Author: solarenergy
By Brad Kramer January 5, 2026 Happy New Year and welcome to the first Projects weekly from 2026! We highlight Consumers Energy’s startup activities at Muskegon Solar in Michigan. Additionally, Seminole Financial completed the refinancing of a 26 MWdc solar project portfolio with Greenwood Sustainable Infrastructure (GSI), and CPS Energy issued an RFP to acquire up to 500 MW of additional battery storage in the San Antonio region. Keep reading for all the fine details! Consumers Energy is flipping the switch on the Michigan solar project Consumer Energy has commenced operations at its Muskegon Solar facility in Michigan, the company’s…
Illinois’ first community solar project paired with a battery energy storage system in the Ameren, Illinois, territory is now online. A similar project was recently put online in the ComEd area. Cutting a snowy ribbon at Beard Solar in Illinois. The 6.9 MW Beard Solar project, located in Beardstown, Illinois, is accompanied by an 11.9 MWh energy storage system owned by Solar Illinois (ESI) shares and developed and designed in a collaboration between project developer US Solar and battery integrator Eneon-ES. “Beard Solar underscores the critical role that storage plays in modernizing our energy network and expanding access to the…
Spain will provide 90 million euros ($105.3 million) in financing for almost 1 GW of pumped hydro projects, adding 7 GWh of long-term energy storage (LDES) by 2035. Each project is eligible for a grant of up to €50 million and all work must be completed by June 30, 2035. January 6, 2026 Marija Maisch By ESS news The Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has approved a second call for grants for innovative pumped hydropower storage projects, with a total budget of €90 million under the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR). The scheme…
This month the British government will publish its Future Homes Standard, a piece of legislation that sets requirements for new-build homes in England.Including a mandate to include measures to improve carbon emissions from homes, especially rooftop solar, as well as insulation and heat pumps, has been a demand from the solar industry for some time.That was the case in June 2025 confirmed by the government that almost all new-build homes must have solar PV installed on the roofwhich in most cases covers at least 40% of the floor area of the property. Recent headlines have suggested that the government is…
Researchers led by Michael Grätzel of the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Switzerland recently led efforts to improve the optoelectronic properties of perovskite using small-radius rubidium ion chemistry to enable more stable and efficient perovskite solar cells. January 6, 2026 Valerie Thompson Researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland recently led efforts to improve the optoelectronic performance of perovskite using small radius rubidium ions (Rb+) chemistry. In two recent studies, targeting two different structural locations and operating through different physical mechanisms, the researchers described methods using Rb+ in perovskite films to increase the stability of…
Consumers Energy has commissioned a 250 MW solar project in western Michigan, built on an active municipal wastewater treatment site, using a dedicated 138 kV grid connection. January 6, 2026 Ryan Kennedy By pv magazine USA Consumers Energy has powered the Muskegon Solar Energy Center, a move that underscores the industry’s shift toward large-scale utility development in unconventional landscapes. The 250 MW facility, located in Moorland Township, Michigan, is now the largest solar facility in the utility’s fleet and marks a major milestone in the state’s transition to a coal-free capacity mix by 2025. The project was led by owner-operator…
The Poland-based module manufacturer has developed Photonwall, a building-integrated solution for ventilated facades. It also offers Photonroof, a ceramic PV roof tile solution. Both BIPV products are available in colors and finishes to match the aesthetics of modern and historic buildings. January 6, 2026 Valerie Thompson Poland-based manufacturer of building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) modules ML System has developed Photonwall, a ventilated facade module. Available in a wide range of sizes, colors and finishes, it is certified to multiple building code, electrical and environmental standards. The glass-glass solar facade module is suitable for use as an exterior building shell component. It is…
A 250 MW solar project is now online in Michigan, located on 1,900 acres on the Muskegon Resource Recovery Centera wastewater treatment plant, a landfill and an additional environmental location. Credit: Burns & McDonnell Muskegon Solar is the largest solar project for Consumer Energy. “Consumers Energy is building the electric grid of the future to serve Michigan homes and businesses. Muskegon Solar is an example of the reliable, cost-effective projects we create to ensure we continue to meet our customers’ needs,” said Sri Maddipati, president of Consumers Energy’s electric utility. Burns & McDonnell acted as EPC for the project. The…
In two separate projects, Japan’s Kyuden Mirai Energy and Nissan Motor are demonstrating the use of flexible, glass-free chalcopyrite PV panels supplied by PXP Corporation. January 5, 2026 Valerie Thompson At Fukuoka International Airport, Kyuden Mirai Energy, the renewable energy subsidiary of Japanese utility Kyushu Electric Power Company, and PXP Corporation, a Japanese startup developing chalcopyrite and perovskite solar technologies, installed glass-free flexible chalcopyrite (CuInSe2) modules on the airport terminal roof. “The test location is 2 x 6 m and the power is 1.2 kW,” says Hiroki Sugimoto, CTO of PXP Corporation. pv magazineadding that the duration of the project…
A Malaysian research team proposed new concepts such as cow voltaic, sheep voltaic, goat voltaic, veggie voltaic, fruit voltaic, and fish voltaic to better define the diverse applications of solar photovoltaic in dual land use. Their overview outlines four main categories – livestock solar, crop-based agricultural voltaics, aquavoltaics and zoovoltaics – and presents several business cases. January 5, 2026 Emiliano Bellini Researchers from University Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdulla have conducted a comprehensive study on agrivoltaic systems and proposed a new taxonomy for their classification. “This study is the first in the world to present a conceptual framework for the next…