Solar Industry News and Articles

Reading Time: 5 minutes This is Part 1 of a two-part series that explores the economics of going completely off-grid with solar. Part 1 focuses on what it actually means to go “off-grid” and how to start thinking about calculating the costs for cutting the cord with...

Reading Time: 2 minutes In this week’s Solar News Roundup, Tesla announces its newest version of the famed Solar Roof, and corporate renewable procurements reach a new record in 2019. Tesla launches V3 of their Solar Roof The latest development in the saga of the...

Reading Time: 4 minutes As a publicly-traded company, Tesla presents quarterly reports to shareholders, analysts, and the media about the state of the company. While most coverage of these quarterly earnings calls focuses on the company’s electric vehicle business or...

Reading Time: 7 minutes This is Part 1 of a two-part series that explores the economics of going completely off-grid with solar. Part 1 focuses on what it actually means to go “off-grid” and how to start thinking about calculating the costs for cutting the cord with...

Reading Time: 3 minutes A surprising threat to your solar panels may be the animals that live in the area surrounding your home. Birds and squirrels can damage your solar setup in several ways, leading to unwanted repair costs and headache. One solution to solar’s...

Reading Time: 4 minutes It can be easy to overlook your solar mounting hardware since it’s mostly hidden under your solar panels. But, as with other types of solar equipment, there are multiple options to consider and you want to make sure you’re getting the right...

Reading Time: 3 minutes One of the most important choices to make as you’re going solar is which installation company to work with. Online reviews, industry certifications, years in business, and equipment manufacturer endorsements are just a few ways to gauge the...

Reading Time: 1 minute In this week’s Solar News Roundup, a new study indicates just how much the “green economy” has grown in the U.S., and FPL sets its sights on an ambitious community solar program. Study suggests America’s “Green Economy” is worth $1.3 trillion...

Reading Time: 3 minutes One of the primary benefits of purchasing an electric vehicle is that it allows you to transition from paying for gasoline to lower-cost electricity. But why not take that one step further and power your car with clean, solar power you produce...

Reading Time: 5 minutes In August 2019, the solar and storage industries took a giant leap forward with the introduction of the Soleil Lofts virtual power plant project. The apartment complex, which lies just south of Salt Lake City, Utah, is a unique,...

Reading Time: 2 minutes Massive corporations like Google and Facebook have made recent headlines with their commitments to renewable energy. One of the brands you might not have heard as much about is Swedish furniture giant IKEA – however, with ambitious solar and...

Reading Time: 3 minutes There are plenty of options available when it comes to selecting a solar inverter: these inverters vary in size, efficiency, performance, and capabilities. So what’s the best solution for you? If you’re thinking about adding a battery to your...

Reading Time: 2 minutes In this week’s Solar News Roundup, LADWP votes to expand a beneficial feed-in tariff program in their service area, and the first 100% electric vehicle “gas” station opens. LADWP votes to expand feed-in tariff program by 300 MW The Los Angeles...

Reading Time: 3 minutes A recent report from the Smart Energy Consumers Collaborative found that half of all electricity customers don’t know what electric rate they are on, which begs the question: what electric rate are you on? And what do different electricity...

Reading Time: 5 minutes Last week, the EnergySage team attended Solar Power International (SPI), the industry’s leading solar conference. There were countless innovative products showcased this year – from new high-tech solar panels, to smart home gadgets, to...

Reading Time: 3 minutes September means one thing in the solar industry: Solar Power International (SPI). EnergySage sent a team to this year’s version of the industry’s largest trade show in Salt Lake City, where we reconnected with old partners, met many new ones,...

Reading Time: 3 minutes This week, EnergySage released our ninth Solar Marketplace Intel Report™. The publicly available report provides data on the state of the solar market nationwide and at the state level. In this report, we introduced a number of new analyses,...

Reading Time: 2 minutes In this week’s Solar News Roundup, the U.S. utility solar pipeline hits a new high watermark, and California boosts battery incentives for homes vulnerable to wildfire-caused power outages. U.S. utility solar pipeline hits an all-time high of...

Reading Time: 4 minutes For the most part, solar panel systems are “set it and forget it,” requiring very little (if any) maintenance over time – but what costs can you potentially encounter after installing your solar panel system? In this article, we’ll discuss four...

Reading Time: 3 minutesThe electricity system is changing, from the way we generate power to the way we distribute and use it. All grid-tied energy systems are situated either “in front of the meter” or “behind the meter”, and as more and more electric customers take...

Reading Time: 5 minutesTesla’s recently announced solar rental program was met with high hopes, as a program with the potential to make solar more accessible to more homeowners. With a sense of how the program works, the question becomes: how do the savings from...

The Clean Energy Regulator of Australia has approved enough capacity to guarantee that the large-scale Renewable Energy Target of 33,000 GWh of additional renewable energy will be met in 2020.

The global energy supply is turning greener.

Reading Time: 4 minutesCommunity solar is an enticing option for those looking to take advantage of solar energy without installing a system on their own property. As with any energy choice, there are pros and cons to participating in a community solar program. In...

Reading Time: 1 minuteIn this week’s Solar News Roundup, Sunrun lands another virtual power plant deal and Connecticut sets its sights on eliminating fossil fuels by 2040. Sunrun lands virtual power plant deal in Hawaii Following several other virtual power plant deal...

In recognition of the widely acknowledged studies that show that organizations with gender equality perform better financially, this year POWERGEN International, along with partner UL, is launching a new awards program that seeks out women of good character.

Reading Time: 4 minutesSolar energy systems are built to last and are designed to produce solar electricity reliably for 25 years or more. In some instances, though, individual components of a solar energy system may malfunction or break altogether. If you’ve...

Even as they touted ambitious proposals to reduce carbon emissions to a national audience, Democratic candidates for president tried to balance the boldness of their plans with the need for simplifying a complex scientific problem to make it palatable to voters.

Ameren Missouri, a unit of Ameren Corp., filed plans with the Missouri Public Service Commission to build three solar + storage facilities across Missouri

In a region of the world where coal is still king, there is room for renewables. This was a takeaway from the Ministerial Address and Joint Opening Keynote at POWERGEN Asia and Asian Utility Week. The two annual events kicked off Tuesday, Sept. 3, in Kuala Lumpur,...

MORE THAN 170 NEWS OUTLETS from around the world have now signed up for Covering Climate Now, a project co-founded by CJR and The Nation aimed at strengthening the media’s focus on the climate crisis.

Reading Time: 3 minutesSolar batteries are becoming popular additions to solar energy projects of all scales. When it comes to the way your solar panels, batteries, and inverters are all wired together on your property, there are two main options: alternating current...

Reading Time: 4 minutesThe country’s best solar incentive, the federal investment tax credit (ITC), is in the process of winding down. 2019 is the last year you can claim the full 30 percent tax credit. Starting next year, the credit drops to 26 percent, to 22 percent...

Reading Time: 4 minutesOne of the most common misconceptions about solar is that people who install panels no longer receive an electricity bill from their utility company. This isn’t true in most cases: the majority of solar panel systems in the U.S. are grid-tied,...

The cost of producing hydrogen gas with renewables is likely to plummet in the coming decades, making one of the most radical technologies for reducing greenhouse gases economical.

Reading Time: 2 minutesIn this week’s Solar News Roundup, Tesla launches a new solar rental model, and the energy storage market for California’s major utilities continues at impressive deployment rates, especially in SDG&E territory. Tesla launches a new monthly...

Reading Time: 4 minutesOnce a solar panel system is installed, you’ll generally only see the shiny new panels on your property. However, the solar racking beneath them is an integral part of any solar installation. What is solar racking? In order to safely fix solar...

Bernie Sanders wants renewable energy to power U.S. homes and vehicles by 2030 -- and he wants to do it by enlisting the federal government in building and running new solar, wind and geothermal electricity projects.