Author: solarenergy
Solar energy is one of the rare industries that brings together fieldwork, engineering, finance and administration: as many playing fields as possible for all genders and all abilities. As a young industry, born without specific degree requirements, it escaped the traditional glass ceiling of engineering. Solar energy is the most gender-balanced renewable energy sector in the world, with 40% of jobs held by women, far ahead of construction or fossil fuels, according to IRENA. Women have access to truly crucial positions, as project leaders rather than just assistants. Finally, it is a work of conviction: we promote values of sustainability…
Gene costs started as a simple research exercise: a way to explore how electricity generation and storage technologies were changing, and what those shifts meant for Australia’s future energy system. When the first CSIRO-led cost forecasts were published in 2017, the work was based on stable global conditions and predictable technology trends. Paul Graham is CSIRO’s chief energy economist and head of GenCost, and he remembers those early days well. “It was a fairly simple exercise at the time because the global environment was relatively stable and we could concentrate almost entirely on how technologies were improving,” Mr. Graham recalls.…
By Brad Kramer July 17, 2026 Vermeer has unveiled a new material transporter aimed at improving efficiency and safety in ground-mounted solar projects. The new MT500 automates the pole layout process to enable accurate and repeatable placement of 10- to 20-foot W-beam poles on ground-mounted solar jobs with minimal labor. Operated by one person at the touch of a button, the MT500 eliminates manual pile lifting, eliminating human error in the piling process on large-scale solar projects. “Labor is at the forefront of everyone’s minds, from finding workers, training workers and then retaining them, especially with solar crews, as we…
Four out of five planning refusal applications for grid-scale standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) have been decided in favor of the developer.Of the 67 appeals for standalone BESS schemes decided by the English Planning Inspectorate, the refusing council lost 53, or 80.8%. Of the denials stating that the project site was on greenfield land, 85% of appeals overturned the council’s decision.This is the conclusion drawn from data collected and analyzed by GapSense, an AI platform that says it can speed up planning approvals for developers and planning specialists.The company has read the planning inspector’s decision letters for the appeals…
After reviewing industry data, the Commerce Department has decided to launch a nationwide investigation to determine whether imports of silicon solar cells from Ethiopia using Chinese components are circumventing long-standing anti-dumping/countervailing duties (AD/CVD) on solar cells from China. Credit: Toyo Solar The research was requested in May by the American solar cell and panel brands DYCM Power, First Solar, Qcells, Silfab, Solx, Suniva, Swift Solar and Talon PV. The petitioners alleged that two solar power manufacturers in Ethiopia – Toyo and Origin Solar – use Chinese-origin wafers to make solar cells in Ethiopia and then assemble those cells into modules…
By Martin McConnell July 17, 2026 West Lafayette, located in Indiana Rising solar energy has completed a series of nine on-farm agrivoltaic solar projects for the egg producer Handsome Brook Farms. The portfolio of nine projects, spread across Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana, totals 579.7 kW, according to officials at Purdue Research Park, the headquarters of Emergent Solar Energy. In addition, the projects will offset approximately 668 tons of CO2 annually, the research foundation says. The projects will generate power on-site for Handsome Brook Farms, directly reducing the company’s electric bills, a move the company says is an investment in small…
UK developers of solar projects could benefit from thinking more proactively about the ‘ready-to-repower’ phase of their projects, according to Joe Miletic, founder and director of consultancy Solclaris.He discussed the idea behind this sentence during Solar Media’s Clean Power 2030 Summit earlier this monthon a panel discussion on how best to manage assets that have reached the end of the Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC) program. Introduced in the early 2000s, the ROC program has been a major driver of new UK energy generation projects, with figures from Energy UK showing that project support under the program provides almost a third…
By ESS news Netherlands-based Alfen and China-based CATL have signed an agreement to deploy 5 GWh energy storage systems with sodium-ion batteries in Europe, building on an existing partnership focused on lithium-ion battery storage projects. The agreement marks a new phase in a collaboration that started with storage projects based on lithium-ion batteries. In 2023, Alfen and CATL entered into a long-term battery supply agreement, which was extended in 2024 to support the growing demand for Alfen’s energy storage solutions in the European market. Through the new partnership, the companies will integrate sodium-ion batteries into their storage deployment strategy, focusing…
By Martin McConnell July 15, 2026 Developer, owner and operator of utility-scale solar energy Terra-Gen has achieved commercial operation of the Lockhart IV solar project in San Bernardino County, California, company officials say. By adding 80 MW of solar capacity to California’s taxing grid, the project will provide enough wattage to power approximately 40,000 homes and businesses annually. With the fourth phase of the project complete, Lockhart Solar and Storage will have a total of 365 MW of solar and 173.7 MW of battery storage, company officials added. “We are excited to bring the Lockhart IV project online and continue…
For the second time this year, prices for solar panels in the various technology classes have not increased across the board compared to the previous month. Price movements for all-black and low-cost modules were negligible, while changes in other segments were also marginal. Availability in most asset classes has again improved significantly. The only exception is back-contact modules with returns above 24%, where demand continues to exceed supply, resulting in shortages in the higher asset classes. However, because this technology still represents only a small part of the overall market, price developments in this segment have little impact on the…