Commercial Solar Guy
@commercialsolarguy.com
Solar (tech/finance/project) news.
Consult/Develop/Construct: https://commercialsolarguy.com/
Editor: https://pv-magazine-usa.com/author/johnweaver/
Professional: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnfitzgeraldweaver
Born 336.74
Cambridge, MA, USA, Earth
Consult/Develop/Construct: https://commercialsolarguy.com/
Editor: https://pv-magazine-usa.com/author/johnweaver/
Professional: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnfitzgeraldweaver
Born 336.74
Cambridge, MA, USA, Earth
Pinned
Melissa Hortman, who was assassinated last night, was the Speaker of the Minnesota House in the 2023-2024 session, when Democrats ran the state government.
That means she had a leading role in shepherding the many landmark reforms that Dems adopted in that period—an important legacy. Brief 🧵.
That means she had a leading role in shepherding the many landmark reforms that Dems adopted in that period—an important legacy. Brief 🧵.
Thank you Representative Hortman
Apparently, when you plug all these things together in a very certain order - you can use photons to power the world.
Good morning. :-)
Good morning. :-)
January 6, 2026 at 5:43 PM
Apparently, when you plug all these things together in a very certain order - you can use photons to power the world.
Good morning. :-)
Good morning. :-)
We knew in 1979
Here's all 8 pages of CO2 Newsletter Vol 1 no 1 (Oct 1979)
Geologist William N. Barbat published the Newsletter for 3 years (18 issues). They are incredible - detailed, precise and, ultimately, heart-breaking because they reveal how much was known, how many warnings were ignored.
1/8
Geologist William N. Barbat published the Newsletter for 3 years (18 issues). They are incredible - detailed, precise and, ultimately, heart-breaking because they reveal how much was known, how many warnings were ignored.
1/8
January 6, 2026 at 2:52 PM
We knew in 1979
Maybe the lowest interconnection costs we've gotten on a pair of 499 kWac solar power projects. Just awesome for this customer.
January 5, 2026 at 8:52 PM
Maybe the lowest interconnection costs we've gotten on a pair of 499 kWac solar power projects. Just awesome for this customer.
‘will begin using base metals instead of silver in its solar cells…mass production of solar products using base metals is expected to start in the second quarter…silver has accounted for 14% of solar module production costs, up from 5% two years ago…cost could be cut by 0.02 yuan/watt ($0.003/W)’
China’s Longi to Replace Silver in Solar Panels to Reduce Costs
LONGi Green Energy Technology Co. will begin using base metals instead of silver in its solar cells, marking a major shift as surging prices of the precious metal increase cost pressure on manufacture...
www.bloomberg.com
January 5, 2026 at 2:16 PM
‘will begin using base metals instead of silver in its solar cells…mass production of solar products using base metals is expected to start in the second quarter…silver has accounted for 14% of solar module production costs, up from 5% two years ago…cost could be cut by 0.02 yuan/watt ($0.003/W)’
‘first time there’s been a four-month increase in (small scale solar rooftop install) volumes recorded since November 2023…key driver of this end-of-year surge is clearly that the solar industry is riding the coattails of the battery boom…average system size increased again to 11.57 kW, +0.76 kW’
Rooftop solar installs rise as households turn to bigger systems
Australia’s rooftop solar market climbed by 22% in the past month with the latest data revealing that 334 MW of small-scale PV capacity was installed on household and business roofs across the country...
www.pv-magazine-australia.com
January 5, 2026 at 2:12 PM
‘first time there’s been a four-month increase in (small scale solar rooftop install) volumes recorded since November 2023…key driver of this end-of-year surge is clearly that the solar industry is riding the coattails of the battery boom…average system size increased again to 11.57 kW, +0.76 kW’
China: ‘country had installed 274.89 GWac PV within 11M 2025…22.02 GWac capacity additions in the month of November 2025…total installations from 2024, >277 GWac’
December numbers *not* going to be like last year, based on slower module demand in recent months.
taiyangnews.info/markets/chin...
December numbers *not* going to be like last year, based on slower module demand in recent months.
taiyangnews.info/markets/chin...
January 5, 2026 at 2:08 PM
China: ‘country had installed 274.89 GWac PV within 11M 2025…22.02 GWac capacity additions in the month of November 2025…total installations from 2024, >277 GWac’
December numbers *not* going to be like last year, based on slower module demand in recent months.
taiyangnews.info/markets/chin...
December numbers *not* going to be like last year, based on slower module demand in recent months.
taiyangnews.info/markets/chin...
Donut Lab launching a solid state battery with serious density, and a 100,000 (infinite) cycle count.
• 400 Wh/kg energy density
• Five-minute full charge
• Up to 100,000 cycles
• >99% capacity retained in -30°C
• Lower $ vs lithium-ion
www.linkedin.com/posts/donutl...
• 400 Wh/kg energy density
• Five-minute full charge
• Up to 100,000 cycles
• >99% capacity retained in -30°C
• Lower $ vs lithium-ion
www.linkedin.com/posts/donutl...
January 5, 2026 at 1:22 PM
Donut Lab launching a solid state battery with serious density, and a 100,000 (infinite) cycle count.
• 400 Wh/kg energy density
• Five-minute full charge
• Up to 100,000 cycles
• >99% capacity retained in -30°C
• Lower $ vs lithium-ion
www.linkedin.com/posts/donutl...
• 400 Wh/kg energy density
• Five-minute full charge
• Up to 100,000 cycles
• >99% capacity retained in -30°C
• Lower $ vs lithium-ion
www.linkedin.com/posts/donutl...
‘16.8 MW facility, located off Goto City features eight 2.1 MW turbines mounted on hybrid spar-type floaters…first commercial deployment of the hybrid spar-type floaters technology in the world…steel upper section with a concrete lower section’
constructionreviewonline.com/japans-first...
constructionreviewonline.com/japans-first...
January 5, 2026 at 12:48 PM
‘16.8 MW facility, located off Goto City features eight 2.1 MW turbines mounted on hybrid spar-type floaters…first commercial deployment of the hybrid spar-type floaters technology in the world…steel upper section with a concrete lower section’
constructionreviewonline.com/japans-first...
constructionreviewonline.com/japans-first...
So, ladies, if I were to propose to you with a bucket of silver - would I have a chance?
January 5, 2026 at 3:39 AM
So, ladies, if I were to propose to you with a bucket of silver - would I have a chance?
‘impact on PV cell makers brutal: every RMB1,000/$142/kg silver adds RMB0.01/$0.00142/W to costs…some have seen daily cost jumps of RMB0.016/0
$0.023/W, pushing them from "production cuts to protect…Eging PV halted operations—becoming first mid-sized player to fall victim to the "silver crisis."’
$0.023/W, pushing them from "production cuts to protect…Eging PV halted operations—becoming first mid-sized player to fall victim to the "silver crisis."’
January 5, 2026 at 3:37 AM
‘impact on PV cell makers brutal: every RMB1,000/$142/kg silver adds RMB0.01/$0.00142/W to costs…some have seen daily cost jumps of RMB0.016/0
$0.023/W, pushing them from "production cuts to protect…Eging PV halted operations—becoming first mid-sized player to fall victim to the "silver crisis."’
$0.023/W, pushing them from "production cuts to protect…Eging PV halted operations—becoming first mid-sized player to fall victim to the "silver crisis."’
‘$285 million cash transaction…979 MW utility-scale solar assets…650 MW operational, 100 MW advanced construction, 225 MW early-stage construction, expected operation by 2027…implied enterprise value ~$575 million, assumption of $260 million in project-level debt, $30 million committed investments’
Nofar USA wins bid to acquire solar assets of bankrupt Pine Gate Renewables
The $285 million acquisition of utility-scale assets follows a Chapter 11 filing by the major North Carolina developer as it navigates a restructuring process for its development pipeline.
pv-magazine-usa.com
January 4, 2026 at 5:50 PM
‘$285 million cash transaction…979 MW utility-scale solar assets…650 MW operational, 100 MW advanced construction, 225 MW early-stage construction, expected operation by 2027…implied enterprise value ~$575 million, assumption of $260 million in project-level debt, $30 million committed investments’
‘stop work order at the $11.3bn CVOW is costing the developer $5m a day on vessels alone, Dominion disclosed in a court filing…Dominion added that the costs of the shutdown are already being incurred by ratepayers in the state of Virginia…denied emergency injunction’
renews.biz/106172/domin...
renews.biz/106172/domin...
January 4, 2026 at 10:16 AM
‘stop work order at the $11.3bn CVOW is costing the developer $5m a day on vessels alone, Dominion disclosed in a court filing…Dominion added that the costs of the shutdown are already being incurred by ratepayers in the state of Virginia…denied emergency injunction’
renews.biz/106172/domin...
renews.biz/106172/domin...
Google translate:
‘attack on the gas power plant is an act of self-defense& international solidarity with all those who protect the Earth and life…Power outages occurred in the wealthier districts of X, Y, & Z” matter-of-factly stated…We apologize to the less affluent residents of southwest Berlin’
‘attack on the gas power plant is an act of self-defense& international solidarity with all those who protect the Earth and life…Power outages occurred in the wealthier districts of X, Y, & Z” matter-of-factly stated…We apologize to the less affluent residents of southwest Berlin’
We see already the third large-scale power outage in Berlin in three years due to an arson attack: 2024 (Tesla), 2025 (Adlershof), 2026 (Zehlendorf).
Now, 35k households without electricity and often heating for several days, during freezing temperatures.
www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/strom...
Now, 35k households without electricity and often heating for several days, during freezing temperatures.
www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/strom...
January 4, 2026 at 9:47 AM
Google translate:
‘attack on the gas power plant is an act of self-defense& international solidarity with all those who protect the Earth and life…Power outages occurred in the wealthier districts of X, Y, & Z” matter-of-factly stated…We apologize to the less affluent residents of southwest Berlin’
‘attack on the gas power plant is an act of self-defense& international solidarity with all those who protect the Earth and life…Power outages occurred in the wealthier districts of X, Y, & Z” matter-of-factly stated…We apologize to the less affluent residents of southwest Berlin’
Reposted by Commercial Solar Guy
In our village (pop. 7,000) near Utrecht, the Netherlands, you can't get gasoline or diesel anymore; the last fuel station closed years ago. But for EV drivers, there's around 45 public charging posts, and a bunch of Tesla fast-chargers at the edge of the village, near the highway.
January 3, 2026 at 9:47 PM
In our village (pop. 7,000) near Utrecht, the Netherlands, you can't get gasoline or diesel anymore; the last fuel station closed years ago. But for EV drivers, there's around 45 public charging posts, and a bunch of Tesla fast-chargers at the edge of the village, near the highway.
Reposted by Commercial Solar Guy
That DBL Partners paper has the most comprehensive aggregation of subsidy data across technologies that I have found. Too bad there hasn't been an update since 2011! The paper ("What Would Jefferson Do?") is here: www.dbl.vc/resource/wha...
What Would Jefferson Do? — DBL Partners
This paper frames the ongoing debate about the appropriate size and scope of federal subsidies to the energy sector within the rich historical context of U.S. energy transitions, in order to help illu...
www.dbl.vc
January 4, 2026 at 3:31 AM
That DBL Partners paper has the most comprehensive aggregation of subsidy data across technologies that I have found. Too bad there hasn't been an update since 2011! The paper ("What Would Jefferson Do?") is here: www.dbl.vc/resource/wha...
‘We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure,& start making money for the country…would then sell “large amounts” of Venezuelan oil to other countries’
January 3, 2026 at 10:34 PM
‘We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure,& start making money for the country…would then sell “large amounts” of Venezuelan oil to other countries’
Reposted by Commercial Solar Guy
The financial superiority of renewables over fossil fuels, and in particular their superior capital efficiency, was a major theme of the first installment of The Sun Has Won (2022).
www.planetarytech.earth/the-sun-has-...
🔌💡
www.planetarytech.earth/the-sun-has-...
🔌💡
January 2, 2026 at 5:36 PM
The financial superiority of renewables over fossil fuels, and in particular their superior capital efficiency, was a major theme of the first installment of The Sun Has Won (2022).
www.planetarytech.earth/the-sun-has-...
🔌💡
www.planetarytech.earth/the-sun-has-...
🔌💡
The future, is uh, the future dude
"A woman dressed as a pink Power Ranger hacked a dating site for far-right extremists. She deleted the entire site, but first she made users fall in love with AI bots she ran, thus obtaining information about them. Over 8,000 far-right profiles have now been mapped."
En kvinna, utklädd till rosa Power Ranger, hackade datingsida för högerextrema. Hon raderade hela sidan, men först fick hon användarna att bli kära i AI-botar som hon drev och fick på så sätt ut information om dem. Över 8000 högerextrema profiler har nu kartlagts.
cybernews.com/security/inv...
cybernews.com/security/inv...
January 3, 2026 at 7:27 PM
The future, is uh, the future dude
During the startup periods of various energy sources in the USA, researchers have found that fossils have gotten 15X what renewables have received from the feds, and 10X what nuclear has gotten.
January 3, 2026 at 5:53 PM
During the startup periods of various energy sources in the USA, researchers have found that fossils have gotten 15X what renewables have received from the feds, and 10X what nuclear has gotten.
Has the USA launched attacks against a country that hasn’t done anything to us? Again?
Gift link:
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Gift link:
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
January 3, 2026 at 6:46 AM
Has the USA launched attacks against a country that hasn’t done anything to us? Again?
Gift link:
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Gift link:
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
That’s cus there’s no news when things just work.
One negative of hidden away commercial solar is folks have no idea it’s even up there, even those working onsite. How many of you are conscious of HVAC on a big building?
Only time someone calls is when there’s an issue, like the Ghostbusters.
One negative of hidden away commercial solar is folks have no idea it’s even up there, even those working onsite. How many of you are conscious of HVAC on a big building?
Only time someone calls is when there’s an issue, like the Ghostbusters.
There has been lots of press coverage of power outages in SF. But I have yet to see any reporters find homes or businesses with solar + batteries powering through the outages.
@calenergy.bsky.social @sammyroth.bsky.social
@calenergy.bsky.social @sammyroth.bsky.social
January 3, 2026 at 6:37 AM
That’s cus there’s no news when things just work.
One negative of hidden away commercial solar is folks have no idea it’s even up there, even those working onsite. How many of you are conscious of HVAC on a big building?
Only time someone calls is when there’s an issue, like the Ghostbusters.
One negative of hidden away commercial solar is folks have no idea it’s even up there, even those working onsite. How many of you are conscious of HVAC on a big building?
Only time someone calls is when there’s an issue, like the Ghostbusters.
Happy New Year everyone.
The last year has been complex, the next one will be as well.
Here’s to getting it done, via a view from a Wind Turbine technician in Texas.
The last year has been complex, the next one will be as well.
Here’s to getting it done, via a view from a Wind Turbine technician in Texas.
January 2, 2026 at 9:35 AM
Happy New Year everyone.
The last year has been complex, the next one will be as well.
Here’s to getting it done, via a view from a Wind Turbine technician in Texas.
The last year has been complex, the next one will be as well.
Here’s to getting it done, via a view from a Wind Turbine technician in Texas.
Reposted by Commercial Solar Guy
We achieved a reduction of on site gas emissions of >96% for 8 months and 100% for 7 months. This was achieved by swapping out a gas stove, AC and gas water heater for induction, a 3-season HVAC heat pump and domestic water heat pump. 🧪🔌💡☀️💨💧🔋
December 31, 2025 at 2:46 PM
We achieved a reduction of on site gas emissions of >96% for 8 months and 100% for 7 months. This was achieved by swapping out a gas stove, AC and gas water heater for induction, a 3-season HVAC heat pump and domestic water heat pump. 🧪🔌💡☀️💨💧🔋
Reposted by Commercial Solar Guy
Looking back on 2025, this was a big one for us.
3.5 months of radio silence since then, so, yeah, it was harassment.
3.5 months of radio silence since then, so, yeah, it was harassment.
My lab's been attacked by an anti-wind group and their lawyers. They threatened the science funding of my whole university, to shut me and my undergraduate research assistants up.
NYT just covered it. 1/n
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/c...
NYT just covered it. 1/n
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/c...
Law Firm Pressures Brown University to Erase Research on Anti-Wind Groups
www.nytimes.com
December 31, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Looking back on 2025, this was a big one for us.
3.5 months of radio silence since then, so, yeah, it was harassment.
3.5 months of radio silence since then, so, yeah, it was harassment.
Literally, installing our final residential system right now...just got the connections done. Couldn't do it Monday because of rain and low temps, yesterday couldn't do the modules because of high winds...
Ready for a vacation. And I am actually on one right now, and took on in November...
Ready for a vacation. And I am actually on one right now, and took on in November...
December 31, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Literally, installing our final residential system right now...just got the connections done. Couldn't do it Monday because of rain and low temps, yesterday couldn't do the modules because of high winds...
Ready for a vacation. And I am actually on one right now, and took on in November...
Ready for a vacation. And I am actually on one right now, and took on in November...