California Officially Legalizes Balcony Solar, Opening the Market to the New Technology

Models that meet state standards are expected to be on sale in mid-2027.

The new law will exempt plug-in panels from the typical way rooftop solar must be registered with utilities. Instead of paying upwards of a hundred dollars and waiting days to weeks, the new registration process will be free, straightforward, and immediate.

#Solar #Energy #climatechange

https://www.kqed.org/science/2002120/california-officially-legalizes-balcony-solar-opening-the-market-to-the-new-technology

A generous donation of microinverter from #Hoymiles and funding by the City of #Freiburg’s #Solar Summer program ensured that all these systems could be given to citizens free of charge. 

On 23 September, the European-Chinese Smile mission was declared ready to start revealing how #Earth responds to the wind of charged particles from the #Sun.

This video is the first footage to be released from Smile to capture the full ring of northern lights around the North Pole in #ultraviolet light. Smile is now recording the #auroras for a record-breaking 45 hours at a time.

The footage was taken on 24 July 2026. It shows activity in the ring of northern lights due to a disturbance in Earth’s magnetic field caused by a rush of #solar wind #particles.

Because Smile is steadily pointing farther away from Earth and less light is emitted by the North Pole as we are moving towards northern winter, the unwanted light is reducing naturally. It is due to reach a minimum in mid-October.

At that point, Smile would take its first good image of the #magnetopause, where the solar wind meets Earth’s magnetic field, or the northern polar cusp – a hole in the #magnetosphere at the North Pole, where charged solar wind particles get funnelled towards Earth’s surface.

#space #astronomy
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Smile/Science_begins_for_Smile

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Smile’s first ultraviolet footage shows auroral substorm.

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A still image from the same substorm.

Solar Rights Alliance on SB 868 (just signed into law in California)

"...This new Plug-In solar law does three things:

Creates a statewide safety standard for Plug-In solar.

Limits the size of these systems to 1200 watts (about 3-4 panels).

Creates a new rule that lets us use these safety certified systems without having to pay the utility a fee or get permission from the utility.

Millions of households in other countries use these Plug-In systems every day to make their electricity more affordable. In Germany, people can buy these systems online, in hardware stores, and in big box stores like Ikea and Walmart. These portable solar panels come with integrated microinverters, and they can be hung from a balcony, set out on a patio, or placed in a yard, and then safely plugged into a wall outlet.

These Plug-In systems can help renters and homeowners alike immediately lower their energy bill. And now, they’re coming to California!

Here's what to expect next:

The Plug-In solar law goes into effect on January 1st, 2027.
It’ll probably take a few more months after that for manufacturers to get their first round of products certified by safety experts, as the law requires.
We’re keeping a close eye on developments to ensure that you're among the first to know when safe, certified Plug-In solar systems start hitting shelves. ..."

#pluginsolar #solar #climateresilience
#energy

When a falling cost curve meets a rising demand curve, adoption accelerates.

Over the first five months of 2026, utility-scale solar output rose 21.6% from a year earlier, while coal generation dropped 10.9%

Swanson’s Law: Each time the world’s installed solar capacity doubles, the cost of producing it has fallen by about 20%.

Utility-scale solar cost around $359 per megawatt-hour in 2009. By 2026, it sat near $69.

#Solar #energy #infrastructure

https://www.fastcompany.com/91614043/biggest-solar-story-isnt-passed-coal-wind-happens-next

Assuming a 6% rate increase from #LUMA every three years my solar install has a 25-yr ROI of 585%

that's a savings of $171,156 on a $25k investment

#PuertoRico #Solar

Does anyone have need of something like a couple of shoe boxes' worth of (probably mono- or poly- crystalline #silicon) #solar #PV cells, from near #London? ~20yo. Likely free to a good home.

Yesterday's #solar yield carried our system past 10 megawatt-hours of total solar generation.

At end of day yesterday we were at 10004.66 kWh

https://fedi.83n.uk/@solar_stats/34590111071791104 -

@Edent @greg_harvey

I'd like to see a practical and affordable #solar #PV solution for houses whose roofs aren't suitable for panels. Two installers have looked at our roof and walked away. I was hoping that plug-in solar might (ahem) plug the gap, but HMG is limiting it to 800W peak per household, which is nothing if you have a fully electrified house and car, as we have.

I scored two brand new 5kWh batteries, but I need to strip the built in proprietary electronics for my own, so I can tie it into all the rest of the house batteries. So these shiny new BMS with built in active balancing will do the trick! #solar #batteries #renewables

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Two blue rectangular Battery Management Systems (BMS) manufactured by Daly are placed horizontally on a worn, scratched wooden workbench surface. Both units feature a prominent white "DALY" logo with a stylized graphic above it. The top device is labeled as an "8-17S Smart Active Balance BMS." A detailed specification box lists a discharging current of 100A, charging current of 100A, and balance current of 1A. It displays the model code R24TK and a specific BT ID ending in A38E. The bottom unit is nearly identical in design but bears a slightly different BT ID ending in A38F and features a green circular "QC PASS" sticker near the center. Both units have heavy-duty metal terminals on the right side labeled P- and B-, and a white multi-pin connector strip along the left edge with labels including B+, NTC-A, KEY, UART, and CAN/485. At the bottom right of each unit, CE and RoHS 2.0 certification logos are visible. In the top right corner, parts of metal pliers are faintly visible on the table.

In my various retrofit roles, it’s been vital to ensure that solar pv array installs are compliant with UK safety regs.

That means getting a qualified and certified electrician to sign off against it.

The notion that no such sign off with plug in solar is required is baffling when you realise how these systems integrate with your home and it’s wiring:

#Solar
#PlugInSolar

https://niceic.com/news/joint-statement-from-eca,-electrical-safety-first,-iet,-niceic-and-select-on-plug-in-solar-panels/

I am genuinely astounded at how poorly the UK #Labour government has prepared the ground for plug in solar (also known as balcony solar).

It’s as if they have no idea how big the take up has been in other European countries or the notion that this could be a big issue between renters and landlords.

Byline Times helpfully have looked into compliance. Please read before thinking of purchase whether you are a renter, home owner or landlord:

#PlugInSolar
#Solar

https://bylinetimes.com/2026/08/27/the-small-print-ministers-left-out-of-the-plug-in-solar-announcement/

New #blog post - Plug in #solar: Our Performance So Far

With plug-in solar now legally available in the #UK, I thought it might be helpful to share performance figures for the kit that we had hardwired in earlier in the year

https://www.bentasker.co.uk/posts/blog/house-stuff/plug-in-solar-performance-so-far.html

‘Excellent profit’: Meet the Bavarian hop farmer securing his harvest and income with #solar 'hats'

https://www.euronews.com/2026/08/16/can-agri-pv-save-bavarias-hop-gardens-solar-hats-help-fight-climate-crisis #hops #farming #climate

RE: https://bots.grimshaw.house/posts/6a7d8798-64ae-0522-bf5a-61e841c776a4.json

My #solar panels face due west, looking right at last nights #eclipse, you can see the small dip in generation at the end of the day.

More of this, please...!

#Solar companies partnering with #MaineFarmers for land management

by Jamie Azulay, Jul 28, 2026

#HollisME - "#Nexamp, a #RenewableEnergy company with several solar farms in Maine, is working with local farmers to manage the land beneath its panels. In Hollis, Jonathan Tibbetts was contracted to bring his flock of about 40 #sheep to an approximately 20-acre field.

" 'Basically, what their job is, is to keep the grass below the panels,' Tibbetts said. 'When we leave, we don’t necessarily want it to look like a lawn, but we want the vegetation managed.'

"Nexamp leases the land, and it prefers to avoid heavy machinery powered by #FossilFuels to maintain it.

" 'It’s kind of a no-brainer. It’s more #sustainable. The costs are good,' said Keith Hevenor, Nexamp's communication manager. 'It’s safer in a lot of ways than running mechanical mowers through #SolarFields where you can kick up a rock or do some sort of damage.'

"Nexamp is grazing 2,000 acres across sites in the United States. Eighty sites, with a combined 600 acres, are being grazed in Maine. These partnerships keep operations environmentally friendly while also supporting #LocalAgriculture.

" 'Land access for farming is getting harder and harder for every farmer,' Tibbetts said.

"Tibbetts was running out of space on his farm, but now his business is growing with access to the Nexamp field.

" 'I can go out and put sheep on solar and make an income,' he said. 'To me, that’s still agriculture. It’s just not what people are used to.'

"The partnerships reflect a new age of agriculture, which some farmers are adjusting to while others are struggling to accept the changes.

" 'Solar is controversial, but the reality of it is, it’s here,' Tibbetts said.

"Hevenor hopes the critics who say solar companies are stealing farmland eventually come around. He argues the company is only borrowing these fields temporarily.

"State-mandated decommissioning plans allow the land to return to its previous use if that is what the property owner chooses to do.

" 'If you come in here and build an #AmazonWarehouse or a #Datacenter or a neighborhood, it’s permanently gone,' Hevenor said.

"Hevenor said many of the landowners Nexamp leases from are farmers themselves.

" 'I can see how somebody in their 70s who’s just trying to keep the farm and is looking for some type of income, who isn’t able to farm the way they were 20 years ago, it’s an avenue for them to keep their farm,' Tibbetts said.

"Nexamp has fields out of state being grazed by pigs and cattle. Hevenor said that could be a possibility in Maine in the near future."

Watch video:
https://www.wmtw.com/article/solar-companies-maine-land-management-livestock-farmers/73178986

#SolarPunkSunday #MaineFarms #SolarEnergy #RenewablesNow #Agrovoltaics

#solar #solarpunk #solarpower

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Give A Shit About Nature @giveashitnature Just saying, if we lived in a rational society, we wouldn't look down on people who have trouble paying their electric bills. We'd put solar panels on their rooftops to help them out and make the grid stronger.

Europe's nuclear power is increasingly failing amid rising heat and droughts.

France’s nuclear fleet has already seen a record number of heat-related outages this summer. Low river Danube waters forced Romania to shut both its nuclear reactors. Hungary is next.

Isn’t it time they switch to wind and solar already?

https://news.sky.com/story/hungary-to-shut-down-sole-nuclear-power-plant-as-danube-falls-to-record-low-13569304

#wind #solar #renewables #extremeweather #climate #heatwave #drought

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person cycles across a dry riverbed. headline reads: Hungary to shut down sole nuclear power plant as Danube falls to record low

NEW: Renewable energy developer Avangrid has pulled a long-standing and controversial solar project on Washington’s Badger Mountain, a site sacred to Indigenous nations, following years of delays and tribal objections.

By @Toastie
https://www.propublica.org/article/washington-badger-mountain-solar-project-canceled-avangrid?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

#News #Washington #Indigenous #Native #Solar #Energy #RenewableEnergy

Vertical photovoltaic outperforms south-facing?
#solar #renewableEnergy
https://www.autonocion.com/us/frankfurt-airport-solar-panels/

I am pretty amazed, how fast and power efficient even those older Intel N4100 Mini PCs are.
My old Wyse 3040 unfortunatelly died recently, so I had to migrate everything to the more power hungry N4100 system.
But turns out, when you disable the TurboBoost, it's average power consumption is around 1,5 - 2,5W running with Debian and a Podman container with my Website, and some custom scripts for fetching stats by bluetooth and usb for the BMS and Solar Charger. Neat!
#selfhosting #solar #diy

How about a solar powered EV?

https://www.solarkycar.com/

#WeirdCarMastodon #EV #Solar

This is exciting - Monash University (China, Australia, I think?) has developed very cheap and much better solar panels @Feljin @greenparty_ie
https://reneweconomy.com.au/researchers-unlock-new-path-for-ultra-low-cost-solar-by-swapping-out-scarce-and-costly-metal-in-pv-cells/
#solar
(More scientific report https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aef5355

More of this, please...!

Two #Minnesota #SolarFarms seeded #NativeWildflowers under their panels, and 5 years of counting revealed #NativeBees had multiplied twentyfold, then crossed the fence to pollinate the neighbour’s soybeans

by Hugo Rojas, July 14, 2026

Read more:
https://www.ecoportal.net/en/two-minnesota-solar-farms-native-wildflowers/29160/

#SolarPunkSunday #GardeningForPolinators #Wildflowers #NativeGrasses #SolarPunk #Solar

Just installed Solar Assistant on a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W and for the first time I think I am understanding my solar set up. Good piece of software this.

https://solar-assistant.io/

#solar #selfhosting #software

https://www.pveurope.eu/e-mobility/france-rules-mandatory-solar-car-parks

#solar #solarandwind #solarcanopy #solarcanopies #cleanenergy #cleanair #sustainability #greenenergy #climatechange #bigoil #bigoilandgas

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FACTS THEY DON'T TEACH YOU. With Solar Canopies on large parking lots, France generates electricity like 10 nuclear power plants while cooling cars. The USA could harness 800 million uncovered spaces similarly.

Irish Times: “Craig Morris of the German Association of #PluginSolar said one in 10 German households now had plug-in solar.

“irelandman firefighters’ association and insurance firms have said there is no increased risk from plug-in solar,” he said.”

https://www.irishtimes.com/environment/2026/07/15/rules-for-plug-in-solar-panels-being-finalised-but-not-before-end-of-summer/

#ireland #solar

Spoke to my 81 yr old mother today who cursed both the federal and provincial governments on their lack of climate action. She can’t believe we’re building pipelines instead of wind and solar. Folks, even the boomers are coming around! #ClimateChange #ClimateEmergency #Fires #Carney #DougFord #Boomers #Wind #Solar

@quixoticgeek Running electricity into a site first, and even trucking in containerised batteries - shuttling two or three or 34 between site and chargepoint for a bigger effort - has merit.
I happen to know of 42MWp of unused electricity in North Devon ...

(I own 2kW of it. )

It reminds me of the old saying that the bandwidth of a station-wagon full of backup tapes on a motorway is hard to beat.

#solar #trucking

Now I'm on a long train ride home, time to post a follow up thread answering some of the themes in the responses to my Solar railways thread I posted on the train I started this trip on.

A lot of the replies were along the lines of alternative railway related places to put solar panels. So I'm going to focus on those.

#Solar

1/n

I've done a few posts about bad railway solar, so time for a photo of good railway solar. This bike parking shelter has a load of solar panels on the roof, that have short cable runs, are easy to clean, easy to do maintenance on, and generate a good proportion of the power as the stupid between the rails solar I moaned about the other day. The brick building has no solar on the roof yet, so lots of potential.

#Solar

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A photo of the bike storage at a DB station. On the left is a wooden shelter with solar panels on the roof. A big coniferous tree is next to it. In the centre of shot is a bike shelter, on the right is a red brick station building. In the background is a high metal tower for overhead power.

Thinking about the efforts of techbros to cram solar into all sorts of highly inappropriate places (between railway tracks, surface of roads, cycle lanes, a bench) is a bit like their attempts to cram AI into all sorts of inappropriate places. No I don't need an ai light switch. Etc...

#Solar #FuckAI

And todays gadget solar is this bench spotted outside Halle (Saale) Hbf. Whilst not quite as bonkers an idea as solar between the tracks (see previous rant). The extra ruggedisation required for the panels to make them suitable for sitting on seems an expensive way of doing solar. I find myself wondering if a larger panel that acted as a shade for the seating would not be a better option.

#Solar.

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A bench with three solar panels embedded in the top surface. On the end is the text "solar power bank"

I'm looking into complete #heating system inc #SolarPV + diverter or PVT while renovating an old property which currently lacks heating.

All walls will have improved isolation but I'm not sure whether a #HeatPump is a good idea as we like it warm ~23C, so oil is the alternative.

The house is mostly North facing (in SW UK), has a very old core (40cm stone walls) a less old section and two 1970's era extensions. A mixed bag!

Thoughts and hashtags to follow welcome.

#Renovation #Solar

More baby steps on UK plug in #solar

Core of the interim standard is basically DIN VDE V0126-95 with tweaks for the UK.

Max 800W per house, doesn't yet cover batteries but otherwise really isn't terribly interesting.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a31167d15f2a70fac7e6026/plug-in-solar-interim-product-specification.pdf