Schools are a great place to install solar power. It’s a showcase of applicable technology for kids to learn from and a great way for cash-strapped school districts to save some money. Case in point, Alta Energy is on its way to helping Poway Unified School District (PUSD) save $250,000 annually in energy costs through a power purchase agreement (PPA). 

Storing the sun’s energy for use later is one of the biggest challenges to making solar power more affordable at this point. That’s why energy storage is becoming such a big issue in the solar industry. Now Stanford University scientists are using photovoltaics to turn water into a chemical capable of storing 30 percent of the sun’s energy over long periods of time.

Based on announced plans from the candidates for the presidency, carbon emissions would rise 16 percent more after two terms under Trump than under Clinton, according to analysis from Lux Research. The analysis firm observed that Clinton’s plans, which include massive scaling of solar power, would help the US continue to reduce its emissions, in accord with the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change—which the US ratified, while Trump’s plans would send emissions rising. 

Florida may be known as the Sunshine State, but utilities aren’t making it easy for the state’s residents to take advantage of the sun to power their homes. That’s because utilities are supporting the controversial Amendment 1, which would make it almost impossible for homeowners to go solar cost effectively. 

The Snake River Alliance, a nuclear watchdog and clean energy advocacy organization, organized a solarize campaign in southwestern Idaho’s Treasure Valley about six months ago. Through the campaign homes and businesses in the region have agreed to install 266 kilowatts of solar surpassing the campaign’s goal of installing 250 kilowatts of solar power. 

Right now students at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) are making a new vehicle at the Prototype Vehicles Laboratory (PROVE Lab) that they hope will be the fastest solar-powered vehicle ever made. That means it has to top the Guinness World Record of 56.75 mph, which was set in 2014, as well as the 23.5 mph record that was set 11 years ago. 

Late Friday (Oct. 28) Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the new Tesla and SolarCity solar roof, in not one, but four unique styles, which are designed to look like traditional roofing. At the same time, he unveiled the Tesla Powerwall 2, its integrated inverter and energy storage system. The systems are designed to make solar homes look indistinguishable from other homes in a neighborhood. 

With 153 new gigawatts of renewables like wind and solar power installed in 2015, the world saw more renewable energy installed in 2015 than coal power installed, for the first time, ever! That’s perhaps the biggest solar news from last week, but even that finding is challenged. It also was a particularly busy time for solar news from New England, with multiple announcements in New York, Connecticut and even the biggest little state, Rhode Island.

Earlier this week International Energy Agency (IEA) issued its Medium-Term Renewable Energy Market Report 2016 showing that the world installed 153 gigawatts of renewable energy in 2015 and that wind and solar will grow from 13 percent of new energy installed now to 60 percent of new energy deployed annually by 2021. Now the Energy Watch Group is challenging those claims, calling it old wine in new bottles. 

Yesterday (Oct. 27) the New York’s Department of Public Services published its recommendations to state regulators for rooftop solar power and other distributed energy resources (DERs). The publication, Staff Report and Recommendations in the Value of Distributed Energy Resources Proceeding, was heralded by solar advocates who observed that the report is a major milestone in the state’s and Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision process.