devices designed for installation in single-family or multi-unit dwellings. The scope encompasses complete systems and their core components intended to store electricity for later use within a residential setting, supporting applications such as load shifting, backup power, and renewable energy integration.
The market is analyzed under international trade classifications for electric accumulators (batteries). The primary coverage falls within HS Headings 8507 for lead-acid and other storage batteries, and 8543 for electrical machines and apparatus with individual functions. These codes capture complete batteries, parts, and related power conversion/control units central to residential storage systems.
World
The analysis is built on a multi-source framework that combines official statistics, trade records, company disclosures, and expert validation. Data are standardized, reconciled, and cross-checked to ensure consistency across time series.
All data are normalized to a common product definition and mapped to a consistent set of codes. This ensures that comparisons across time are aligned and actionable.
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
Strong brand, ecosystem integration
Vertically integrated, major in LFP cells
LG Chem batteries, strong in premium markets
Pioneer in community/VPP features
IQ Battery integrates with microinverters
Often paired with own solar modules
Major inverter player with storage solutions
Integrates with its solar optimizer systems
Strong in backup, expanding storage portfolio
Growing international presence
Established brand in European market
Known for DC-coupled systems
Sunny Boy Storage, established inverter brand
Major battery supplier to installers/integrators
Strong in APAC and Europe
Luna battery, integrated digital power
Strong in DIY/boating, professional installs
Strong in Australian residential market
Long-duration, niche residential applications
aPower battery & Franklin Home Power controller
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“I just went ahead and jumped in …”
Photo Credit: TikTok
Footage of a dumpster-diving session outside of Bath & Body Works is getting attention not just for its allegedly discarded goods, but for what was found mixed in with them.
One seasoned diver, who goes by GlamourDDive online, said some of the tossed bags held seemingly new products alongside hair, dirt, mystery liquid, and even roaches.
In the recent, now-viral TikTok video, the diver showed herself retrieving bags and boxes of candles from a Bath & Body Works dumpster and saying, “Wait until you see what they left hiding for me to find….”
The video quickly drew nearly 700,000 views and almost 15,000 likes.
She described the dumpster as “loaded” and showed stacks of what appeared to be intact Christmas candles along with several mystery bags, adding, “So I just went ahead and jumped in…. I started grabbing and there were so many of these unbroken, brand-new Christmas candles.”
Not everything she found looked usable; she said some broken candles were mixed with hair, dirt, detergent, food, cockroaches, and a “bunch of mystery liquid.” She also found “food and crackers” alongside some broken goods.
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The comments section was mainly focused on the diver’s attire. The top comment pointed out that she completed the dive “in sandals.” Another commenter similarly advised, “Please wear gloves and closed shoes.” A third user wrote, “Please please please wear enclosed shoes next time. People throw away glass, needles, sharp things. All the time.”
One commenter, who claimed that they used to work at Bath & Body Works, wrote, “The best time to dumpster dive is during candle day weekend and Christmas eve. Have fun.”
Another user even suggested that the footage was staged, adding, “The majority of these people are setting up these finds! They usually buy items beforehand and then stage it so it looks as if they found it.”
For more on similar dumpster-diving finds and retail waste at Bath & Body Works and other chains, check out these stories.
• One dumpster diver pulled a mystery bag from a Bath & Body Works dumpster.
• Behind Sephora, a diver found thousands of dollars’ worth of discarded beauty products.
• At HomeGoods, one shopper made an upsetting discovery in a store dumpster.
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ML System stock gained 1.20 percent to PLN 13.46 on September 24, 2026, with 4,141 shares traded. Two storage projects add 10 MW of power capacity.
ML System stock gained 1.20 percent to PLN 13.46 on September 24, 2026, while 4,141 shares changed hands on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The company has also added two energy storage projects, each rated at 5 MW and 10 MWh, extending its activity beyond building-integrated photovoltaics.
ML System subsidiary ML System+ signed two contracts with BESS-Group for turnkey storage facilities in Warzyce and Nieg?owice in southeastern Poland. As WNP reports, each installation will combine 5 MW of power with 10 MWh of storage capacity.
The projects use ML System’s NexuView SCADA energy management system, linking the new storage business with the group’s existing solar and BIPV expertise. WNP also reports that ML System completed a 2025 project for a regional hospital involving a 2 MW solar farm and storage, while a PLN 45 million order for MPK Swidnica remains in its final implementation phase.
The storage contracts add an operating reference point to the company’s technology profile. BIZNES24 reported on September 23, 2026, that ML System received a Polish patent for a textured photovoltaic construction element and recorded PLN 122.85 million in consolidated revenue in fiscal year 2025.
The patent combines a photovoltaic cell with textured glass and a durable ceramic coating designed to imitate wood, concrete, granite or marble. That product direction supports the company’s positioning in construction materials that also generate electricity, while the new storage contracts broaden the project mix.
ML System shares stood at PLN 13.46 on September 24, 2026, up PLN 0.16, or 1.20 percent, from the previous reference level. The session high was PLN 13.48 and the session low was PLN 13.30, giving the move a narrow intraday spread alongside the new contract announcement.
PUBLISHED : 27 Sep 2026 at 04:39
NEWSPAPER SECTION: News
WRITER: Post Reporters
The government has defended the domestic solar industry after figures showed China supplied 99.3% of solar-panel imports in the first seven months of 2026.
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DOE cuts red tape for small solar system business.inquirer.net
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The transformation of EL POLI by meii estudio gives La Unión’s municipal sports center in Murcia, Spain, a new architectural and energetic identity. The intervention at La Unión’s municipal sports center, locally known as EL POLI, is structured around two complementary elements that redefine a beloved local landmark, with a primary focus on both energy production and consumption.
A vivid lime-green entrance creates a clear and welcoming gateway to the complex, while a folded photovoltaic canopy rises above the stands, its geometry shaped by the sun. Together, these two interventions generate renewable energy, improve comfort, and establish a bold new presence within La Unión’s distinctive mining landscape.
Serving as a welcoming gateway between the city and the sports complex, the renovated entrance building unifies essential programs, like changing rooms, offices, and the cafeteria, under a strong horizontal identity. Clad in a ventilated ceramic facade of vivid lime-green ribbed tiles, it contrasts with the local mining landscape. A fully foldable metal facade at its entrance dissolves the boundary between the town and the facilities, creating a versatile public threshold. The design team at meii estudio refers to these two elements as EL POLI Y LA PERGOLA.
all images ©meii estudio
The centrepiece of the project transforms a pure energy infrastructure into a striking architectural element. Designed by Murcia-based architectural practice meii estudio, to maximise solar energy production, its form is driven entirely by function: the optimal south-facing orientation and inclination of the photovoltaic panels, calculated precisely to the latitude of La Unión, generate a sequence of folded planes with a distinctive sawtooth profile.
Constructed using a robust three-dimensional steel structure and clad in blue metal sheeting, LA PÉRGOLA constantly shifts in appearance as natural light evolves. This creates a vibrant visual dialogue with the green ceramic entrance building while providing essential shade for the existing football stands.
Together, the lime-green entrance and the dynamic blue solar canopy succeed on multiple levels: they supply clean, renewable energy to the complex, improve user comfort, and forge a powerful new architectural identity for La Unión.
EL POLI is La Unión’s municipal sports center in Murcia, Spain
lime-green ribbed ceramic tiles clad the entrance building’s ventilated facade
the green ceramic facade contrasts with La Unión’s mining landscape
LA PÉRGOLA rises above the existing football stands as a photovoltaic canopy
the canopy’s folded geometry is shaped by the optimal orientation of its solar panels
blue metal sheeting gives LA PÉRGOLA its changing visual character
a sequence of folded planes creates LA PÉRGOLA’s distinctive sawtooth profile
a three-dimensional steel structure supports the photovoltaic canopy
LA PÉRGOLA provides shade for the existing football stands
the project combines energy production with improvements to user comfort
project info:
name: EL POLI Y LA PERGOLA
architect: meii estudio | @meii_estudio
location: Murcia, Spain
designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. See more project submissions from our readers here.
edited by: Christina Vergopoulou | designboom
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A floating solar system installed at a tomato farm in Suffolk is already notching up considerable savings – 10 months after it was installed.
Family-run green energy firm East Green Energy fitted the array at Suffolk Fresh’s water reservoir at Blakenham Nursery, Bramford, near Ipswich, in November last year.
The 1,250 panel structure – built over a few weeks – was the fourth installed in the UK and one of the largest.
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So far, it has produced around 500 megawatt hours of energy.
Based on its performance to date, it is on course to cut imported energy to the producer’s glasshouses by more than a fifth.
More: Baron Bigod farmer prepares to chair first Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival
The amount of energy produced equates to around the yearly consumption of 45 to 50 average UK homes.
East Green Energy is owned by the Gawthrop family – which was involved in pig farming over generations before launching the green energy business around 20 years ago.
It now employs around 20 people from its base in Melton, near Woodbridge, and specialises in solar PV, battery storage, heat pumps and EV charging.
The firm is run by managing director Robbie Gawthrop supported by his sons George and Jack who are commercial director and commercial manager respectively.
Jack Gawthrop said the concept of the floating solar array was already popular in Europe as it has a dual use in stopping evaporation and erosion as well as producing energy.
More: Sugar beet yields ‘could halve’ as growers battle for higher crop price
The company designed, installed and now maintains the array, having imported the parts from a manufacturer in Germany.
“East Green Energy’s floating solar project at Suffolk Fresh has now been running for 10 months, and it’s already proving its worth,” he said.
“The system has generated 499,015 kWh of clean energy, making good use of the reservoir and giving the site a steady, low-carbon power supply.
“Floating solar performs well thanks to the natural cooling effect of the water, and this project shows how well it can work for a busy rural site.
“Around 95% of the energy produced has been used directly on site, which means the system is closely matched to Suffolk Fresh’s daily demand.
“Based on the way it’s performing, we are expecting it to cut their import rates by at least 20%, helping to keep costs down while reducing their environmental impact.”
Over a 10-month period, the new installation generated 499,015 kWh of electricity, 95% of which was used on site and the rest was exported to the grid.
More: St Edmundsbury Cathedral to host star-studded farming heritage festival
More: Mendlesham company sells floating reservoir covers
Mark Pearson of tomato growers Suffolk Fresh said: “The floating solar system is already delivering clear benefits, from cutting our energy bills to giving us far more control over our power use during peak periods.
“For a site like ours, where refrigeration, irrigation and processing equipment run constantly, the savings and stability this project brings are hugely valuable.”
East Green Energy partnered with National Pontoon on the 750 kWp project, one of the UK’s largest floating solar schemes.
The vast nursery it serves is one of the UK’s first semi-closed hydroponic glasshouses and covers 8.4 hectares.
The energy produced is used mainly for Suffolk Fresh’s refrigeration systems.
More: Mendlesham company sells floating reservoir covers
The solar panels are mounted on floating pontoons which are anchored to the reservoir bund and fixed at an optimum angle for solar generation.
East Green Energy specialists in commercial and utility‑scale work and has several multi‑megawatt schemes progressing through development.
Floating solar is gaining interest in the UK because reservoirs, lakes and lagoons are seen as having practical advantages.
These include that it’s space-efficient and panels tend to run cooler over water which helps with output.
Many water bodies already sit close to grid connections or industrial areas.
If the UK keeps pace with international development, studies suggest floating solar could reach more than 40 gigawatts of capacity by 2050 – and around 3.6 gigawatts by 2030, said the firm.
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Muscat – A grade 10 student in Muscat is exploring the possibilities of transforming windows – the most ordinary feature of modern buildings – into a source of renewable energy without losing its primary function.
Gaurish Metha of Indian School Muscat is developing AETHER, a student-led engineering concept that aims to turn architectural glass into an electricity-generating surface. The project uses Carbon Quantum Dots (CQDs), derived from carbon-rich agricultural waste, and is designed to direct captured sunlight towards photovoltaic cells positioned around the edges of the glass.
“What makes AETHER different is that we are not simply trying to make another solar panel,” Gaurish said. “The core idea is to make the glass itself an energy-generating surface, while keeping the photovoltaic components largely outside the main viewing area.”
The concept emerged from research into transparent and semi-transparent solar technologies. Gaurish said the challenge is finding a practical balance between transparency, efficiency and cost, particularly when the technology is considered for large architectural surfaces.
AETHER aims to keep more than 92% of the main window area transparent, with the photovoltaic cells moved to the perimeter. The project currently targets more than 35% conversion efficiency for its specialised edge cells, although Gaurish stressed that these figures remain targets requiring experimental validation.
“A same-sized conventional solar panel would generate much more electricity because its entire surface is used for photovoltaic conversion,” he said. “But AETHER is solving a different problem – using the large glass surfaces of buildings and skyscrapers, where conventional rooftop solar cannot utilise most of that area.”
The CQD technology is central to the concept. Gaurish said the team initially explored organic luminescent pigments made from agricultural waste but moved towards CQDs after finding concerns over long-term UV degradation.
The proposed system would use CQDs to absorb sunlight, particularly ultraviolet radiation, and re-emit it as deep red light at around 690 nanometres. The light would then travel through the glass by total internal reflection towards photovoltaic cells along its edges.
However, Gaurish is clear that AETHER remains at the research and development stage.
“The CQD system has not been experimentally validated yet,” he said. “We have developed the technical architecture and research direction, but as students, we do not have access to the specialised facilities needed to fabricate and test the material ourselves.”
Oman presents both an opportunity and a challenge for the project. Gaurish points to the country’s strong sunlight and extensive use of glass in modern buildings, while acknowledging that heat, UV exposure, dust and humidity could test the technology’s durability. The team is targeting a potential lifespan of 20 to 25 years, subject to future testing under UV exposure, thermal cycling and humidity. “Our next major milestone is a physical proof of concept that demonstrates the complete optical-to-electrical chain,” Gaurish said.
The next stage will involve fabricating the CQD layer, testing its optical properties, verifying light transmission through the glass and measuring the resulting electrical output.
Gaurish is working with his friend and presentation partner Kaveesh Rayhan on the project.
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The government has directed authorities concerned to ensure installation of solar panels in market places across the country and supply the surplus power to the national grid by January 31, next year, officials said on Saturday.
Local government division officials said the directive was issued two days ago saying every hats bazaars up to the union level must install the solar systems to meet their own requirement.
“The surplus electricity, generated by the solar panels, will be supplied to the national grid through the net metering system,” the local government division circular issued on Thursday, said.
It said the solar power systems must have a minimum battery backup of two hours while the marketplaces, reports BSS.
The existing offices and other buildings under departments, agencies and institutions of the local government division across the country must also install the solar systems on their rooftops.
According to the circular the government appointed upazila parishad administrators and upazila executive chiefs of UNOs would have to implement the order by the first month of 2027 taking required measures.
It said the solar panels could be installed using funds allocated from lease revenues of haats and markets in accordance with sub-rules (3) and (5) of Rule 10 of the Haat and Bazar (Establishment and Management) Rules, 2025.
The officials said the order issued to reduce dependence on fossil fuel crunch and it was part of the government plan to promote renewable energy to ensure sustainable energy security.
They said the arrangement would also create an opportunity for increased revenue earnings for local government institutions since the Net Metering Guideline, 2025, suggested the solar system installers would receive Tk 10.50 for each unit of electricity supplied to the national grid.
The circular instructed authorities to take initiatives to commercially expand solar power systems using 10 percent of the lease revenue allocated for maintenance or development of the respective haats and markets.
The directive also instructed the authorities to sign agreements on non-judicial stamps with the companies installing the solar panels for repair and maintenance for the next 20 years, ensuring long-term maintenance of the installed systems.
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Arunachal Pradesh Health and Family Welfare Minister Biyuram Wahge on Wednesday, September 23 inaugurated the state-level launch of the Energy for Health initiative, under which solar power systems will be provided to 393 healthcare centres across the state.
The initiative, implemented in collaboration with the SELCO Foundation, aims to improve the reliability of power supply at public health facilities, particularly in remote and resource-constrained areas.
The inauguration programme was held at the Primary Health Centre (PHC) Itafort in Itanagar and was attended by Commissioner of Health Pawan Kumar Saini and Secretary, Health Department, Vivek H.P.
During the event, Wahge released the photo book ‘Energy for Health – Arunachal Pradesh’ and launched the Saura e-Mitra App, a digital incident management system aimed at strengthening the monitoring and management of incidents related to health facilities.
A Health Facility and Human Resource Mapping System, a web-based application, was also launched during the programme. The system is intended to provide digital mapping of healthcare facilities and human resources across the state.
Dr Harish Hande, Chief Executive Officer of the SELCO Foundation, briefed the gathering on the organisation’s Energy for Health initiative and its work in strengthening energy access for healthcare facilities.
The SELCO Foundation’s Energy for Health programme is a nationwide initiative focused on providing reliable solar energy and energy-efficient medical technology to public health facilities in remote and underserved areas.
Under the programme, decentralised solar photovoltaic systems ranging from 3 kWp to 15 kWp, along with battery backup systems, are installed at healthcare facilities to ensure a more reliable power supply.
The foundation plans to provide solar energy solutions to 25,000 public health facilities across 12 states by the end of 2026. The initiative is expected to strengthen healthcare delivery and climate resilience for more than 170 million people and support over 160,000 frontline health workers.
The programme has been developed in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, state health missions and funding partners, including the IKEA Foundation.
In Arunachal Pradesh, the initiative is expected to support healthcare centres in addressing power-related challenges and improving the availability of essential medical services.
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Most users thought the general approach could work, but many said the specific equipment was overpriced.
Photo Credit: iStock
A Reddit user near Atlanta was looking for a modest solar backup plan to keep refrigerated food safe during a blackout, rather than jumping straight to a whole-house setup.
The central question was simple: could a portable power station and a single 400-watt panel realistically cover a refrigerator and maybe a chest freezer too?
On Reddit, the OP, who has accessible south-facing roof space and lives in sunny Atlanta, said they were “toying with the idea” of using an Anker Solix S2000 with a 400-watt panel to back up a fridge and ideally a chest freezer. Most users thought the general approach could work, but many said the specific equipment was overpriced.
One user said, “Look for cheap used solar on fb marketplace. I bought used 3pcs 400w for $60 each.”
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.
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Others echoed that advice, though several noted that secondhand supply can vary widely by location, making strong deals easier to find in some areas than in others.
Several users said the panel is only one part of the equation, and battery size may matter even more for appliances that cycle on and off throughout the day. Going solar is one of the best ways to save money on home energy. Homeowners curious about what a larger rooftop setup might cost can try EnergySage to get free solar installation estimates and compare quotes.
A 400-watt panel may help recharge a battery station, but whether that setup can keep a fridge and freezer running for long depends on sun exposure, appliance efficiency, battery capacity, and startup power demands.
One user said they use a 2,048-watt-hour power station to “peak shave most of my kitchen on it full time.” Another advised the OP to “consider a larger battery if you have the budget if you have a power hungry fridge/freezer.” Together, those replies suggested that small-scale solar-plus-storage can work when it is matched to actual household usage.
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To get started, just answer a few questions about your home — no phone number required. Within a day or two, EnergySage will email you the best local options for your needs, and their expert advisers can help you compare quotes and pick a winner.
Measuring actual electricity use is the first step. A fridge and chest freezer may sound modest, but their power draw can vary significantly, and users urged the OP to compare panel voltage, battery size, and local panel prices before making a purchase.
Adding battery storage to a solar setup is one of the best ways to protect your home during outages, save on energy costs, and go off-grid. It can also make a smaller solar array more useful by storing daytime power for nighttime use. Homeowners can explore EnergySage for information about home battery storage options, including competitive installation estimates.
With EnergySage’s help, the average person can save up to $10,000 on solar purchases and installations. EnergySage’s solar map shows the average cost of a home solar panel system by state, along with solar incentives for each state, which can help homeowners get the best price for rooftop solar panels and access available incentives.
If you’re weighing a small solar backup system, these stories take a closer look at batteries, panels, and what it really takes to keep essentials powered. They cover real-world fridge backup setups, home batteries, utility programs, and homeowner experiences with solar costs.
💡Go deep on the latest news and trends shaping the residential solar landscape
• One household found a backup solar setup could keep a fridge running 24 hours.
• Across U.S. homes, next-gen backup batteries are replacing noisy gas generators.
• VillaGrid said its home energy storage appliance can keep fridges cold through blackouts.
• In Utah, Rocky Mountain Power’s grid-connected home batteries showed promise during outages.
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Photon Energy NV/ Key word(s): Disposal
Photon Energy N.V. Sells 7.6 MWp of PV Operational Assets in Slovakia
26.09.2026 / 00:01 CET/CEST
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Company: Photon Energy N.V.
Date: 2026-09-25
Title: Photon Energy N.V. Sells 7.6 MWp of PV Operational Assets in Slovakia
Detailed data:
The management board of Photon Energy N.V. informs that it has entered into an agreement for the sale of eight photovoltaic power plants in Slovakia with a total installed capacity of 7.581 MWp (the “Portfolio”). The Portfolio comprises eight wholly owned special purpose vehicles (SPVs) operating photovoltaic power plants in Slovakia namely: EcoPlan 2 and 3 located in Mokra Luka (963 kWp each), Fotonika (999 kWp), Sun4ZVB and SUN4ZVC located in Babina (999 kWp each), SK SPV 2 and 3 located in Jovice (979 kWp each), and ATS Energy located in Blatná (700 kWp). The whole Portfolio was sold to four private individuals who are strategic investors in PV assets in Slovakia. The Portfolio transaction was structured as a sale of shares in the SPV companies at an enterprise valuation of EUR 5.6 million, payable upon completion of the transaction.
The Portfolio generated revenues of approximately EUR 2.1 million and EBITDA of approximately EUR 1.65 million in 2025. As of 30 June 2026, the Portfolio had outstanding project financing of approximately EUR 4.1 million, which remains with the sold SPV companies and thus the Group’s financial debt is reduced by this amount.
The transaction forms a part of the Group's ongoing efforts to optimize its asset portfolio, reduce financial debt, strengthen its liquidity position and facilitate the envisaged restructuring process.
According to the Company's assessment, the assets have a limited remaining feed-in tariff support period until 2030 or 2031 and require additional investment in connection with material capital expenditure obligations before year-end 2026. These investment commitments arise from the extension of the feed-in-tariff period from 15 to 20 years introduced in 2021 and expose the Group to certain regulatory uncertainties. A detailed analysis of the long-term repowering options after the end of the feed-in-tariff scheme for the Slovak portfolio, conducted in 2023, highlighted the unavailability of additional grid capacity and severe limitations on the extension of land usage rights, severely limiting value upside from repowering. In light of these considerations, and the Group's objective to limit further capital-intensive investments, the Company considers the divestment of the Portfolio an appropriate strategic step.
The Group continues owning 50% stakes in three PV power plants in Slovakia (Myjava, Polianka and Brestovec) with a total installed capacity of 2.85 MWp. Land ownership and the plants’ proximity to potential future energy users provide better long-term optionality than the power plants sold in the transaction. The project financing on these three joint venture power plants have been fully repaid in 2025 and thus they provide ongoing unencumbered free cash flow to the Group.
Upon completion of the transaction, the Group expects to reduce consolidated financial debt by approximately EUR 4.1 million as a result of deconsolidation, reduce required capital expenditures and related regulatory risks, secure funding to facilitate the envisaged restructuring process in the interest of the joint creditors and provide additional resources for the Group's immediate financing and working capital requirements, which are expected to benefit all stakeholders.
26.09.2026 CET/CEST Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by EQS News – a service of EQS Group.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
The EQS Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
2405846 26.09.2026 CET/CEST
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ZEELAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Zeeland Township is sending letters to President Trump and members of his cabinet, asking for support in its fight against a proposed solar farm that local leaders say threatens agricultural land and strips communities of local decision-making authority.
WATCH: Zeeland Township asks Trump administration to back local control fight against solar farm
The township is locked in a legal and regulatory battle with RWE Americas over the Silver Maple Solar Farm, a $300 million, 200-megawatt project that would span 1,900 acres of agricultural-zoned land across Zeeland and Jamestown townships.
“There’s a solar industrial complex that’s looking at building on our farmland here that’s the size of Zeeland City, and RWE stepped beyond our local planning commission, did not want to wait for us to do our due diligence on working on an ordinance, and went to the MPSC level,” Zeeland Township Supervisor Kerri Bosma said.
RWE Americas is seeking approval for the project from the Michigan Public Service Commission. After its application was suspended for several months at the company’s request, RWE officially refiled that application with the commission last Friday.
Zeeland Township filed a lawsuit against RWE Americas in July, arguing that Public Act 233 — a state law that removes local oversight of energy developments — is unconstitutional.
PRIOR COVERAGE: Silver Maple Solar Farm application refiled with Michigan regulators amid dueling lawsuits
“Fighting this not only at the MPSC level in Lansing, we’re also fighting this, well, we tried to keep it in our local courts, and RWE moved it to the federal courts, and we are looking to remand that back to our local courts,” Bosma said.
Bosma gathered Thursday with Township Trustee Jeff Salisbury, Sen. Roger Victory, and Ottawa County Commissioners Jacob Bonnema and Joe Moss to announce the letter-writing effort.
“I will be signing letters to our president, also to the Secretary of Energy, our Secretary of Agriculture, and to others, there’s going to be a blitz of letters going out asking for support,” Bosma said.
The letters outline the township’s fight against the RWE Americas solar farm proposal and invite President Trump to see the situation in person.
“I would love to see our president see firsthand what is happening here in Ottawa County with PA 233, what that is doing to our farmland, and then also I would appreciate the opportunity to have him see what’s happening with just the agricultural businesses that are being affected that also trickle to our economy as well,” Bosma said.
For Sen. Roger Victory, R-Michigan, 31st District, the issue is personal. Victory grew up farming the land now at the center of the dispute.
PRIOR COVERAGE: RWE faces pushback at Silver Maple Solar Farm public meeting held in Zeeland Township
“As a four-year-old, as always on my grandpa’s farm, I thought we’d never be on a piece of property of controversy that we would have to be writing the President of the United States. Amen,” Victory said.
Victory said the issue extends beyond the solar farm proposal.
“I had opportunity even to just discuss this with our federal officials, Secretary Wright of Energy, of this aspect of our energy issues. We have the Campbell power plant, and then we have that situation, we have the solar, and it’s been really disrupting our communities,” Victory said. “It’s ripping the souls out of our communities when some outside entities come in and want to make a major change and put a huge industrial facility in what you see behind me.”
Ottawa County Commissioner Jacob Bonnema, 4th District, who also lives in the area, said the county commission is committed to standing with the township.
PRIOR COVERAGE: Zeeland Township approves new data center and energy facility moratorium to protect local planning
“We support Kerri Bosma, her leadership, what’s going on, Howard Fink here in Zeeland, and we want to make sure that the county commission plays a role in that. And we’ll determine what the appropriate role is soon enough,” Bonnema said. “The decisions that affect our land have to be fought for, and the people in the community need to be making those decisions, not people outside the community in Lansing and beyond.”
Ottawa County Commissioner Joe Moss, 5th District, said the fight is about more than one solar project — it is about preserving local authority across Michigan.
PRIOR COVERAGE: Ottawa County weighs role in paused Silver Maple solar farm case as neighbors continue opposition
“PA 233 does have direct impact and negative impact on our constituents, and we need people to understand at the local, state, and national level how this type of policy that removes local control and local decision-making has a negative effect,” Moss said. “I’ve been very impressed with Zeeland, and how they have been put into this situation not by choice, but have risen to the challenge, and so that is excellent to see our local elected officials not sitting back, but using their voice and also listening to the people.”
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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A Spanish solar system has reimagined typical photovoltaic designs to maximize output during peak hours of demand.
Global electricity consumption is rapidly rising as the world continues to advance technologically.
At certain times, power needs are so high that grids become significantly strained.
Conventional systems track the sun and use expensive energy storage solutions, but this innovative pilot in Spain does not.
Why does this unconventional layout improve grid balance and maximize efficiency?
The rise of artificial intelligence has marked a turning point in the global technological era.
Computers are no longer mere data-processing tools.
Instead, they have become independent learners that are reshaping the world’s industry, economy, and daily life.
What’s more, AI continues to evolve to keep pace with society.
While this improves convenience, it also surges electricity consumption worldwide.
Major data centers, which are the powerhouses of AI, are the main culprits.
The International Energy Agency indicated that these facilities will raise power demand to 950 terawatt-hours by 2030.
This is almost double the baseline measured in recent years.
Other contributors to higher electricity requirements include shifting space heating and cooling, manufacturing, and transport.
European nations like Spain are experiencing this firsthand.
During Spanish summer heatwaves, domestic power usage is especially high.
Localized demand even spikes during specific hours, adding major voltage and frequency stress to electric grids.
The consequences of a strained electrical grid usually ripple across the entire energy network.
Unstable frequency and voltages raise the risk of localized blackouts.
This can damage sensitive industrial equipment, forcing operators to use costly, fossil-fuel plants to balance the system.
Additionally, consumers face higher wholesale electricity prices during high-demand periods.
This is why large-scale solar power generation was seen as a key clean energy solution to these problems.
But even these installations face unique challenges.
Peak power production usually occurs during midday when the sun is overhead.
This creates an oversupply followed by a major generation drop-off during morning and evening demand peaks.
Battery energy storage systems can address this, but deployment is expensive and can be time-consuming.
Furthermore, ideal land for utility-scale developments is becoming increasingly limited.
Fortunately, FutureVoltaics developed an innovative solar technology specifically designed to solve these challenges. It is currently being tested at a pilot site.
Solar panels that track the sun’s movement have become a standard practice across various nations.
But the VectHor system uses a different setup.
FutureVoltaics tested its commercial version at a pilot plant in Armintza Bay, Spain.
It consists of 144 units with a total capacity of 25.2 kW.
They are operating alongside conventional fixed-tilt panels for reference.
VectHor panels are mounted bifacially and entirely upright, facing east and west.
The panels are flanked by specialized horizontal reflectors.
Midday overhead sunlight is captured and reflected onto the vertical panels. During early morning and late afternoon, sunlight strikes the panels directly.
The midday overproduction curve is eliminated by producing consistent electricity during peak grid demand and prices.
Other benefits of the vertical setup include:
The pilot plant’s success proves that vertical bifacial systems paired with reflectors outperform traditional tilted arrays.
Before mechanical trackers become entirely obsolete, developers must find a way to accelerate the technology’s commercialization.
Integrating reflector kits into limited urban and rural sites may help fast-track the process.
Updated policies with grid incentives that reward generation during peak demand periods could also help. Ultimately, solar deployment can scale successfully by using next-generation panel designs.
Anke Maree is a writer with a clear and engaging editorial style. Her work focuses on making complex topics accessible, informative, and relevant for readers across different areas of interest.
Anke Maree is a writer with a clear and engaging editorial style. Her work focuses on making complex topics accessible, informative, and relevant for readers across different areas of interest.
Anke Maree is a writer with a clear and engaging editorial style. Her work focuses on making complex topics accessible, informative, and relevant for readers across different areas of interest.
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“It’s actually been proven time and time again that cattle and solar can coexist peacefully.”
Photo Credit: iStock
One TikTok creator is challenging an AI-generated meme that contrasts “real farms rebuild the earth” with “vegan solar farms” that supposedly “wreck ecosystems,” saying it leaves out the resource burden of cattle production and solar’s potential to share land with agriculture.
In a TikTok video, renewable-energy content creator bonusmoles (@bonusmoles) argued that memes like this can be brushed aside because “it is not based in reality at all.”
At the center of the response was a simple argument that farmland and solar development are not automatically at odds.
Rather than excluding grazing, some solar sites can include cattle, with the panels providing shade and the animals helping manage the grass beneath and around them.
The creator also pushed back on the idea that cattle operations are inherently restorative, arguing that many modern cattle farms put enormous pressure on land and water resources.
“Cattle are the biggest source of water usage in the United States by an insanely huge margin and are actively draining the Colorado River dry,” bonusmoles declared.
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Some commenters also pointed to the appeal of solar infrastructure that works with existing spaces and landscapes.
One commenter wrote: “Those elevated solar panels are so cool I want them everywhere.”
The debate touches on a growing area often described as agrivoltaics, where solar panels and farming or grazing share the same land.
Bonusmoles noted, “it’s actually been proven time and time again that cattle and solar can coexist peacefully.” The video added that the same has been shown with other livestock, not just cows.
The creator also pointed to places where cattle are not especially practical, such as deserts, as settings where solar can still be useful. In those environments, panel shade can help smaller animals by giving them protection from predators and harsh conditions.
That framing can also distract from larger questions about how land and water are actually being used.
Several commenters took that point a step further, noting that built environments could host more clean energy without competing with farmland at all.
At the community level, one clear opportunity is to expand solar in places people already use every day.
A commenter captured that frustration clearly.
“Every warehouse, parking lot, and large retail store should be covered in panels and we’d be gucci,” they wrote.
Solar does not have to mean clearing untouched land or choosing energy over food production. It can also mean using parking lots and dual-use agricultural sites more effectively.
Solar projects can fit into working farms, as many stories around the country show.
• Ranchers are finding that cows and solar panels can thrive on the same acres.
• On grazing sites, sheep raised beside panels are showing unexpected gains in wool quality.
• Across working farms, solar panels on cropland are helping fields stay productive.
• Vegetable growers are uncovering the groundbreaking potential of solar to support food production.
• At a Texas solar farm, pairing sheep with panels is cutting mowing needs.
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The project in Guyton could generate up to 27 megawatts of electricity and millions of dollars in local tax revenue over 30 years, according to developers.
The project in Guyton could generate up to 27 megawatts of electricity and millions of dollars in local tax revenue over 30 years, according to developers.
A proposed solar farm in Effingham County could generate enough electricity to power thousands of homes, but some neighbors worry the development would change the area’s rural character.
The project, called the Effingham Burns Solar Farm, would cover about 150 acres of land near Highway 119 and Little McCall Road in Guyton, according to a Development of Regional Impact (DRI) filing.
Georgia-based developer Inman Solar is leading the proposal. A company spokesperson said the solar farm could generate up to 27 megawatts of electricity, enough to power approximately 4,725 homes. The spokesperson said the project is planned to feed into Georgia Power’s existing grid.
Georgia Power told WJCL 22 News that the proposed solar farm is not currently part of its current Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) portfolio. However, the utility does "regularly procure renewable energy from third-party developers."
Some neighbors shared concerned about the project’s potential effect on the landscape.
“I don’t really like seeing big industrialization,” Guyton resident Walker Shearouse said. “The more that they put out here, it’s just taking away from the land… It’s an eyesore.”
Inman Solar said the project "would be tucked away on private property and not visible to most folks."
Shearouse said he also hopes the development could provide some relief for utility customers.
“Electric bills are high nowadays,” he said. “Hopefully, that can drop it down, too.”
The developer has not said whether the project would reduce customers’ electricity bills.
Inman Solar estimates the solar farm would generate about $136,000 annually in tax revenue for Effingham County over its projected 30-year lifespan, including approximately $1.2 million in tax revenue during its first five years.
Construction could begin as early as 2027. Before work can start, however, the proposal is expected to go before the Effingham County Board of Commissioners.
Hearst Television participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.
More than 2,750 people have responded to a consultation about plans to build what would be Europe's biggest solar farm in South Yorkshire.
The responses have been sent to the government's Planning Inspectorate as part of a complex process examining the proposals, which span areas of Doncaster and Rotherham.
The comments are not broken down into for or against, but a number of parish councils, community groups, MPs and Rotherham and Doncaster councils have objected.
The solar farm and battery storage was originally projected to cover 3,500 acres (5.5sq miles) but applicants Whitestone Net Zero said it had made "significant changes to the project design" following two rounds of consultation.
If constructed as proposed, the 750MW solar farm would extend from Conisbrough through Ravenfield, Bramley, Wickersley, Hellaby, Thurcroft, Brampton-en-le-Morthen, Anston, Aston, Whiston and towards Brinsworth.
The government wants at least 95% of Great Britain's electricity to come from "clean" sources, including renewables – such as solar and wind – and nuclear energy by 2030.
Last year, solar energy provided more than 6% of Great Britain's electricity – rising to more than 40% for a small number of half-hour periods in July.
The government is targeting 45-47 gigawatts (GW) of solar power capacity by 2030, to help meet its clean power goal, potentially rising to 54-57GW with extra rooftop solar.
That would be up from 21GW as of autumn 2025, according to government figures, although the solar industry puts current capacity at 24GW.
Whitestone Warriors, which represents residents and businesses, said it had "significant concerns" about the scale, location and cumulative impact of the development.
It said: "Our primary concern is that the project should be examined as a single integrated development, battery energy storage facilities, substations, cable routes and associated infrastructure. The cumulative impact must be assessed as a whole rather than in isolation."
"Residents are concerned that extensive solar infrastructure would fundamentally alter the character of these areas and lead to the industrialisation of significant areas of countryside and agricultural land," it added.
South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard has also objected, saying he is "well aware of the strength of feeling in communities".
"If successful, this scheme will be one of the largest solar farms in the UK and its impact will be felt by significant swathes of South Yorkshire for a significant period of time.
"The proposed £18m community fund over 60 years seems wholly inadequate mitigation for the negative impacts, offering little incentive or financial benefit for local communities set to lose significant local amenities and access to nature."
Whitestone said new energy projects can only connect to the National Grid at locations where there is available capacity, such as Brinsworth. Once it had secured the grid connection agreement, it looked for land nearby that would be suitable for solar.
It said: "We presented our initial proposals in autumn 2024 during the first consultation. This original masterplan presented all of the land that we were considering to include in the project.
"In response to feedback from that consultation, we reduced these areas by a quarter to create offsets around homes, villages and public rights of way.
"After the second consultation in autumn 2025, we responded to feedback and further reduced these areas around homes, villages, and environmentally sensitive locations."
The application needs to go through a lengthy planning process as it is classed as a national infrastructure project. Planning inspectors can take up to six months to examine the responses before sending their recommendation to the secretary of state for a final decision.
Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
David Nutall, from Rotherham, is wanted by police in connection with the crash on 11 September.
Dan McGrail says the state-owned renewables investment firm is directly recruiting two people a week, and its funding is benefitting thousands more.
Two men were killed when a pickup truck struck them as they walked along a path, an inquest hears.
A new pipeline along the Thames will use heat from industry and redistribute it to homes across London.
Christopher Thompson was working in the force's regional scientific support services when arrested.
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“The boring stuff is gonna matter most once you move.”
Photo Credit: Reddit
For one Pennsylvania family, stepping away from utility hookups and into a simpler, lower-cost setup is no longer just a daydream.
Their plan is to move onto 10 wooded acres, fix up a small shack, and rely on their hard-earned off-grid skills while they work toward something more permanent.
In a post on Reddit’s r/OffGrid forum, the original poster said their family’s offer on a 10-acre mountain property in Pennsylvania had been accepted, with financing still pending.
Instead of fully outfitting the existing structure, they plan to handle a few leaks, make cosmetic improvements, and hold off on bringing in electricity.
Some basics are already in place, like clean water from a hand-pump well, a wood stove, and an insulated cabin. The OP said their husband grew up in an especially strict Amish community, giving him experience living with fewer modern tools and amenities. They also said the family has spent years collecting supplies they can use without electricity.
Yet, the family would not be learning everything from scratch. They already garden, can food, raise chickens, and do much of their own butchering on less than half an acre. The OP also noted that the property would be about 20 minutes from town, so it would not be as isolated as some off-grid setups.
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Commenters in the off-grid community were largely supportive, though they also raised practical concerns.
One warned, “Rafters appear to be bowing, definitely check that out.” Another reminded the family that “the boring stuff is gonna matter most once you move tho. have you got water and winter heat figured out yet?”
The OP said that the move would give them time to build the house they actually want while also giving their three girls more room to roam, play in the woods, and grow up closer to nature. Still, bathroom logistics, safe bathing, winter readiness, structural repairs, and financing remain major hurdles.
For anyone considering a similar move, the commenters’ advice offers a practical starting point. Always focus on necessities before aesthetics. That means checking structural integrity, confirming year-round water access, planning safe winter heat, and understanding local rules for sewage, outhouses, and gray water.
These stories explore many of the same off-grid questions this Pennsylvania family is weighing.
• For would-be homesteaders, a real-world home inspection can reveal problems before moving off-grid.
• One off-grid homeowner learned solar sizing questions get complicated fast when every watt matters.
• In a dry cabin, living without a water connection quickly turns into a daily logistical issue.
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Muscat – A grade 10 student in Muscat is exploring the possibilities of transforming windows – the most ordinary feature of modern buildings – into a source of renewable energy without losing its primary function.
Gaurish Metha of Indian School Muscat is developing AETHER, a student-led engineering concept that aims to turn architectural glass into an electricity-generating surface. The project uses Carbon Quantum Dots (CQDs), derived from carbon-rich agricultural waste, and is designed to direct captured sunlight towards photovoltaic cells positioned around the edges of the glass.
“What makes AETHER different is that we are not simply trying to make another solar panel,” Gaurish said. “The core idea is to make the glass itself an energy-generating surface, while keeping the photovoltaic components largely outside the main viewing area.”
The concept emerged from research into transparent and semi-transparent solar technologies. Gaurish said the challenge is finding a practical balance between transparency, efficiency and cost, particularly when the technology is considered for large architectural surfaces.
AETHER aims to keep more than 92% of the main window area transparent, with the photovoltaic cells moved to the perimeter. The project currently targets more than 35% conversion efficiency for its specialised edge cells, although Gaurish stressed that these figures remain targets requiring experimental validation.
“A same-sized conventional solar panel would generate much more electricity because its entire surface is used for photovoltaic conversion,” he said. “But AETHER is solving a different problem – using the large glass surfaces of buildings and skyscrapers, where conventional rooftop solar cannot utilise most of that area.”
The CQD technology is central to the concept. Gaurish said the team initially explored organic luminescent pigments made from agricultural waste but moved towards CQDs after finding concerns over long-term UV degradation.
The proposed system would use CQDs to absorb sunlight, particularly ultraviolet radiation, and re-emit it as deep red light at around 690 nanometres. The light would then travel through the glass by total internal reflection towards photovoltaic cells along its edges.
However, Gaurish is clear that AETHER remains at the research and development stage.
“The CQD system has not been experimentally validated yet,” he said. “We have developed the technical architecture and research direction, but as students, we do not have access to the specialised facilities needed to fabricate and test the material ourselves.”
Oman presents both an opportunity and a challenge for the project. Gaurish points to the country’s strong sunlight and extensive use of glass in modern buildings, while acknowledging that heat, UV exposure, dust and humidity could test the technology’s durability. The team is targeting a potential lifespan of 20 to 25 years, subject to future testing under UV exposure, thermal cycling and humidity. “Our next major milestone is a physical proof of concept that demonstrates the complete optical-to-electrical chain,” Gaurish said.
The next stage will involve fabricating the CQD layer, testing its optical properties, verifying light transmission through the glass and measuring the resulting electrical output.
Gaurish is working with his friend and presentation partner Kaveesh Rayhan on the project.
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They were “100% certain” they had approval for net metering.
Photo Credit: Reddit
A Florida homeowner is raising a question that may sound familiar to many solar customers: If your panels are sending electricity back to the grid, where exactly do those savings show up on the bill?
In this case, the numbers on the utility statement and the solar app were close in some places — but notably farther apart in others.
After getting FPL approval in June for net metering at a Florida home that came with solar, a Reddit user said they began checking the utility bill against data from the property’s Enphase monitoring system.
On the electricity taken from the grid, the two sets of numbers were almost identical: FPL billed 595 kilowatt-hours, and Enphase reported 596.6 kilowatt-hours imported.
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.
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The larger discrepancy involved exported power. Enphase showed 338.5 kilowatt-hours exported and 258 kilowatt-hours of net imports, while the FPL bill noted 254 kilowatt-hours sent to the grid.
“Am I reading things wrong, or is FPL noting that I sent energy to the grid, saying they reduced my bill because of it and then didn’t?” the original poster asked.
For homeowners still considering rooftop solar, going solar is one of the best ways to save money on home energy. EnergySage can help by offering free solar installation estimates and a simple way to compare quotes side by side.
Reviewing the bill after installation is a practical part of solar ownership. Many homeowners pay close attention to production totals, but the utility account determines whether exported energy and any resulting credits are actually reflected correctly.
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In this case, the homeowner said they were “100% certain” they had approval for net metering, which made the apparently missing credit seem even more frustrating.
A first step is to compare every billing cycle date on the utility statement with the dates in the monitoring app and then contact the utility if the numbers still do not make sense.
Keeping approval emails, screenshots, and side-by-side usage figures can make those conversations much easier and may help homeowners recover savings they expected to see.
EnergySage’s solar map shows the average cost of a home solar panel system on a state-by-state level, along with details on solar panel incentives for each state. Together, those resources can help homeowners get the best price for rooftop solar panels and access available incentives.
💡Go deep on the latest news and trends shaping the residential solar landscape
EnergySage can also be valuable when it comes time to buy. With EnergySage’s help, the average person can save up to $10,000 on solar purchases and installations. That kind of comparison shopping can make a major difference in the long-term payoff of a system, especially for homeowners trying to make sure every promised utility credit actually turns into real savings.
Adding battery storage to a solar setup is also one of the best ways to protect your home during outages, save money on energy, and go off-grid. Homeowners who want to explore battery options, including competitive installation estimates, can check out EnergySage for that information as well.
For the Florida homeowner, the issue came down to a simple question with potentially costly consequences, and commenters agreed.
“FPL should have 1:1, the bill doesn’t show your credit for exports,” one commenter wrote.
These stories show how other homeowners have dealt with confusing solar bills and missing export credits.
• In South Carolina, a homeowner’s app showed exports, but the utility still billed 900 grid kilowatt-hours.
• In Ohio, a homeowner learned net metering may leave nearly half the electric bill untouched.
• Across the United States, only 20 states still offer net metering strong enough to weaken battery economics.
• In Massachusetts, one homeowner said solar, mini-splits, and net metering could leave him 4,100 kilowatt-hours ahead.
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Dutch innovator Lightyear and Nissan have integrated solar panels into the Ariya. How much extra range can they provide?
Published on September 26, 2026
Team IO+ selects and features the most important news stories on innovation and technology, carefully curated by our editors.
The Nissan Ariya could soon run partly on sunlight. The Japanese carmaker has worked with Dutch company Lightyear on a prototype with integrated solar panels. Depending on sunlight, they can add up to 23 kilometres of range a day. The technology could reduce reliance on charging stations and, for some commuters, halve the number of charging sessions needed each year. The project recently won an innovation award in Barcelona.
The Nissan and Lightyear prototype shows that solar power for electric cars is no longer a distant prospect. The Ariya has 3.8 m² of solar panels across its bonnet, roof and tailgate. Made from polymer and glass, the panels convert sunlight into direct current through an advanced controller. Under ideal conditions, they can add up to 23 kilometres of range a day. In Barcelona, where the car was tested, the average was 17.6 kilometres a day. Results were also consistent in cities including London (10.2 km), New Delhi (18.9 km) and Dubai (21.2 km).
The Ariya’s solar panels are designed to supplement conventional charging, rather than replace it. For a driver covering 6,000 kilometres a year, the number of charging sessions could fall from 23 to eight annually. For commuters driving 12,000 kilometres a year, the time between charging sessions could increase by around 50%. The system generates power while the car is moving, too: on an 80-kilometre journey lasting two hours, it produces 0.5 kWh, enough for another three kilometres of range. Depending on how the car is used, charging frequency could fall by 35% to 65%.
The system contains 480 solar cells with a combined peak output of 700 W. The panels are integrated into the Ariya’s design without compromising its aerodynamics or appearance. The technology also proved reliable over longer distances, including a 1,550-kilometre drive from the Netherlands to Barcelona. Output varies by location: the panels add an average of 21.2 kilometres a day in sunny Dubai, compared with 10.2 kilometres in London. Their ability to generate electricity while the car is moving adds to their practical value.
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Portugal launches tender for new photovoltaic plants The Portugal News
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The Solar Markt Group’s hybrid power plant, consisting of a solar farm with a peak capacity of 70 megawatts and an 80-megawatt-hour energy storage system, has begun operating in Hódmezővásárhely (southeastern Hungary).
The investment—developed without state subsidies on a commercial basis at a cost of approximately 28 billion forints (around 76.7 million euros)—is part of the company’s decarbonization portfolio with a total capacity of 140 megawatts. Imre Mécs, chairman of the Solar Markt Group said: “The investment in Hódmezővásárhely simultaneously serves the goals of domestic decarbonization, strengthening energy independence, and increasing the flexibility of the electricity grid. The exceptionally high-efficiency solar power plant and the associated battery energy storage system together form a state-of-the-art energy system that supports the more efficient use of renewable energy, the smoothing of production fluctuations, and the expansion of the company’s green energy supply.”
Solar Markt Group hybrid power plant inauguration in Hódmezővásárhely on September 24, 2026. L-R: Gábor Ferenczi, Péter Márki-Zay, Imre Mécs, James Li, Miklós Mormer, and Anton Raic. Photo: Tibor Rosta/MTI
Thanks to its battery backup, the power plant is capable of providing system-level balancing services to MAVIR in real time, thereby increasing grid stability. The system feeds the stored electricity into the grid when grid load and market demand are at their highest—such as during the evening peak period—thereby directly reducing the country’s dependence on imports and the need for fossil fuel power plants, the company said.
Grid connection is provided by a 40.32 MVA substation. The energy storage system consists of eight dedicated units, capable of delivering a total output of 40 MW and a capacity of 80 MWh.
The system can feed its full stored capacity into the grid within two hours if necessary, effectively smoothing out fluctuations in generation, according to the technical details of the project.
E.ON is responsible for the automated commercial optimization of electricity market and grid scheduling; and STEM, a San Francisco-based publicly traded company, provides AI-based energy storage and optimization, as well as the integration of individual units, which facilitates continuous, real-time data communication with the grid dispatch center and automatically decides when to initiate charging, storage, or feed-in cycles based on market prices and grid stability requirements.
At the commissioning of the power plant, representatives of Sungrow—one of the world’s largest manufacturers of solar inverters and energy storage systems and a company listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange—signed a strategic agreement with the Solar Markt Group.
Green Cloud, a member of the Solar Markt Group, sells the electricity generated at the Hódmezővásárhely solar power plant—an average of 105 GWh annually—directly to large domestic corporate consumers under long-term power purchase agreements, entirely on a market basis. The arrangement guarantees predictable, fixed energy costs for corporate partners while verifiably reducing their Scope 2 carbon dioxide emissions, thereby supporting increasingly stringent ESG compliance.
Based on information on the company’s website, the group commissioned its hybrid solar power plant in Szihalm, Heves County, in September 2024. The power plant has a nominal peak capacity of 69.8 MWp and an annual generation of 101.7 GWh. The solar farm is connected to an 80 MWh storage facility with a capacity of 40 MW.
The exact scale of the job cuts and production line relocations remains unconfirmed by any official source.Continue reading
Via MTI; Featured photo: MTI/Rosta Tibor
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A large solar farm under construction in Portage County’s town of Grant isn’t expected have a significant effect on Wisconsin’s largest population of greater prairie chickens, despite being built right next to the Buena Vista Wildlife Area.
A 2025 agreement between the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation (WWF) and Vista Sands Solar is expected to protect Buena Vista’s greater prairie chickens from the solar farm project, said Andy Lewandowski, of Muskego, a member of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation board of directors.
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The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced that with the sale of the GEF2 building on Webster Street in
As far as John Mathys is concerned, there’s nowhere he rather be than with his dogs and horses in a
It’s harvest season, and oh what a harvest it will be.
According to the federal government, America’s farmers will pick
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Bone white limestone bakes under a southern Sicilian sky, and a floor that bright is supposed to hand free electricity to the back of every panel in the field.
The rear glass catches that bounce and converts it.
Most project models assign the bonus a rough round number and move on.
Two operating farms measured what actually comes back off the ground, string by string.
So why do rear-face estimates keep missing, and what does the soil underneath have to do with it?
A bifacial panel is a two sided collector. The front face catches direct sunlight. The rear face catches whatever bounces back from the ground, neighboring panels and a cloudy sky, a quality the industry calls ground albedo, and albedo is the hard part to model because it depends on soil color, grass cover, gravel, dust and the geometry of every row around it.
The standard approach estimates albedo as a single flat number for the whole site, multiplies it by a bifaciality factor printed on the module datasheet, and calls it done. That shortcut made sense when bifacial panels were a niche product and a one percent modeling error was inside the noise. But bifacial technology has now crossed 90 percent of the global module market, meaning nearly every new utility scale plant relies on the same rough estimate to close its financing.
Ground albedo is not uniform across a site. It varies row by row, hour by hour and season by season, and a model that flattens that variation into one figure will be wrong in ways that compound across a twenty-year contract.
The study examined two multi-MW solar plants in southern Sicily, equipped with monocrystalline silicon bifacial modules on single axis tracking systems aligned north to south. That configuration is now the global industry standard for utility scale solar: trackers sweep the panel face through the day, following the sun’s arc from east to west, while the north-south axis maximizes the afternoon sweep.
Sicily is a near-textbook site for testing this hardware. Sitting at roughly 37 degrees north, the sun angles are steep for much of the year. The pale limestone and clay soils push ground albedo far higher than the green-grass default that most European models assume, and those soils dry to near-white in summer, exactly when panels are producing hardest.
Working at the stringbox level means the team was not averaging across an entire field. Instead, they were reading the output of small groups of panels at specific row positions, which is precisely where rear-face variation shows up most clearly.
The researchers built an optimized energy model at the stringbox level, using data filtering, clear-sky condition selection and numerical estimation of bifaciality factors, calibrated on measurements taken during the first operational months. Their result: the rear-side contribution produced additional energy gains of approximately 5.3 percent.
To put that in context, a 10 MW plant generating roughly 17,000 megawatt-hours a year picks up approximately 900 megawatt-hours annually from the rear face alone. At a wholesale price of around 50 dollars per megawatt-hour, that is close to 45,000 dollars a year flowing through a gap that many project models set to zero or round to two percent.
The Sicily result arrived from measured hardware, not a modeled scenario, and that distinction carries real weight in a financing conversation. Solar PV plants worldwide have systematically underperformed, with underperformance rates ranging from 7 to 13 percent and triggering multimillion-dollar performance contract disputes. A model that undershoots bifacial gain compounds that gap from day one.
The flat-albedo shortcut is not wrong in every setting. On sites with dark soil, dense vegetation or frequent cloud cover, the rear face contributes little and the rough estimate lands close enough. It breaks down on bright, arid surfaces, the very conditions across much of the American Southwest, the Middle East, northern Chile and the Mediterranean basin, which together account for a large share of the world’s utility scale pipeline.
Trackers make things worse. A fixed-tilt panel always presents the same geometry to the ground. A tracker changes its angle continuously, so the shadow pattern beneath each row shifts all day and rear irradiance at any given string changes with it. Collapsing that into a single albedo constant was a reasonable shortcut when software could not resolve the geometry. Today it is simply a choice to leave money in the ground.
The investors and lenders who sign twenty-year power purchase agreements feel the gap most acutely, because the shortfall compounds over the life of the contract. For a look at how automated construction is closing other cost gaps on solar sites, see how robotics platforms are cutting build costs, a pressure that makes accurate yield modeling even more important when margins are already tight.
The Sicily team’s method is not exotic. Working at stringbox resolution simply requires a finer data pipeline than most developers commit to during early-stage modeling, and many operating plants already have the sensors in place. The barrier is not hardware but the willingness to replace a convenient assumption with a measured one before financing closes rather than after the first annual report lands short.
The authors calibrated the model only during the first operational months. Longer-term drift in soil albedo as vegetation establishes or dust accumulates differently row by row remains an open question, and the rapid growth of bifacial market share calls for systematic reduction in uncertainty, especially on single axis tracker systems where rear-side irradiation behaves in significantly more complex ways.
The honest conclusion is that 5.3 percent is not guaranteed at every bifacial tracked site; it is what two specific Sicilian farms delivered when someone looked carefully enough. For context on what happens when solar output meets peak demand, the story of grid operators under peak load is the other half of the same picture. A plant that models its output accurately is one a grid operator can plan around, and that reliability matters as much as the yield itself.
Hugo is an engineer with strong technical expertise. Multilingual from an early age, his writing combines technical clarity with a strong interest in science and energy.
Hugo is an engineer with strong technical expertise. Multilingual from an early age, his writing combines technical clarity with a strong interest in science and energy.
Hugo is an engineer with strong technical expertise. Multilingual from an early age, his writing combines technical clarity with a strong interest in science and energy.
Vikram Solar has retained the Top Brand PV India recognition in modules for the second consecutive year.
September 24, 2026. By EI News Network
Vikram Solar Ltd. has been recognised as a Top Brand PV India 2026 in the modules category by Germany-based EUPD Research Sustainable Management GmbH, marking the second consecutive year the company has received the recognition.
The Top Brand PV Seal is based on an independent survey of solar installers conducted by EUPD Research, covering customer relationships, customer satisfaction and distribution. Vikram Solar was also recognised as a Top Brand PV India in 2025.
Vikram Solar CMD Gyanesh Chaudhary said thar the recognition for the second consecutive year reflects the trust of installers and partners and the company’s commitment to quality, performance and service.
EUPD Research Chief Customer Officer Daniel Fuchs congratulated Vikram Solar, saying that the Top Brand PV Seal reflects installers’ assessment of the brands they work with and recognises the standing the company has established in India’s solar market and clean energy transition..
EUPD Research has been analysing perceptions of PV market intermediaries and end customers for more than two decades. Its Top Brand PV Seal is based on independent installer surveys, market analysis and brand performance indicators.
Vikram Solar was also awarded the EcoVadis Platinum Medal at the group level for the second consecutive year. Vikram Solar has an international presence across 39 countries. The company has a network of more than 110 authorised distributors and over 550 dealers in India.
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Trilegal advises Caelux Corporation on supplying energy-producing solar glass to Rayzon Solar, Navitas Solar Bar and Bench
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Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, Radiolab is a show about curiosity. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and human experience.
Unionville High School in Kennett Square and Universal Audenried Charter School in Philadelphia are building solar arrays that will slash their energy bills.
Unionville High School in Kennett Square and Universal Audenried Charter School in Philadelphia are building solar arrays that will slash their energy bills.
This story is part of the WHYY News Climate Desk, bringing you news and solutions for our changing region.
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About a dozen students wearing yellow safety vests watched from the sidewalk as a 6-story-tall crane hoisted a stack of cinder blocks onto the roof of Universal Audenried Charter School in Philadelphia’s Grays Ferry neighborhood.
“That thing is tall,” said 18-year-old student Malakai Tim, looking up at the crane. The blocks will be used as weights to keep solar panels from blowing off the roof. “We’re planning on using the panels … for one of our projects.”
The school is one of a growing number in Pennsylvania that have installed solar panels under a state grant program that helps cover the costs.
The Solar for Schools program, first funded in 2024, has given grants to 85 schools across the state, including 10 in Philadelphia. Grants cover up to 75% of the solar project costs, or up to $900,000. Proponents say the solar will save schools money on utilities, lower their climate pollution and teach students about careers in renewable energy.
The program received $25 million in this year’s state budget.
At Audenried, the 350-kilowatt solar array will produce enough power to cover roughly 40% to 50% of the school’s electricity needs, said Micah Gold-Markel, founder of Solar States, the company installing the panels.
With the state grant covering half of the cost and a 40% federal tax credit, the school will only pay around $100,000 for the project. This means the project should pay itself off in energy savings in one to two years, Gold-Markel said.
Unionville High School in Kennett Square flipped on the switch to its new solar array installed under the program last Friday. The 650 kilowatts of solar power will cover about a quarter of the school’s and district office’s energy needs.
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2 weeks ago
Electricity bill savings will add up to cover the upfront cost of the solar array in around seven years, said James Whitesel, director of facilities at the Unionville Chadds Ford School District. This means savings of roughly $75,000 per year — the equivalent of a full-time staff member, he said.
“The state grant almost made it like a no-brainer to do it,” Whitesel said.
Over the course of 25 years, Whitesel estimates the solar panels should save the Unionville Chadds Ford School District over $1 million.
“It’s huge,” he said.
The solar projects will also lower the schools’ carbon emissions. Nearly 60% of the electricity mix on the regional grid is produced using climate-polluting natural gas and coal.
“It also is about being good stewards of our environment,” Whitesel said. “If we’re using less of those electrical resources, then there’s less that has to be generated to support our site.”
“As someone who believes in sustainability, I should put my money and energy where my mouth is,” said Audenried Principal Josh Anderson.
At Unionville High School, students in math and science classes will work with real-time power production data from the solar panels and will get up on the roof to see the system in action, Whitesel said.
Anderson said the educational benefit of the solar project was a major motivator for Universal Audenried Charter High School’s pursuit of the Solar for Schools grant.
“There’s a lot of emerging jobs in basically any hands-on industry, but specifically electronics and electricity,” he said.
The solar array on Audenried’s roof will give students in the school’s engineering career and technical education program the chance to learn how to connect, disconnect and service solar panels, Anderson said. The school plans to work with Solar States to create a “solar lab” where students will also gather real-time data on the energy the panels generate.
Audenried senior Richie Palillero, 17, said he hopes to work in mechanical or robotics engineering, and that he’s curious about how the new solar panels work.
“I’m pretty sure this is interesting to all of us,” he said.
Watching the crane lift materials onto the Audenried roof alongside Palillero’s class, Gold-Markel directed students’ attention to the worker operating the crane.
“I think he’s making about $80 an hour,” Gold-Markel said. “Guess what the roof workers on this job who are installing the solar are going to make. … $100 an hour.”
“Who here wants to make $100 an hour?” he asked.
Several students raised their hands.
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Environmentalists call Mayor Parker’s data center task force insufficient, demand immediate moratorium
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Samudera Logistics Services, a subsidiary of Samudera, has implemented a solar power system at its warehouse facility as part of the company’s broader sustainability and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives.
The project entered full operation in June 2026 and comprises 1,216 solar panels with a total installed capacity of 753.92 kWp.
According to the company, the system is expected to supply approximately 25–30% of the warehouse’s total electricity demand.
All electricity generated by the solar panels will be used for internal operations, reducing dependence on conventional grid power and helping improve energy efficiency across the facility.
The project is also expected to support long-term operational cost optimisation through greater use of self-generated renewable energy.
Samudera estimates that the solar installation will reduce carbon emissions by approximately 819 tonnes of CO₂ annually.
The initiative supports the company’s wider Net Zero Emissions objectives while strengthening the sustainability performance of its logistics operations.
Samudera said the project also provides additional value for customers seeking more environmentally responsible supply chain solutions and forms part of its continued efforts to develop greener logistics operations.
อัพเดตข่าวสารและบทความที่น่าสนใจในอุตสาหกรรมโลจิสติกส์ก่อนใคร ผ่าน Line Official Account @Logistics Mananger เพียงเพิ่มเราเป็นเพื่อน @Logistics Manager หรือคลิกที่นี่
GreenYellow Commissions 8 MWp of Rooftop Solar Across 18 Jerónimo Martins Sites in Portugal SolarQuarter
source
The project is expected to generate more than 200 gigawatt hours of electricity annually, enough to power more than 21,000 homes and avoid an estimated 96,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, supporting Michigan’s transition to a cleaner energy future. On October 8, NorthStar Clean Energy will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony bringing together project partners, customers, local officials, community leaders and stakeholders to celebrate the project’s completion and recognize the collaboration that made Hart Solar possible.
Beyond generating clean energy, the Hart Solar Project is helping strengthen Michigan communities through significant economic investment and local partnerships. The project created more than 300 construction jobs and made significant contributions to Michigan’s economy during development and construction, while also providing a long-term source of tax revenue to support local services and infrastructure.
As a result of the project, Hart Township also received roughly $600,000 via EGLE’s Renewables Ready Communities Award Program to fund community improvements that will benefit residents for years to come. Additionally, the CMS Energy Foundation granted a local food bank, Lakeshore Food Club, $100,000 to further support community well-being and access to essential resources.
“Hart Solar is an important investment in Michigan’s energy future and demonstrates how strong partnerships can help deliver clean energy solutions to communities across our state,” said Brian Hartmann, President and CEO of NorthStar Clean Energy. “By working with organizations like Executive Energy Services and MPPA, we’re helping meet customer energy goals while strengthening Michigan’s energy infrastructure with additional renewable generation. We’re proud to celebrate the completion of this project and the positive impact it will have on the community for years to come.”
For customers, Hart Solar provides a reliable source of renewable energy while helping manage long-term energy costs and support sustainability objectives.
“Oakland County and small businesses across Michigan are expected to save on electric supply charges through the Hart Solar Project,” said Robert Bernardi of Executive Energy Services. Through a partnership with NorthStar Clean Energy, Oakland Schools and 45 other public school districts statewide are projected to save approximately $25 million over a 10-year agreement. These savings will allow schools to redirect funds toward students, staff, and core educational priorities while advancing their clean energy goals.”
“Hart Solar reflects MPPA’s long-term commitment to helping our Members secure reliable, cost-effective, carbon-free power supply resources that strengthen and diversify their power supply portfolios,” said Patrick Bowland, CEO & General Manager at MPPA. “Through joint action, public power communities of all sizes can share in the economies of scale needed to make utility-scale renewable projects like Hart Solar a practical, long-term resource for the customers and communities they serve.”
NorthStar Clean Energy’s commitment is to deliver renewable energy solutions that create lasting value for customers, communities, and the environment. Through partnerships with organizations like Executive Energy Services and MPPA, the project provides clean power, supports local economic growth, and advances Michigan’s transition to a more sustainable energy future.
Jews have been victimized more than any other people in history, yet have remained optimistic, idealistic, and dedicated to helping build a better world. The Jews’ contribution to the world is staggering – and up to 1948, all without political power, a country, or a shared language of everyday speech.
When the State of Israel was founded, it was a barren country with no natural resources, little water, and more than half of its landmass desert.
The only advantage the new country had going for it was the strength of will and natural creativity of its people.
Zionism challenged Jews to take the initiative, and almost eight decades later, Israeli innovations are improving the world and enriching lives everywhere. Here are nine of them:
In the early 1950’s, Dr. Zvi (Harry) Tabor, an Israeli physicist from England, convinced that solar energy was the surest and cleanest solution to the fact that Israel has no oil of its own, invented the Tabor Selective Surface – thermal panels that could store the heat of the sun even when it didn’t shine.
Eventually, he integrated this technology with a water boiler to create the modern solar water heater, which earned Tabor the Weizmann Prize for Exact Sciences in 1956.
Today, 95% of Israeli households have solar-heated water tanks based on the Tabor Selective Surface. With over 1.4 million units installed, Israel maintains the highest per capita use of solar-powered water heaters in the world.
Approximately 122 million solar hot water systems were in operation globally at the end of 2022.
Besides simple residential units, these systems included solar power plants in remote locations not hooked up to the grid and even the solar panels built in California’s Mojave Desert, the largest solar power installation in the world – all based on Tabor’s work.
Dr. Zvi Tabor was awarded the Israeli President’s Medal of Distinction in 2014 for “being a symbol of Israeli innovation and for inspiring generations of scientists and entrepreneurs in the field of solar energy.”
In the early 1960s, Simcha Blass, the chief engineer and one of the founders of the Mekorot water company (established in 1937 and now Israel’s national water carrier), developed and patented the drip irrigation concept.
Friction and pressure loss allow water to drip slowly at regular intervals to the roots of plants, providing a sustainable solution to the challenges of water scarcity and climate uncertainty.
Increased water-use efficiency (up to 50% savings) and crop yield (up 30-50%), together with decreased fertilizer loss and soil erosion, have been instrumental in transforming barren deserts in the Middle East, North Africa, India, and parts of Australia into productive agricultural lands.
Netafim, the company that Blass established over 60 years ago, now operates in 110 countries and contributes to food security and economic growth for farmers across more than 15 million hectares worldwide.
In 1971, Dov Frohman, the Israel Prize-winning founder and first general manager of Intel Israel, invented the first non-volatile semiconductor memory that was both erasable and reprogrammable.
Intel founder Gordon Moore declared this innovation “as important in the development of the microcomputer industry as the microprocessor itself.”
From its crucial role in developing the foundations of personal computing, this technology revolutionized data storage, paving the way to flash memory technology (invented by Dov Moran and perfected by Dr. Eli Hariri, the co-founder of San Disk – both Israelis), which led to the commercially feasible development of digital photography, MP3 players, USB drives, smartphones, tablets, laptops, e-books, apps, and portable game controls.
On Feb. 4, 1980, the first cardioverter-defibrillator, invented and developed by Michel Mirowski, a Polish-born Israeli-American physician, was implanted in a patient at John Hopkins Hospital, despite much skepticism and the lack of financial backing.
An Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (ICD) is a small, battery-powered device placed under the skin in the upper chest to monitor and help regulate life-threatening electrical problems with the heart 24/7.
If it detects dangerously fast rhythms (tachycardia or fibrillation), it delivers an electric shock to restore a normal rhythm, preventing sudden cardiac arrest, and often also serving as a pacemaker.
It also delivers “overdrive pacing” for less severe fast rhythms, or a shock (defibrillation) for life-threatening, chaotic rhythms, often restarting a heart that stops beating during cardiac arrest.
Since then, the device – which Mirowski further improved and miniaturized (they now weigh 80-90 grams, have a volume of 30 milliliters, and measure less than a centimeter in thickness) – has been installed in over 4 million people worldwide.
After working on the idea for almost 20 years and successfully creating a prototype in 1998, Gavriel Iddan, an Israeli electro-optical engineer, received FDA approval on Aug. 3, 2001, for a disposable pill-sized camera that passes straight through the digestive tract, continuously broadcasting to an external receiver.
The resulting product, PillCam, was developed to non-invasively visualize the small bowel and gastrointestinal tract.
It takes 2-6 pictures per second for roughly 8 hours, helping doctors diagnose Crohn’s disease, obscure bleeding, and tumors by transmitting images to a wearable recorder.
Not only does it allow for imaging of areas difficult to reach via traditional endoscopy, but it is also considerably cheaper (around $500 per pill, while a colonoscopy costs an average of $4,000).
Since the technology was first approved in 2001, more than 4 million PillCam capsules have been used in patient procedures in over 80 countries, and nearly 1,000 scientific articles have been published about its clinical use.
Waze, a company founded by Israeli entrepreneurs Ehud Shabtai, Amir Shinar, and Uri Levine in 2008, developed a geographical navigation application that provides turn-by-turn information, user-submitted travel times, and route details, downloading location-dependent information over a cellular telephone network.
The platform relies entirely on users to provide real-time data on traffic, accidents, and police, allowing the service to prioritize the quickest route. It truly earned its tagline: “Outsmarting Traffic, Together.”
In June 2013, Google acquired Waze for a reported $1.3 billion, while maintaining its primary research and development hub in Israel. Waze’s 100 employees each received about $1.2 million on average, the largest payout to employees in Israeli high tech.
Since then, Waze has grown to approximately 151 million active monthly users worldwide as of early 2026, operating in over 180 countries, with significant user bases in the US, Turkey, Mexico, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brazil.
Watergen, a pioneering Israeli technology company and market leader in Atmospheric Water Generation, offers low-cost methods of extracting clean and safe drinking water from humidity in the air.
Founded in 2009 by entrepreneur and former military commander Arye Kohavi and a team of engineers, the initial goal was to provide freely accessible water to troops around the world.
Following its acquisition by billionaire Michael Mirilashvili in 2016, the company turned its attention to addressing worldwide water scarcity and responding to the needs of people in the aftermath of natural disasters.
According to a World Health Organization study, one-third of the world’s population (~2.8 billion people) lacks access to safe drinking water. In much of the Third World, contaminated water is the leading cause of death in children.
By producing clean, energy-efficient water at the point of use, Watergen eliminates the need for transportation, storage, and reliance on aging infrastructure and plastic bottles – reducing costs, pollution, and environmental impact.
Watergen operates in more than 90 countries, with installations for communities, enterprises, homes, industrial sites, and emergency response, producing thousands of liters of top-quality pure drinking water per day, while shaping the future of decentralized, sustainable water supplies for the world.
On April 7, 2011, the Iron Dome mobile missile defense system successfully intercepted its first projectile: a rocket fired from Gaza toward Israel.
The decision to build a missile defense system was made by defense minister Amir Peretz in 2007, following a year in which Hezbollah fired thousands of missiles into northern Israel during the Second Lebanon War, and Hamas fired rockets indiscriminately at Israel’s southern communities.
The Iron Dome system was developed by two Israeli firms – Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries – with significant funding from the United States, to counter threats from up to 70 kilometers away (missiles, mortars, and drones).
The system is purely defensive, designed to save lives, prevent injuries, and protect property. In the 15 years after its debut, it has intercepted more than 5,000 enemy rockets, with a success rate of over 90%, in the process changing the strategic balance between Israel and its enemies.
In 1999, Prof. Amnon Shashua evolved his academic research into a vision system that could detect vehicles by adding “intelligence” to inexpensive cameras for commercialization.
The resulting company, Mobileye, founded in Jerusalem, developed into a supplier of self-driving technologies and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), providing warnings for collision prevention and mitigation.
Mobileye went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014, raised $890 million, and became the largest Israeli IPO in US history. By the end of that year, Mobileye’s technology had been implemented in dozens of vehicle models from major automakers, including GM, Ford, VW, and Nissan.
In March 2017, Intel acquired Mobileye for $15.3 billion – the biggest-ever acquisition of an Israeli tech company at the time – and went public again in 2022. By 2024, Mobileye reached over 70% market share in camera-based ADAS, with its technology used in approximately 200 million vehicles worldwide.■
The above has been compiled from the archives of Dust & Stars – Today in Jewish History, a day-by-day glance into 4,000 years of history, peopled by the remarkable Jews who have changed the world. Drawing from a total of over 1,800 entries, subscribers (free or paid) receive posts that combat ignorance, inspire pride, and integrate shared Jewish memory into the day-to-day: dustandstars.substack.com/subscribe
Deals, breakthroughs, and the tech shaping Israel's economy
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ARTICLE
ARTICLE
September 25, 2026
Fund managers are unlocking more money for renewable energy from the companies they invest, closing in on the lead fossil-fuel projects have in raking in cash.
Among the companies held by public market funds, for every $1 of capital expenditures for oil, natural gas and coal projects, 80 cents went to low-carbon energy supply like solar and wind power at the end of 2025, according to analysis by BloombergNEF. That ratio has been rising for the past few years, but it’s still short of the level that would deliver net-zero emissions.
BNEF’s Energy Supply Fund Ratio (ESFR) 2026 report highlights that asset managers are unlocking an increasing amount of capital for clean energy build out. Fixed income and private markets funds typically have higher ratios, but they support less energy spending than listed equity funds.
The ESFR measures the volume of capital expenditures (capex) enabled by funds in low-carbon assets against the proportion going to fossil fuels. The report includes data for more than 85,000 exchange-traded, mutual and private market funds. It is part of BNEF’s suite of Energy Supply Ratios, which track the climate progress of financial institutions.
The latest ESFR analysis shows the ratio of clean energy to fossil-fuel enabled capex rose to 0.8 last year from 0.73 at the beginning of 2024. The raising ratio for public-market pooled investment vehicles shows an increasing tilt toward clean energy.
The main driver was a rise in low-carbon capex for portfolio companies, compared to that of fossil-fuels. Spending on power grids accelerated, translating into $36 billion of fund-enabled capex.
Vanguard and BlackRock dominate enabled energy capex in public market funds. The world’s two largest asset managers enabled more than the remaining top 10 largest managers combined. Their ratios both stayed relatively flat over 2025. European and Asian asset managers have higher ratios than their American peers, but they enable considerably less capex.
Most fund capital supporting energy investments sits in large, diversified funds that track broad stock indexes. Funds tracking the S&P 500 represent half of the 10 largest funds by enabled capex. The ratio of S&P 500 fell in 2025 due to changes in companies included in the index. Companies like natural gas producer Expand Energy joined, while renewable energy equipment manufacturer Enphase Energy exited after its market capitalization fell. Managers offering S&P 500 trackers had to reflect those changes. This illustrates the limited influence managers have on ESFRs for passive funds.
Investors have access to funds with high ratios, but they are typically thematic strategies and account for considerably less capital. For portfolio companies, these funds represent a relatively small pool of capital, although fund inflows have picked up since 2025.
Fixed income funds were more strongly biased toward clean energy investments than equity funds. Credit funds enable $1.2 low-carbon capex for every $1 that went into fossil fuels. Lower-carbon companies typically take on more debt than fossil-fuel companies to pay upfront for assets like wind and solar farms. Equity funds have a lower overall ratio of 0.7.
Private markets remain the area where investors can find the cleanest portfolios. They represent the asset class with the highest ESFRs at just over 1.2. Institutional ESFRs vary widely among large private managers, giving investors a broader variety of options than the leading players in public markets. Newer funds tilt more towards clean energy and have more dry powder available to be invested. This should continue to support higher private market ESFRs relative to other asset classes.
BloombergNEF clients can access the full report here, which includes institution and fund-level analysis. An abridged version of the report is available at this link.
Fund managers are unlocking more money for renewable energy from the companies they invest, closing in on the lead fossil-fuel projects have in raking in cash.
Among the companies held by public market funds, for every $1 of capital expenditures for oil, natural gas and coal projects, 80 cents went to low-carbon energy supply like solar and wind power at the end of 2025, according to analysis by BloombergNEF. That ratio has been rising for the past few years, but it’s still short of the level that would deliver net-zero emissions.
BNEF’s Energy Supply Fund Ratio (ESFR) 2026 report highlights that asset managers are unlocking an increasing amount of capital for clean energy build out. Fixed income and private markets funds typically have higher ratios, but they support less energy spending than listed equity funds.
The ESFR measures the volume of capital expenditures (capex) enabled by funds in low-carbon assets against the proportion going to fossil fuels. The report includes data for more than 85,000 exchange-traded, mutual and private market funds. It is part of BNEF’s suite of Energy Supply Ratios, which track the climate progress of financial institutions.
The latest ESFR analysis shows the ratio of clean energy to fossil-fuel enabled capex rose to 0.8 last year from 0.73 at the beginning of 2024. The raising ratio for public-market pooled investment vehicles shows an increasing tilt toward clean energy.
The main driver was a rise in low-carbon capex for portfolio companies, compared to that of fossil-fuels. Spending on power grids accelerated, translating into $36 billion of fund-enabled capex.
Vanguard and BlackRock dominate enabled energy capex in public market funds. The world’s two largest asset managers enabled more than the remaining top 10 largest managers combined. Their ratios both stayed relatively flat over 2025. European and Asian asset managers have higher ratios than their American peers, but they enable considerably less capex.
Most fund capital supporting energy investments sits in large, diversified funds that track broad stock indexes. Funds tracking the S&P 500 represent half of the 10 largest funds by enabled capex. The ratio of S&P 500 fell in 2025 due to changes in companies included in the index. Companies like natural gas producer Expand Energy joined, while renewable energy equipment manufacturer Enphase Energy exited after its market capitalization fell. Managers offering S&P 500 trackers had to reflect those changes. This illustrates the limited influence managers have on ESFRs for passive funds.
Investors have access to funds with high ratios, but they are typically thematic strategies and account for considerably less capital. For portfolio companies, these funds represent a relatively small pool of capital, although fund inflows have picked up since 2025.
Fixed income funds were more strongly biased toward clean energy investments than equity funds. Credit funds enable $1.2 low-carbon capex for every $1 that went into fossil fuels. Lower-carbon companies typically take on more debt than fossil-fuel companies to pay upfront for assets like wind and solar farms. Equity funds have a lower overall ratio of 0.7.
Private markets remain the area where investors can find the cleanest portfolios. They represent the asset class with the highest ESFRs at just over 1.2. Institutional ESFRs vary widely among large private managers, giving investors a broader variety of options than the leading players in public markets. Newer funds tilt more towards clean energy and have more dry powder available to be invested. This should continue to support higher private market ESFRs relative to other asset classes.
BloombergNEF clients can access the full report here, which includes institution and fund-level analysis. An abridged version of the report is available at this link.
Fund managers are unlocking more money for renewable energy from the companies they invest, closing in on the lead fossil-fuel projects have in raking in cash.
Among the companies held by public market funds, for every $1 of capital expenditures for oil, natural gas and coal projects, 80 cents went to low-carbon energy supply like solar and wind power at the end of 2025, according to analysis by BloombergNEF. That ratio has been rising for the past few years, but it’s still short of the level that would deliver net-zero emissions.
BNEF’s Energy Supply Fund Ratio (ESFR) 2026 report highlights that asset managers are unlocking an increasing amount of capital for clean energy build out. Fixed income and private markets funds typically have higher ratios, but they support less energy spending than listed equity funds.
The ESFR measures the volume of capital expenditures (capex) enabled by funds in low-carbon assets against the proportion going to fossil fuels. The report includes data for more than 85,000 exchange-traded, mutual and private market funds. It is part of BNEF’s suite of Energy Supply Ratios, which track the climate progress of financial institutions.
The latest ESFR analysis shows the ratio of clean energy to fossil-fuel enabled capex rose to 0.8 last year from 0.73 at the beginning of 2024. The raising ratio for public-market pooled investment vehicles shows an increasing tilt toward clean energy.
The main driver was a rise in low-carbon capex for portfolio companies, compared to that of fossil-fuels. Spending on power grids accelerated, translating into $36 billion of fund-enabled capex.
Vanguard and BlackRock dominate enabled energy capex in public market funds. The world’s two largest asset managers enabled more than the remaining top 10 largest managers combined. Their ratios both stayed relatively flat over 2025. European and Asian asset managers have higher ratios than their American peers, but they enable considerably less capex.
Most fund capital supporting energy investments sits in large, diversified funds that track broad stock indexes. Funds tracking the S&P 500 represent half of the 10 largest funds by enabled capex. The ratio of S&P 500 fell in 2025 due to changes in companies included in the index. Companies like natural gas producer Expand Energy joined, while renewable energy equipment manufacturer Enphase Energy exited after its market capitalization fell. Managers offering S&P 500 trackers had to reflect those changes. This illustrates the limited influence managers have on ESFRs for passive funds.
Investors have access to funds with high ratios, but they are typically thematic strategies and account for considerably less capital. For portfolio companies, these funds represent a relatively small pool of capital, although fund inflows have picked up since 2025.
Fixed income funds were more strongly biased toward clean energy investments than equity funds. Credit funds enable $1.2 low-carbon capex for every $1 that went into fossil fuels. Lower-carbon companies typically take on more debt than fossil-fuel companies to pay upfront for assets like wind and solar farms. Equity funds have a lower overall ratio of 0.7.
Private markets remain the area where investors can find the cleanest portfolios. They represent the asset class with the highest ESFRs at just over 1.2. Institutional ESFRs vary widely among large private managers, giving investors a broader variety of options than the leading players in public markets. Newer funds tilt more towards clean energy and have more dry powder available to be invested. This should continue to support higher private market ESFRs relative to other asset classes.
BloombergNEF clients can access the full report here, which includes institution and fund-level analysis. An abridged version of the report is available at this link.
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“Most end-of-life PV panels continue to be landfilled, stockpiled or illegally dumped.”
Photo Credit: iStock
Australia’s biggest rooftop solar market is facing a fast-growing challenge: what to do with millions of aging solar panels once they reach the end of their useful lives.
New South Wales’ government has begun consulting on a plan that could make it the first place in Australia to require solar manufacturers and importers to help pay to collect and recycle old panels, rather than sending them to landfill.
The state is weighing a mandatory product stewardship model for solar panels that would make manufacturers and importers shoulder part of the cost of handling panels at the end of their lives. As PV Magazine reported, the idea is to recover useful materials from discarded photovoltaic panels and reduce dumping, stockpiling, and landfill disposal.
Submissions are open until 16 November as the government seeks feedback through an issues paper on how NSW can expand panel recycling, remanufacturing, and manufacturing. Under the proposal, regulated PV panels supplied in NSW would be covered, and the funding would support collection, recycling, and resource recovery across the state.
The amount of retiring solar equipment is already significant. NSW has more than 1.18 million rooftop solar systems, and about 15,400 tons (14,000 metric tons) of panel waste is produced each year. That total is projected to climb to 98,100 tons (89,000 metric tons) by 2045 as older systems are phased out and households switch to newer, more efficient technology.
Solar panels reduce emissions while generating power, but the pace of adoption has created a disposal problem that current systems have not caught up with.
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According to the NSW Environment Protection Agency, “Current disposal pathways are insufficient to safely and sustainably manage this growing waste stream.”
The agency added, “Most end-of-life PV panels continue to be landfilled, stockpiled or illegally dumped.”
NSW Energy Minister Penny Sharpe said the proposal could create value from recovered materials as well.
“NSW has embraced rooftop solar, and now we’re making sure those panels don’t become tomorrow’s landfill problem,” Sharpe said.
Under the proposed rules, the companies that make or import the panels would help finance the collection and processing system.
She added, “Solar panels contain valuable materials that can be recovered and put back to work.”
Business groups say a single state cannot fully solve what is effectively a national waste challenge. Smart Energy Council Chief Executive David McElrea said the draft legislation creates a strong foundation for a circular economy, but argued that federal leadership will be needed to avoid a patchwork of rules across Australia.
“NSW is showing leadership, but unless transitioned into a Commonwealth scheme, over 70% of Australia’s decommissioned solar panels will remain uncaptured outside NSW,” McElrea said. “The federal government has to step up and deliver a national product stewardship framework to provide the scale, consistency, and certainty Australia needs.”
Efforts to deal with retired solar panels are already taking shape in several places.
• In Georgia, Qcells is building a solar panel recycling operation alongside US manufacturing expansion.
• In Odessa, Texas, SolarCycle opened a dedicated recycling facility to process retired photovoltaic modules.
• In China, engineers have found a more efficient way to separate and recycle panel materials.
• In Tennessee, TerrePower plans to recycle over 125,000 solar modules each year.
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