Solar

California’s rooftop solar is a benefit, not a cost, to the state

A new study finds rooftop solar will save California $2.3B this year — a rebuttal to the ‘cost-shift’ math that’s led regulators to stifle solar growth.

By Jeff St. John . 15 November 2024

(Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Grid edge

Sunnova seeks $3.3B DOE loan guarantee to expand virtual power plants

An SEC filing suggests the federal Loan Programs Office is gearing up to help lower-income households access rooftop solar and batteries that can help the grid.

By Jeff St. John . 21 March 2023
Video

Here's video proof that solar panels can be recycled

Solarcycle just raised another $30 million to build more solar recycling factories. See what the recycling process looks like.

By Julian Spector . 20 March 2023
Clean energy

Puerto Rico's first community-led microgrid is ready to launch

The Adjuntas microgrid project is a high-profile example of how Puerto Ricans are devising solutions to the island's fragile and unreliable electricity system.

By Maria Gallucci . 17 March 2023
Clean energy

La primera microrred comunitaria de Puerto Rico está lista para conectarse

El proyecto en Adjuntas es un ejemplo de cómo los puertorriqueños están ideando sus propias alternativas al frágil sistema eléctrico de la isla.

By Maria Gallucci . 17 March 2023
Solar

This startup has a smarter way to make solar work for apartments

Allume Energy’s SolShare tech can divvy up solar output among apartment units however property owners choose, delivering more flexibility to an underserved market.

By Jeff St. John . 16 March 2023
Climatetech finance

Community solar industry says it can ride out Silicon Valley Bank failure

The collapse of SVB, a key early funder of community solar, won't halt the sector's growth — but the ripple effects will likely impact all clean-energy development.

By Jeff St. John . 14 March 2023
Energy efficiency

Google's huge solar buys help fund efficiency fixes for low-income homes

In partnership with Sol Systems, the tech giant is using a slice of its clean-energy investments for repairs and efficiency upgrades in lower-income communities.

By Jeff St. John . 8 March 2023
Food and farms

There's a push underway to help more US farms save big with clean energy

Advocates say revamping the 20-year-old federal Rural Energy for America Program could give cash-crunched small farms some much-needed breathing room.

By Kathiann Kowalski . 6 March 2023
Solar

Chart: Who's the leader in utility-scale solar — California or Texas?

After several years running of massive solar capacity buildouts, the Lone Star State is rapidly gaining ground on the long-established renewables leader.

By Eric Wesoff, Maria Virginia Olano . 24 February 2023
Solar

Thin-film solar sparks a manufacturing boom in the Midwest

Home to domestically produced solar panels, Ohio is landing lots of new jobs with help from federal incentives and its deep roots in the glass industry.

By Kathiann Kowalski . 22 February 2023