Jenya Meydbray: Forging a path through a maturing solar industry
By joining Nextpower, formerly Nextracker, Meydbray intends to help the solar industry mature by integrating components that make up today’s PV power plants.
Engineer spotlight: Kajal Sheth on data, design, and the future of solar + storage
Kajal Sheth, Staff Engineer at Reactivate, discusses how engineering, data science, and AI are converging to shape the future of community solar and enhance clean energy resilience in the U.S.
California startup launches DC-powered solar water heater
Apparent Inc. has unveiled a new water heater that can reportedly offset 100% of a home’s water heating cost. The system uses low-voltage DC electricity generated by conventional solar panels and a cloud based, machine learning platform that manages energy in real-time.
In Virginia and New Jersey, solar and storage goals include surplus interconnection
Incoming governors in New Jersey and Virginia campaigned on broad clean energy platforms, while Advanced Energy United sees underused points of interconnection as the best solar and storage opportunity in Virginia.
SunPower to acquire Ambia Solar, bolstering residential market share ahead of tax credit shift
SunPower’s strategic move strengthens its residential solar position by integrating Ambia’s management and operations ahead of expected 2026 market changes.
Arkansas scientists build graphene-based solar cells than can charge supercapacitors
The solar cells combine multilayer graphene with silicon wafers, harvesting both solar and kinetic energy for continuous operation. Tests show the cells can autonomously power supercapacitors embedded in a temperature sensor.
mPower Technology opens automated solar module line for space
mPower Technology Inc. has switched on an automated production line for its silicon solar panels designed for space missions. The site currently has an annual capacity of 1 MW, set to double by the middle of 2026.
Nextracker changes name to Nextpower
The name reflects the new approach to providing a complete system rather than individual components, and that system will soon include Nextpower power conversion equipment.
Governance, not financing, is the next big hurdle for commercial solar
Solar’s momentum in commercial real estate hinges less on policy roadblocks and more on navigating multi-tenant governance, shared infrastructure and risk allocation.
Sunrun VPP enrollment jumps 400% as battery storage attachment hits 70%
As storage attachment rates hit 70% for new customers, Sunrun’s fleet of networked residential batteries expands rapidly, now featuring over 106,000 homes participating in VPP grid services.
