Author: solarenergy

British Solar Renewables (BSR) has been granted planning permission for its 29MW Lower Wyke Solar Park on appeal.The 86 hectare Hampshire project was refused by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council in June last year, despite being recommended for approval by planning officers. BSR appealed the refusal and a hearing took place in May this year.The planning inspector determined that the renewable energy, biodiversity and wider public benefits of the project outweighed the identified harm, and granted planning permission for the development. BSR has committed to a net biodiversity gain of 217% in habitats and hedgerows.The developer discussed it approach to…

A Department for Education (DfE) pilot to assess how power purchase agreements (PPAs) can enable solar installations in schools has been hailed as a “really important moment for the UK’s clean energy transition”.However, the PPA template will need to be carefully worded so as not to “create an imbalance,” said Zoe Stollar, an energy and infrastructure partner at British and Irish law firm Browne Jacobson.DfE’s pilot program will see solar panels installed at around 150 schools and colleges as part of the first phase of the renewal and retrofit programme. The program takes place in the Yorkshire and Humber, East…

Agriculture and solar energy have something fundamental in common: they both depend on land, sunlight and a long time horizon. A solar panel that has generated electricity for more than 25 years and a farm that has managed the same land for generations are not opponents. They are natural partners. Sheep on an agrivoltaic installation. Credit: Encore Renewable Energy This partnership, now called agrivoltaics, is one of the most promising tools available to keep working land in production while meeting the energy demands that are straining every power grid in the country. SEIA is new First land use map for…

The Government of the Republic of Ireland has published the terms for its annual Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS 6) auction, introducing separate onshore wind and solar pools for the first time and using non-price EU Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) criteria.The terms and conditions provide greater certainty for property developers preparing to participate in the auction, trade body Solar Ireland said in a message last week. The government published the conditions of the auction the week before, on July 16.The qualifying period runs from (all dates in 2026) July 30 to August 27, with final qualification decisions on October 21,…

By Martin McConnell July 27, 2026 This week on Projects Weekly, two utility-scale projects by rPlus Energies have reached milestones in the Boise, Idaho metropolitan area. In Colorado, SolarEdge and a few industry partners have donated a 60 kW solar project to Project Worthmore. Slightly further east in Nebraska, Wattmore has finished a battery project for Lincoln Energy System. Panamint Capital broke ground on the Big Rooter Power project in Texas, and PowerBank Corp. has announced a new project in New York. And all across the country, ESS Tech Inc. and Juniper Energy have partnered for sodium-ion battery deployments, with…

Croatia’s first energy community is now operational. The community uses a solar power plant on the roof of the volunteer fire brigade building in Špičkovina, a settlement near Zabok in Krapina-Zagorje County, northern Croatia. The project, implemented by the Regional Energy and Climate Agency of Northwestern Croatia (REGEA), includes a rooftop solar panel currently measuring 32 kW, with plans to double the capacity to 64 kW. The community has a total of 17 members, consisting of volunteer firefighters, local residents, a micro-enterprise and the volunteer fire brigade itself, called DVD Špičkovina. Ivana Belić, head of strategic communications at REGEA, explained…

The UK government has set its targets for the next Capacity Market (CM) auctions, due to take place in March 2027, targeting a total of just under 46 GW of capacity for both the T-1 and T-4.Michael Shanks, Minister of State for Energy, outlined the targets in a letter dated July 14 to Fintan Slye, CEO of the National Energy System Operator (NESO).The CM purchases capacity to ensure that there is always sufficient supply to meet demand. Winning projects are paid for their availability during specific ‘stress periods’ of the year, regardless of whether they are called upon or not.The…

Wildfire smoke limited insolation across southern and western Ontario and the Great Lakes in mid-July, offsetting otherwise favorable high-pressure conditions. Between July 10 and 21, the GHI around the Great Lakes and into the northeastern US was up to 10% below average. A majority of this losswas due to reduced clear-sky irradiance, which fell by more than 6% in areas, according to analysis using the Solcast API. The result of the damped irradiation followed a rapid increase in wildfire activity in northern and northwestern Ontario. By mid-July, more than 100 fires were active, later topping 180 as Ontario’s fire danger…

China added 72.07 GW of new solar capacity in the first half of 2026, down 66.04% year-on-year, according to data released by the National Energy Administration (NEA) on July 22. China installed 12.48 GW of new solar capacity in June, down 13.09% from 14.36 GW in the same month last year. At the end of June, the country’s total installed power generation capacity stood at 4.04 TW, an increase of 10.8% year-on-year. Solar capacity reached 1.27 TW, an increase of 15.8%, while wind energy capacity reached 680 GW, an increase of 18.5%. Shenzhen energy said on July 22 that its…

As an unprecedented heat wave continues to hit Tunisia, with high temperatures since July 11, the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company (STEG) has allowed low-voltage customers – including households and businesses – to install photovoltaic energy storage systems in combination with hybrid inverters. The decision comes as the country’s electricity grid is under increasing pressure, with demand reaching record levels due to the widespread use of air conditioning. The pressure on the network has led to recurring power outages, prompting STEG to urge consumers to reduce electricity consumption. This permit allows owners of photovoltaic installations to use the electricity stored…