As community solar projects keep popping up across the US as an alternative to rooftop solar and dirty electricity from the grid. In fact, so many are popping up, people might not even know if they’re eligible to join a nearby project. 

Researchers at Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology, are on the way to developing a unique photovoltaic solar cell that could convert up to 50 percent of the sun’s energy into electricity—which is 70 percent higher than the best single-layer PV cells today. The device would use a photoluminescence material to recapture some of the energy emitted by the sun that other PV devices can’t capture. 

Yesterday (Nov. 23) NRG Energy announced that it completed the acquisition of the largest chunk of SunEdison’s domestic solar and wind power projects. The acquisition of more that 1.5 gigawatts (GWs) of SunEdison’s projects for an initial payment of $124 million, will add to the energy giant’s already substantial portfolio of renewable energy.

Ahead of the election, President-Elect Donald Trump made a stand about coal and oil-and-gas jobs, claiming he wanted to bring them back. But more evidence is showing that coal workers can find work—good work and good pay—in the solar and renewable energy industries. 

At a cost of between $3 per watt and $3.50 per watt, residential solar offers a cost-savings in anywhere from a quarter to half of US states—even without state subsidies. That’s thanks to more financing options and high consumer demand, according to the Department of Energy (DOE).

The final ink is barely dry on the final acquisition agreement with SolaCity, but already Tesla is touting its expansion into renewable energy with the installation of renewable energy-powered microgrid, including a 1.4 megawatt solar power farm and 6-megawatt hours of energy storage on the island of Ta’u in American Samoa, which will provide almost 100 percent of the island’s energy needs.

The Chernobyl area, home to the infamous nuclear meltdown 30 years ago may soon start generating electricity again. However, this time it would come from solar power. The meltdown of the nuclear facility in 1986 contaminated roughly 30 square kilometers or nearly 20 miles with vast quantities of radiation.

By the end of 2015 renewable energy produced 13.8 percent of the US’s electric needs for the grid, coming primarily from hydro, wind and solar power, in that order. That’s according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL’s) 2015 Renewable Energy Data Book. 

The Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative recently launched the new Solar in Your Community Challenge, a competition with $5 million in prizes, which includes a $500,000 grand prize. The new competition challenges communities to develop replicable financial and business models to expand solar in underserved communities. 

Last week the biggest renewable energy news came from Marrakech, Morocco, where world leaders gathered at COP22 to discuss climate change and how the world would fight it. The US and US businesses were there to discuss how they will help fight climate change and support renewable energy. Meanwhile, states in the US continue to solar power rapidly.