Solar for All

Farmers are increasingly combining solar panels with agriculture, using the land beneath and around panels to grow crops or graze sheep. The approach, known as agrivoltaics, lets landowners earn income from both energy and food production while shading plants and livestock from harsh sun. Coverage highlights growing interest as farmers seek to diversify revenue and solar developers seek community-friendly land use.

Google has announced Project Suncatcher, an initiative to place machine learning infrastructure in space, exploring whether solar-powered satellites could host large-scale AI compute. The company published details through Google Research, outlining early testing plans including prototype satellite launches. The announcement has drawn significant attention among technology commentators debating the feasibility, cost, and environmental implications of moving data centers into orbit.

A federal judge in Rhode Island has ordered the Trump administration to restore the $7 billion Solar for All program, which the administration had canceled. The EPA-funded program was designed to bring solar power to low-income households across the country. The ruling marks a setback for the administration's effort to unwind climate spending approved under earlier legislation.

Google is planning to launch an experimental satellite into orbit, marking Big Tech's first concrete move toward building artificial intelligence data centers in space. The idea is to test whether computing infrastructure can operate off-planet, where solar power is constant and cooling constraints differ from Earth. The announcement has drawn wide attention as tech companies scramble for energy to power the AI boom.

The Trump administration cancelled a $7 billion federal solar energy grant program, but a federal judge in Rhode Island has now ordered the program reinstated. The ruling restores funding that had supported solar projects nationwide, and the decision is drawing attention as part of the wider legal battle over the administration's cuts to renewable energy spending.

An analysis piece argues that the shift to solar power, wind energy, and battery storage cannot be separated from politics, examining how policy decisions, regulation, and partisan divides shape the pace of the clean energy transition. It highlights the tensions between technological progress and the political obstacles that determine whether renewables are deployed at scale.

Analysts are warning that solar storms and other space weather events could inflict serious damage on electricity grids and digital infrastructure worldwide. A powerful solar flare or coronal mass ejection could knock out transformers, communications and satellite systems, with the ORF analysis arguing that governments have underprepared for this natural hazard despite growing dependence on interconnected power and digital networks.

New research suggests icy moons in the outer solar system, such as those orbiting Jupiter and Saturn, could retain their subsurface liquid oceans even if their outer ice shells are shattered by giant impacts. If impacts like those that formed some of the moon's craters did not destroy interior oceans, this raises the chances that oceans on worlds like Europa and Enceladus are more resilient than thought, keeping interest high in future missions to icy bodies.

Construction of a solar farm is set to begin in November, according to a BBC report. No details have been given yet on the location, size or capacity of the planned facility, or which companies will carry out the work. The announcement adds to a growing pipeline of solar energy projects as countries push to expand renewable power generation.

Alberta is introducing a $10 fee on new solar panels to pay for a solar panel recycling program described as the first of its kind in North America. The fee will fund the collection and processing of retired panels as installations grow across the province.

During New York Climate Week, attention turned to Indonesia's solar potential in light of rapid solar growth across ASEAN countries and Pakistan's unexpected boom in rooftop and off-grid solar adoption. Observers argue Indonesia can draw on these regional experiences to accelerate its own clean energy transition, reduce reliance on coal, and meet its renewable energy targets faster.

New research indicates Mercury is contracting more quickly than previously estimated. The smallest planet in the solar system has been cooling and shrinking for billions of years, causing its crust to buckle and form cliffs and ridges. The revised findings suggest this process is still active and accelerating relative to earlier models, prompting scientists to rethink how rocky planets cool over time.

Solar power is increasingly being deployed in confined and unconventional spaces as land availability tightens. According to CleanTechnica, developers are fitting panels onto rooftops, car parks, agrivoltaic farmland and other tight corners to keep projects viable amid competition for space. The trend reflects a broader challenge for the energy transition: securing suitable land for large-scale renewables while meeting rising electricity demand.

Renewable sources are now generating 61 percent of Turkey's electricity, according to a report by Informed Comment. The figure is being highlighted against the backdrop of an energy crisis tied to the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for global oil shipments. Turkey's growing reliance on wind, solar and hydro is being framed as insulation from disruptions in Persian Gulf energy supplies.

Researchers have tested underwater solar panels at a depth of ten metres in the South China Sea, according to an industry report. The trial explores whether photovoltaic systems can generate usable power below the surface, where light is weaker but conditions are more stable. Details on efficiency results and which institution led the test have not been released, leaving the technology's practical prospects uncertain.

CPS Energy has brought back its community solar program, allowing San Antonio residents to subscribe to solar energy without installing panels on their own homes. The San Antonio Express-News explains how the program works, including how customers can sign up and what the subscription covers. Interest centers on affordable access to renewable energy for utility customers.

In 2023, New York farmer Tony Emmi began converting 30 acres of productive farmland into a solar field, a project now around three years along. The case highlights the growing tension between agriculture and renewable energy development, as farmers weigh steady lease income from solar companies against preserving usable cropland, a debate playing out across rural New York and beyond.

A California homeowner who was unable to install solar panels has reportedly turned to Tesla's Powerwall 3 battery to cut energy costs, using stored power during PG&E's expensive peak-rate hours. The story is being shared by outlets covering sustainable living and energy savings, highlighting batteries as an alternative route to lower bills when rooftop solar is not an option.