Solar Industry News
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Renewable electricity just powered California 100% for the first time in history
Renewable electricity met 100% of California's demand for the first time on Saturday, much of it from large amounts of solar power.
May 2, 2022/by Panel The Planet![ptp-042722-5](https://www.paneltheplanet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ptp-042722-5-705x369.jpg)
Tesco trials solar-powered refrigerated trailers
Retailer Tesco is trialling solar-powered refrigerated trailers in the UK in a collaboration with Marshall Fleet Solutions.
May 1, 2022/by Panel The Planet![ptp-042722-4](https://www.paneltheplanet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ptp-042722-4-705x369.jpg)
A better way to clean solar panels
MIT researchers have devised a waterless, no-contact system, which uses electrostatic repulsion to automatically clean solar panels.
April 30, 2022/by Panel The Planet![panel-the-planet-solar-on-mars An artist’s rendering of a crewed Martian biomanufactory powered by photovoltaics and capable of synthesizing food and pharmaceuticals, manufacturing biopolymers and recycling biological waste. (Artwork credit: Davian Ho)](https://www.paneltheplanet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/panel-the-planet-solar-on-mars-705x368.jpg)
Solar beats nuclear at many potential settlement sites on Mars
A new study concludes that a solar power system would weigh less than a nuclear system, and would be sufficient to power a colony on Mars.
April 30, 2022/by Panel The Planet![ptp-042722-3](https://www.paneltheplanet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ptp-042722-3-705x369.png)
Repairing a solar array in space
NASA's Lucy Mission will use solar panels to get sufficient power to run science instruments for the project,
April 29, 2022/by Panel The Planet![ptp-042722-2](https://www.paneltheplanet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ptp-042722-2-705x369.jpg)
City of Sierra Madre hosts ribbon cutting ceremony for solar array project
On Jan. 27, the City of Sierra Madre broke ground on the Sierra Madre Solar Array Project and completed the project on Earth Day, April 22.
April 29, 2022/by Panel The Planet![ptp-042722-1](https://www.paneltheplanet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ptp-042722-1-705x369.png)
CPUC approves California utility projects including PG&E’s 1.6GW/6.4GWh BESS
The CPUC has approved the projects proposed by PG&E in January in response to an order to procure 11.5GW of clean energy capacity.
April 28, 2022/by Panel The Planet![ptp-042522-3](https://www.paneltheplanet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ptp-042522-3-705x368.png)
Working out the details of a circular solar economy
A new software model helps us consider what to do with end-of-life solar modules, guiding us toward a circular solar economy.
April 28, 2022/by Panel The Planet![panel-the-planet-different-solar2 Concentrated solar-thermal power harnesses the sun's energy without photovoltaic panels, using mirrors to concentrate the sun's rays.](https://www.paneltheplanet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/panel-the-planet-different-solar2-705x397.jpg)
A different kind of solar power attracts attention
Concentrated solar-thermal power harnesses the sun's energy without photovoltaic panels, using mirrors to concentrate the sun's rays.
April 27, 2022/by Panel The Planet![ptp-042522-1](https://www.paneltheplanet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ptp-042522-1-705x368.jpg)
Tesla takes a 9400 mile, solar-powered road trip
A team of scientists from Australia and the UK are embarking on an epic, 9400-mile Tesla road trip on 100% solar power.
April 27, 2022/by Panel The Planet![2](https://www.paneltheplanet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/2-2-705x368.jpg)
CDCR on track to produce a quarter of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2025
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) plans to to produce 25% of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2025.
April 26, 2022/by Panel The Planet![santa-monica-solar-panel-recycling-program Santa Monica solar panel recycling pilot wraps up](https://www.paneltheplanet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/santa-monica-solar-panel-recycling-program-705x368.jpg)
Santa Monica solar panel recycling pilot wraps up
Santa Monica's solar panel recycling pilot program has concluded, with 281 working and non-working panels collected.
April 26, 2022/by Panel The Planet
Agrivoltaics goes nuclear on California prairie
A decommissioned nuclear power plant from the 1980s is repurposed for agrivoltaics and prairie restoration.
How states and utilities can lower consumer bills and accelerate the clean energy transition
State policymakers and utility regulators can forge a path to long-term energy affordability and mitigate the impact of future energy price spikes.
Floating solar panels could unlock clean power without wasting land
Floating solar panels are placed in human-made bodies of water, not taking up land that could be used for nature preserves or food production.
McDonald’s strikes solar deal to power US supply chain
McDonald’s and five logistics partners signed agreements to buy about 190 megawatts of power from the Blue Jay Solar farm.
Four amazing benefits of adding parking lot solar panel canopies
Solar panels placed over parking spaces are among the many options that can help companies get closer to their sustainability goals.
Tokyo makes solar panels mandatory for new homes to be built after 2025
All new houses in Tokyo built by large-scale homebuilders after April 2025 must install solar power panels to cut household carbon emissions.
California lowers incentives for rooftop solar panels
NEM 3.0 was approved unanimously by the California Public Utilities Commission, lessening the overall payment for selling excess power.
The overlooked solar power potential of America’s parking lots
If the US passed the same solar-panels-on-parking-lots law as France, we would have 4,822 square miles on which to install solar.
Solar demand readied to soar in 2023
Solar is likely to be fastest growing energy sub section in 2023 with demand set to increase 20-30%, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.