Author: solarenergy
On October 21, Vote Solar and Sierra Club filed Request for reconsideration with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (PUC) following Idaho Power’s partially approved proposal to reduce offset rates for customer-generated solar. In this petition, the organizations asked the committee to establish a working group to resolve issues with rooftop solar export tariffs before the next scheduled review in 2028. In the final orderthe PUC allowed Idaho Power to reduce its solar export rate by 31%, down from the original 60% the utility requested, and froze further changes until 2028. This decision affects more than 14,000 Idaho households that installed…
Metals and energy production company Metlen has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with French energy company Engie for solar energy in Britain. Under the ten-year agreement, Metlen Engie will supply 235 MW of solar energy annually, generated from six solar projects in the UK. The projects were all developed and built by M Renewables, Metlen’s solar project engineering and construction division. Four locations are expected to be operational by the end of 2025, the company said, while the last two are planned for 2026. Metlen said it has 90 renewable energy projects in the UK, including solar and battery…
In the last monthly magazine for pv magazinethe International Solar Energy Society (ISES) explains how pumped hydro storage combined with PV energy generation can power data centers 24/7 October 22, 2025 International Solar Energy Association (ISES) Pumped Hydro Energy Storage (PHES) offers a widely available, highly mature, cheapest, lowest impact and longest lifespan solution for dunkelflaute. PHES represents 95% of global energy storage. The world has 820,000 PHES sites with a combined storage of 86 million GWh, equivalent to the usable storage in 2,000,000,000,000 electric vehicle batteries. PHES and batteries are a complete energy storage solution for solar and wind…
Machine learning and solar energy come together for sustainable soil remediation Soil pollution continues to endanger ecosystems, agriculture and human health worldwide. Traditional cleaning methods, while effective, remain energy-intensive and low-carbon, making long-term sustainability difficult to achieve. Researchers have now developed a photovoltaic thermo-electro dual module system (PTEDMS) that combines solar energy, electrical resistance heating (ERH), electrokinetic transport and thermal storage into one self-optimizing platform. The system uses machine learning to dynamically distribute solar energy between electrical and thermal processes, maintaining stable pollutant removal even under fluctuating sunlight. This integration accelerates the breakdown of organic pollutants, reduces energy consumption and…
The Massachusetts-based startup says the new battery is non-flammable, non-toxic and uses non-FEOC (Foreign Entity of Concern) materials, aiming for lower storage costs (LCOS). The technical specifications also offer some highlights. October 22, 2025 Tristan Rayner By ESS news US-based battery developer Alsym Energy has officially announced its new Na-Series line, a sodium-ion battery aimed at the stationary energy storage market. The Massachusetts-based company focuses its product on supply chain safety and security, without losing sight of costs. Alsym claims it is ‘property’ sodium ion formulation is ‘non-flammable’ and ‘non-toxic’. Without the company acknowledging this (the word lithium was not…
The Mwinda Fund aims to distribute $500 million in grants for mini-grids, solar energy systems and clean cooking solutions in DR Congo by 2030. It is already supported by $65 million in financing from the World Bank and $7 million from the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet. October 21, 2025 Patrick Jowett The DR Congo’s Ministry of Water Resources and Electricity and the country’s National Rural Electrification Agency (ANSER) have opened a fund that will provide subsidies for home solar systems, mini-grids and clean cooking solutions in the country. The Mwinda Fund is part of the government’s Access,…
pv magazine spoke with energy and environmental law expert Anatole Boute about the past and future role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in regulating trade disputes involving clean energy technologies amid current geopolitical tensions. He noted that despite recent protectionist efforts to revive the solar energy production industry, the European Union is still committed to remaining compliant with WTO rules. October 22, 2025 Emiliano Bellini Once a feared international entity that regulated global trade, the World Trade Organization (WTO) appears to be heading towards its end, in a geopolitical scenario that is contributing to the rise of various forms…
The lack of grid tariff regulation has stalled 3.5 GW of large-scale renewables, mainly solar, in Croatia, with developers such as Solvis citing a lack of stable grid connection rules as a barrier to planning and investment. October 21, 2025 Blathnaid O’Dea Croatian energy regulator HERA’s continued delay in setting unit connection costs for renewable energy projects with a capacity of more than 10 MW has direct consequences for the country’s large-scale PV sector. Earlier this year, the Croatian government announced €0/kW connection fees and flexible contracts to encourage investment in battery storage, but these measures have not been fulfilled.…
The 177 MW Ridgely Solar project in Lake County, Tennessee, is now online for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The project, located about 100 miles north of Memphis, was designed by LRE. Ridgely Solar began development in 2020 and created approximately 700 jobs during construction. LRE’s engineering team worked with Nextracker and First Solar, continuing the long-standing partnership with both US-based leaders. Nextracker’s NX Horizon-XTR terrain-following solar tracker systems, together with First Solar’s thin-film solar panels, deliver industry-leading performance and reliability. “Ridgely Solar marks a significant milestone as LRE’s first project in Tennessee,” said Eran Mahrer, Chief Commercial Officer at…
A water-enhanced sodium-ion battery could store energy and desalinate seawater Scientists from the University of Surrey have discovered a simple but transformative way to improve the performance of sodium-ion batteries – by keeping water in the key electrode material rather than removing it. The finding not only improves battery efficiency but could also enable electrochemical desalination, which turns seawater into drinkable water. Sodium-ion batteries are considered one of the most promising sustainable alternatives to lithium-ion technology, which relies on expensive and environmentally harmful materials. Sodium is plentiful and cheap, but achieving comparable performance has long been a challenge. In their…