A letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom addresses the state’s electricity affordability crisis – and a misconception that rooftop solar is to blame for the high costs.

Primergy Solar’s 100 MW solar project in Ashley County, Arkansas is fully operational.

The loan guarantee is intended to finance a Convergent Energy and Power solar system with integrated battery energy storage and three stand-alone energy storage projects across Puerto Rico.

Morris Ridge Solar is expected to generate enough energy to meet more than 47,000 New York households’ energy needs.

With expanding market opportunities and declining costs stationary battery energy storage installations are surging. Battery makers are awake to the opportunity, reports BloombergNEF, as stationary batteries account for an increasing amount of deployed capacity.

Also on the rise: Perovskite-silicon solar cell achieves 28.6% efficiency, ready for mass production. Energy experts urge California Governor to reject anti-rooftop solar executive order. And more.

South Korean manufacturer Qcells has developed a perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell with a 28.6% efficiency, noting that it was “fabricated by exclusively using processes that are feasible for mass production.”

Newly formed NuVision Solar is a U.S.-owned and operated manufacturer with plans to produce HJT solar cells and modules.

Also on the rise: Solar and storage on military bases. Survey captures wide-spread optimism for solar’s future, but respondents divided over AI. And more.

The company seeks to commercialize alternatives to utility-scale lithium-ion storage.

The Arizona Corporation Commission approved a nominal grid access fee for rooftop solar customers. The charge is a few dollars each month – but utility APS said it wanted the charge to be as high as $88 per month.

PG&E believes that investing in infrastructure will help it supply the forecasted load growth, increase electric reliability and reduce costs for its consumers across California.

The latest report from the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (PVPS) says the building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) industry is facing significant challenges due to a lack of clear testing and certification procedures. It says international consensus and the harmonization of certification processes will be crucial for widespread adoption of the technology.

Also on the rise: Massachusetts city sources solar power from Illinois, Stationary storage installations surge to 170 GWh in 2024, and more.

The electrons won’t be delivered across state lines, but the City of Cambridge will match its electricity use with a virtual power purchase agreement from a solar project in Champaign County, Illinois.

By using a “robust” approach to planning for new renewable and storage capacity to meet future energy demand, stakeholders can identify low-cost portfolios that can be quickly tested against various cost scenarios, said Derek Stenclik of Telos Energy.

As the heavy majority of the U.S. energy grid approaches the end of its lifecycle, the time is now for a public-private task force to develop a comprehensive strategy to harden the grid and enable technologies that maximize the benefit of targeted investment in the most vulnerable areas.

SunTrain is hoping to ship renewable energy via battery-powered trains, charged from solar and wind, using rail networks.

New patents to integrate artificial intelligence into global grids have grown sixfold over the past few years, with China driving overall innovation momentum. The European Patent Office, co-authors of the report, called for Europe to renew its efforts.

Amid record-low prices for solar modules, the focus of cost reduction for utility-scale solar projects is shifting to non-module balance-of-system (BoS) expenses. A transition from 1.5 kV voltage to 2 kV in solar projects is expected to gain traction through 2030.