Maryland Nonprofit Housing Unlimited Leads Initiative to Install More than 270 kW of Solar on 40+ Maryland Homes
Maryland nonprofit Housing Unlimited is adding 273 kW of solar to over 40 of its scattered‑site homes, a project financed through a zero‑down model with RE‑volv and the Montgomery County Green Bank. The installations are expected to save more than $500,000 over 25 years, roughly $500 per home per year. Savings will be redirected to expand staff and add more housing for adults in mental‑health recovery. The effort builds on a 2022 partnership that installed 20.7 kW on three homes.
Integrated Policy Tools to Solve the Renewable Energy Siting Crisis
A new white paper proposes that state policymakers and solar developers replace traditional property‑tax frameworks with contractual tools to ease renewable‑energy siting. It highlights that 20‑24% of local governments already impose bans or moratoriums, stalling gigawatts of solar and storage...
SEIA Names Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty as President and CEO
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) announced former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty as its new president and CEO, effective June 15, succeeding interim leader Darren Van’t Hof. Pawlenty brings experience in state governance, a $50 billion budget, and federal financial‑services advocacy....
U.S. Transformer Market Faces Severe Supply Constraints as Lead Times Extend to Four Years
The U.S. power‑transformer market is under severe strain, with lead times for high‑capacity units stretching to four years. Demand has surged, driven by AI data centers, electrified transport and industrial growth, pushing step‑up transformer orders up 274% since 2019. Prices...
Solar Developer Seeks Connection to Wrong Powerline, Delays Project Five Years
The OFW Solar Project in Mount Jackson, Virginia mistakenly filed its PJM interconnection application to connect to Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative lines instead of the intended Dominion Energy transmission corridor. The error forces a full restart of the interconnection process,...
Connecticut Legislature Passes Solar Bill to Extend Incentives, Streamline Permitting, Authorize Plug-In Solar and More
Connecticut lawmakers approved House Bill 5340 on the final day of the 2026 session, sending a comprehensive solar package to Governor Ned Lamont. The bill extends the Residential and Non‑residential Renewable Energy Solutions tariffs through 2035 with an $85 million annual...
New York SEIA Says Flexible Interconnection Could Enable 3.3 GW More Community Solar
The New York Solar Energy Industries Association (NY SEIA) estimates that offering a flexible interconnection option with 5% curtailment could unlock an additional 3.3 GW of community solar in upstate and western New York. A typical community solar project is about...
New Electrolyte Tech Enables Stable Operation of High-Voltage Sodium-Ion Batteries
U.S. researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have engineered a meta‑weakly solvating electrolyte that stabilizes high‑voltage sodium‑ion batteries. By weakening the sodium‑solvent interaction, the electrolyte speeds ion transport and suppresses harmful side reactions at the electrode interface. Full cells using...
Residential Solar Demand Shifts From Incentives to Infrastructure as Homeowners Seek Control
The U.S. residential solar market is moving from an incentive‑driven luxury to a necessity, as homeowners chase energy independence amid rising utility rates and grid instability. The expiration of the 25D tax credit and higher interest rates are reshaping financing,...
Policy Playbook Shows How to Tap Into Distributed Energy Resource Solutions
The Pew Charitable Trusts released a policy playbook outlining how U.S. regulators can scale distributed energy resources (DERs) to improve grid affordability and reliability. While DER‑related policies rose nearly 80% last year, the United States still trails other nations in...
Solar Insurance Carriers Take on Project Risk to Keep Plants Producing and Improve Product Technology
kWh Analytics, an Oregon‑based renewable energy insurer, launched a pilot with tracker maker Nextpower to stream real‑time operational data into its underwriting models. The program aims to create evidence‑based risk assessments that more accurately price hail and other weather‑related losses,...
Pacific Ridge Reversal Brings Western U.S. Solar Conditions Back to Average in April
Solcast’s April 2026 solar irradiance report shows a reversal from March’s continent‑wide high levels. Weakening Pacific high pressure turned into a low, increasing cloud cover across the western U.S. and returning irradiance to near‑average. The eastern U.S. stayed sunnier, with...
Aspen Power Adds Two Large New Jersey Rooftop Solar Projects to Its Growing Distributed Solar Asset Portfolio
Aspen Power has acquired two operating rooftop solar projects in New Jersey from The Avidan Group, adding 6.44 MW DC to its distributed solar portfolio. The sites, built by Solar Nation under PSE&G’s Solar Loan Program, generate over 7 million kWh annually and...
As Battery Lifespans Approach 25 Years, Leasing Will Become the Dominant Financial Model, Says Unigrid CEO
Unigrid has unveiled a sodium‑chromium oxide battery chemistry that retains up to 95% of its capacity after 5,000 charge cycles, translating to a 20‑25‑year service life. CEO Darren Tan says this durability will enable a zero‑down, long‑term leasing model that...
FEOC, Uncertainty and Constraints: Real Estate Capital for Energy Storage Developers Is More Critical than Ever
Energy storage developers are grappling with tighter FEOC compliance that mandates at least 55% of equipment costs come from non‑FEOC sources in 2026, rising to 75% by 2030. Lending to clean‑power projects slowed dramatically in 2025, with growth falling to...
Sunrun Maintains 2026 Guidance Despite Q1 Headwinds, Pivots Toward Storage and Grid Services
Sunrun reported a mixed Q1 2026, posting negative $59 million cash generation but beating revenue expectations with $722 million, a 13% upside. The company shifted $31 million of project‑finance draws to Q2, deployed 154 MW of solar‑plus‑storage, and saw net subscriber value climb to...
Signature Solar Announces Reno, NV Distribution Center, Targets South Carolina for Next Facility
Signature Solar, a Texas‑based solar distributor, is opening a 76,000‑square‑foot warehouse and a 2,000‑square‑foot retail store in Reno, Nevada. The new hub will serve DIY homeowners and B2B installers on the West Coast, shortening shipping times and lowering freight costs....
U.S. Inverter Market Faces Policy, Supply Headwinds Despite Safe Harbor Pipeline
Intertek CEA projects U.S. inverter demand to grow 6% annually through 2028, but developers confront tighter regulations under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) rules and new cybersecurity mandates. Tariffs on imported inverters can reach...
Lessons From Australia for Scaling Rooftop Solar and Home Batteries
U.S. utility regulators toured Australia and documented how low‑cost rooftop solar—priced at less than a third of typical U.S. rates—has become the nation’s dominant distributed resource, now supplying roughly 75% of South Australia’s electricity. The study highlights Australia’s friction‑free interconnection...
Texas PV Module Production to Exceed 15 GW in 2026
Texas will produce more than 15 GW of silicon‑based solar PV modules in 2026, accounting for roughly half of all U.S. domestic output. The surge is driven by high‑capacity players such as T1 Energy, Canadian Solar, SEG Solar, Waaree Energies, Imperial...
Clean Energy Will Help Power FIFA World Cup This Summer
Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts is powering its World Cup matches with a mix of clean energy assets, including a 2 MW solid‑oxide fuel‑cell server, a 1 MW solar array, and purchased renewable energy certificates. The combined system supplies roughly half of...
Overview Energy Awarded Contract to Provide Space-Based Solar Power to U.S. Air Force
Overview Energy, a Virginia‑based solar aerospace startup, secured a U.S. Air Force contract to field its orbit‑to‑grid system for resilient power in logistics‑constrained environments. The technology places geosynchronous satellites in space to harvest solar energy and beam it via infrared...
Oregon Department of Energy Announces $1.1 Million in Re-Purposed Funding for Solar and Storage Rebates
The Oregon Department of Energy is reopening its solar and storage rebate program on June 15, 2026, using $1.1 million repurposed from administrative savings and cancelled projects. Homeowners can receive up to $5,000 for solar installations, $2,500 for storage, and low‑income...
The Infrastructure Investment Case for Solar and Storage
Electricity demand in the U.S. is accelerating, driven by hyperscale data centers, advanced manufacturing and broader electrification, pushing load forecasts well beyond the flat growth of the past two decades. In 2025, more than 30 GW of solar and 12.6 GW of...
Why Storage Developers Are Engaging Communities Six Months Before Zoning
Battery energy storage developers are reshaping their approach as local opposition becomes a top financial risk. Permitting and community acceptance have moved to the first two development gates, with firms now engaging residents six months to a year before filing...
Virginia Corporation Commission Approves Dominion Energy NEM 2.0 that Looks Very Similar to NEM 1.0
The Virginia State Corporation Commission approved Dominion Energy’s NEM 2.0 tariff, keeping the 12‑month net‑energy‑metering period while boosting compensation for excess generation by an additional penny per kilowatt‑hour. The commission rejected Dominion’s proposed application fee of $100‑$750, instead allowing a modest...
Smart-Meter-Enabled Partnership Aims to Integrate Solar, Storage and EV Charging to Lower Grid Costs
The Boston‑based energy analytics firm Sense has partnered with California’s ev.energy to fuse Sense’s advanced smart‑meter platform with ev.energy’s distributed energy resource (DER) management system. The integration leverages AMI 2.0 meters that can process up to a million reads per second,...
Tigo Energy Expands Predict+ Capabilities to Enhance Financial Forecasting for United States Energy Producers
Tigo Energy is expanding its Predict+ platform with advanced machine‑learning models that leverage minute‑level panel data from its Flex MLPE hardware for U.S. utility‑scale solar and storage projects. The upgrade improves financial forecasting accuracy, helping operators optimize day‑ahead and real‑time...
Illinois Shines Celebrates Walldog Solar, One of the Program’s 171 Approved Agrivoltaics Projects
Illinois Shines, the state’s adjustable block incentive program, is nearing 4 GW of approved solar capacity and highlights the 5 MWac Walldog Solar project in Pontiac as a flagship agrivoltaic community solar installation. The bifacial array on 42 acres is projected to...
Batteries: The Game Has Changed – and It’s Not What You Think
The battery industry is moving from a single performance benchmark to multiple, application‑specific trajectories such as ultra‑fast charging, energy density, cost and scalability. Companies like CATL and BYD are shifting from selling cells to delivering integrated battery‑as‑a‑system solutions, while newcomers...
SRP and NextEra Energy Resources Partner on Massive Solar and Storage Expansion
Salt River Project (SRP) and NextEra Energy Resources have signed a power purchase agreement to build 3 GW of solar capacity and 1 GW of battery storage in Arizona by 2027. The projects will supply enough electricity to power roughly 675,000 homes...
Electrochemistry Foundry Launches Innovation Hub to Bridge Battery Manufacturing Gap
Electrochemistry Foundry (ECF), a California nonprofit backed by a $28 million California Energy Commission grant, will launch a 20,000‑square‑foot open‑access pilot manufacturing hub for battery and electrochemical technologies by the end of 2026. The facility, slated to produce at least 10,000...
SEIA: Local Solar Bans Threaten the Economic Survival of Family Farms
Family farms facing rising input costs and volatile commodity prices are turning to solar leasing as a reliable "third crop," with many earning $1,000 per acre or more. The Solar Energy Industries Association notes that solar now occupies only about...
Enphase Announces Distributed Solid-State Transformer for AI Data Centers, Targets 2028 for Volume Deliveries
Enphase announced its IQ Solid‑State Transformer (SST), a modular 1.25 MW power unit that delivers 800 V DC directly to AI‑focused NVIDIA compute racks. The reveal came on a Q1 2026 earnings call that showed a 20.6% YoY revenue decline and the company’s...
Maine Becomes the 11th State to Allow Community Choice Aggregation
Maine became the 11th state to permit community choice aggregation (CCA) when Governor Janet Mills signed LD 2112 on April 13. The legislation lets municipalities pool electric demand, negotiate bulk‑purchase contracts and automatically enroll residents, pending approval from the Public...
Supply Chain Constraints, Not Demand, Will Define the Solar Decade
Global solar installations are set to near 600 GW by 2025, marking another record year, but the sector’s next hurdle is not demand or technology—it is the ability to scale industrial capacity and secure a resilient supply chain. The International Energy...
Stem Acquires Raicoon to Automate Solar Asset Monitoring
Stem Inc., the Houston‑based energy‑software firm, announced the acquisition of the software assets of Vienna startup raicoon. The deal embeds raicoon’s autonomous operations center into Stem’s PowerTrack platform, enabling automatic fault detection and work‑order generation for U.S. utility‑scale and commercial...
Solar and Storage to Lead 86 GW Capacity Surge in 2026
Developers are on track to add a record 86 GW of utility‑scale capacity in 2026, driven almost entirely by solar and battery storage. Utility‑scale solar alone is slated for 43.4 GW, a 60% jump from 2025, while battery storage will grow to...
The Battery Cost Disconnect
The article notes that despite lithium carbonate prices more than doubling, utility‑scale battery energy storage system (BESS) capital expenditures rose less than 15% in the United States, Germany and China. Cells now represent only 25‑45% of total project cost as...
Medium Duration Endures Woes, While Form’s Long Duration Grows, and Lithium Overflows (Part 2)
Medium‑duration storage firms EOS and ESS are feeling pressure from plunging lithium‑ion prices, even as EOS reports a record $58 million Q4 revenue and aims to drop below $100/kWh. Form Energy, however, is outpacing expectations, having landed Google’s 30 GWh iron‑air project...
Soltec Appoints Alejandro Moreno as Its President of North America
Soltec, the Spanish maker of single‑axis solar trackers, has named Alejandro Moreno as President of North America, overseeing the United States, Canada and Mexico from its Miami headquarters. Moreno arrives with more than two decades of photovoltaic experience, most recently...
Beatbot Launches Solar-Powered Autonomous Pool Skimmer
Beatbot has launched the iSkim Ultra, a solar‑powered autonomous pool skimmer for residential use. The device runs on a 24‑watt solar panel with a 10,000 mAh battery for night operation and includes a magnetic wireless‑charging dock for low‑light conditions. Equipped with...
People on the Move: Aspen Power, Vontier Corporation, and More
Aspen Power announced CEO Jorge Vargas will depart and named Michael Sheehan, former Dimension Energy COO, as his replacement. Crane Company elevated long‑time executive Alex Alcala to president and CEO, while founder Max Mitchell moves to executive chairman. Vontier Corporation...
Medium Duration Storage Endures Woes, While Form’s Long Duration Grows, and Lithium Overflows
Form Energy announced a 300 MW/30 GWh iron‑air battery for Google, marking what could be the world’s largest long‑duration storage system. The project, valued at roughly $1 billion, highlights the company’s rapid pipeline growth—up 375% since late 2025—and its push toward a $20/kWh...
RFP Alert: NYSERDA Seeks RECs From Eligible Land-Based Renewable Energy Projects
New York’s energy agency NYSERDA has launched its tenth large‑scale renewable energy solicitation, RESRFP26‑1, seeking Tier 1‑eligible Renewable Energy Certificates from mature land‑based projects. The agency set an eligibility deadline of May 19, with non‑price bids due June 25 and price bids July 30,...
Prepare for Launch: Solar Powers the $600 Billion Space Industry
The space economy is set to surge from $630 billion in 2023 to $1.8 trillion by 2035, driving massive demand for high‑performance solar power. While gallium‑arsenide (GaAs) cells remain the efficiency benchmark, their production is constrained to roughly 2 MW per year, creating...
Tesla Launches Three-Phase Powerwall 3P
Tesla has introduced the Powerwall 3P, a three‑phase residential energy storage system that combines a 13.4 kWh battery, hybrid inverter, and on‑board energy management in a single wall‑mounted unit. The device delivers up to 15.4 kW continuous AC power, peaks at 21 kW,...
Octopus Energy and Lunar Energy Partner to Offer $0-Down Battery-Based Retail Electric Plan in Texas
Octopus Energy USA and Lunar Energy have launched PowerStore, a 36‑month retail electricity plan for Texas homeowners that bundles a 30 kWh battery with an 8 ¢ per‑kWh electricity rate and a $45 monthly subscription. The offering requires no upfront payment and...
NextEra Energy Adds Record 4 GW of Renewables and Storage Backlog in Q1
NextEra Energy posted Q1 2026 GAAP net income of $2.182 billion, up sharply from $833 million a year earlier, while adjusted earnings rose to $2.275 billion. Its subsidiary, NextEra Energy Resources, set a record by adding 4 GW of renewable and storage projects to...
Forecasting Solar Irradiance in Urban Environments with Just One 360° Image
U.S. researchers at Columbia University have unveiled a technique that forecasts solar irradiance using a single high‑resolution 360° hemispherical image captured on‑site, eliminating the need for detailed 3D city models. The method extracts sky, sun and surrounding‑scene geometry, trains a...