Latest news with #solar
Yahoo
a day ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Tech Bytes: NASA launches solar-gazing spectrograph from White Sands
Jul. 27—A groundbreaking solar observation mission, launched from New Mexico, took less time than a typical lunch break this month. NASA on July 18 launched its Solar EruptioN Integral Field Spectrograph, or SNIFS, mission from White Sands Missile Range. The trip to observe the energy and dynamics of the chromosphere took less than 20 minutes, according to NASA. Scientists hope the mission answers questions about energy and mass flow in the chromosphere, high-frequency dynamics and the state of hydrogen's influence. Phil Chamberlin, principal investigator of the mission, told the Journal that NASA hasn't yet looked at the data, which will take a couple of weeks to obtain. The team will then spend months figuring out the images and analyzing the data, he said. "It is not a quick process," he added. ABQ's Sigma Science joining RSI EnTech Sigma Science Inc., an Albuquerque-based nuclear professional services agency founded in 1996, is joining Tennessee-based RSI EnTech. RSI serves clients in the environmental, nuclear, energy, construction and project delivery sectors, according to the company. RSI is a subsidiary of ASRC Industrial Services. The work aligns with that of Sigma Science, which has federal and commercial clients like the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration and U.S. Department of Defense. The acquisition will help RSI strengthen its capabilities and client base "to support national defense and energy initiatives across the nuclear industry," said RSI President Allison Getsi in a news release on July 18. "Today marks a fresh start as we unite with RSI and AIS," Sigma Science President Gil Torres said in a statement. "We remain dedicated to partnering with our clients and maintaining our reputation for exceptional performance as part of the RSI family." Raton fiber project breaks ground City and state leaders joined Resound Networks on Tuesday to break ground on a fiber project in Raton that will connect 1,370 homes, businesses, farms and public institutions like fire departments and libraries to high-speed internet. Resound Networks last year received $3.1 million from the state's Connect New Mexico Fund to lay out 30 miles of fiber in Colfax County, which includes Raton. "This project demonstrates how public-private partnerships can close the digital divide in rural New Mexico, bringing economic development and telehealth opportunities to Raton families," said Jeff Lopez, director of the state Office of Broadband Access and Expansion, in a statement. The internet service provider got nearly $20 million total through the program that's designed to build out internet infrastructure and expand broadband access in underserved or unserved communities in the state — of which there are many. The Governor's Office estimated in 2023 that nearly a quarter of New Mexican households don't have access to reliable, high-speed internet. Other grants awarded through the Connect New Mexico Fund will go toward work in more than a dozen rural counties and Pueblos. Space propulsion tech proves compatable Propel Space Inc., based out of Colorado, announced last week that its PM-5 gimbal technology works with space propulsion systems and will be available beginning in 2026 as part of Orbion Space Technology's thruster technologies package. New Mexico nonprofit NewSpace Nexus praised the work, as Propel Space is a participant in its incubator buildout program, NewSpace Ignitor. "Your journey since coming through the NewSpace Nexus Ignitor program has been truly remarkable," NewSpace Nexus posted on LinkedIn. "This collaboration, enabling enhanced maneuverability, reduced attitude determination and control system impacts and improved propellant efficiency for small spacecraft, is a testament to your innovation and dedication." Solve the daily Crossword
Associated Press
a day ago
- Business
- Associated Press
New state law adds ‘insult to injury' for Maine solar, clean energy
It would be hard to argue that Maine's solar incentive program hasn't been successful in spurring the development of small-scale solar projects. Since it was established in 2019, the program, formally called Net Energy Billing, has helped bring hundreds of arrays and more than 1 gigawatt of solar power onto the grid — far exceeding the program's 750 megawatt goal. Where community support for the program wanes is on the issue of costs, with critics arguing that NEB has become a raw deal for Maine ratepayers who have subsidized solar development to the tune of more than $200 million annually. Enter L.D. 1777, a bill that the Maine Legislature passed with bipartisan support last month and that Democratic Gov. Janet Mills signed into law on June 27. The administration and other proponents of the measure, including lead sponsor Rep. Sophia Warren (D-Scarborough), say overhauling the NEB program is necessary to better protect ratepayers amid rising energy prices. 'We can't afford to let soaring electricity bills undermine public support for renewable energy,' Maine Public Advocate Heather Sanborn said in a statement applauding Mills for signing the bill. 'This new law is a responsible, forward-looking reform that ensures we can continue growing clean energy while protecting Mainers from rising electricity bills.' But solar energy advocates and developers warn that the law, which retroactively impacts projects that have already been built or are already under construction, threatens to put Maine's growing renewable energy sector on ice. Eliza Donoghue, executive director of the Maine Renewable Energy Association, a local trade association, called the law 'penny wise and pound foolish' and 'incredibly bad news' for Maine's solar industry. 'The cost of electricity, the numbers on folks' utility bills, we need to take those incredibly seriously and look for the many ways that those costs can be lowered,' she told The Maine Monitor. 'But one of the primary ways that can happen is by having more renewable energy on the grid in Maine and I'm very concerned that by creating an atmosphere in Maine where the Maine legislature has conveyed that renewable energy investment is not welcome here, or can not be relied on here, we have set ourselves up to not enjoy the incredible stabilizing effect that renewable energy has on energy costs. That's incredibly disappointing.' Among other things, the law tasks the Public Utility Commission with establishing a new credit payment structure for non-residential customers in NEB's tariff rate program. Instead of the current structure, where rates are tied to standard utility electricity rates, they would be capped and increase at 2.25 percent annually. When Warren introduced her bill in May, she said having the tariff rate tied to volatile natural gas and fossil fuel markets ultimately led to 'unexpectedly high returns' for renewable energy developers. 'In many cases, these rates now exceed what is required for project viability and are placing an unnecessary burden on nonparticipating ratepayers,' she wrote in written testimony to her colleagues in the House. The law also makes changes to the NEB credit program, imposing new monthly per-kilowatt fees on community solar projects ranging in size from 1 to 5 megawatts beginning next year, with larger arrays paying more to local utilities. A 1 megawatt array would pay $2,800 per month, while a 5 megawatt project would pay $30,000. The new fees do not impact projects smaller than 1 megawatt, such as household rooftop arrays. The changes are expected to slash overall payments to existing community solar farms by approximately 20 percent and save Maine ratepayers approximately $61 million annually over the next 16 years, according to the state's Office of the Public Advocate. Across the board, members of MREA in the solar development space have voiced to Donoghue that L.D. 1777 will significantly impact their current projects in Maine and their future relationship with the state. 'They are likely or have already directly communicated to me that they are no longer going to look to build projects in Maine because they perceive it as too risky from a regulatory perspective,' she said. Nexamp, a member of MREA that has dozens of community solar projects across Maine, called the law's retroactive policy changes 'a breach of economic trust' that will 'permanently damage Maine's reputation as a climate leader.' The adoption of L.D. 1777 came as Republicans in Congress were putting the final touches on President Donald Trump's so-called 'Big, Beautiful' budget bill, which includes numerous provisions meant to stymie the nation's buildout of renewable energy. The federal act, which Trump signed into law days after L.D. 1777 received Mills' signature, rapidly phases out Biden administration-era tax credits for wind and solar projects and terminates tax credits for home energy efficiency upgrades, including rooftop solar, electric heat pumps and insulation, at the end of 2025. Together, the federal act and the new state law leave Maine's clean energy sector in a precarious place, according to Donoghue and Kate Daniel, Northeast regional director for the Coalition for Community Solar Access, a national trade group. 'I do find that it's been a little frustrating to hear state policymakers in Maine criticizing these federal actions when they really don't need the help of DC to kill solar programs in the state of Maine,' Daniel said, stressing that uncertainty in the Maine market will drive clean energy investors to do business elsewhere. As for Maine's new, more aggressive target of achieving 100 percent clean electricity by 2040, Donoghue worries that the state now finds itself with limited options to get there. 'We're going to be exceptionally challenged to meet those goals,' she said, adding that the combination of L.D. 1777 and Trump's 'Big, Beautiful' Act adds 'insult to injury.' ___ This story was originally published by The Maine Monitor and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
First Solar and UbiQD Sign a Long-Term Quantum Dot Supply Contract
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) is among the 13 Best Electrical Infrastructure Stocks to Invest In. UbiQD announced a multi-year exclusive agreement to deliver its unique quantum dot (QD) nanotechnology to First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) on July 9, 2025. A solar panel farm with an orange sky illuminating the vast landscape. The partnership facilitates the incorporation of QD materials into First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)'s thin-film bifacial photovoltaic modules and is the first high-volume QD supply agreement outside the display industry. Furthermore, the businesses extended their research and development partnership with the goal of maximizing the effectiveness of solar panels for utility-scale applications. According to UbiQD, manufacturing will increase to more than 100 metric tons per year. CEO Hunter McDaniel described the agreement as an important turning point for the US quantum dot business. Markus Gloeckler, CTO of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR), noted how QD might significantly improve the efficiency of bifacial modules. The collaboration follows UbiQD's $20 million Series B fundraising in April 2025, which funds the building of a sizable QD manufacturing plant in New Mexico, promoting material efficiency and indigenous solar innovation. While we acknowledge the potential of FSLR as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 High-Growth EV Stocks to Invest In and 13 Best Car Stocks to Buy in 2025. Disclosure. None. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Wells Fargo Raises PT on Enphase Energy, Inc. (ENPH) from $42 to $45
Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH) is included in our list of the . An assembly line of lithium-ion batteries for energy storage solutions with workers in the background. While the second-quarter performance of Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH) showed steady growth, the company's forward-looking momentum gained analysts' attention. The company reported financial results for Q2 2025 on July 22, 2025. The company continued its growth in energy resilience and smart home integration with $363.2 million in revenue, 1.53 million microinverters shipped, and record IQ Battery volumes in the second quarter. Although Q2 guidance remains soft, Wells Fargo, on July 24, 2025, increased its price target on ENPH from $42 to $45, citing improved clarity for 2026 and long-term growth potential. Digging deeper into the company's Q2 performance, Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH) expanded its global footprint. Its IQ EV chargers reached more European markets, and balcony solar kits were launched in Belgium and Germany. Furthermore, by securing tax incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act, the company progressed well with its U.S. manufacturing. With 2026 expected to be a critical year for the company, it is included in our list of cheap lithium stocks. Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH) is a global energy technology company, supplying microinverter-based solar and battery systems. It is included in our list of cheap lithium stocks. While we acknowledge the potential of ENPH as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 14 Cheap Transportation Stocks to Buy According to Analysts and 10 Cheap Lithium Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds. Disclosure: None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
As rooftop solar gets hammered, virtual power plants offer a way forward
The rooftop solar industry is facing an unprecedented crisis. Utilities are cutting incentives. Major residential solar installers and financiers have gone bankrupt. And sweeping legislation just passed by Republicans in Congress will soon cut off federal tax credits that have supported the sector for 20 years. But the fact remains that solar panels — and the lithium-ion batteries that increasingly accompany them — remain the cheapest and most easily deployable technologies available to serve the ever-hungry U.S. power grid. Sachu Constantine, executive director of nonprofit advocacy group Vote Solar, thinks that the rooftop solar and battery industries can survive and even thrive if they focus their efforts on becoming 'virtual power plants.' Hundreds of thousands of battery-equipped, solar-clad homes across the country are already storing their renewable energy when it's cheap and abundant and then returning it to the grid when electricity demand peaks and utilities face grid strains and high costs — in essence, acting as 'peaker' power plants. In places like Puerto Rico and New England, these VPPs have demonstrated their worth in recent months, preventing blackouts and lowering costs for consumers, and the approach could be scaled up dramatically. 'If we do that, despite the One Big Beautiful Bill, despite the headwinds to the market, there is space for these technologies,' Constantine said. Right now, there aren't many other options for meeting soaring energy demand, he added. The megabill signed by President Donald Trump this month undermines the economics of the utility-scale solar and battery installations that make up the vast majority of new energy being added to the grid. And despite the Trump administration's push for fossil fuels, gas-fired power plants can't be built fast enough to make up the difference. Meanwhile, the U.S. power grid has not expanded quickly enough, increasing the risk of outages and subjecting Americans to the burden of rising utility rates, Constantine said. State lawmakers and utility regulators are under growing pressure to find solutions. Solar and batteries, clustered in small-scale community energy projects or scattered across neighborhoods, may be 'the only viable way to meet load growth' from data centers, factories, and broader economic activity, Constantine said. And by relieving pressure on utility grids, they can help bring down costs not just for those who install them, but for customers at large. Where VPPs are already saving the day This summer has brought new proof of how customers can turn their rooftop solar systems and batteries to the task of rescuing their neighbors from energy emergencies. Over the past two months, Puerto Rico grid operator LUMA Energy has relied on participants in its Customer Battery Energy Sharing program to prevent the grid from collapsing. 'Last night we successfully dispatched approximately 70,000 batteries, contributing around 48 megawatts of energy to the grid,' LUMA wrote in a July 9 social media post in Spanish. Amid a generation shortfall of nearly 50 MW, that dispatch helped avert 'multiple load shedding events' — the industry term for rolling blackouts. Puerto Ricans have been installing solar and batteries at a rapid clip since 2017, when Hurricane Maria devastated the island territory's grid and left millions of people without power, some for nearly a year. 'There were tens of thousands of batteries already there that just needed to get connected in a more meaningful way,' said Shannon Anderson, a policy director focused on virtual power plants at Solar United Neighbors, a nonprofit that helps households organize to secure cheaper rooftop solar. 'The numbers have been really proven out this summer in terms of what it's been able to do.' Puerto Rico's VPPs are managed by aggregators — companies that install solar and battery systems and control them to support the grid. Tesla Energy, one such aggregator, provides live updates on how much the company's Powerwall batteries are contributing to the system at large. The impacts of distributed solar and batteries aren't always so easy to track — but clean-energy advocates are busy calculating where they're making a difference. During last month's heat wave across New England, as power prices spiked and grid operators sought to import energy from neighboring regions, distributed solar and batteries reduced stress on the grid. Nonprofit group Acadia Center estimated that rooftop solar helped avoid about $20 million in costs by driving down energy consumption and suppressing power prices. A good portion of that distributed solar operates as part of the region's VPPs. The ConnectedSolutions programs run by utilities National Grid and Eversource cut demand by hundreds of megawatts during summer heat waves. And Vermont utility Green Mountain Power has been a vanguard in using solar-charged batteries as grid resources at a large scale, in concert with smart thermostats, EV chargers, and remote-controllable water heaters. All told, that scattered infrastructure gives the company 72 extra megawatts of capacity to play with during grid emergencies. Mary Powell, who led Green Mountain Power's push into VPPs before that term had caught on, left to become CEO of Sunrun, the country's largest residential solar installer, in 2021. Choosing to hire Powell indicated the company's growing interest in becoming something of a solar-powered utility. This summer, Sunrun dispatched hundreds of megawatts from more than 130,000 batteries across California, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Puerto Rico. It recently expanded into Texas' competitive energy, in partnership with Tesla. 'We are living in the future of virtual power plants in places like Puerto Rico, and California, and New England, and increasingly Texas,' said Chris Rauscher, Sunrun's head of grid services and electrification. 'It's just about other states putting that in place in their territories and letting it run.' Getting states to embrace VPPs Sunrun, Vote Solar, and Solar United Neighbors have been working for the last year to advance state policies that support VPPs. So far this year, the groups have promoted model VPP legislation in states including Illinois, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, and Virginia. In May, Virginia passed a law requiring that utility Dominion Energy launch a pilot program to enlist up to 450 megawatts of VPP capacity, including at least 15 MW of home batteries, Anderson said. The legislative effort has had less luck in New Mexico and Minnesota, where bills failed to advance, Anderson said. In Illinois, a proposed bill did not pass during the regular legislative session, but advocates hope to bring it back for consideration during the state's 'veto session' this fall, she said. A lot more batteries are being added to rooftop solar systems in Illinois, Anderson noted — a byproduct of the state clawing back net-metering compensation for solar-equipped customers starting this year. Similar dynamics have played out in Hawaii and California after regulators reduced the value of solar power that customers send back to the grid, making batteries that can store extra power and further limit customers' grid consumption much more popular. Rooftop solar advocates have fought hard to retain net-metering programs across the country. But Jenny Chase, solar analyst with BloombergNEF, noted that most mature rooftop solar markets have shifted away from rewarding customers for sending energy back to the grid at times when it's not needed. 'In some ways that's justified, because net metering pushes all responsibility and cost of intermittency onto the utility,' she said. VPPs flip this dynamic, turning rooftop solar and batteries from a potentially disruptive imposition on how utilities manage and finance their operations to an active aid in meeting their mission of providing reliable power at a reasonable cost. Utilities have traditionally been leery of trusting customer-owned resources to meet their needs. But under pressure from lawmakers and regulators, they're starting to embrace the possibilities. In Minnesota, utility Xcel Energy has proposed a 'distributed capacity procurement' program that would allow it to own and operate solar and batteries installed at key locations, letting the company defer costly grid upgrades. Rooftop solar advocates have mixed feelings about the proposal, given their longstanding complaints about Xcel's track record of making it more difficult for customers and independent developers to build their own solar and battery systems. Similar tensions are at play in Colorado, where Xcel is under state order to build distributed energy resources like rooftop solar and batteries into how it plans and manages its grid. This spring, Xcel launched a project with Tesla and smart-meter company Itron aimed at 'taking these thousands of batteries we have connected to this system over time and [being] able to use them to respond to local issues,' Emmett Romine, the utility's vice president of customer energy and transportation solutions, told Canary Media in an April interview. But waiting for utilities to deploy the grid sensors, software, and other technology needed to perfectly control customers' devices runs the risk of delaying the growth of VPPs, Anderson said. Simpler approaches like those being taken in Puerto Rico — where aggregators manage VPPs — can do a lot of good quickly. 'Once you get that to scale, there will be a lot of learnings for the next stage,' she said Blunting the impact of tax credit cuts State- and utility-level incentives that encourage individuals to participate in VPPs are also a vital countermeasure against the damage incurred by the 'big, beautiful bill' passed by Republicans this month, Anderson said. Under that law, households will lose a 30% tax credit that offsets the cost of solar, batteries, and other home energy systems by the end of this year. However, companies such as Sunrun and Tesla will retain access to tax credits for solar systems that they own and provide to customers through leases or power purchase agreement structures, as long as they begin construction by mid-2026 or are placed in service by the end of 2027. And tax credits for batteries remain in place until 2033 for these companies. VPP programs can't make up for the loss of the tax credit for customers who haven't yet installed solar or batteries, Anderson said. But by financially rewarding participants, they can help consumers recoup initial costs, she said, as long as they aren't hampered by ineffective state policies. 'Folks can earn over $1,000 a summer through [some VPPs],' she said. 'You couple in the leasing model for solar and storage, which is going to get a little more popular in the aftermath of the bill,' due to its ability to continue to earn tax credits, 'and I think it's a pretty good way to get batteries for low or no cost up front.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
