solar

The U.S. residential solar industry has entered a new era. With the federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) phasing out at the end of 2025, the market faces a moment of recalibration. This will likely mean a short-term decline, but it’s far from a death knell for the industry. After all, while incentives may fade, energy […]

The retirement of older thermal power generation facilities, driven by a transition to cleaner forms of energy, has increased in recent years as utilities and other power generators mothball plants that are uneconomic or simply no longer needed.

California-based Nextracker has announced its corporate rebranding to Nextpower. The company on November 12 said the new name reflects the group’s transformation into a global supplier of fully integrated energy technology solutions.

Independent power producer Treaty Oak Clean Energy recently announced it finalized long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with technology group Meta Platforms for two utility-scale solar projects in Louisiana. Meta officials said the company would advance its clean energy and sustainability commitments by buying the environmental attributes generated by the facilities in Morehouse and Sabine parishes, which together will have 385 MW of generation capacity.

Utility-scale solar is currently the third-largest renewable energy source in the world. And despite recent changes in law reducing future tax credits, solar power’s relatively low total cost compared to other sources, coupled with its quick time to market, still makes utility-scale solar power a highly viable solution for the U.S. market. With the demand for electricity expected to grow sharply, utility-scale solar installations could prove to be an effective solution to meet this need.

Utility Uses Innovative Method to Deploy More than 3,400 Panels Orlando, Fla. – OUC—The Reliable One has launched one of the largest floating solar arrays in the United States, and the largest in Florida. The 2-megawatt system—located at 5301 S. Conway Rd. in Orlando—consists of two arrays and more than 3,400 solar panels that send […]

Global engineering and construction group Bechtel said it will work with Doral Renewables to design and build a 430-MW solar power station in Texas. The Cold Creek Solar+Storage project, sited in Schleicher and Tom Green counties, also will include a 340-MWh battery energy storage system.

California-based Clearway Energy Group said it has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA), along with a 20-year deal to secure energy storage, with a utility organization in Washington state.

Ever since the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) first surfaced, it has been widely portrayed as an existential threat to the renewable energy transition. From boardrooms to project sites, developers braced for the worst—expecting a wave of regulatory shifts that could undermine years of progress in clean energy deployment. However, with the latest guidance from the Treasury Department released this August, uncertainty has been replaced by urgency—signaling that the time is now for decision-makers to get moving on their much-needed solar initiatives.

ENGIE North America said it has entered into additional power purchase agreements (PPAs) with technology group Meta that will increase the overall scale of the commercial relationship between the two companies to more than 1.3 GW across four Texas projects.

Technology group Wärtsilä said the company will deliver the largest DC-coupled hybrid battery energy storage system (BESS) in the National Electricity Market (NEM) in Australia, reflecting a growing trend toward hybridization of storage assets with co-located renewable generation.

After nearly nine years leading the Solar Energy Industries Association, Abby Hopper has made the decision to step down as president and CEO, effective January 30, 2026.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) has redrawn the U.S. energy sector map. By scaling back clean energy tax credits and easing regulations on fossil fuels, the act has simultaneously cooled renewable investment and reignited traditional energy expansion. For dealmakers in the energy industry, this has created both headwinds and new openings, especially in […]

California-based Rondo Energy said its 100-MWh Rondo Heat Battery (RHB) has entered daily automatic operation, with energy provided by a solar photovoltaic array. The system is delivering continuous high-pressure industrial heat and steam to an enhanced oil recovery site run by Holmes Western Oil Corp. Rondo on October 16 said Holmes has replaced one of […]

FirstEnergy Corp. has submitted a plan to build a new 1,200-MW natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant to serve customers in West Virginia. The company recently filed an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) with state regulators that also calls for keeping two major coal-fired power plants in West Virginia operating at least through the next decade.

Here’s a fundamental truth: there is no AI without energy. And as the technology grows, its demand for energy, and carbon footprint, may never again be as small as it is today. Against this backdrop, debates over which energy source should power AI miss the point. AI’s appetite for energy—relative to what the grid has […]

Google announced the first phase of a $4-billion data center project in West Memphis, Arkansas, an initiative that state officials have called one of the largest economic investments in state history. The facility, located near the Arkansas-Tennessee state line, will be powered by Entergy using solar power and existing generation in the area.

Duke Energy announced plans to build more natural gas-fired generation capacity and look at nuclear power in order to meet the increased demand for power in its Carolinas service territory. The utility also said it will delay the retirement of some coal-fired facilities as it seeks to increase the supply of electricity for data centers and manufacturing plants.

Xcel Energy is adding more natural gas-fired power generation in Texas, with plans to convert a retiring coal-fired plant to natural gas, along with building a new peaker plant to provide electricity at times of high demand.

The NTPC Vindhyachal Thermal Power Station, with an installed generation capacity of 4,783 MW, comprises 13 coal-fired units and includes solar and hydropower installations. The plant continues to implement advanced emission-control technologies as part of India’s broader decarbonization strategy.

Ausgrid, the state-owned electricity distributor serving 1.8 million customers across Sydney and beyond, has proposed a “Community Power Network” (CPN) that could upend a century-old regulatory boundary by

The global solar boom has introduced a new urgency around asset durability, performance, and risk. As utility-scale solar farms become more common, so do the invisible defects that compromise long-term generation and reliability. While traditional visual and infrared (IR) inspections are still a common practice, a more advanced diagnostic method is emerging as an invaluable […]

An Oregon-headquartered developer and operator of utility-scale battery energy storage systems said it has acquired a major project in Arizona that will serve customers of Arizona Public Service (APS). GridStor announced the acquisition of the 100-MW/400-MWh White Tank battery storage project from Strata Clean Energy, a solar power and energy storage developer based in Durham, North Carolina.

Catalyze, an independent power producer and fully integrated developer of distributed renewable energy assets, said it has completed four community solar projects in central and western New York. The company said the installations were developed in partnership with CS Energy, a renewable energy company that develops, designs, and builds optimized solar, and energy storage. The […]

Enel North America and Mars—a pet care, snacking and food company—announced the groups have completed a major power purchase agreement (PPA) transaction involving the full output of three solar plants in Texas. The deals represent Enel’s largest corporate PPA transaction worldwide. Combined, the agreements represent 851 MWac and are expected to yield 1.8 TWh of […]

In the early 2010s, the “build-to-sell” model dominated the commercial and industrial (C&I) real estate solar market. Building owners, especially REITs (real estate investment trusts), with an understanding and comfortableness in investing in long-term assets, would pay solar developers to build arrays on their roof or parking lot. Owners reaped the benefits associated with solar, […]

A leading photovoltaic (PV) inverter and energy storage system (ESS) provider said it is bringing new products to the North American market. China-headquartered Sungrow on September 9 showcased the products at the RE+ 2025 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. The lineup of new products includes a second-generation modular inverter for utility-scale PV projects; the next-generation […]

Solar dominates new energy generation in the U.S., accounting for 69% of new capacity additions in Q1 of 2025. But although most of this added capacity comes from utility-scale projects, the engineering labor force hasn’t scaled to match this demand. Only a limited number of qualified engineers, particularly those with experience as Engineers of Record (EORs), can support the complexity and speed required for current utility-scale solar projects.

Utility-scale solar farms are essential players in the energy transition. But with growth comes more exposure, and large solar arrays are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters, especially hailstorms. As extreme weather events become more frequent and severe, utility executives, plant managers, engineers, and energy policymakers need proven, scalable methods for assessing and repairing solar farm damage quickly and effectively.

An Italy-based independent power producer has brought its first U.S. project online. ContourGlobal, headquartered in Milan, on September 4 announced the state of commercial operation for Black Hollow Sun I, the 185-MW first phase of a solar power project in Severance, Colorado.