Solar Industry News
These small states punch above their weight on clean energy
While Texas and California lead the country in wind and solar, several others leap ahead once we take into account each state’s land area.
As millions of solar panels age out, recyclers hope to cash in
Solar panels' lifespan is 25-30 years and companies are looking to recycle the valuable, reusable materials and keep panels out of landfills.
Santa Monica Malibu-Unified School District to transition to 100% renewable energy
The Santa Monica Malibu-Unified School District (SMMUSD), one of the city’s largest energy consumers, will transition to running on 100% renewable energy.
World’s largest rooftop solar panel to be built in Thailand
A solar panel the size of 18 football fields is currently being built in the Falken manufacturing facility in Thailand.
Solar panels could be installed in the spaces between railway tracks in world first
Roadsides, reservoirs & farms are all finding space for solar systems. Germany is experimenting with adding solar cells to railway sleepers.
New California bill aims for more solar over parking lots and along highways
SB 49, authored by Senator Becker, encourages solar canopies over parking lots and directs California to plan for solar power along its highways.
More than 100 groups ask CPUC to delay NEM 3.0
Dozens of groups will tell the CPUC to revise the new rooftop solar plan to make solar more affordable for low-income communities.
Hancock kicks-off solar project at Santa Maria campus
Allan Hancock College has agreed to terms to develop a 2.4 megawatt solar energy system at its Santa Maria, CA campus.
Aptera awarded $21M grant from CEC to help bring solar EVs to production
Solar electric vehicle startup Aptera Motors was awarded a $21 million grant which will support its Solar Mobility Manufacturing Project in California.
Floating solar panels could completely power thousands of cities
Researchers found that 6,256 cities across 124 countries could meet all electricity demand from solar deployed on nearby water reservoirs.
New push to create solar panel recycling program in California
In this video from CBS News Bay Area, Kelsi Thorud looks at the push to make sure that solar panels stay green all the way through their life cycle.
Floating solar and trash mountains: How the Netherlands became Europe’s solar power leader
The Netherlands has become the solar power leader of Europe by using unconventional methods such as incorporating solar into farmland and lakes.
Well-irrigated roofs with vegetation have cooling effect on PV systems
Scientists in the Netherlands have assessed how the so-called blue-green roofs can help reduce the operating temperature of rooftop PV panels and have found they provide a significant cooling effect.
Los Angeles boosts sustainability with Beam Global’s solar EV charging systems
The State of California anticipates 12.5 million EVs on its roads by 2035 and estimates the need for 1.2M public and shared chargers by 2030.
The world’s largest battery storage system just got even larger
The Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility, the world’s largest lithium-ion battery energy storage system, has been expanded to 750 MW/3,000 MWh.
Mining the sun: Benefits of solar energy on former mine sites
Strategically siting new energy infrastructure can be an affordable path to repurposing former mine lands and brownfields into clean energy hubs.
Solar truck charging depot planned near Sacramento International Airport
The Sacramento International Airport announced that WattEV received a $40.5M grant to build truck charging depots in Northern CA and OR.
The battery boom continues in San Diego with new energy storage project
A new energy storage project has been unveiled in Chula Vista, San Diego, which has the capability to power nearly 3,000 homes for each hour it provides electricity to the grid.
One of the first community solar projects in SoCal brought online
Sheep Creek Community Solar Farm, designed to generate clean energy for both residential and commercial accounts, is now online.
Southern California Edison eyeing ‘substantial investments’ in grid resilience and reliability, CEO says
Southern California Edison is positioned to make substantial investments in the resilience and reliability of its electrical grid.
US announces $450 million for Puerto Rico’s rooftop solar power
The DOE has announced $453.5M from the PR-ERF to install up to 30,000 to 40,000 solar PV & battery storage systems for low-income single-family households.