Ryan Kennedy
Ann Arbor launches first-of-its-kind city direct purchase of residential solar and storage
The Michigan city’s new Sustainable Energy Utility has begun installing FranklinWH systems in the Bryant neighborhood, testing a municipal model for grid resilience and energy equity.
California sets precedent by overriding local blockade for Soda Mountain
California is asserting state authority to revive the $700 million Soda Mountain project, marking a new era where Sacramento can reclaim authority from local counties to force stalled utility-scale solar and storage across the finish line.
Clean power captures 91% of new U.S. grid capacity as 2025 installations hit 50 GW
The U.S. clean energy sector set a blistering pace in 2025, with utility-scale solar, wind, and energy storage accounting for 91% of all new power capacity added to the domestic grid.
Electrical contractors step into a bigger role as solar and storage scale up
The U.S. solar market is shifting toward larger projects, and that is changing the kind of electrical work those jobs require.
Supply chain constraints, not demand, will define the solar decade
As global solar installations approach 600 GW, the industry is shifting from a technology-driven market to one defined by the industrial capacity and supply chain resilience required to meet record demand.
Stem acquires raicoon to automate solar asset monitoring
The Houston-based energy software company has acquired the assets of the startup to integrate autonomous fault detection and work order generation into its PowerTrack platform for the United States solar market.
Solar and storage to lead 86 GW capacity surge in 2026
New federal data shows solar and battery assets will comprise nearly 80% of all new utility-scale power additions planned for the U.S. electric grid this year.
The battery cost disconnect
For years, the battery energy storage (BESS) story has followed a familiar script: costs fall, deployment accelerates, economics improve. Even when cell costs rose and system prices briefly flattened during the 2021-22 lithium price spike, the narrative largely held. Paola Perez Peña, senior principal analyst at S&P Global Energy, examines why the latest jump in lithium prices has only had limited impacts on overall BESS costs so far.
Beatbot launches solar-powered autonomous pool skimmer
The iSkim Ultra utilizes a 24 W monocrystalline solar array and a 10,000 mAh battery to provide 24/7 surface cleaning through an autonomous dual-path navigation system.
Resisting rust in solar
Over a 30-year asset life, corrosion can evolve into a structural, electrical, and fire safety issue. Corrosion drives up operations and maintenance (O&M) costs, reduces resilience to extreme events, and in some cases, can force premature decommissioning or complete structural replacement Intertek CEA’s Nicholas Hudson and Ankil Sanghvi advise on best practices.
