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The large-scale photovoltaic power station in Kemin District, Chui Region, Kyrgyzstan. /CMG
China and Kyrgyzstan have shared close cooperation across a range of fields, from trade and investment to infrastructure and projects benefiting people’s livelihood. In recent years, the partnership has expanded into green development, with solar power becoming one of the most visible examples.
A major milestone came on April 12, 2024, when then Chinese Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Du Dewen and then Kyrgyz Prime Minister Akylbek Japarov attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the first phase of the 400-megawatt photovoltaic project in the Issyk-Kul region.
The project marked the first cooperation between China and Kyrgyzstan in solar power generation.
At the ceremony, Japarov hailed China’s contribution to Kyrgyzstan’s green development, saying that the development and utilization of renewable energy was a priority for Kyrgyzstan’s economic development. He expressed the Kyrgyzstan’s willingness to support Chinese companies in local development and deepen cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.
Du called on Chinese enterprises to leverage their strengths in investment, technology, construction and operations to contribute to Kyrgyzstan’s green development.
The groundbreaking has laid the foundation for future concrete results.
The large-scale photovoltaic power station in Kemin District, Chui Region, Kyrgyzstan. /CMG
Through close cooperation between the two countries, a large-scale photovoltaic power station in Kemin District of northern Kyrgyzstan’s Chui Region began operations in December 2025, becoming the country’s first large-scale solar power station.
The project covers an area of about 230 hectares and is equipped with 193,000 photovoltaic panels. Designed to generate around 200 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, it provides a more stable, uninterrupted power supply for nearby communities and cities, while reducing more than 150,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov attended the grid-connection ceremony and praised the project team’s expertise and efficiency.
The project has brought advanced renewable-energy construction and operating experience to Kyrgyzstan. It has also added new momentum to the country’s energy security and sustainable development, said Japarov.
The station is also equipped with automated systems. At its central control room, operators can monitor the condition of the photovoltaic panels, weather forecasts and the real-time operation of the supporting substation.
The power station’s technical team comprises both Chinese experts and local staff. For Kyrgyz employees, the project is also providing an opportunity to gain experience with advanced equipment and management skills.
More reliable power for local communities
Stable electricity supply has improved people’s living standards and life quality in Kyrgyzstan. /CMG
The impact of the project is particularly visible in nearby villages, where people used to suffer electricity shortages and power restrictions.
Local residents said electricity supply has become much more stable since the project came into operation.
“We have already started to forget about power cuts and electricity restrictions,” a resident told CMG. “Our electricity supply is much more stable, and we now have reliable access to power. More importantly, people’s living standards and quality of life are improving.”
Ma Wenjun, head of the Chinese company overseeing the project, said the cooperation is mutually beneficial, as Kyrgyzstan has abundant renewable energy resources while China has the necessary technology.
Part of wider cooperation
The solar projects are only one part of China-Kyrgyzstan economic cooperation.
As of the end of July, China’s cumulative direct investment across all sectors in Kyrgyzstan had exceeded $2 billion, with projects in infrastructure, energy, mining, agriculture and green development progressing steadily, said China’s Ministry of Commerce.
China has also participated in the construction or renovation of 11 road projects in Kyrgyzstan, significantly improving transportation infrastructure and facilitating the movement of people and transportation of goods.

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The human ability to discern fact from fiction is slowly eroding because AI is getting better at spreading misinformation. Knowing how scammers are using AI to trick you is all well and good until it’s a different kind of scam. Anti-solar farm groups have been rallying behind claims that these renewable energy installations can cause all sorts of dangers, ranging from the semi-reasonable to the ludicrous (saying they go against the laws of physics). These include “warnings” of toxic smoke, leaking carcinogenic chemicals, and even mini tornadoes.
Moreover, there has been an uptick in “memes” on social media sites. Many follow the same formula: Place a sign that says “Once [insert state here] is gone, there’s no way to get it back. Solar panels belong on roofs, not on farmland” in front of a farm. All of these are the result of AI (specifically the accounts that generate and share them), and experts say the fears of solar panels causing homegrown tornadoes and ruining property values are completely unfounded. Yet the damage has already been done.
Last year, a project to install solar panels in the Acadiana region of Louisiana (better known as Cajun Country) was effectively derailed by citizens who unwittingly parroted the AI-generated misinformation during council meetings. They cited fires and toxic chemical runoff as their major concerns, and while the council decided to restrict any large-scale solar projects within half a mile of residential areas, the decision has demolished any plans for an Acadiana solar project. All because hundreds of scared people believed AI over their own research.
The anti-solar farm “meme” (yes, AI models can make memes now, just not good ones) uses a specific template that can apply to any state, and the misinformation spreads beyond geographic locations. Wherever there’s an energy industry to destabilize, AI slop isn’t far behind. Wind farms, especially offshore ones, are another popular target of disinformation campaigns — both of the AI and human variety.
Many of these campaigns revolve around the alleged threats they pose to wildlife, stirring up claims that wind farms lead to mass deaths of whales and birds. In many cases, the disinformation is sourced back to organizations with ties to fossil fuel companies or climate change denialists. To make matters worse, these campaigns aren’t limited to just one continent; similar attempts to cancel and delay wind farm projects have been found in Australia and European countries. The extent to which these movements rely on AI to help concoct disinformation and posts varies from campaign to campaign.
The disinformation campaigns really make you wonder if AI deserves freedom of speech. On one hand, the misinformation it creates isn’t illegal in and of itself, but on the other hand, the lies AI generates convince people to vote against their best interests. It’s quite the conundrum.

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“That sort of setup, [it] can actually, in theory, pay for itself in less than two years.”
Photo Credit: YouTube
A U.K. homeowner is sharing his experience with plug-in solar panels after six months of use, offering his insights as more U.S. states push to legalize these appliances.
Instead of treating DIY solar as an all-upside project, the review pairs reported savings with the compromises that can come with plug-in solar panels.
Published on August 25, the YouTube video, posted by “Dork off-grid” Alex James, tracks six months of results from a plug-in solar setup at his U.K. home.
James wrote, “I installed plug in solar in the UK in October 2025,” before comparing his savings against what a more typical DIY setup might produce.
Overall, he estimated that his plug-in solar setup saved him roughly $250 over the six-month period, or about $41 per month. 
James later explained that because his system was more comprehensive, he expected a simpler plug-in setup might save people about $23 per month, and that with “that sort of setup, [it] can actually, in theory, pay for itself in less than two years.” 
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Beyond these savings, James highlighted some drawbacks of plug-in panels, primarily that, without battery storage, these systems may not fully benefit from the energy they produce.
Plug-in solar can make home energy a little more flexible and affordable. For some households, it may offer a way to generate part of their own electricity, rely less on the grid during daylight hours, and chip away at rising power costs.
Lower utility bills can create more breathing room in a household budget. And when homes rely more on electricity generated from the sun, that can also reduce pollution associated with conventional power generation, helping support cleaner air and better public health.
And while some households may benefit from a compact entry-level system, others may find that energy-efficiency upgrades, community solar programs, or a professionally installed rooftop system make more sense.
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ReVision Energy Continues to Grow Its Regional Presence  BusinessWest
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ACEN and Yanara secure RCBC bank financing for Sual solar plant  energynews.pro
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Global Solar PV O&M Market Reaches 348 GW as Top 15 Providers Increase Market Share: Wood Mackenzie  SolarQuarter
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Officials said that the yearly purchase would equal the electricity used by more than 20,000 homes.
Photo Credit: iStock
Governor Wes Moore and the Maryland Department of General Services announced a 20-year agreement to purchase solar energy generated in Western Maryland, a deal state officials say could save Maryland about $300 million while expanding the state’s use of renewable energy.
Approved by the Maryland Board of Public Works, the deal allows the state to buy electricity from REV Renewables’ Jade Meadow III Solar Project, Gov. Wes Moore and Maryland’s Department of General Services said, according to MoCoShow.
The outlet reported that in the beginning in 2028, DGS plans to use about half of the project’s electricity for state energy accounts. The 300-megawatt solar installation, set to be built mostly on a reclaimed coal mine in Garrett County, is expected to produce roughly 250,000 megawatt-hours of renewable power each year.
Depending on how future electricity markets develop, officials said the 20-year agreement may save Maryland between $298 million and $515 million.
Officials said that the yearly purchase would equal the electricity used by more than 20,000 homes and, starting in 2028, would make up nearly 15% of the state’s electricity portfolio.
The agreement illustrates how states can use 20-year contracts to secure cleaner energy at more predictable prices.
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Maryland also said the deal would significantly expand its direct renewable energy procurement, doubling the amount of renewable electricity it currently buys through power purchase agreements.
Building the project primarily on a reclaimed coal mine would turn a former fossil fuel site into a source of solar generation rather than developing untouched land.
Lower energy costs for government operations can ease pressure on public budgets, while more renewable power can help curb pollution linked to conventional electricity generation.
Maryland is signing a 20-year clean energy contract to lock in supply and pricing years in advance. In this case, the purchase begins in 2028 and gives the state a major source of renewable power for two decades.
The agreement ties climate goals to budget goals. The state is presenting clean energy as an operational decision that could deliver major financial returns.
Large-scale solar projects can offer benefits beyond rooftop panels. Utility-scale developments can add substantial amounts of clean electricity to the grid, support the redevelopment of underused land, and potentially help stabilize energy costs over time.
If the state’s estimates hold, the agreement could show how public agencies use clean energy procurement to save money while expanding renewable power. It also reflects how the transition to cleaner electricity is increasingly being framed as an economic strategy, not just an environmental one.
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The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with NIRL NCRTC Renewables Ltd. (NNRL) for a 110 MW captive solar power plant. The project will supply electricity to the Delhi-Meerut Namo Bharat corridor. The plant is expected to meet nearly 60% of the corridor’s power requirement. NNRL will develop it, and it is expected to give NCRTC greater predictability in electricity costs. According to reports, the solar power plant is estimated to cost around INR 450 crore and is expected to be commissioned within 24 months. NCRTC will procure the electricity at a fixed tariff for 25 years. Electricity accounts for around 30% to 35% of the corridor’s operating cost. NCRTC expects the captive solar project to reduce its annual electricity expenditure by about 25%. Previously, NCRTC launched a Solar on Track pilot at the Namo Bharat Depot in Duhai (see India Solar PV News Snippets).   
Sembcorp Green Infra has filed draft papers with SEBI for an IPO to raise INR 3,750 crore through a fresh issue of shares, with no offer-for-sale component. The entire issue proceeds will go to the company, which plans to use about INR 3,000 crore of the net proceeds to repay or prepay borrowings, with the balance intended for general corporate purposes. It may also raise up to INR 750 crore through a pre-initial public offering (IPO) placement, which would reduce the size of the fresh issue if completed, its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) says. Sembcorp Green Infra is wholly owned by Singapore Exchange listed-Sembcorp Industries through Sembcorp Utilities Pte Ltd. Sembcorp Green Infra had 3.6 GW of operational renewable energy capacity as of March 2026, with another 2.61 GW of renewable capacity and 1.43 GWh of battery storage capacity under construction. 
Avaada Electro, the solar PV manufacturing arm of Avaada Group, plans to raise up to INR 7,600 crore through an IPO, according to its draft abridged prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The proposed offer comprises a fresh issue of up to INR 1,600 crore and an offer for sale of up to INR 6,000 crore by promoter Avaada Ventures. The company plans to use INR 1,200 crore of the fresh issue proceeds to repay, prepay, or meet obligations related to borrowings, with the remaining proceeds earmarked for general corporate purposes. It may also undertake a pre-IPO placement of up to INR 320 crore, which would reduce the size of the fresh issue if completed. Avaada Electro currently has 8.5 GW of solar module manufacturing capacity and 3 GW of operational TOPCon cell capacity. It expects to add another 5.1 GW of module and 6 GW of cell capacity at Greater Noida, taking its annual module production capacity to 13.6 GW and cell capacity to 9 GW. In April 2026, Avaada Electro had secured SEBI approval to launch an IPO totaling INR 9,000 crore to INR 10,000 crore (see India Solar PV News Snippets).  
India’s largest electricity utility, state-owned NTPC Limited, plans to accelerate renewable energy and storage as it expands its generation portfolio. In his Chairman’s Statement for FY2025-26, Chairman and Managing Director Gurdeep Singh said the company is targeting 149 GW of total power generation capacity by 2032, including 60 GW of renewable energy, including wind and solar (see NTPC Targeting 60 GW Renewables Capacity By 2032). It now aims to reach 244 GW by 2037, excluding storage. Singh stated, “This represents a significant increase over our earlier capacity plans and reflects our confidence in India’s long-term electricity demand and the role NTPC can play in meeting it.”  
As of August 4, 2026, the company had more than 90 GW of operational capacity, with another 35 GW and more under construction. NTPC said its renewable generation more than doubled to 14.6 billion units in FY2026. It is developing both battery energy storage systems (BESS) and pumped storage projects and is also exploring long-duration storage technologies, including CO₂ storage and redox-flow batteries. Its strategy also includes around 30 GW of nuclear capacity, to contribute to the national target of 100 GW by 2047. The company plans to invest about INR 16.86 lakh crore through FY2037 across renewables, battery storage, pumped storage, hydro, thermal, mining, and nuclear power. It said storage would become an important part of its business as renewable penetration increases, and the power system requires greater flexibility. 
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has updated the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) List-II for solar cells under the ninth revision. With this revision, India’s total ALMM List-II enlisted solar cell capacity has increased by 3.7 GW to now exceed 35 GW. The latest revision includes revised capacities of Waaree Energies (4.021 GW), EMMVEE Energy Private Limited (2.153 GW), and Avaada Electro (3.621 GW). Waaree’s revised capacity includes G12R monocrystalline n-type TOPCon bifacial solar cells with an average efficiency of 25.39%. It also updates the technology specifications of cells listed by TP Solar, RenewSys, Premier Energies, and Reliance Industries.  
NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd (NTPC REL), a wholly owned subsidiary of NTPC Green Energy Ltd., has won 500 MW of contracted capacity in Solar Energy Corporation of India’s (SECI) 6,000 MWh assured peak power tender (FDRE-IX). The capacity was awarded at a discovered tariff of INR 6.00/kWh. The tender covers 1,500 MW of ISTS-connected renewable energy capacity with four-hour assured peak supply. The e-reverse auction was concluded on August 21, 2026.  
Waaree Renewable Technologies Ltd. (WRTL) has received a Letter of Award (LOA) for EPC works for a 291 MW ground-mounted solar PV project paired with a 280 MWh BESS. The order, from an unnamed Indian thermal power generation company, is a domestic commercial contract, it stated. The project is scheduled for completion during FY2027-28.  
TaiyangNews 2024

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“I originally thought [the large oak tree] would make solar basically pointless, but with electricity prices going up, I’m looking into it again.”
Photo Credit: iStock
Surging utility bills had one homeowner looking at solar again, but a large tree casting afternoon shade on part of the roof was still a major issue.
In a Reddit post, one homeowner wrote, “I originally thought [the large oak tree] would make solar basically pointless, but with electricity prices going up, I’m looking into it again.” 
They said the oak tree along a neighbor’s fence shades the roof in the afternoon and asked whether Callsun panels would be a good fit for a DIY installation in partial shade.
When sunlight is inconsistent across a roof, the panel label is usually only a small part of the story. Output can depend much more on cell design and on module-level equipment, such as microinverters or power optimizers.
Want to go solar but not sure who to trust? EnergySage has your back with free and transparent quotes from fully vetted providers in your area.
To get started, just answer a few questions about your home — no phone number required. Within a day or two, EnergySage will email you the best options for your needs, and their expert advisers can help you compare quotes and pick a winner.
But generally, going solar is one of the best ways to save money on home energy, especially as utility rates rise. Homeowners who want to see what a professionally designed system might cost can explore EnergySage to get free solar installation estimates and compare quotes.
One reason shade creates so much confusion in residential solar is that it is rarely a simple yes-or-no problem. A roof with some afternoon obstruction may still make sense for solar, but the answer depends on when the shadow falls, how much roof area it covers, and whether the rest of the array stays clear.
People building their own systems can easily zero in on a cheaper panel that looks promising in online reviews. But a low price does not help much if the roof placement, inverter setup, or overall layout are poorly matched to the home.
Afternoon shading can be especially frustrating because those hours often overlap with heavier household electricity use, meaning every lost kilowatt-hour can extend the payback period.
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Want to go solar but not sure who to trust? EnergySage has your back with free and transparent quotes from fully vetted providers that can help you save as much as $10k on installation.
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In other words, the main issue is usually system design rather than brand alone. A poor configuration can reduce monthly savings, while a well-planned one can still help offset high utility bills.
The first step is to measure the shade as accurately as possible before purchasing equipment. That can mean using design software, working with a shade analysis tool, or getting multiple opinions on whether microinverters, power optimizers, or a different panel layout would do the best job of limiting losses on a partially shaded roof.
Adding battery storage could also help maximize power, and it is also one of the best ways to protect your home during outages, save money on energy, and even go off-grid. Home batteries can store excess daytime production for use after sunset or when the grid goes down. Homeowners can also explore EnergySage for information about home battery storage options, including competitive installation estimates.
Free tools can also make the shopping process much easier. With EnergySage’s help, the average person can save up to $10,000 on solar purchases and installations, since the service allows homeowners to compare quotes and weigh equipment options side by side.
💡Go deep on the latest news and trends shaping the residential solar landscape
EnergySage’s solar map shows the average cost of a home solar panel system by state, along with details on local incentives. Together, these resources can help you get the best price for rooftop solar panels.
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Canadian Solar Posts Net Loss Despite $1.2 Billion in Revenue  energynews.pro
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Researchers are examining how birds interact with solar panel systems, utilizing AI-enhanced cameras to capture extensive footage of avian behavior. Observations indicate that birds engage in various activities, such as perching, nesting, and foraging within these solar arrays. Notably, the study found no instances of bird collisions with the installations, contributing valuable insights into wildlife adaptation amidst the growth of solar energy.

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“Solar plus storage made up over 80% of all new additions to the U.S. grid last year.”
Photo Credit: iStock
Factory openings are reshaping the U.S. solar industry, signaling a domestic manufacturing surge that looked far less likely only a few years ago.
By June 2026, U.S. solar module manufacturing capacity was nearing 70 gigawatts, up from roughly 8 gigawatts — an increase of more than 750%.
That growth was spotlighted by The Electric Viking (@electricviking) in a YouTube video.
In June, Qcells began full ingot-to-panel cell production in Cartersville, Georgia — the first U.S. facility of that kind in more than a decade. That step is part of a broader expansion largely tied to Inflation Reduction Act tax credits, with companies such as Qcells, First Solar, and T1 Energy helping to drive the domestic buildout.
Summerville, South Carolina, is home to one of the newest additions: Translucent Solar’s 281,000-square-foot factory.
By the end of 2026, the company expects the site to support 167 jobs, provide 1.2 gigawatts of annual capacity, and make high-efficiency modules for utility, commercial, and residential customers.
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Other projects have added fresh module and cell capacity as well, including facilities from SEG Solar in Texas, Canadian Solar in Indiana, and ES Foundry in South Carolina.
The creator summed it up this way: “Whatever you think of tariffs, factories are getting built.”
Among the comments, one viewer wrote, “Panel cost is not the major factor anymore, the rest of the installation cost is.”
Solar has moved well beyond niche status in the energy mix.
Building more equipment domestically could reduce supply-chain complexity, add jobs, and give utilities and homeowners easier access to the hardware they need without relying as heavily on imports.
A larger U.S. manufacturing base may also help steady prices, shorten project timelines, and encourage broader use of cleaner electricity that can cut household energy bills.
For homeowners, combining solar with battery storage can provide more resilience during outages and periods of peak demand.
The video also pointed to a tradeoff: panels made in the U.S. still generally cost more than Chinese-made panels, largely because Chinese manufacturers operate at a much bigger scale.
So lower prices may not arrive immediately.
Private investment, trade policy, and federal incentives are all helping power the current factory wave.
New plants are appearing across the South and Midwest, sometimes by reusing existing industrial buildings, which can help return manufacturing jobs to communities that lost them.
If you’re considering panels for your home, EnergySage can help you compare competitive bids from local installers without giving out your contact information unless you decide to move forward with one. That can make it easier to shop around and avoid overpaying.
A bigger domestic solar supply chain can also support grid expansion, help utilities bring cleaner power online more quickly, and ease some of the bottlenecks that have slowed adoption.
As managing director Augustus Rylands put it, “Solar plus storage made up over 80% of all new additions to the US grid last year. More than gas, more than nuclear and obviously more than coal.”
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BRAZIL
(MissionNewswire) The Salesian St. Dominic Savio Province, located in Manaus, Brazil, installed solar panels at the provincial house and at the Salesian community in Maturacá, located in the Upper Rio Negro region, thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. The project directly benefited more than 1,000 people, including teachers and students of the Immaculate Conception School and parishioners of the Parish of Our Lady of Lourdes.
A Salesian explained, “The project represents much more than mere financial savings. It promotes the use of clean, renewable energy, reduces environmental impact, and ensures better conditions for the Salesians to carry out their educational, pastoral, and social activities, reaffirming the province’s commitment to care for our Common Home.”
For more than 60 years, the Salesians have been in Maturacá, where they share life with the Indigenous Yanomami people. Salesians provide education and pastoral care, offering support to families and promoting human dignity.
With the installation of 26 solar panels, the community now has a system capable of fully meeting the energy needs of the religious house and part of the school and parish. The use of the diesel-powered generator has been reduced by around 90%, lowering operating costs and reducing the environmental impact. Furthermore, the system is modular and can be further expanded in the future, enabling it to supply power to other areas of the mission through the installation of new panels and batteries.
The provincial house, which coordinates the pastoral, educational, and social programs of the entire province, had faced high electricity costs, frequent blackouts, and growing operational demands due to its role as the administrative, logistical, and spiritual center of the province. The stabilization of its energy and the reduction of costs will generate a cascading impact that directly benefits local teams and, consequently, thousands of people assisted in the Amazon.
Jhone Fonseca Vilela is a 19-year-old father of a 1-year-old son. He acts as president of the student guild and actively collaborates with the Salesian oratory and school. He resides at the Xapono Yanomami of Ariabú community, located in the Pico da Neblina National Park. The community has about 1,200 people who preserve their language and traditional customs but face pressures from western culture. The local population lives with serious problems such as illegal mining, alcohol and other drugs, and poor access to quality healthcare and education.
Vilela reports a profound transformation in the community and school after the solar power was installed. He noted, “The use of freezers allowed the conservation of natural proteins for school meals. This replaced the previous consumption of canned food and ensured access to cold water. The energy also enabled electricity in classrooms and internet access. Now, students can conduct school surveys, watch instructional videos and follow news. The technology has allowed community members to communicate with relatives living in other geographical regions as well.”
Inspired by the severe shortage of health professionals in the region, Vilela’s goal is to complete high school and attend a college or technical training in healthcare. His main focus for the future is to obtain a profession to directly help his people and provide better living conditions for his own family.
Salesian missionaries in Brazil provide education, workforce development and social services throughout the country. Missionaries help to meet the basic needs of youth who are poor, including children living on the street, and provide them with an education and life skills to gain employment, break the cycle of poverty, and lead productive lives.
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Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)
Salesian Missions – Brazil
World Bank – Brazil
© 2024 Mission Newswire / SALESIAN MISSIONS. All rights reserved.
Salesian Missions is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in the United States.
All donations are tax deductible. 85% of donations go directly to programs.

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The Pulse
Agrivoltaics is a buzzword in clean energy, and now, a sea cucumber farm hosts a solar installation. 
Mounting the panels created an “artificial eclipse” that shifted the aquatic microclimate. Based on temperature models, young sea cucumbers under solar panel shade were estimated to hibernate for 12 days less than in open ponds. Hibernation times for full-grown adults barely changed.
The aquacultural feeding season ended up being longer than usual. Why did the animals change their cycle by 12 days?
The study was conducted on coastal sea cucumber aquaculture farms in Dongying City, China. Sensors were installed around the photovoltaic equipment for field monitoring. Environmental changes were tracked from day one of installation. The sunlight intensity over the pond surface was cut by 80.5 percent. The effect was a lowering of the average temperature in the covered zone by 2.16 degrees Fahrenheit in the peak summer months. 
Researchers wanted to know how the cooler conditions under the panels affected the overall pond farming ecosystem.
The diversity of plankton species stayed steady over the entire trial period. It was not the same in the lower levels of the food web. Dinoflagellate counts in spring went up in the shaded areas. Zooplankton density, however, dropped slightly.
Laboratory checks confirmed that the animals’ digestive enzyme levels stayed constant across all the seasons.
Food availability and digestive health were not affected by the PV setup at all. The main physical impact was caused by the consistent reduction in water temperatures in the shallow farming zones.
While photovoltaic coverage created a cooler microclimate, it also altered key water chemistry parameters. The result was higher dissolved oxygen and pH levels and lower salinity.
In summer, sea cucumbers enter a state of dormancy called aestivation. This is essential to survive high water temperatures. When a biological heat threshold is crossed, the animals stop eating, lose body mass, and remain inactive to save energy.
When the cultivation ponds are open, sunlight keeps the water warm for months. Summer dormancy is prolonged, and animal growth is suspended until conditions get cooler in the fall. 
When the water is shaded by solar arrays, the natural thermal timeline shifts. Temperatures shift in the upper column, which has a direct effect on how long the sea cucumbers lay dormant.
Interestingly, not all age groups were affected equally. Mature animals only shortened aestivation by a day, whereas sub-adults changed their schedule significantly. 
This is indicative of how metabolic needs differ across various growth stages. Younger cucumbers. Sub-adults got back to active foraging much quicker when the temperature dropped.
This estimated 12-day shorter hibernation is based on temperature calculations, with solar shading cooling the water by 2.16°F, rather than direct observations of the animals waking up or feeding.
Dormancy in Apostichopus japonicus is linked to heat accumulation. Animals that have not reached maturity have higher metabolic rates, but also smaller energy reserves than adults. This makes them more sensitive to thermal shifts, even subtle ones.
When solar panels blocked direct sunlight and cooled the upper water layer, the microclimate crossed the physical threshold required for sub-adults to resume active feeding weeks ahead of schedule.
Because mature adults have a higher tolerance for heat and lower energy demands, their dormant period was only shortened by a day.
While shortening aestivation extends the active feeding season for commercial growers, researchers note these findings represent observed operational metrics from a single experimental cycle.
Whether early emergence impacts long-term reproductive capacity, disease susceptibility, or overall lifespan remains unverified without multi-year tracking studies.
As commercial operators expand solar installations across coastal aquaculture ponds, this 12-day shift demonstrates how artificial shading directly alters biological timing. Managing water microclimates provides a practical tool for sea cucumber production, while marking the exact boundary of current physiological understanding.
All the details of the study can be found here: Guo, S., Yu, Z., Hou, C., Wang, H., Jiang, T., Pang, L., … & Yuan, X. (2025). Integrating photovoltaic with sea cucumber aquaculture: Environmental impacts and holothurian digestion and aestivation. Aquaculture Reports, 41, 102686
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California homebuyer gets $11,340 quote for 11-panel solar system, then learns $95 plan costs more  Yahoo
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（Singapore, 31.08.2026）Australia’s home battery market is booming, with more than 500,000 systems installed nationwide as falling costs and government incentives encourage households to store more of the electricity generated by their rooftop solar panels. The rapid expansion has raised an obvious question for another solar-growing market: could home batteries be the next big step for Singapore homeowners?
9 Solar FinTech CEO Kerr Sun believes batteries will become an increasingly important part of Singapore’s residential energy landscape, but cautions against assuming that every home with rooftop solar needs one. Australia and Singapore have very different housing profiles, electricity market conditions and policy environments, while rooftop solar itself still has considerable room to grow among Singapore’s landed homes.
“I see the development happening in stages: first we make solar more accessible, then batteries become more attractive as their costs come down and the economics improve,” Sun said, adding that the longer-term direction extends beyond solar panels to a home energy ecosystem combining solar generation, battery storage, EV charging and intelligent energy management. The technology, however, still needs to make financial sense for individual households rather than being installed simply because batteries are becoming more popular.
Whether a household needs battery storage depends heavily on when it consumes electricity. A family that uses a substantial proportion of its electricity during daylight hours may already be able to consume much of its solar generation directly, particularly if people work from home, air-conditioning runs during the day, an EV is charged at home or equipment such as swimming pool pumps operates while the sun is shining.
The calculation changes when electricity generation and household consumption occur at different times. Solar panels produce most of their electricity during daylight hours, whereas many households consume more electricity after family members return home in the evening, creating a mismatch that allows batteries to play a potentially useful role by storing some excess daytime generation for use later.
“A battery is not free energy. It simply moves energy from one time of the day to another,” Sun said, stressing that homeowners should compare the value of exporting each additional kilowatt-hour of solar electricity to the grid with the value of storing and consuming it later, before weighing that additional benefit against the cost of the battery throughout its useful life.
If exporting surplus electricity already provides a reasonable return and the additional savings from storing it are insufficient to justify the battery investment, continuing to export may make better financial sense. That calculation could change over time as battery prices fall, household consumption patterns evolve, EV ownership increases and energy-management technology becomes more sophisticated, which is why Sun believes homeowners should consider their entire household energy profile rather than focusing solely on the battery’s purchase price.
The same principle applies when deciding how large a solar and storage system should be. Rather than installing as much equipment as possible, Sun said 9 Solar FinTech looks at how much electricity a household consumes, when it consumes it, how much solar energy its roof can generate and what combination could deliver the greatest long-term savings.
“Sometimes that means solar plus battery. Sometimes solar alone is actually the better investment,” he said.
Cost remains one of the biggest obstacles to residential battery adoption in Singapore, particularly when compared with Australia, where government subsidies have helped reduce upfront costs and accelerate installations. Yet purchase price alone does not reveal the true economics of a battery, with usable capacity, warranty, expected cycle life, degradation, operating conditions, maintenance and eventual replacement all affecting its lifetime value.
Singapore’s hot and humid climate also makes appropriate system design and installation quality important, while homeowners considering storage need to understand how performance may change throughout the battery’s operating life. For Sun, the more meaningful calculation is therefore not simply how much a battery costs to buy, but how much each usable kilowatt-hour stored and discharged ultimately costs over the life of the system.
He expects residential batteries to become considerably more attractive as costs continue to decline and usable lifespans improve, although the pace of adoption will ultimately depend on whether the economics become compelling enough for Singapore households.
The longer-term potential of batteries goes beyond helping individual households shift solar electricity from daytime to evening use. Australia is already experimenting with virtual power plants, or VPPs, which connect large numbers of household batteries and other distributed energy resources so that they can collectively interact with and support the wider electricity system.
Sun believes Singapore could eventually move in a similar direction, particularly given its compact size, high level of connectivity, growing solar deployment, increasing EV adoption and development of smart-grid capabilities. Instead of viewing each house solely as an electricity consumer, homes equipped with combinations of rooftop solar, batteries and EVs could eventually become small energy assets connected through intelligent software.
“Individually, one home is very small. But when you connect 1,000, 10,000 or eventually tens of thousands of homes, suddenly you have a meaningful distributed energy network,” he said.
Such a transition would not happen overnight, with regulatory, technical and commercial questions still to be resolved and grid stability and safety remaining priorities. Yet the direction, in Sun’s view, points towards increasingly integrated household energy systems, beginning with rooftop solar before expanding into storage, EV integration, smart energy management and AI-assisted optimisation.
That evolution could also change the way homeowners think about solar. Instead of viewing panels, batteries and EV chargers as separate purchases, households may eventually consider how each component interacts with the others to determine when electricity should be generated, consumed, stored or supplied back to the wider energy system.
Installing more technology does not automatically translate into greater savings, as the value of battery storage ultimately depends on how and when a household uses electricity, the economics of exporting excess solar power versus storing it for later use, and whether the additional savings generated over time are sufficient to justify the cost of the battery.
As battery technology improves, that equation is likely to become increasingly favourable, but for now, the transition towards smarter home energy systems may happen one step at a time. Solar may be the starting point, while batteries become the next step only when they make sense for the home.




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Australian building-integrated PV (BIPV) specialist ClearVue Technologies has announced a manufacturing breakthrough that allows its energy-generating Gen 3 glass units to accept high-performance soft low-emissivity (Low-E) coatings using the same established systems as conventional commercial glazing.
Perth-headquartered ClearVue’s Gen3 solar vision glass product features PV cells integrated into a laminated glass unit designed to generate electricity while maintaining glass transparency. The company said its units can generate more than 50 W of energy per square metre while maintaining up to 80% visible light transmittance.
In a boost to the commercial opportunities for the technology, ClearVue said its glass units can now be coated via a “magnetron sputter-coating process” after the PV cells have been laminated and processed, allowing a Low-E coating to be applied to the finished solar glass units. These coatings help control the amount of solar heat entering a building and are commonly specified across commercial façade projects worldwide.
“This removes a practical barrier for the industry,” ClearVue Chief Executive Officer Doug Hunt said. “It means energy-generating glass can be considered alongside conventional façade products, rather than requiring an entirely separate design or manufacturing process.”
“This is an important step in moving energy-generating façades from a specialist product towards standard commercial practice.”
According to ClearVue, the manufacturing capability allows the coating to be applied on surface 4, the room-facing side of the double-glazed unit, where it provides the greatest reduction in solar heat gain.
ClearVue believes it is currently the only BIPV supplier able to offer this capability while also generating renewable energy from the same glazing unit. The company said other BIPV products typically apply the coating on surface 5 of a triple-glazed unit, where thermal performance is reduced.
Hunt said the manufacturing breakthrough makes it easier for the façade industry to adopt energy-generating glazing without changing the way projects are already designed and delivered.
“For energy-generating glass to become widely used, it needs to fit within the systems the industry already understands and trusts,” he said.
“Architects and engineers can continue specifying the performance they need, while glass processors can use their existing production infrastructure. The difference is that the glass can now also generate clean energy for the building.”
ClearVue said it validated the new capability at glass manufacturer AGC Interpane’s facility in Germany, where the Gen 3 Vision Glass units were cleaned, coated and tested using the same production line and settings as conventional float glass, with no changes required to the coating process.
The manufacturing development is part of a series of recent commercial and technical milestones for ClearVue, including securing major international certifications for its Gen 3 Solar Vision Glass and its thermal management junction box.
The company’s ClearVue-Helios rooftop solar panel has also recently been added to the Clean Energy Council’s approved products list, ensuring it can connect to the grid and is eligible for all government grant and subsidy programs.
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The report presents overview of new solar modules and mounting systems presented at leading global solar shows in 2026
The solar industry is moving beyond standardized products toward solutions designed for specific sites and applications. Module, tracker, and mounting-system suppliers are increasingly optimizing their products for the intended applications. This trend was evident at SNEC PV+ 2026 in Shanghai and Intersolar Europe 2026 in Munich, where manufacturers presented products tailored to specific environmental, structural, and land-use requirements.
TaiyangNews is documenting the products showcased at these exhibitions in a three-report series covering production equipment and materials, modules and mounting systems, and energy storage systems and inverters. This report, TaiyangNews New Solar Modules & Mounting Systems Overview 2026, is the second in the series and covers 84 companies, including 56 solar module manufacturers and 28 mounting-system and tracker suppliers. The first report on product equipment was released in the first week of August, which is available for free download here.
The module section covers developments in various solar cell and module technologies. It also looks at application-specific products for dusty, coastal and extreme-weather environments, along with agrivoltaic, lightweight, flexible, and building-integrated PV modules.
The mounting section covers terrain-adaptive and agrivoltaic trackers, cable-based mounting structures, and rooftop systems. It also examines developments in independent row control, weather-stow functions, installation efficiency, and digital tools for construction monitoring and maintenance.
The report is based on TaiyangNews’ coverage of both exhibitions, information provided by the companies, and presentations delivered during the TaiyangNews Global PV System Technology Trends Conference.
TaiyangNews 2024

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Solar and Wind Leases Can Pay Farmers for Decades, but Read the Fine Print  Successful Farming
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EDF Power Solutions Signs PPA for 142.5 MW Diana Wind Farm Phase 1 in Brazil  SolarQuarter
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JCM Power wins bid for 30-MW solar project in Mozambique  Renewables Now
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A care home focused on sustainability is set to open in Bicester.
Otwell Grove, part of the Crystal Care Collection, will welcome residents from October and will provide residential, dementia, and respite care for up to 66 people.
Each room will feature an ensuite wet room, and a single all-inclusive fee is designed to give families reassurance without hidden costs.
Maria Taylor, managing director at Otwell Grove, said: "We're proud to bring Bicester a care home that delivers outstanding care while championing sustainable living.
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"The home will also be an active part of the local community through Crystal Care Collection's Community Tree initiative, creating partnership opportunities with schools, businesses, and community groups to connect and collaborate."
The home, located on Anniversary Avenue East, has been designed with sustainability in mind.
Photovoltaic solar panels and advanced battery storage will help meet much of the building's energy needs, while ground source heat pump technology will further reduce emissions.
The building also uses sustainable construction materials chosen for their low environmental impact and high thermal efficiency.
Other eco-friendly features include energy-efficient LED lighting with motion sensors and integrated water-saving systems.
Otwell Grove aims to become a hub for community engagement, working with nearby schools, businesses, and organisations through its Community Tree initiative.
To find out about living at Otwell Grove, call 01869 520083, email otwellgrove@crystalcarecollection.co.uk or visit the website.
The third-smallest constellation can be found partway along one of the imaginary lines of the summer triangle
More than two dozen teenagers stuck in the Spanish territory of Ceuta shared their reasons for joining the treacherous mass crossing in July
North Berwick, East Lothian: As I admire the aerial feats of house martins in Tantallon Castle, my eye is drawn across the water
The Notting Hill Carnival, Europe's biggest street party, is under way and is expected to attract millions of visitors to west London. The Met Police described the mood as "overwhelmingly positive", despite making 169 arrests on Sunday. In a statement, the force said: "While officers responded to a number of incidents as would be anticipated at an event of this scale, the mood has been overwhelmingly positive and celebratory."
A low-level flypast over the roof of a packed stadium has divided opinion – with some calling it a dangerous stunt and others praising the skill of the pilots. Footage of the planes over Cape Town's DHL Stadium before a rugby match on Saturday has gone viral. Fireworks were let off as the Embraer jets passed over the venue, which was hosting a rugby match between South Africa and New Zealand.
Nepal’s tourist board issued an update on almost 300 people rescued so far as further warnings were issued with water levels rising again
Russia’s defence ministry preparing attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as death toll from warehouse strike rises to 38. What we know on day 1,650
The renewed attack comes as the war, which has largely been locked in a stalemate, has continued with no end in sight for six months
A search is under way for 15 people feared missing after major flash flooding at the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.
Helicopter teams have searched the area for missing people after dozens rescued
Google has updated its maps application to rename Lake Ontario as "Lake America" for users in the US. It comes after Donald Trump ordered the name to be changed amid an escalating trade war with Canada. The Canadian province of Ontario is on the lake's north, west and southwest, while New York state is on its southern and eastern shore.
The decision by Sir James Cleverly to leave the shadow cabinet has forced Kemi Badenoch into a reshuffle with Tom Tugendhat expected to be made shadow foreign secretary
Students and staff from Gordonstoun, a private school in Moray which the King attended, uncovered the remains
Monday is expected to be the best weather of the long weekend, the Met Office said.
The annual west London carnival, which takes place across two main days, is Europe’s biggest street party and is celebrating its 60th anniversary.
The Scottish First Minister said public service reform would be a key part of the next five-year term at Holyrood.
He has so far completed 18 out of 42 grounds.
The ancient structure was unearthed on the Orkney island of Swona.
The National Trust’s restoration work on Holcombe Moor, north of Manchester, also stores carbon and boosts wildlife.
Unexpectedly low numbers of veterans from some areas of the country have come forward to claim redress for their mistreatment under the “gay ban”.

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Inspectors who hold the fate of one of the huge solar farms planned for Norfolk in their hands will resume public hearings into the scheme next month – and will be visiting the proposed site.
Public hearings over proposals for the Droves Solar Farm, which would see solar panels installed on 2,800 acres of fields between Castle Acre and Swaffham, started in May and will resume in September.
At the hearings, planning inspector Anthony Johnson will continue to hear representations and evidence about Island Green Power’s proposal, which has met strong opposition.
The developers say the scheme, which includes a battery energy storage system to store surplus energy, will generate up to 500 megawatts of electricity, enough to power around 115,000 homes a year.
Proposals for The Droves Solar Farm (Image: Island Green Power)
They say such solar schemes were a “critical national priority” as the government seeks to hit net zero objectives and improve energy security.
But critics have said it will harm heritage and the environment, while leading to the loss of farmland.
The Ministry of Defence has also objected. Officials say the highly reflective metal materials in arrays could interfere with the precision approach radar for aircraft landing at RAF Marham.
An F-35 Lightning jet at RAF Marham (Image: Ian Burt)
They are also concerned that glare could dazzle pilots and air traffic control staff.
That matter is one which will come under the spotlight again at the new hearings, where the developers will be asked about the measures the MOD wants to see put in place to address their concerns.
Island Green Power will also be asked for an update on its discussions with West Norfolk Council over the borough council’s concerns about noise and to respond to Norfolk County Council’s worries about the impact on roads.
There will also be a hearing to consider the developer’s requirements to compulsory purchase or take temporary possession of land in order to build the solar farm.
The hearings will take place at The Duke’s Head Hotel in King’s Lynn’s Tuesday Market Place on Tuesday, September 8 and Wednesday, September 9.
The day after the hearings – on Thursday, September 10 – the inspectors will take part in an accompanied visit of the site.
The examination is due to run until November.
The Droves application is being treated as a nationally significant infrastructure project, which means it does not go through the usual planning process.
Miatta Fahnbulleh (Image: Roger Harris / UK Parliament)
The planning inspector will instead consider the application and then make a recommendation to energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh, who has the final say on whether it goes ahead.
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Hawke’s Bay Airport Calls for Partners on Solar Farm Project  energynews.pro
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Recently, FAW Group has made another major breakthrough! It has completed the preparation of the world’s first perovskite photovoltaic sunroof prototype, marking the first time in the industry that perovskite photovoltaic modules have been integrated into double-curved automotive safety glass.
According to FAW, this sunroof prototype has a power generation capacity of nearly 300W under sufficient sunlight, and can generate 400kWh of electricity on average throughout the year. In the future, if all body glass and covers such as the roof and hood are replaced with perovskite photovoltaic power generation equipment, the theoretical maximum daily power generation can reach 10kWh.
The ideal is full, but the reality is very skinny. Not to mention the difficulty of covering the entire vehicle body with perovskite photovoltaic modules, even if the technology achieves a breakthrough, power generation is still affected by light intensity. The vehicle must be parked in an open-air parking lot, and the power generation capacity of the module will be greatly reduced on cloudy days.
The paradoxical reality is that even though commercial disputes have never ceased, from traditional giants to startups, there have always been players rushing into the vehicle photovoltaic track in recent decades, never giving up the dream of letting cars “get free power from the sun”.
As early as 2016, the predecessor team of Dutch startup Lightyear developed the solar car Stella that supports photovoltaic power generation. After Lightyear was officially established, it started developing the mass-produced model Lightyear 0 in 2019, which was scheduled to go into production in the fall of 2022, with a price as high as 263,000 US dollars (about 1.768 million RMB at present).
However, in early 2023, Lightyear declared bankruptcy, terminated the delivery of the Lightyear 0, and the R&D of its second model Lightyear 2 was also forced to be suspended.
At present, Lightyear has cut more than 80% of its staff compared with its peak period, canceled the whole vehicle R&D and production projects, and transformed into a provider of vehicle-integrated photovoltaic (VIPV) hardware, controllers and software solutions. The Ariya concept car exhibited by Nissan at the beginning of this year is the product of joint R&D between Nissan and Lightyear.

(Source: InsideEVs)
Toyota, the leader of the automotive industry, tried to install solar panels on its popular hybrid model Prius as early as 2010, but canceled the plan later due to uncertain factors. It was not until 2017 that Toyota provided an optional solar power generation panel kit for the Prius.
In 2022, Toyota provided an optional solar charging dome kit for its pure electric vehicle bZ4X at a price as high as 20,000 yuan. The official claimed that the solar charging dome can provide 1750km of driving range for the vehicle every year. According to an earlier calculation by Dianchetong at an electricity price of 1.5 yuan/kWh, under ideal conditions, car owners need about 60 years to recoup the cost.

(Source: GAC Toyota)
Domestic enterprises also attach great importance to vehicle photovoltaic technology. For example, Hanergy Group released 4 solar cars in 2016, but none of them have been mass-produced so far.
Tesla, which has made outstanding achievements in the field of whole-house photovoltaics, provides photovoltaic solutions centered on household energy storage scenarios rather than automotive products, which is obviously more pragmatic than automakers such as Toyota and Nissan.
The surface area of a car is limited. Even if the entire surface is covered with photovoltaic modules, the power generation is very limited, which cannot meet the needs of daily travel at all, and can only reduce the vehicle usage cost to a certain extent. Taking photovoltaics as the main energy source to drive vehicles may never be a feasible path.
Dianchetong (ID: dianchetong233) believes that the reason why automakers are obsessed with “getting free power from the sun” lies in two aspects: first, the influence of environmental protection concepts. Solar energy is the cleanest energy source, which conforms to the global advocated concept of energy conservation and emission reduction; second, the feeling of “getting something for nothing” is extremely pleasant. After installing photovoltaic power generation equipment, there is no additional cost to obtain solar energy, which gives people a very cost-effective feeling.
The reason why consumers do not accept solar cars is essentially an economic issue. Installing optional photovoltaic equipment costs tens of thousands of yuan, but it can only generate a few hundred kWh of electricity a year. Theoretically, it takes decades or even hundreds of years to recoup the cost. Considering the life cycle of a car, the cost can never be recovered in practice. If we take cost saving as the evaluation standard, vehicle photovoltaics are indeed not cost-effective at all.
However, with the increasingly rich intelligent configurations of new energy vehicles, Dianchetong has seen more possibilities for photovoltaic equipment in vehicle scenarios.
Take myself as an example, I seldom drive on weekdays, and I am worried that the battery will lose power if the vehicle is parked for a long time, so I always have to make time to charge the car.
In addition, current new vehicles are generally equipped with the sentinel mode, which consumes about 1-3kWh of electricity per night when the camera is working. Many users will turn off the sentinel mode to save electricity, but then there is no video evidence to protect their rights after the vehicle is scratched, falling into a dilemma.
Some vehicles are also equipped with an on-board refrigerator. Considering the risk of battery power loss and energy consumption, the on-board refrigerator is usually turned off when the engine is off, so users cannot enjoy cold drinks immediately after getting on the car.
The situation is different after adding the photovoltaic power generation module. When the vehicle is parked in the open air, the photovoltaic module continuously generates electricity, fully covering the parking energy consumption such as 24-hour sentinel monitoring, parking ventilation, infotainment system standby, and low-voltage equipment power consumption.

(Source: pixabay)
The power loss that originally needs to be borne by the power battery can be replaced by free solar energy, which can solve problems such as power loss after long-term parking and battery life degradation. For users who travel frequently and leave their vehicles idle for a week or even several months, photovoltaics are equivalent to equipping the vehicle with a “smart trickle charge power maintenance system”, fundamentally avoiding the problems of power loss and battery damage.
The perovskite photovoltaic features light weight, flexibility, curved surface adaptability and semi-transparency, which can fit curved surfaces well, making it suitable for vehicle body photovoltaics, curved sunroofs and BIPV photovoltaic facades, and it also meets the requirements of vehicle photovoltaic development routes at the technical level.
Apart from economic benefits, the prospect of vehicle photovoltaics is very promising. The failures of companies such as Lightyear and Toyota in the field of vehicle photovoltaics are precisely caused by miscalculating the economic accounts.
As a startup, Lightyear’s product performance has not been tested by the market, and it rashly launched a model priced at nearly 1.8 million yuan, with a very slim chance of success.

(Source: Generated by Doubao AI)
Having realized the problem, Lightyear later launched the R&D of the low-cost model Lightyear 2, which is priced at only 40,000 euros (about 313,000 yuan at present), but its capital reserve is no longer sufficient to support the whole vehicle R&D.
Toyota’s failure lies in that the photovoltaic power generation equipment is adapted to the Prius and bZ4X, and the prices of these two models are not high enough. The 200,000 to 300,000 yuan price range belongs to the entry-level luxury car segment, and domestic brands focusing on the high-end market such as AITO, Xiaomi and Li Auto all have products in this range.
The problem is that people who buy models in this price range still care about cost-effectiveness. Photovoltaic modules that cost tens of thousands of yuan are too low in economic efficiency to meet the needs of the mainstream consumer group in this price range. Yes, you heard it right, the correct target group of photovoltaic power generation modules should be consumers with strong financial capacity, targeting luxury models priced above 300,000 yuan.
The main reason why automakers are flocking to the luxury car market is that luxury cars have large profit margins, and consumers are less sensitive to prices. After adding photovoltaic modules to entry-level and mid-luxury models, consumers will see a 10%-20% surge in prices, while for luxury cars, the price will only rise by 5% to 10%, and the difference is relatively not so obvious.
More importantly, the photovoltaic function is more suitable for the usage scenarios of high-end models. Vehicles are evolving into “mobile living spaces on wheels”, and automakers often take outdoor camping scenarios as the key promotion point for their products. In outdoor scenarios, users’ demand for parking air conditioners, refrigerators and external discharge will increase, and the overall power consumption of the vehicle will also rise.

(Source: BYD)
For pure electric vehicle users, the increase in power consumption is likely to cause range anxiety, and the power generation function of photovoltaic modules can alleviate this range anxiety. The energy self-sufficiency, lossless power maintenance, green travel experience brought by photovoltaic modules, as well as the product narrative of “mobile distributed power generation terminal”, can also meet the needs of high-end users and become a selling point for differentiated competition of luxury models.
When the price of photovoltaic modules drops in the future, and users can install one for only a few thousand yuan or even a few hundred yuan, it is not too late to popularize it in mid- and low-end models.
It is believed that when the cost-effectiveness of photovoltaic modules is improved, which can truly reduce the travel cost of mid- and low-end vehicle users without significantly increasing the vehicle purchase cost, consumers will definitely be willing to accept vehicle photovoltaics.
From this perspective, the reason why automakers are unwilling to give up on “getting free power from the sun” may not be the pursuit of small immediate benefits, but the bet on the future energy revolution. Vehicle photovoltaics are one of the few technical directions that have long-term iteration space, can build product differentiation, and conform to the dual carbon trend.
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Six months after U.S.-Israeli strikes disrupted Middle Eastern fossil fuel production and turned the Strait of Hormuz into a naval battleground, the world is getting a fuller picture of how the Iran war has reshaped the economics of energy.
A handful of new reports show how, by dramatically raising fossil-fuel prices, the conflict has also been pushing governments, companies and consumers towards renewable energy, with a clear set of winners and losers emerging.

Global fossil fuel importers have paid more than $330 billion in extra costs — an amount equal to Finland’s 2025 gross domestic product (GDP) — since the war began on Feb. 28, according to data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), a Helsinki-based nonprofit. Meanwhile, higher energy prices have been a boon to a handful of oil and gas producing countries outside the war zone.
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Researchers from the University of Freiburg and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) in Germany have fabricated a perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell using a fully solvent-free manufacturing process.
“At the heart of the project is the fabrication of the perovskite layer using physical vapor deposition (PVD) and other solvent-free, industrially scalable processes,” the scientists said in a statement. “The perovskite layer was deposited through sequential evaporation.”
PVD offers a solvent-free approach to thin-film deposition, as the coating material is transferred directly to the substrate through the vapor phase under vacuum, eliminating the need to dissolve the material in a liquid carrier. The approach can also reduce solvent-related contamination and eliminates the need for subsequent solvent removal or drying steps.
“We have succeeded in eliminating all solvents from the manufacturing process of the wide-bandgap perovskite top cell and integrating this technology into the world’s first fully solvent-free perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell,” said lead author Mohamed A. A. Mahmoud.
“Thanks to excellent collaboration with researchers from four different countries, we were able to combine various measurement techniques to gain a detailed understanding of the processes taking place during the deposition of the perovskite thin films,” said co-author Juliane Borchert. “Perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells have great potential to become the next generation of highly efficient solar cells. For them to make the transition from the laboratory to industrial manufacturing, it is essential to identify the optimal combination of deposition methods that enables reliable, large-scale, and high-throughput production. With this solvent-free tandem solar cell, we are laying an important foundation for achieving this goal.”
The researchers built the solvent-free device in a monolithic two-terminal (2T) configuration, with a sequentially evaporated perovskite top cell integrated onto a silicon heterojunction (SHJ) bottom cell. They deposited the perovskite absorber via sequential evaporation using an optimized precursor recipe designed to achieve the required bandgap and complete conversion of the lead-halide precursors.
The scientists also deposited the hole-transport layer (HTL) by evaporation, avoiding solution processing at the bottom interface of the perovskite cell. At the upper interface, they deposited an ethylenediammonium diiodide (EDAI) passivation layer, followed by a 15-nm buckminsterfullerene (C60) electron-transport layer (ETL). They then deposited 20 nm of tin oxide (SnOₓ) via atomic layer deposition (ALD) and 25 nm of indium tin oxide (ITO) by sputtering.
The 1 cm² device was completed with a 200-nm silver (Ag) electrode and a 100-nm magnesium fluoride (MgF₂) layer.
Tested under standard illumination conditions, the tandem cell achieved a power conversion efficiency of 27.1%, an open-circuit voltage of 1,903 mV, a short-circuit current density of 19.3 mA/cm², and a fill factor of 73.8%. The device also retained 97.06% of its initial efficiency after 6,800 hours of storage in the dark under a nitrogen (N₂) atmosphere.
The scientists said in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements provided insights into the growth and conversion of sequentially deposited perovskite absorbers on planar and textured silicon substrates. They found that textured silicon promoted more effective conversion of lead-halide precursors into the perovskite phase than planar silicon.
The researchers also observed halide redistribution during thermal annealing, highlighting the importance of carefully optimized annealing conditions for achieving high device performance. However, they noted that the elevated processing temperatures impose additional thermal-stability requirements on the hole-transport layers.
“This achievement and the new insights into the crystallization processes form an important foundation for the further optimization of the technology and its future industrial implementation,” the academics concluded.
The new manufacturing process was described in “Impact of silicon substrate topography on sequentially evaporated perovskite film growth,” published in Joule.
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“I’m sure in all local governments, we residents … like to not be surprised.”
Photo Credit: iStock
Holmdel Township has approved a municipal ban on data centers, joining a broader wave of local resistance in New Jersey over the facilities’ water needs, electricity demand, and neighborhood effects.
According to NJ.com, Committee members began the process in late July and gave final approval for the new rules in August. The ordinance both defines what the township considers a data center and prohibits that use under local development rules.
Despite the new ban, a major data center built by Inspired by Somerset Development may still come to the community, as its project was filed before the ban took effect. The company’s plan would see the 472-acre former Bell Labs property, home to Bell Works, turned into a data center.
That timing could be decisive. NJ.com reported that at the Aug. 11 meeting, township attorney Michael Collins said a complete application is generally reviewed under the zoning rules in place when it is filed, meaning Bell Works could still be considered under the pre-ban framework.
At both meetings, residents warned that a large data center could consume major local resources and change the township’s feel. NJ.com reported that some large-scale data centers can use 3 million to 5 million gallons of water per day and consume up to 300 megawatts of electricity, raising concerns about noise, lighting, and property values.
Questions also arose about Bell Works in particular. Township Committee member Greg Buontempo, according to NJ.com, sought guidance on how the ordinance would affect that site, but Collins said the redevelopment agreement made the legal picture more complicated.
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Questions about traffic, bright night lighting, equipment noise, and added strain on water and electric systems can quickly fuel opposition to data centers, particularly when community members feel projects are moving ahead before the public fully understands them.
That frustration was reflected in comments from Better Holmdel member Kin Gee, who said, as quoted by NJ.com, “I’m sure in all local governments, we residents…like to not be surprised.” Gee added, “We were there to cheer the banning of a data center and it was announced, ‘Guess what, guys? The data center is coming right to one of the most successful redevelopments of all of Monmouth County and maybe the state.'”
Opponents of blanket bans argue that they can block investment, jobs, and digital infrastructure that businesses increasingly depend on. That tension has fueled similar debates elsewhere, as communities seek protections while developers and some officials warn against shutting the door entirely.
Holmdel’s main policy response is the ordinance, which passed unanimously on both readings. Even if the Bell Works application is exempt because it arrived first, the measure could still prevent future data center proposals elsewhere in town.
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The rolling hills of Vermont in August smell like warm earth, hydrangea, and sun-ripened tomatoes. What they don’t smell like — at least not at this particular farmhouse — is burning fuel.
Arriving for what felt like an ordinary rural getaway, I found something quietly unexpected: a working farm that had been rethinking its relationship with fossil fuels for over a decade, one incremental step at a time.
Walking the property that first afternoon, the absence of something familiar was almost disorienting. No propane tang, no diesel exhaust drifting from a generator — just garden soil and the faint sweetness of pole beans. The touchless check-in let the place introduce itself on its own terms: lush rows of tomatoes and cucumbers, hydrangea crowding the fence line, a barn roof that caught the eye immediately.
The visit landed at a personal moment. I’d been working through the slow, sometimes frustrating process of converting my own summer home to all-electric, and that context sharpened everything. What might have read as a pleasant rural rental became something closer to an unplanned field study — a chance to see incremental electrification not as a policy abstraction, but as a lived reality someone had already been building for years.
No single dramatic overhaul defined this farmhouse. One system at a time, the hosts had quietly rewired how the property consumed energy.
The barn roof holds 16 solar panels, installed in 2014 when rooftop solar carried a significantly higher price tag than it does today. A handwritten log inside the barn tracks production from the start — over the system’s first decade, those panels produced roughly 50,000 kWh cumulatively. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average American home used about 10,791 kWh in 2022, meaning the farm’s solar array covers approximately half its annual electricity needs. Substantial, even if not complete independence.
Hot water comes from a separate system entirely. Dedicated rooftop solar collectors use thermodynamics and water flow to heat the farmhouse’s supply without drawing from the grid — a technology that often gets overlooked in electrification conversations, but one that works quietly and reliably.
There was also the practical satisfaction of plugging a 2017 Chevy Bolt into an on-site charger and waking up each morning to a full battery. EV charging at rural destinations is far from standard. Finding it here felt like a small but meaningful signal about where this property’s priorities sit.
Hardware tells only part of the story. The vegetable garden — long rows of tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, carrots, lettuces — contributed directly to meals during the stay. Growing food on-site reduces the energy embedded in transportation and refrigeration, even if that’s not how most gardeners frame it.
The hosts also asked guests to compost. At the bottom of a sloping hill, the pile was visibly doing its job: pumpkins had pushed up through it, sprawling and unhurried, a low-tech indicator that the system was working.
Two wood stoves serve as the primary heating source. Wood, when sourced from managed land, is generally considered carbon-neutral — the carbon released during burning roughly equals what the tree absorbed during growth. These aren’t glamorous solutions, but they show how behavioral choices and low-technology practices can meaningfully complement the more visible hardware investments.
A 10-acre working farm tests the edges of what electrification can currently deliver. Mowing the fields requires a diesel-powered brush hog. Zero-emission alternatives for that category of equipment exist in early commercial form, but they aren’t yet practical for most farm operations at scale.
Propane hasn’t disappeared entirely either. Baseboard heaters in a few rooms offer backup warmth when the wood stoves aren’t running — during travel, for instance, or an unexpected cold snap. The solar panels, for all their decade of reliable production, still cover only around half the farm’s electricity needs. Full electrification of a working rural property in 2026 remains out of reach — not a failure of ambition, but an honest accounting of where the technology and economics currently land.
The gap between where this farmhouse is and where it could go may narrow faster than expected. Vermont’s Department of Environmental Conservation has announced nearly $6 million in funding specifically aimed at replacing diesel vehicles and non-road equipment with electric alternatives. A farm family with a diesel brush hog and a decade of solar experience seems like exactly the kind of recipient such a program is designed to reach.
Economic pressure is adding urgency beyond environmental motivation. Rising fuel costs have been pushing rural households toward renewables — not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because the math is starting to favor it more clearly.
What this Vermont farmhouse demonstrates, quietly and without fanfare, is a realistic model: one system added, then another, spread across years, each decision building on the last. No single leap, no complete transformation — just steady, incremental progress.
The farmhouse won’t appear in any policy report. No one commissioned it as a demonstration project. It’s simply a place where a family made a series of practical choices over a decade, and those choices accumulated into something worth noticing. That may be the most honest version of how energy transitions actually happen — not in announcements, but in barn rooftops and compost piles and a charging cable quietly doing its work overnight. The question worth sitting with is how many more households are one good program, or one manageable price drop, away from starting the same quiet process.
Carlos is an engineer with strong expertise in technical and industrial topics. He previously worked at international companies such as Siemens and is multilingual.
Carlos is an engineer with strong expertise in technical and industrial topics. He previously worked at international companies such as Siemens and is multilingual.
Carlos is an engineer with strong expertise in technical and industrial topics. He previously worked at international companies such as Siemens and is multilingual.

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UK homeowner’s sleek solar plan hit a snag with one common flat-roof material  Yahoo
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“It’s called load shifting and it’s a commonly used practice.”
Photo Credit: iStock
After one homeowner spotted what they believed was a loophole in an EV charging program, they took to Reddit’s r/SolarDIY community to see if they were missing anything or could profit from it.
The original poster explained in the Reddit forum that, “My local utility has an EV program that lets you run anything in your house from 10pm to 5am around .05 cents a kWh. They can’t distinguish or care what you’re charging, so that got me thinking, why not charge whole home batteries overnight to use during the day?”
OP added that “I’m sure eventually the program will end, at which point I can prepare with building out the rest of the solar system… [Does] anyone else do this? What am I missing?”
One response said the approach already has a name. “It’s called load shifting and it’s a commonly used practice,” one commenter wrote, referring to the strategy of storing low-cost electricity and leaning on that stored energy when rates are higher.
Some noted that this strategy can be quite profitable. One said, “Yup, saves me a ton… I load shift my home office, which is what uses most of the power in my house and [I] charge it at night.”
A few commenters also stressed that the strategy’s profitability depends on efficiency losses. As one person warned, “Losses. At grid scale they lose about 10-15% on the round trip from AC back to AC. For home systems it can be as high as 30%, so the high TOU price has to be at least 1.5x the low TOU price to save any money.”
For households with high daytime use, especially of air conditioning, the savings from load shifting can add up quickly.
This online exchange exemplifies why adding battery storage is one of the best ways to save money on energy, protect your home during outages, and work toward going off-grid. Even without solar panels on day one, a battery can keep critical appliances running and help households take advantage of lower overnight utility rates.
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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 options for your needs, and their expert advisers can help you compare quotes and pick a winner.
Solar panels can save you more than $50k over their 25-year lifespan, and EnergySage can help you save as much as $10k on installation. Which begs the question — isn’t that worth an email or two?
Homeowners who want to run the numbers can explore EnergySage for information about home battery storage options, including competitive installation estimates. EnergySage has teamed up with the electrification brand Qmerit to guarantee you get the best price on home battery storage solutions. 
Another option is Pila, which offers excellent battery backup and plug-and-play batteries priced at a fraction of what a whole-home backup system would cost.
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A $2.2 billion solar plant that killed thousands of birds a year is shutting down half its capacity, not because of the environmental damage but because the technology it pioneered has already become obsolete.
By Science Blog Editorial Team · Edited by Brendan Brown
Published August 31, 2026 · How we edit
Drivers on Interstate 15 between Los Angeles and Las Vegas know the moment: the desert floor to the west suddenly glitters, five square miles of it, and three 459-foot towers rise out of the shimmer, each crowned with a block of light too bright to look at. The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is one of the most alien sights in America, and it was built to be the future. It opened in 2014 as the largest solar thermal plant on Earth, $2.2 billion of engineering backed by $1.6 billion in federal loan guarantees, with Google among its owners and its power sold to California’s biggest utilities on contracts running to 2039.
Eleven years later, its owners and its biggest customer negotiated its partial burial, and the remarkable part is the reason. It is not the one everybody expects.
Ivanpah is not a solar farm in the familiar sense; there are no photovoltaic panels doing quiet chemistry. It is a concentrating solar plant, a machine built on the logic of the magnifying glass. Across the desert floor, 173,500 computer-steered heliostats, each mounting a pair of mirrors, track the sun and bend its light onto boilers atop the three towers, heating water into steam that spins conventional turbines. In effect it is a coal plant with the coal replaced by aimed sunlight, which was precisely its appeal: unlike panels, it could store heat in the working fluid and keep generating into the evening, and in 2009, when the contracts were signed, it was cost-competitive with any solar technology going.
The physics that make it work also made its most notorious problem. The air around the receiver towers, where thousands of mirror-loads of sun converge, reaches temperatures around 1,000 degrees, and the towers’ glow attracts insects, which attract the birds that eat them. A bird crossing the flux field can ignite in mid-flight, trailing smoke as it falls. Plant workers coined a term for the sight, streamers, and the death toll became the project’s shadow: a 2016 Los Angeles Times account put it at 6,000 birds a year dying by collision or immolation while chasing insects around the towers, a figure a 2023 Association of Avian Veterinarians report echoed as a minimum. Estimates vary widely and the operators dispute the high ones, but nobody disputes the mechanism; Ivanpah is the only power plant in America whose emissions include birds on fire.
Here is the turn the story takes that the bird headlines miss: none of that is why it is closing. What doomed Ivanpah was arithmetic, administered by the dullest possible rival. In the fifteen years after its contracts were signed, ordinary flat photovoltaic panels, the technology Ivanpah was built to leapfrog, fell in price by something like 90 percent, while Ivanpah underperformed, never reaching its projected output and burning natural gas each morning to warm its boilers for the day’s sun. By the 2020s, PG&E was buying Ivanpah’s electricity at multiples of what new panel farms charge, and in 2023 the utility, under orders to cut costs to customers, went looking for contracts to restructure or kill. In January 2025, PG&E, the plant’s owners and the Energy Department finalized termination agreements for the two towers serving PG&E, with closures to begin in 2026, the deal structured, in NRG’s phrasing, to maximize the government’s loan recovery and save ratepayers money. NRG’s own statement conceded the epitaph: the plant was a successful demonstration of a technology that photovoltaics had simply surpassed.
The eulogy then hit a very Californian complication. In December 2025 the state’s utility regulators rejected the termination deal, at least for now, citing grid-reliability questions and the risk of stranding a paid-for asset, so the plant that was scheduled to start dying this year is instead in bureaucratic limbo, its shutdown agreed by its owner, its buyer and the federal government, and blocked by the referee. Southern California Edison, which buys the third tower’s output, is negotiating its own exit. However the paperwork resolves, no one involved argues Ivanpah has a long-term future selling power; the argument is about the schedule and the bill.
It is tempting to score Ivanpah as a failure, and by the measures that matter to a ratepayer it was one: too expensive, too temperamental, and lethal to wildlife in a way that handed its critics an unforgettable image. But its obituary is really a record of how fast its rivals improved. Ivanpah bet that solar power needed to be a thermal machine, with turbines, inertia and stored heat, to be taken seriously on the grid. The bet was reasonable in 2009 and wrong by 2015, overtaken by a flat, silent, ever-cheaper rectangle with no moving parts and no flux field, and the desert it occupies may yet be repurposed for exactly those panels, as NRG has suggested. The birds, in the end, could not stop Ivanpah, and neither could the tortoises before them. The panel did, by being boring, and the towers that once out-shone the desert are set to go dark for the least dramatic reason in the energy business: somebody else’s electrons got cheaper.
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Regulating intermolecular interaction of passivators for controllable surface energetics of photovoltaic perovskites  Science | AAAS
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The Australian Government, through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), has announced up to $105.6 million for 20 research and development projects aimed at tackling the next frontier in ultra low-cost solar.
The funding represents ARENA’s largest single investment in solar PV research and development and will support a portfolio of projects spanning improved efficiency, cost and stability across advanced cells and modules, to innovations that can help improve the performance of solar farms and reduce the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE).
The investment builds on ARENA’s ultra low-cost solar ambition to help reduce installed solar costs to 30 cents per watt by 2030 to drive down the costs of solar-generated electricity.
ARENA acting CEO Chris Faris said the projects would help ensure Australia remained at the forefront of solar innovation while addressing some of the biggest challenges facing the renewable energy industry.
“Australia has played a leading role in the development of solar technology, and these projects will help ensure we continue to strengthen that position,” he said.
“The portfolio brings together a mix of near-term improvements and breakthrough technologies that have the potential to lower costs, improve performance and accelerate the deployment of solar energy both in Australia and around the world.
“Achieving ultra low-cost solar requires innovation across the entire value chain. From the solar cells and modules themselves through to the way solar farms are built, operated and maintained, these projects will help unlock practical solutions that support a faster, more affordable energy transition.
“ARENA initially allocated $60 million to the Ultra Low-Cost Solar PV Research and Development Funding Round. When we saw the quality of applications, we decided to increase funding to support a broader portfolio of high-quality projects that can help accelerate progress towards ultra low-cost solar.”
Related article: Speed and scale are key risks in race to ultra low-cost solar
The 20 projects selected for funding are listed below:

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A screenshot of the Guam Hybrid Land Use Commission meeting that was livestreamed on the Guam Department of Land Management YouTube on Aug. 27, 2026.

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A screenshot of the Guam Hybrid Land Use Commission meeting that was livestreamed on the Guam Department of Land Management YouTube on Aug. 27, 2026.
Pacific Energy Corporation can proceed with a solar farm in Inalåhan, with the Hybrid Land Use Commission unanimously approving a conditional use permit for the project at Friday’s meeting.
The portion of the lot dedicated to the project, Lot B-3REM-14-R2, is 13 acres, according to Department of Land Management Chief Planner Celine Cruz.
The Inalåhan site is one of four sites to be made into solar facilities as part of Pacific Energy’s 20-megawatt contract with the Guam Power Authority.
“Access to the property is via Dandan Road. A solar inverter will also be located on site. To address stormwater management, a ponding basin is proposed in the low-lying portion of the property to mitigate runoff, reduce flooding potential and support water quality protection,” Cruz said.
Internal roads are planned to run along the perimeter and extend through the property to support operational circulation, Cruz added.
Cruz recommended the HLUC approve Pacific Energy’s application with the following conditions:
Inalåhan Mayor Anthony Chargualaf motioned to approve the application, and it was passed with no objections.
Willy Flores, president of W.B. Flores and Associates and legal counsel for Pacific Energy, attended the meeting with Pacific Energy President Andy Park.
According to Flores, Pacific Energy was awarded a 20-megawatt contract to provide power to the GPA. Flores said Pacific Energy has four sites in development.
“The first site is adjacent to the entrance into Two Lover’s Point. The second site is at Barrigada [or] Mangilao, depending on which mayor you talk to, just south of the Navy Golf Course. The third site is in Pulantat, and the fourth site is in Inalåhan,” Flores said.
The second site will have a dedicated building each for its battery modules and main electrical system. There is also a water line on the property going to the nearby landfill and the tracking station. Flores said the facility’s connection to this water line would not cause problems downstream for other landowners as it is “purely for firefighting.”
The third facility is expected to generate 4.9 megawatts. Flores said a nearby landowner was previously allowed to use the area for drainage, which Pacific Energy discovered while clearing the area for construction. This matter was resolved, he added.
Each facility’s generated megawatts will be sent to GPA’s system and redistributed throughout the island, according to Park.
Once completed, Park said just one of these four facilities could power “anywhere from 175 to 220 homes,” depending on what type of homes and how much power they draw.
Reach reporter Uriah Aguon at uaguon@guampdn.com.
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The vehicle in question, officially classified as an autocycle, in part because it only rides on three wheels, is called the Aptera, and it has been in the news, on and off, ever since it was presented to the world in its current form at the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
The last time we heard anything about it was back in early July, when the company behind the design, Aptera Motors, announced the vehicle got the Certificate of Conformity (CoC) from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), something that effectively clears the design for use on public roads.
That won’t happen just yet, as there are still some hurdles to overcome, but progress has been made, and the most recent proof of that is the series of tests conducted in Southern California. There, over three consecutive days, Aptera and TÜV Rheinland, one of the world’s largest testing, inspection, and certification services providers, tried to determine whether the daily solar energy generation is as expected.

Photo: Aptera

The short answer is yes. On each of the three days, the autocycle’s 700 watts-worth of solar cells installed on the roof proved that they can deliver more than four kWh of solar energy into the battery pack. That’s exactly what the company expected from the design, and enough to ensure a 40-mile (64 km) range.
That may not seem like much, but you do have to take into account that the Aptera is not exclusively a solar-powered vehicle. Its 40-kWh liquid-cooled battery pack can also be charged from regular charging stations, as it is equipped with a North American Charging System (NACS) connector.
Back to the tests performed on the solar cells and their generation capabilities, Aptera says each of the three days of testing followed a different procedure, and measurements were conducted from sunrise to sunset. The numbers that follow represent measurements of the energy where it entered the battery, after conversion losses, rather than at the panels.
On the first day, the vehicle was parked in a fixed position, its hatch closed, and completely undisturbed for the entire day. In this scenario, TÜV measured 4.23 kWh, which translates into roughly 42 miles (68 km) of range.

Photo: Aptera

On day two, the scenario called for the vehicle to be repositioned only once, at noon, as to make the most of the Sun and its energy. In this case, the readings showed that the panels can generate 4.40 kWh of energy, meaning about 44 miles (71 miles) of range.
Last but not least, day three called for the Aptera three-wheeler to be placed under the Sun with the hatch raised and angled toward the Sun. In this scenario, the cells generated the most energy, 4.75 kWh, which should be enough to move the vehicle some 47 miles (76 km).
Although the numbers are in line with what the company expected, it’s important to note that they have been achieved in clear July conditions in California, so the actual solar power generation may vary in other places and depend on a multitude of factors.
As said, the Aptera does not rely solely on solar cells to generate energy for its needs. Its battery pack, when plugged in for about an hour, is enough to ensure a maximum range of 400 miles (644 km), kind of making the solar system a sort of emergency backup.

Photo: Aptera

The electricity from the battery is fed to an electric motor that allows the autocycle to accelerate from zero to 62 mph in under six seconds, and to reach top speeds of 100 mph (161 kph). All while transporting a maximum of two people in a cockpit shielded by a carbon fiber body.
The cabin of the three-wheeler is kind of spartan, as it is only fitted with the steering yoke, a center display to show info on solar range, battery charge, and vehicle status, and two additional displays that show images from the two external cameras that take the place of traditional side mirrors.
Aptera gave the vehicle as many safety features as possible in such a small package, fitting it with a safety cell, an energy-absorbing front nose cone, and a subframe designed to crumple on impact. There are no airbags or ABS, and not even the driver assistance features many of us are used to, like, say, parking assist, at least in the early production models.
We expect sales of the Aptera to start pretty soon. The assembly facility in Carlsbad, California, has already rolled out the first five prototypes, and they’re probably awaiting the remaining testing and paperwork to be completed.
The three-wheeler is likely to cost around $40,000. The company making it says it already has some 50,000 reservations for it.
Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a “behind the scenes” look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies. Full profile 
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The JRC’s European Solar Test Installation carries out research on reliable and accurate measurements for photovoltaic devices and supports the EU in meeting its targets for renewable energy.
The European Solar Test Installation (ESTI) is a European reference laboratory for calibration of photovoltaic (PV) devices and for the verification of their energy generation. Since its launch in the late 1970’s, it has also been at the forefront of development of international standards for the assessment of electrical performance of PV products and for their reliability. ESTI is located at the JRC Ispra site in Italy. 
ESTI has a unique range of class AAA solar simulators as well as outdoor facilities for accurate calibration, testing and long-term assessment of PV cells and modules.
To have legal validity, all measurements (including PV) are required to have an unbroken traceability chain to international primary measurement standards as well as a calculation of their uncertainty. For PV devices the most important and difficult aspect is the irradiance determination, for which ESTI is accredited for 3 methods.
The global sunlight method (1st method) and the direct sunlight method (2nd method) transfer the irradiance calibration from two cavity radiometers, which are calibrated every 5 years against the World Radiometric Reference at the International Pyrheliometer Comparison held in Davos, Switzerland. The solar simulator method (3rd method) makes reference to the international irradiance scale, as represented by a standard lamp.
ESTI maintains a laboratory management system that is compliant to the ISO/IEC 17025 and is accredited for the calibration of photovoltaic devices (Accreditation number 00465) by the Italian accreditation body ACCREDIA. The accreditation scheme includes a flexible scope that allows ESTI to develop and implement internally new measurement procedures and methods. The validation procedures applied by ESTI before introducing any variation in the methods under ‘flexible scope’ are described in our instruction Validation of Methods (PDF). We maintain a list of methods that indicates which tests and methods have been modified by ESTI under our ‘Flexible Scope of Accreditation’; the list can be consulted for reference.
For the calibrations price list or to request information on our services, please contact: JRC-ESTI-SERVICESec [dot] europa [dot] eu (JRC-ESTI-SERVICES[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
Comprehensive metrological solar resource data are essential for evaluating the results of the ESTI outdoor exposure testing on PV modules. 
The ESTI Meteo Tower, located in Ispra (Italy), monitors constantly a series of environmental VARIABLES; it measures and records minute data of the following parameters
In 1994, an amorphous silicon array was installed under ESTI supervision on the façade of the ELSA building housing the European Laboratory for Structural Assessment. At the time, it was the largest façade installation in the world using amorphous silicon technology.
The main characteristics are
Every year, ESTI organises the International Spectroradiometer Intercomparison (ISRC), a week-long event dedicated to metrology in solar radiation measurements. During the event, participating instruments measure solar radiation continuously, with the ESTI equipment serving as the standard for evaluating spectroradiometers and calibrating pyranometers and pyrheliometers. Additionally, a specialised section of the event focuses on comparing absolute cavity radiometers (ACR), where the assigned value is determined by averaging the valid WRR factors of the cavities from the latest IPC in Davos (PMOD-WRC). 
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Home > News > ARENA invests $105.6 million in next wave of solar innovation
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced up to $105.6 million for 20 research and development projects aimed at tackling the next frontier in ultra low-cost solar, reducing the cost of designing, building, operating and maintaining large-scale solar farms.
The funding represents ARENA’s largest single investment in solar PV research and development and will support a portfolio of projects spanning improved efficiency, cost and stability across advanced cells and modules, to innovations that can help improve the performance of solar farms and reduce the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE).
The investment builds on ARENA’s ultra low-cost solar ambition to help reduce installed solar costs to 30 cents per watt by 2030 to drive down the costs of solar-generated electricity.
ARENA acting CEO Chris Faris said the projects would help ensure Australia remained at the forefront of solar innovation while addressing some of the biggest challenges facing the renewable energy industry.
“Australia has played a leading role in the development of solar technology, and these projects will help ensure we continue to strengthen that position,” Mr Faris said.
“The portfolio brings together a mix of near-term improvements and breakthrough technologies that have the potential to lower costs, improve performance and accelerate the deployment of solar energy both in Australia and around the world.”
“Achieving ultra low-cost solar requires innovation across the entire value chain. From the solar cells and modules themselves through to the way solar farms are built, operated and maintained, these projects will help unlock practical solutions that support a faster, more affordable energy transition.”
“ARENA initially allocated $60 million to the Ultra Low-Cost Solar PV Research and Development Funding Round. When we saw the quality of applications, we decided to increase funding to support a broader portfolio of high-quality projects that can help accelerate progress towards ultra low-cost solar.”
The projects are being supported across two streams and six focus areas:
Stream 1: Cells and modules
Stream 2: Balance of systems and operation and maintenance
Read more about ARENA’s Ultra Low-Cost Solar priorities.
The 20 projects selected for funding are listed below.
Stream 1: Cells and modules
Stream 2: BoS and O&M
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Smoke can reduce the amount of electricity a photovoltaic (PV) plant produces, by scattering and absorbing sunlight. Some regions that are well suited for large-scale PV installations are increasingly affected by wildfires and the smoke they produce. PV operators can lose revenue when power generation decreases, meaning that more frequent and severe wildfires will affect the financial performance of PV generation.
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The Government has closed the second day of its V Trobada in Os de Balaguer with a round of visits to municipalities and infrastructures in the Lleida regions, with the Alcarràs solar park as one of the central stops on the institutional agenda.
The visit of Salvador Illa and the Minister of Territory, Sílvia Paneque, coincides with the open debate on the Territorial Sector Plan for wind and photovoltaic electricity generation. The trip places Alcarràs at the crossroads between the energy deployment promoted by the Generalitat de Catalunya and the territorial balance that the Government says it is seeking for the new political term.
In addition to the stop in Alcarràs for the commissioning of the solar park, the President of the Generalitat de Catalunya visited Almenar, Preixens, and Aitona during the day.
The rest of the ministers were distributed among Menàrguens, Ribera d’Ondara, Tàrrega, Guissona, Pont de Suert, Tremp, Castellnou de Seana, Camarassa, Balaguer, la Sentiu de Sió, Ivars de Noguera, Castellserà, and Cervera. With this deployment, the executive wanted to establish direct contact with the needs of very different areas of the demarcation.
In Alcarràs, the focus was on energy.
The presence of Illa and Paneque at the solar park comes months after the debate on eight parks processed separately emerged in the same municipality, a discussion that links to the territorial planning of photovoltaics in Lleida. The Government now frames the commissioning of the installation within the process of defining the sectoral plan for renewables.
During the Trobada, Illa also held a working session with the territorial delegates of the seven vegueries to identify priorities, review ongoing actions, and strengthen institutional coordination.
There, the executive outlined the strategy for the new political term, now halfway through the mandate. In this plan, the Government places strategic projects in infrastructure, security, and public services with the intention of preparing the country for the next decade and reducing territorial inequalities.
On Friday, it had already visualized another of those lines of work.
That previous act was held at the Monestir de les Avellanes and served to stage the agreement between the Government and the provincial councils on forest management and fire prevention, an area that also fully affects the regions of Lleida. In parallel, Paneque has defended in other debates on renewables the planning of the energy deployment as a territorial tool.
Illa assured that there will be intense noise ahead of the new political term and took for granted that some will have no scruples about attacking Catalonia. The president simultaneously guaranteed the fulfillment of the commitments made by the executive.
The day also saw a specific action in public services outside the strictly political axis.
The Department of Social Rights has allocated approximately 314,000 euros to renovate the Nostra Senyora de Ribera residence, in La Pobla de Segur.
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© 2025 THE COOL DOWN COMPANY. All Rights Reserved. Do not sell or share my personal information. Reach us at hello@thecooldown.com.
“You should go pro.”
Photo Credit: Reddit
An off-grid builder gave people a concrete look at what a DIY home power project can involve. 
In a post to Reddit’s r/SolarDIY community, they shared their progress, which had reached 65.5 kilowatt-hours of battery storage.
With text and plenty of photos, the original poster said their setup grew with two 328-amp-hour batteries.
“Let me know of anything you might think is wrong or needs improvement,” they added. 
There were still major items left on the OP’s to-do list. They noted they had about 30 more solar panels to install and that the two 12-kilowatt Deye inverters had not been synchronized.
“You should go pro,” one commenter wrote. Another asked: “How much did this cost? Wow!” The Philippines-based OP responded, stating, “About 21 grand U.S.”
Other users asked about the safety of the setup, with one noting the electrical work created a fire hazard.
Rather than installing everything at once, many DIY builders expand battery banks, add panels over time, and fine-tune inverter setups as their budgets and schedules allow.
FROM OUR PARTNER
Want to go solar but not sure who to trust? EnergySage has your back with free and transparent quotes from fully vetted providers in your area.
To get started, just answer a few questions about your home — no phone number required. Within a day or two, EnergySage will email you the best options for your needs, and their expert advisers can help you compare quotes and pick a winner.
Solar panels can save you more than $50k over their 25-year lifespan, and EnergySage can help you save as much as $10k on installation. Which begs the question — isn’t that worth an email or two?
Batteries are what turn solar production into around-the-clock resilience. Solar panels can generate electricity during the day, but stored power keeps lights, a refrigerator, communication tools, and other essentials running after sunset or during a blackout.
Battery storage can protect your home during outages, save you money on energy, and reduce your dependence on the grid, especially in places with expensive electricity or unreliable service. (The OP said they had “the highest electricity cost in Asia.”)
Of course, not everyone needs a 65.5-kWh battery setup to get meaningful protection from outages. A smaller battery paired with solar can still provide peace of mind and lower electricity costs.
Comparing quotes, reviewing usage patterns, and deciding whether you want a full-home or partial-home system can narrow your options. For some people, that will mean a professionally installed backup battery, while for others, a lower-cost plug-and-play option may be the better fit.
If you’re curious about backup power, it may be worth checking out EnergySage and its free tools. The company can find you competitive quotes, making it simple for you to compare your options and find the best price.
And for people who want a smaller-scale option, Pila has batteries that can help homeowners protect individual appliances, such as a fridge.
Get TCD’s free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
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Once communication returned, the homeowner said delayed low-battery messages finally appeared.
Photo Credit: Enphase
A homeowner who invested in solar panels and battery backup expected a sunny outage to be the ideal test case for the investment. Instead, they were met with disappointment and confusion.
The poster said their Enphase system did not appear to recharge the batteries after the gateway stopped communicating, leaving the house to slowly drain power. 
This serves as a reminder that backup power depends not only on hardware capacity but also on software systems and monitoring during grid failures.
In a detailed Reddit thread, the homeowner described an Enphase setup with 27 IQ7+ solar panels, four IQ 5P batteries, an IQ System Controller 3, and a load controller.
The biggest concern was that the batteries seemed to lose charge instead of building it during daylight. The homeowner said the system entered backup mode when the utility went down on Aug. 17 and dropped the air-conditioning compressor, but by the morning of Aug. 18 the battery level had slipped from 85% to 82%, the gateway had stopped communicating, and the batteries still did not appear to charge despite full sun and very light household use.
The homeowner’s main question was: “Why did batteries not charge during an entire day of full sun, with basically no household draw but refrigerator?”
It’s hard to understand where an issue stems from without good monitoring. One commenter replied, “Sounds like one of the big issues is not being able to see what the system is doing in an outage.” 
Battery storage is one of the best ways to protect your home during outages, save on energy costs, and go off-grid. Homeowners who want to compare systems can explore EnergySage for information about home battery storage options, including competitive installation estimates. EnergySage has also teamed up with the electrification brand Qmerit to guarantee you get the best price on home battery storage solutions.
FROM OUR PARTNER
Want to go solar but not sure who to trust? EnergySage has your back with free and transparent quotes from fully vetted providers in your area.
To get started, just answer a few questions about your home — no phone number required. Within a day or two, EnergySage will email you the best options for your needs, and their expert advisers can help you compare quotes and pick a winner.
Solar panels can save you more than $50k over their 25-year lifespan, and EnergySage can help you save as much as $10k on installation. Which begs the question — isn’t that worth an email or two?
For people who do not need a whole-home setup, Pila is another company offering strong backup options, and its plug-and-play batteries are priced at a fraction of the cost of a whole-home backup system.
Once communication returned, the homeowner said delayed low-battery messages finally appeared. That fit with their earlier impression that the app had been frozen at an older battery reading, even though the home’s local Wi-Fi was still working while internet service was down.
One reply urged the homeowner to practice local access before the next outage, saying, “First thing is to make sure you can connect locally in an outage.” The same commenter added that Enphase support should still be able to inspect logs from the inverters, batteries, and gateway to sort out what happened.
Homeowners who want a custom setup, but are still weighing solar options, can use EnergySage to go solar with free tools that let them compare competitive bids from local installers without sharing contact information unless they decide to move forward.
A good pre-outage test can include checking how to access the system locally if internet service fails, ensuring the gateway remains powered during backup mode, and having the installer identify the gateway breaker.
When a system acts strangely, saving screenshots, alerts, and a timeline of events can make troubleshooting easier with both the installer and manufacturer. As one commenter noted, “the logs are stored on the inverters, batteries, and gateway so support will be able to analyse.”
The homeowner’s final takeaway captured the learning curve many people face with new energy tech: “The more I learn, the more I realize I need to learn!”
Get TCD’s free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
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One housing association has already banned its tenants from using the kits, as landlords warn of ‘minefield’ over regulations
Landlords could block tenants from using plug-in solar panel kits because of “messy minefield” around planning rules, The i Paper has been told.
Labour ministers have been urged to create a clear legal framework for both landlords and renters so tenants can cut their energy bills by up to £110 a year.
The first self-install solar kits went on sale last week for £699, after the Government created new product compliance rules.
Prices are expected to drop to under £600 as more retailers start stocking the home renewables devices. One kit should be available for £599 in October.
The first compliant plug-in solar kits by British firm UKsol are designed to be set up in gardens, rather than clipped onto balconies.
Balcony products are expected to go on sale soon, aimed at flat-dwelling renters who have struggled to benefit from traditional rooftop solar. However, one leading housing association has already blocked tenants from installing them.
The Government has made it clear that decisions on whether to approve tenants’ requests to use plug-in solar are still ultimately a matter for landlords.
Ministers have written to the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) making it clear that they expect the new solar kits to be looked on “favourably”.
Climate minister Katie White said earlier this year that the Government could “consider” changes to the law if plug-in becomes a “friction” point between tenants and landlords.
But having changed regulations to allow the products to be sold, energy minister Martin McCluskey suggested last week that he didn’t think further legislation would be necessary.
“I don’t see a reason why a landlord should needlessly withdraw consent or not provide consent,” he told reporters.
However, the NRLA told The i Paper that there was no clear guidance for landlords on the regulatory issues.
“There is no clear guidance for landlords who have a duty to ensure their properties remain safe and free from hazards,” said the NRLA’s Meera Chindooroy.
“The Government should publish this as soon as possible to support conversations between tenants and landlords,” the deputy director of campaigns added.
Rule changes which came into force on 27 August mean plug-in solar kits are “permitted development” which do not generally require planning consent.
But there are a series of exceptions. Plug-in panels will need planning permission if they’re installed “on a wooden wall, balcony or enclosure or on any part of the exterior of a block of flats which is clad in timber”.
There are also a series of detailed “protrusion” limits – including rules that stop panels “protruding more than 0.4 metres beyond the plane of the wall” – if tenants and landlords want to avoid the need for planning permission.
Justin Dring, an expert at Independent Solar Consultants, who advises property owners, thinks many landlords could still say “no” to plug-in solar panels.
Landlords will “cite insurance concerns”, he said. Their fears are based on uncertainty over whether tenants will install the devices safely, or will install them a way that doesn’t meet planning rules.
“I could see landlords saying, ‘You’re not plugging that in in my property,’” Dring told The i Paper.
“When it comes to insurance, the liability question if a panel is dislodged in a storm, or damages a neighbour’s property, or causes an electrical fault, is genuinely unresolved territory.”
“It’s a really cloudy, messy situation – it’s a minefield,” said Dring. “For tenants and landlords, if things go wrong there may be fingers pointed in every direction.”
Dring added: “It would be better [for the Government] to set out the regulations and what requires planning permission much more clearly.”
Paul Shamplina, founder of Landlord Action, said the Government should set out planning guidance “more much clearly” using “practical layman’s language”.
Most landlords “will want to help their tenants save money, so hopefully there’s no issue in most cases, if tenants can explain clearly how it’s safe”, said Shamplina.
However, he warned that some landlords may well refuse tenants’ request. They might not want “the headache and hassle of working out if they need planning permission”, he said. “They might have insurance concerns, because they have enough risk on their plate.”
The German government changed the law to make it difficult for landlords to refuse tenants’ permission for plug-in solar.
But Shamplina urged Labour not to bring in more renters’ rights legislation in the UK.
“If the guidance is made clear, there’s no need to legislate. Legislation would only cause more strain on an industry that is suffocating.”
Wider uptake of plug-in solar among tenants in flats may depend on whether social housing providers allow the technology.
One leading housing association, Sovereign Network Group – which manages 86,000 homes in England – has already banned its tenants from installing plug-in panels.
“We’re not permitting customers to install plug-in or plug-and-play solar panels in the homes we manage,” said Alexia Evans, SNG’s chief people and transformation officer. She said plug-in systems “present electrical safety risks and may not be appropriate for every home”.
The Government has said an independent electrical safety study had already concluded that plug-in solar panels were safe, provided products were compliant.
Wickes said it will start selling plug-in solar kits “in the coming weeks”. Currys, Lidl, Asda, B&Q, Screwfix and Amazon are also expected to make products available.
Labour’s Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh said plug-in solar was “a simple, affordable way for households to take control of their energy bills”.
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Polish company Enspirion, a subsidiary of power company Energa, has deployed a Tetra network for the photovoltaic farm Polenergia Rajkowy in the Pomeriania region. As part of a project implemented for the company Polenergia, Enspirion delivered and launched a complete critical communications service at the Rajkowy Main Receiving Point (GPO), which serves the photovoltaic farm. The service is based on Tetra technology, including a radiotelephone operating within the dispatch communications network, the neces
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When it comes to solar power, the ultimate dream is self-sufficiency – both on the macro level, as an island (since we have so much sunshine), and on the micro, household level.
Unfortunately, the current situation is a long way from that – largely because the power grid isn’t up to scratch, curtailing (i.e. cutting off) photovoltaic systems when they produce more than it can handle.
“Instead of storing [energy] for later use, they simply shut it off. No warning, no compensation. Just wasted sunshine,” wrote Orestis Georgiou, an R&D expert who also blogs, in a post titled ‘Why Cyprus is Throwing Away Solar Energy, and How We Can Fix It’ that was written a year ago but remains relevant.
“Even though my solar panels could be producing more energy, feeding it into the grid, and offsetting my monthly electricity costs, the grid operator is forcing them to shut down,” he goes on.
“So, instead of banking those extra kilowatt-hours for later use, I end up buying more electricity from the EAC – which, of course, still relies heavily on fossil fuels.
“It’s a double hit: I lose the free energy my system could generate, and I have to pay for dirtier, more expensive power instead.”
According to data by CyprusGrid, 162 gigawatt-hours (GWh) have been curtailed in the first five months of 2026 – an incredible 65 per cent of the total power we could have generated during that period. Surely, this can’t go on. 
Georgiou’s suggested solution is household battery storage, allowing every PV system to store its own excess energy. People could thus “charge their batteries when the sun is shining and use that energy at night, reducing demand on the grid and eliminating curtailment altogether”.
His idea is even more relevant now – because a year ago we still had a net metering system, which (though still subject to curtailment) allowed ‘prosumers’ to be credited for excess energy and offset it for a later time, so they could produce in spring, for instance, and use it in summer, when demand is higher.
That made batteries – which usually store for same-day (actually same-night) use – less attractive. Since the beginning of this year, however, net metering has been replaced by net billing which merely credits a prosumer for exported excess energy on their current bill (and at a lower, wholesale rate, so they still pay the difference), without allowing any offset.  
Indeed, the case for using batteries has become so strong that PV systems will apparently have to include a storage system to qualify for state subsidies – though no subsidy schemes have been announced yet.
Despite all this, it doesn’t look like the idea of individual battery storage is catching on.
Data supplied by the EAC paints a sobering picture. Applications for PV systems have plummeted, reflecting the end of net metering and the old ‘Photovoltaics for All’ subsidy scheme – from 38,856 in 2025 to 1,835 so far in 2026.
Applications for systems that include battery storage have climbed, but just barely, from 89 (0.2 per cent) last year to 137 so far this year, 7.4 per cent of the much smaller total.
“When it comes to grid-connected systems… I haven’t heard of anyone installing batteries so far,” Nicholas Christofides, an associate professor at Frederick University who’s been involved with PV systems (mainly on the design side) since 2005, told the Cyprus Mail. “Off-grid, that’s another story.”
The reason, he says, is simple. Each case is different, for sure – but in most cases, when consumers do a basic benefit/cost analysis, the numbers just don’t add up.
Battery lifetime is one issue. Fanos Karantonis, president of the Cyprus Association of Renewable Energy Enterprises (Seapek), cites a figure of eight to 10 years – but it depends on the type, and ‘design lifetime’ may be different from actual lifetime. “It’s a bit of a lottery,” opines Christofides.
And then there’s the cost. As a ballpark figure, Karantonis mentions €300-400 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of daily storage – which actually seems a bit low. Other sources, like Smart Solar Cyprus, cite €8,000-10,000 for a 10 kWh home system.
How many kWh does a storage system need? Cyprus’ electricity consumption is approximately 4,000 kWh per person annually, meaning around 11 kWh a day (and night) for a one-person household.
That said, there’s a twist in that batteries can’t be overused. Isaias Kammitsis, who has an off-grid PV/battery system in the Troodos mountains (not by choice; the house is too remote to be part of the grid), cautions that battery life is degraded if you regularly go below 50 per cent. So a household really needs a battery capable of storing about twice its needs.
And of course there’s another twist, in that 11 kWh is an average – and consumption fluctuates wildly over the course of a year, low in spring and autumn, high in winter and especially summer, when it could easily be double that.
The numbers will vary, of course. But it’s clear that, if the idea is to avoid curtailment by essentially becoming your own mini-grid – and using batteries to run a family home throughout the year, with heating and air-conditioning – the set-up cost is likely to be prohibitive. 
Is that the end of the story? Actually, no. The benefit/cost calculation may not work out for individual households – but it could still make sense on a national level.
In his blog post, Georgiou does some rough calculations and concludes that we (meaning Cyprus) could save money by investing in PV systems with battery storage – even increasing the proportion to 50 per cent of all households, instead of the current 10 per cent – given the savings in EAC emission fines, and the potential for using energy that’s now being curtailed.
That’s just one blogger’s view, of course. But it seems like it could be useful for the state to study the pros and cons of household battery storage.
Alas, the state is going in a different direction.
There’s a hitherto-unmentioned elephant in the room. Even as the government hasn’t announced any subsidies for household storage, it’s expediting the development of large-scale storage systems, both public and private.
A number of big projects have already been approved, adding up to many hundreds of megawatt-hours. Of the top five, two (in Pyrgos and Dekelia) are due to be run by the EAC and one (a single approval covering three different centres) by the state-aligned Transmission System Operator. 
“Some might say,” points out Karantonis, “that one reason [storage] isn’t being promoted at the household level is that they’re trying to preserve the market for the central systems, which the EAC itself is moving to establish.”
Indeed, the knowledge that large systems are being prepared (which will obviously help with the issue of curtailment) may be one reason why few are applying for battery storage – though it’s certainly more than before, with businesses in particular showing a marked increase, according to Christofides.
All in all, it looks like the bodies in charge of the current dysfunctional grid will continue to control its development. Meanwhile, on the macro level, the talk is all of the Great Sea Interconnector, and linking up with other countries’ energy systems.
The dream of self-sufficiency seems more utopian than ever.
Theo Panayides is a journalist and filmmaker. His Cyprus Mail profiles have been collected in a book, ‘The Lives of Others’.
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