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The federal government is investing in solar. Chinese companies are getting a share of it.

Feb 7, 2024
Chinese manufacturers are building solar panel factories on U.S. soil to avoid tariffs and garner subsidies, reports WSJ's Phred Dvorak.
Subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act are meant to offset some of the costs of manufacturing solar panels in the United States.
Rodrigo Arangua/AFP via Getty Images

To put more renewable power to use, utilities are doubling down on battery storage

Jan 16, 2024
Giant batteries can extend the reach of wind and solar power — which accounted for 22% of electricity generated last year, the EIA says.
Rows of lithium ion batteries that store renewable energy. The EIA expects utility battery storage to nearly double by the end of 2024.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Georgia program offers solar panels to lower-income households

Dec 19, 2023
A Georgia program is seeking to alleviate the financial burden of solar installation to promote green energy.
Solar installer Nicole Lee takes a photo of a house she says is “solar-ready” thanks to its sturdy roof and up-to-date electrical system.
Emily Jones/WABE

Going solar isn't always sunshine and rainbows

For the early adopters of rooftop solar panels, maintaining and repairing faulty panels is a costly challenge of its own.
Many solar panel companies have gone out of business, making it hard for early adopters to repair faulty panels.
adamkaz / Getty Images

Solar a bright spot in slow progress toward U.S. renewable energy goals

Aug 30, 2023
Shipments of solar panels reached a record high last year, though most were imported. They're also getting cheaper.
Solar is projected to grow even more in the next couple of years, largely because of the Inflation Reduction Act.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

In the California desert, old EV batteries now store solar power

Jul 14, 2023
It's a small market so far, but using the excess supply of used batteries could help meet the high demand for stored clean energy.
Used electric vehicle batteries are pulled out of cars and plugged into systems in these trailers to begin their second careers as clean energy storage devices.
Caleigh Wells for Marketplace

The Inflation Reduction Act will generate more than 1 million wind and solar jobs by 2035

Jun 12, 2023
How to staff up the slew of renewable energy projects ushered in under the legislation is a pressing question within the industry.
As renewable energy projects get underway, new jobs will be created in construction and especially in manufacturing. Above, wind turbine blades in New Mexico.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Growth of solar energy and battery capacity yields sunny forecast for the industry

Feb 6, 2023
The federal Energy Information Administration predicts that more than half of the new capacity added to the electric grid this year will be solar.
"Now, there's more incentive and more availability of locations to build new solar projects," an Energy Department spokesman said.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

U.S. industry group commits to $6 billion solar panel buy — on one condition

Jun 22, 2022
(They'll have to be made here in America.)
U.S. companies know how to build solar panels. Sourcing the inputs will take time.
Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images

Biden moves to restore stability of U.S. solar industry

Jun 7, 2022
The president also ruled out solar tariffs for two years on several Asian countries the U.S. imports solar panels from.
Chinese workers producing parts for solar panels. The U.S. has been investigating whether Southeast Asian nations have been laundering Chinese panels, which carry U.S. import tariffs.
STR/AFP via Getty Images