Why California’s closed $2 billion solar plant is not a signal of industry failure
Beginning operations in 2014, the Ivanpah Solar plant cost $2.2 billion to build. It is now closing operations, but the plant’s closure is not an indication cost problems for the solar industry.
Freight costs steady after early September spike
Freight costs, which contribute towards the total cost of a solar installation, have fallen week-on-week on trade lines out of the Far East, helping to offset a price surge in the US-bound short-term market recorded at the start of September.
Western wildfires, storms cut solar gains in the West while Eastern US sees boost
In a new weekly update for pv magazine, Solcast, a DNV company, reports that trontal systems, widespread wildfires and an omega block pattern contributed to highly mixed irradiance anomalies across North America in September. Solar conditions underperformed in much of the West and Midwest, while the Northeast, South, and parts of Canada recorded a strong month.
Transforming existing solar arrays to microgrids could generate revenue for many customers
SolMicroGrid’s Kirk Edelman says the technology is there to be utilized if the tariffs – and Washington – will allow.
Conventional C&I solar sales techniques are broken. Here’s how to fix them
For commercial & industrial solar, getting the initial “yes” is only half the battle. The real challenge is keeping momentum and closing multi-stakeholder deals that often stall for no clear reason. After decades of relying on traditional sales techniques, I realized that success in today’s long-cycle projects demands a fundamental shift from micromanagement to vision alignment, trust-building, and team autonomy.
IEA-PVPS warns soiling costs solar industry billions per year
The International Energy Agency’s Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (IEA-PVPS) says dust, pollution, and debris on solar panels reduce output by 4% to 7% worldwide, costing the industry billions of euros annually and making tailored mitigation increasingly urgent.
New control strategy for grid-forming inverters
Researchers in the United States have created a droop control strategy for grid-forming inverters that purportedly improves power system frequency stability. By using an exponential active power–frequency relationship, the novel technique optimizes the use of available headroom, reduces frequency deviations, and enhances overall grid resilience.
Community solar may have peaked in 2024, said Wood Mackenzie
Wood Mackenzie reported a 36% decline year over year for the first half of 2025 and forecasts 12% annual contraction through 2030.
Zombie apocalypse-ready solar + storage kit
JDEnergy introduced its eBlock 100C, eStation MV-6880, combined control systems, and the milestone deployment of its 20,000th energy storage block.
EcoFlow launches energy management system providing whole-home backup
Global energy company EcoFlow’s latest product, Gateway, is a wall mounted hardware system that can be installed indoors or outdoors and is compatible with third-party inverters and diesel generators as well as EcoFlow’s own extensive product suite.
