Roomba creator Joe Jones, is at it again. This time he is combining solar power and robotics to weed your garden with a new Kickstarter project called Tertill. Franklin Robotics’ one-month fundraising campaign raised over $312,000, approximately 250 percent above its $120,000 pledge goal. Costing $250 per unit, the company plans to sell and ship Tertills internationally in early 2018.

As part of the SunShot Initiative the Department of Energy (DOE) awarded $46.2 million to 48 early stage solar technology projects designed to bring the cost of solar to 3 cents per kilowatt hour by 2030. The research is expected to leverage an additional $65 million of funding from public and private investors through cooperative agreements.

Residents of La Plata, Maryland are going to experience the benefits of solar, thanks to the construction of the 27.5 megawatt Ripley Solar facility. The new project, slated to come onine in mid-2019, will help rural co-op Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) fulfill its obligation to a state mandated 2.5 percent solar carve-out by 2020.

Fitness buffs in the Sunshine State can now get in shape at the first 24-hour gym powered by solar power. Planet Fitness in St. Petersburg, FL, received a green makeover by installing a 179 kilowatt solar canopy and rooftop array that will supply 99.5 percent of its electricity needs from the sun. In addition to LED lighting fixture upgrades to maximize the gym’s energy efficiency, the solar installation is expected to reduce the gym’s power bill by 99 percent. 

Researchers at North Carolina State University (NC State) are bringing a reliable smart grid closer to reality. The researchers investigated using smart, solid-state transformers (SSTs) to create a stable smart grid that can facilitate the flow of renewable energy sources, like rooftop solar, to and from the grid.

Suntuity Solar is using solar power to raise money for nonprofit organizations with its new nonprofit, Solar For Good. The initiative is a community outreach program to educate homeowners and businesses about the benefits of solar and to donate $500 to one of a number select charities that a customer who goes solar through Suntuity in New Jersey.

Need a quick cellphone charge when you're on the go?  Raleigh, NC's got you covered. Now visitors and residents there can charge their phones at three free solar-powered Soofa Bench charging stations in the downtown area, thanks to the city’s Department of Transportation and Office of Sustainability. The charging stations, placed strategically in high traffic areas, are part of a citywide pilot program to showcase the benefits and convenience of solar power through basic, high demand applications.

A new report has found that expanding community choice energy (CCE) programs and developing larger-scale solar projects in California’s San Joaquin Valley could create 8,400 jobs and $845 million in economic activity between 2019 and 2024 if the region generated only 10 percent of its total capacity with solar. Under the most extreme and optimistic scenario, the report found that at 33 percent solar capacity, an estimated 27,600 jobs and over $2 billion in economic activity could be created during the same years.

It’s the perfect time of year to sit in the sun, watch the grass grow and drink a beer brewed with solar power. Morrisville, VT’s Rock Art Brewery celebrated becoming the first brewery in the Green Mountain State to get all of its energy from solar power by releasing its new Sun Rocked IPA. Electricity generated by its new 67-kilowatt, photovoltaic array, installed by SunCommon, powers every step of the brewing process and will provide the facility with significant energy cost reductions annually.

Massachusetts is looking for solutions to curb peak hour use throughout the Commonwealth by granting nearly $4.7 million to 9 pilot projects. Peak demand throughout Massachusetts is four-percent of its total yearly energy load, yet accounts for over 40 percent of its total energy costs.  The granted projects will integrating renewable energy and natural gas sources with energy storage battery systems and high efficiency management software to reduce the use of expensive and inefficient peaker plants, which are only brought online during peak demand periods.