By  Maxine Joselow , The New York Times. The New York Times. Excerpt: “Nobody wants a full blanket ban or zero exports of diesel,” [Energy Secretary Chris] Wright said. ...Asked why he did not see a brighter future for solar energy in the United States, Mr. Wright said, “Every day, actually, the sun goes down, it doesn’t produce power at all.” While it is true that solar panels can only produce power when the sun is shining, enormous batteries can store excess electricity generated during the day for use around the clock. Mr. Wright also defended the Energy Department’s cancellation of more than $7.5 billion in grants for clean energy projects in states that had voted for Democrats. He told Congress in June that politics had nothing to do with the decision. Federal officials later acknowledged in court documents that they had rescinded the funding “based solely” on political considerations....  Full article at https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/climate/chris-wright-trump-ener...

By NRDC Nature's Voice Fall 2026 issue.  Excerpt: This past April marked the first time ever that wind and solar power accounted for more electricity generation than gas worldwide, with the two renewable sources responsible for 22 percent of global electricity generation versus 20 percent from gas. …just five years ago, in aApril 2021, gas accounted for nearly twice the electricity generation as wind and solar. As for the United States, May was the first month that solar provided more power than coal.  From https://issuu.com/nrdc/docs/nature_s_voice_fall_2026 . 

By Ian James , Los Angeles Times.  Excerpt: A newly passed California bill would let farmers in water-stressed regions convert fallowed fields to solar arrays without paying steep exit fees on long-standing farmland protection contracts. The measure targets Central Valley and Central Coast lands facing strict groundwater pumping limits, offering a lifeline for growers as climate change deepens droughts. Supporters say shifting unproductive cropland to clean energy will help California meet its 100% renewable power goal, while farm groups warn of losing valuable agricultural land....  Full article at https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2026-09-02/farmland-solar-bill . 

By Sead Fadilpasic, BGR.  Excerpt: When you hear the word Romania, what first springs to mind is probably medieval castles or the legendary Count Dracula. Now, you can add renewable energy to the list. According to Balkan Green Energy News, Romania will finally become home to the largest solar power project in the entire EU. Rezolv Energy, the company behind the project, got the green light from the Romanian Energy Regulatory Authority to move forward with constructing a massive solar site in Romania's Arad province: the Dama Solar. Spain's Iberian Peninsula solar panels already produced a surplus of energy in 2026, and England is investing heavily in solar farms. Now Europe has a new green energy haven, it seems. Valued at approximately 520 million euros, this single facility will take up over 2,400 acres of land in the northwest and will be powerful enough to deliver peak capacity of as many as 1.3 gigawatts. For reference, Germany's Witznitz, currently the biggest facili...

By Preeti Jha , Semafor.  Excerpt: Africa is set for a record year of solar installations, according to new analysis. The continent is on track to install 17 gigawatts of solar in 2026 , up 45% year-on-year, according to the global energy think tank Ember and the African Tech Futures Lab. ...International Renewable Energy Agency...IRENA said solutions such as solar mini-grids were “ crucial for expanding access to dispersed and underserved populations ” in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, and Senegal, where rural electrification rates can range from 2% to 10% in certain areas. Inadequate energy and infrastructure investment has meant nearly 600 million people in Africa still lack access to electricity. Many countries are turning to the potential of solar power: Last year, Nigeria struck a $200 million deal with a renewable energy company to connect rural areas with solar mini-grids....  Full article at https://www.semafor.com/article/08/28/2026/africa...

By Quinn Glabicki , The New York Times.  Excerpt: More than 3,000 miles of railways crisscross the Swiss countryside, linking Alpine villages to big cities like Zurich and Geneva. It’s the most dense rail network in Europe. Now, a start-up company and a local rail operator have found a way to use that land to generate clean electricity: Lay solar panels between the rails. Starting last April, in the shadow of a craggy mountaintop in the village of Buttes, the company, Sun-Ways, began running a test project on a short stretch of track that proved the idea can work. Similar projects are now expanding to France, Italy and South Korea....  Full article at https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/28/climate/solar-power-railway-train-tracks.html . 

By Ivan Penn , The New York Times.  Excerpt: California lawmakers passed a bill late Wednesday that would allow residents to install solar panels that can be plugged into standard electrical outlets in a bid to lower their electricity costs and reduce their contribution to climate change. The bill passed with broad bipartisan support in both chambers of the Legislature despite opposition from the state’s investor-owned utilities, highlighting the growing political salience of energy affordability . California has the highest residential electricity rates in the 48 contiguous states, and those prices have climbed sharply in recent years. If Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, signs the measure, California will become one of nearly a dozen states that have legalized plug-in solar systems, often referred to as balcony solar. These systems, typically made up of a handful of panels, first became popular in Germany , where the panels are sold online and in stores. Last year, Utah became the...

By Lucas Smolcic Larson , MLive.  Excerpt: Michigan law allowing renewable energy developers to bypass local opposition by seeking approval for sprawling solar and wind farms at the state level has passed its first test. State regulators approved a settlement agreement between an energy company and three Ingham County townships Thursday, Aug. 27, giving the green light to more than 600-acre solar farm. The Acceleration Solar project was the first to seek review by the Michigan Public Service Commission, under a divisive 2023 law passed by Democrats to speed renewable energy development that had been bogged down by a patchwork of local zoning rules....  Full article at https://www.mlive.com/news/2026/08/first-michigan-solar-farm-to-seek-state-approval-gets-green-light.html . 

By The Economic Times.  Excerpt: Sheep grazing beneath solar panels not only boosts farmer profits but also leads to purer wool. This innovative approach creates shaded environments that retain moisture, thereby enhancing pasture conditions during droughts. Research highlights an increase in nitrogen levels in grasses found under panels, which contributes to improved digestion for the sheep. Nevertheless, successful integration of grazing with solar farms demands careful site planning, influenced by regional and seasonal factors....  Full article at https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/us/news/an-australian-farmer-put-sheep-beneath-solar-panels-he-reported-15-more-wool-and-green-grass-surviving-through-drought/articleshow/133296849.cms . 

By Stephanie Pappas , Scientific American. Excerpt: Forty-seven years ago U.S. President Jimmy Carter stood grinning in front of a set of 32 bulky solar panels. It was 1979, and the oil crisis had sent fuel costs skyrocketing. Carter, in response, was making the White House an example of conservation and alternative energy. “Solar energy will not pollute our air or water,” he said. “We will not run short of it. No one can ever embargo the sun or interrupt its delivery to us.” ...Even before the U.S.-Iran conflict closed the Strait of Hormuz for months, causing fossil-fuel prices to spike, solar was soaring. Last year the world added 600 terawatt-hours of solar photovoltaic generation, enough to power Canada for a year. It was the first time that a renewable source took the top slot in global supply growth. It was also the largest single-year increase for any electricity-generation technology, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). ...Solar Is Now the Cheapest Way to Produc...

By Dan Gearino , Inside Climate News.  Excerpt: Utility-scale solar leads by a mile, followed by batteries. Fossil fuels, not so much. ...368 utility-scale plants that began operation from January to June, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration . The group is dominated by utility-scale solar. This is a top-heavy list, led by SunZia Wind South and SunZia Wind North in New Mexico , which went online this spring and are the largest wind farms in the country, with a combined generating capacity of 3,650 megawatts. ...the story of power plant completions in the first half of 2026 was mainly about utility-scale solar and batteries. Utility-scale solar led in the number of projects coming online, with 207, followed by batteries, with 95. ...If we look at projects in terms of generating capacity, utility-scale solar led with 11,458 megawatts, followed by batteries, 8,207 megawatts, and then onshore wind, mostly because of the SunZia projects, with 5,473 megawatts...

By Leia Larsen , The Salt Lake Tribune.  Excerpt: Utah’s solar generation eclipsed all other electricity sources for the first time ever in May.... Photovoltaic panels in Utah produced nearly 1 terawatt hour in May 2026. That represented nearly a third of all electricity generated in the state that month, according to data from Ember , a global energy think tank. Natural gas generated 32%, coal generated 28% and wind generated 2%. ...Schroeder attributes the trend to several large solar farms coming online in recent years. The 2,500-acre Green River Energy Center in Emery County became operational this spring and includes 400 megawatts of solar generation and 400 megawatts of battery storage. Excelsior Energy Capital’s Faraday Solar project in Utah County started providing up to 685 megawatts for the Meta data center there last fall . ...Solar also supports nearly 8,000 jobs in Utah, according to the latest information from the Solar Energy Industries Association . The state is ...

By Quinn Glabicki , The New York Times.  Excerpt: ...researchers, private enterprise and a public utility in the Central Valley are installing solar panels atop the man-made waterways. ...The pilot program, called Project Nexus, is testing solar canopies that researchers say could generate gigawatts of power and save billions of gallons of water by providing shade that slows evaporation. ...The project grew out of a 2021 study by researchers at the University of California, Merced, .... ...Solar-covered canals aren’t an entirely novel idea. Two were completed more than a decade ago in Gujarat, in western India. And along I-10 south of Phoenix, the Gila River Indian Community built a project in 2024....  Full article at https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/22/climate/california-canals-solar-panels-water-nexus.html .  See also Project Nexus ; news from Governor Newsom ; and UC Newsroom article . 

By Noelle Corbett, BGR.  Excerpt: In addition to supplying clean energy, solar panels have a surprisingly positive impact on degraded land and local wildlife . The panels block the sun, allowing the soil to retain more moisture to the point where China's largest solar farm is changing the desert around it , turning a once dry landscape green with plant life. Animals can also benefit from solar farms, including the San Joaquin kit fox, an endangered species that lives in central California, whose population faces many threats, including habitat loss and predators. ...Researchers examined how the facilities impacted local foxes in two separate studies carried out from 2014–2017, with results published in a 2019 report .... They found that solar farms' fences kept out common predators like bobcats and coyotes, animals too large to fit underneath. Additionally, the solar panels provided shielding from birds of prey like the golden eagle.... Another study carried...out between 2019 ...

By Michelle Lewis , Electrek.  Excerpt: Despite the impression that large solar farms are constantly sparking local fights, a new study from researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst found that most large-scale solar projects in the US move forward with relatively little public opposition. The study, published in the journal Energy Research & Social Science , looked at 686 utility-scale solar projects that came online between January 2022 and November 2023. Researchers found that 56% of the projects fell into “no” or “low” conflict categories, while just 19% experienced high levels of conflict. ...Researchers also found that utility-scale solar projects approved through state-level permitting systems tended to face less conflict than those reviewed under local or hybrid permitting systems. However, Katz cautioned that the study shouldn’t be interpreted as proof that state-level permitting systems are automatically better than local review processes. Instead, she sa...

By Ben Tracy of Climate Central .  Excerpt: ...Unlike traditional rooftop solar, which requires thousands of dollars in upfront costs, specialized mounting hardware and professional electricians, this system is designed for the everyday consumer. It’s a $400 kit from Bright Saver, a non-profit advocating for “plug-and-play” solar that works for renters and homeowners alike. The setup is deceptively simple: you hang the panel on a balcony or prop it up in a back yard and plug it directly into a standard wall outlet. ...While these panels won’t take a home entirely off the grid, Stryker says the units can trim monthly costs by 10% to 25% depending on how many panels a user installs. More savings can be had if the panels are paired with batteries that can store excess solar energy. “They cover a part of your energy bill and then you do need to draw the rest from the grid as you do now,” Stryker said. While the technology is just gaining a foothold in the US, it is already a cultural p...

By TAMMY WEBBER  and  JOSHUA A. BICKEL , Associated Press.  Excerpt: CHRISTIANA, Tenn. (AP) — From a distance, the small solar farm in central Tennessee looks like others that now dot rural America, with row upon row of black panels absorbing the sun’s rays to generate electricity. But beneath these panels is lush pasture instead of gravel, enjoyed by a small herd of cattle that spends its days munching grass and resting in the shade. Silicon Ranch, which owns the 40-acre farm in Christiana, outside of Nashville, believes cattle-grazing is the next frontier in so-called agrivoltaics, which mostly has involved growing crops or grazing sheep beneath the panels. The solar company debuted the project this week and will spend the next year working to demonstrate to farmers that much larger cattle also can thrive at solar sites. If successful, advocates say, that could jump-start new projects to meet the soaring electricity demand driven by rapidly expanding data centers — with...

By Ajit Niranjan , The Guardian.  Excerpt: In one telling of the story, the golden fields of a proud farming nation are under attack. Besieged by an industrial sprawl of solar panels, they are being smothered at the behest of an urban elite. That narrative has failed to thrive in conservative heartlands such as Texas and Hungary, which have embraced solar power while lambasting green rules. But it is taking root in  Denmark , the most climate-ambitious nation on Earth. “We say yes to fields of wheat,” said Inger Støjberg, the leader of the rightwing populist Denmark Democrats in a speech in 2024. “And we say no to fields of iron!” ...in Denmark, which generates 90% of its electricity from renewables and aims to  cut planet-heating pollution  faster than any other wealthy country, the spread of solar power has alarmed some regions in which construction is concentrated. Solar tripled from 4% of Danish power production in 2021 to 13% in 2025. And a handful of villages h...

By Dan Charles , NPR.  Excerpt: A  mammoth solar farm  is moving forward in the heart of California. If built, which seems increasingly likely, it would cover 200 square miles of land and generate 21,000 megawatts of electricity, enough to power entire cities. Huge batteries will store some of that power until it's needed most. Farmers are among the project's backers. They don't have enough water to grow crops on big chunks of their land, and they're looking for new uses for it. "We're farmers, and we would rather farm the ground," says Ross Franson, president of Woolf Farming and Processing, his family's business. "If we had the water to do it, we would farm it. But the reality is, you don't. You have to deal with the cards you're dealt."...  Full article at https://www.npr.org/2026/02/26/nx-s1-5726411/farmers-california-san-joaquin-valley-solar-farm-westlands-water-district-golden-state-clean-energy . 

By YaleEnvironment360.  Excerpt: Last year China installed more than half of all wind and solar added globally. In May alone, it added enough renewable energy to power Poland, installing solar panels at a rate of roughly 100 every second....  Full article at https://e360.yale.edu/digest/china-renewable-photo-essay .