1. Solar is helping schools save big. Your district could be next.

Learning: "PPAs have helped schools meet virtually all their power needs with solar: Wayne County, West Virginia, expects to cover 99 percent of its electricity demand by next year with a solar PPA and to trim its utility bills by 10 to 20 percent. School districts in other states, including California, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, expect to save tens of millions of dollars over the next few decades. These lower energy bills have helped schools redirect money toward chronic budget deficits, teacher salaries, and even clean energy job-training programs."

Implication: "PPAs and other forms of third-party solar ownership are legal in only 29 states and Washington, D.C., owing to a mix of utility pushback and state policy stagnation. For schools that can’t tap the sun this way, there are other ways to bring down the cost of buying solar, from federal tax credits to state grant programs."

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2. New Orleans might create a virtual power plant. Here's what that means

Learning: "New Orleans City Council OK'd a $32 million plan last week to create a virtual power plant.

If and when it gets up and running, the city would be able to tap into a new networked back-up energy source when emergencies strain the traditional grid.

Implication: "No one has a good number for how many batteries already exist in the market, Burke says, but she's heard from solar panel installation companies that about 70% of customers also opt to get a battery installed, too.

It's not a done deal yet. City Council's move approved a stakeholder process to keep exploring the idea, but proposals are expected by the end of the year."

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3. Sunrun in discussions to supply data centers across the US with solar power

Learning: "US-based solar developer Sunrun is in discussions with several data center developers about supplying their facilities with distributed solar power.

...Chief executive Mary Powell said the firm is looking at “a couple different cool models,” which could provide data centers with bespoke solar systems or leverage Sunrun's existing systems in local communities to power the installations."

Implication: "Sunrun’s potential entry into the market comes as data centers increasingly seek clean power agreements with renewable companies to power their operations.

The US solar market has seen exponential growth over the past decade, with more than eight times the capacity today compared to 2014.

This is reflected in data center hotspots such as Virginia, which saw a massive jump from 2020, when solar produced 1,584GWh, to 6,072GWh in 2023."

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4. Terrasmart and Melink Solar Shine Solar Energy on Cincinnati Zoo

Learning: "Terrasmart, the renewable energy arm of Gibraltar Industries, and Melink Solar, a commercial solar engineering, procurement, and construction company... (competed) the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden’s new solar carport."

Implication: "To help offset energy poverty in the neighborhood, the zoo also has financed an additional 165 kilowatts of solar panels through its Community Solar Resiliency Program to support smaller installations at local churches, community centers, and schools."

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5. A new solar-storage project is powering Amazon data centers. It took 7 years to get online

Learning: "More than seven years after AES first filed a request for interconnection in CAISO, Baldy Mesa, a massive solar-plus-storage project in southern California, came online this summer to power Amazon’s data centers in the region."

Implication: "AES still believes the trifecta of renewables, storage, and AI is a winning one for them."