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Also on the rise: Arizona requires transparent modeling for utility resource plans. Distributed solar installed in 2021 nearly matches capacity of all new gas plants. A solar project would multiply a North Dakota town’s budget, but a 1995 ordinance prevents it. SunPower launches whole-home backup solution. Construction begins for Meta (Facebook) $90 million solar project.

Colfax Township’s zoning board is reviewing a 1995 ordinance that bars solar installations after a proposed project is estimated to increase the town’s budget from $80,000 to $180,000, plus bring revenues to the local school district, county and state. In total, $1.4 million of revenue would be shared with Colfax within the first five years of operations.

The announcement of the investigation brings the US solar industry ever closer to what has been described as a worst-case scenario for the companies that supply 80% of the country’s solar cell imports, with no domestic manufacturing to alleviate the pressure.

Institute for Local Self Reliance annual update highlights influence of renewable energy in the US energy portfolio.

The 70MW project is under development by Silicon Ranch and was launched through utility Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Green Invest program. Plus, pv magazine examines the work of “Solar Protocol” to bring attention to the fact that the internet is not as ethereal as it seems.

The company has expanded the battery capacity options for its SunVault Storage product, up to 26 kWh and 52 kWh configurations.

Transparent utility modeling in two other states has enabled advocates to show that adding more solar than utilities had proposed in their resource plans would yield benefits. The Arizona Technology Council and sustainability advocate Ceres brought the idea to Arizona regulators.

Also on the rise: Four Northeast states form consortium to develop regional clean hydrogen hub. NREL researchers work on developing high energy density cells to advance stationary storage. Discovery of “structural earthquake” in cathode formation may improve sodium-ion batteries 20-40%. Federal budget includes $500 million for promoting energy storage.

New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey to join dozens of corporations and universities in demonstrating shared vision for clean energy.

Researchers at the Argonne National Laboratory discovered a degenerative effect in the creation of cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries that may have significant impacts on the performance of sodium-ion batteries.