‘Solar for All’ should mean just that.
by beyondnuclearinternational, https://beyondnuclearinternational.org/2025/10/12/solar-for-all-should-mean-just-that/
An EPA decision to cancel a solar grant to tribal nations is a hard hit, writes Cody Two Bears
The EPA’s decision to cancel its Solar for All grant to our coalition of tribal nations is more than a policy reversal—it’s a gut punch to communities that believed they were finally being seen.
Our coalition of 14 tribal governments spanning North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wisconsin, and Wyoming came together around a once-in-a-generation opportunity: to deploy $100 million in solar infrastructure to more than 3,500 tribal homes, while training Native youth and veterans in a clean energy workforce that could serve their own communities.
That promise is now gone. And we are not alone.
This past month, dozens of other states, cities, and communities—red and blue alike learned that their own Solar for All awards contracts will be terminated. Across the country, tens of thousands of low-income households are being told that the solar systems they were promised won’t be installed. That the jobs and training they applied for may not materialize. That another chance to turn energy burden into energy security has slipped away.
In Indian Country, the pain is particularly deep. We’ve been here before. Our communities are used to being promised opportunities that never arrive. But that doesn’t make this one hurt any less.
Solar for All wasn’t just about installing solar. It was about building a future that Native communities have been fighting for—one where we control our own energy, reduce crushing utility bills, and create jobs that allow our youth to stay and serve their people.
It was about growing Native-owned solar businesses, launching the first tribally led operations and maintenance teams in the Northern Plains, and helping each other stand up community-driven energy programs built to last.
Our coalition’s plan would have installed thousands of solar and battery systems and saved Native households over $300 million over the next 25 years. Those savings matter.
Many tribal households already pay double or even triple what the average U.S. household pays for energy. And just like the rest of the country, we’re bracing for steep increases in electricity rates in the years ahead. In communities where winter electric heating bills can exceed $600, solar isn’t just smart policy—it’s a matter of survival. We knew this wouldn’t be easy. But we showed up anyway. Tribal councils passed resolutions. Apprenticeship programs were designed. Community outreach had already begun. In some communities, program managers had been hired and work was underway.
Now, much of that momentum has been lost.
To say we’re disappointed is an understatement. But we’re not giving up. As tribal nations, we have always walked a harder path—but never without purpose. We remain grounded in our values: self-determination, stewardship, and the belief that our communities deserve to lead in this transition—not be left behind by it.
And we will lead. Solar for All gave us a platform to organize, build relationships, and design solutions tailored to our communities. We are keeping that vision alive—with or without this federal funding. But we won’t pretend this isn’t a major setback.
And we want to be clear: we are doing this anyway.
Because no matter what anyone says about solar, we have the laws of physics and economics on our side. The sun will keep shining. Panels will keep getting cheaper. And every kilowatt we produce locally is one less dollar sent off the reservation. The long-term math is in our favor—and we’re building for that future, even when the politics fall short.
Now is the time for philanthropic partners, private investors, and aligned institutions to step forward and help us carry this work forward. We have the plans, the partnerships, and the people. What we need is support—and the courage from others to believe in this vision, even when Washington doesn’t follow through.
Tribes don’t need handouts. We need the means to build what we’ve already envisioned.
Solar for All was supposed to be just that—for all. For red states and blue, for tribal communities and rural towns, for people who’ve too often been left behind in the energy transition. With its cancellation, a lot of doors just slammed shut.
But we’ll keep knocking. Because this is what leadership looks like in Indian Country: standing up, standing together, and staying the course—especially when the promises are broken.
Cody Two Bears is the Founder and CEO of Indigenized Energy and a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. He is a nationally recognized leader in the movement for tribal energy sovereignty, combining Indigenous knowledge with Western science to bring renewable energy solutions to Native communities. In response to the 2016 #NoDAPL movement, Cody launched Indigenized Energy and led the development of North Dakota’s largest solar project on Standing Rock. A shorter version of this article was published as a letter to the editor in The Washington Post.
Australian Capital Territory went first and fastest to 100 per cent renewables: It now looks like the smartest policy of all
The ACT government continues to reap the rewards for its early and bold
push to 100 per cent renewables, which is now looking like the smartest
policy of all – shielding its residents from the ravages of largely
fossil-fuelled electricity price hikes.
The latest quarterly data assessing
the cost of the ACT government’s commitment to sourcing the equivalent of
its annual demand from wind and solar – which it met on schedule in 2020
– shows the additional cost of the policy in the latest quarter was just
$3 a megawatt hour. Indeed, three of the wind farms contracted by the ACT
government returned significant sums of money (a total of $4.4 million) to
the ACT because the contract prices they agreed to are significantly lower
than current wholesale electricity prices.
Renew Economy 8th Oct 2025, https://reneweconomy.com.au/act-went-first-and-fastest-to-100-per-cent-renewables-it-now-looks-like-the-smartest-policy-of-all/
Poll suggests most Reform UK voters back investment in renewable energy
More than half of Reform UK voters approve of their pensions being
invested in green energy despite the party recently launching a
“renewables war”, a poll suggests.
A survey by YouGov found 79% of
voters overall are in favour of their pensions being invested in renewable
energy, including 53% of Reform UK supporters. The findings have led to
claims that politicians who oppose investment in the sector “have grossly
misjudged” voters’ views. Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice launched
a campaign group called UK Opposes Renewable Eyesores in July, decrying the
“the madness of net stupid zero” and pledging to “go into battle”
against Energy Secretary Ed Miliband.
Nation Cymru 8th Oct 2025, https://nation.cymru/news/poll-suggests-most-reform-uk-voters-back-investment-in-renewable-energy/
Here comes the sun! The solar energy revolution – podcast
Why might authoritarians fear the rise of green energy? With Bill McKibben
Last week Donald Trump let the UN general assembly know exactly what he thought about renewable energy sources. “I’ve been right about everything and I’m telling you that if you don’t get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail,” he said.
Despite this political opposition, in the last 36 months there has been a global revolution in clean energy. The acclaimed environmentalist and writer Bill McKibben explains to Lucy Hough that we have now passed a tipping point when it comes to solar energy, driven by falling prices, widespread innovation and countries’ desire for energy independence.
McKibben outlines how China is becoming the world’s first “electrostate” and argues that while this global shift is too big for the US president to prevent, activism and engagement is still required to reign in the worst excesses of the climate crisis. Finally, McKibben discusses the important role that clean energy may play in loosening the grip of authoritarianism around the world.
Bill McKibben’s new book, Here Comes the Sun, is out now.
Solar becomes main source of electricity in the EU for first time.
More than half of the EU’s electricity in the second quarter of 2025 came from
renewable energy. Solar energy was the main source of electricity in the
European Union for the first time in history in June, according to new
figures. The renewable energy source accounted for 22 per cent of the
electricity generated in the EU, overtaking nuclear energy, which produced
21.6 per cent of the electricity.
The data from Eurostat, the statistical
office of the EU, showed that more than half of the EU’s electricity in the
second quarter of 2025 came from renewables. Three countries in Europe
managed to generate more than 90 per cent of their electricity from
renewable energy sources, while 15 countries were able to increase the
renewables share in their energy mix compared to the same period last year.
“Denmark, with 94.7 per cent, had the highest share of renewables in net
electricity generated, followed by Latvia (93.4 per cent) [and] Austria
(91.8 per cent),” a Eurostat report noted.
Independent 2nd Oct 2025, https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/solar-power-eu-renewable-energy-b2837926.html
We don’t need gas or nuclear to power data centres, says Octopus Energy boss.
Greg Jackson, CEO of Britain’s biggest energy supplier, hit back at claims from
union leaders and AI bosses that only fossil fuels and nuclear could meet
demand. Jackson, who has been a vocal proponent of renewable energy,
electric cars and heat pumps, said: “Today I think we are in a world
where what do you hear? ‘We’ve got this incredible demand for energy for
data centres: it can only be met by gas and maybe new nuclear.’ Forgive me:
this is horseshit, right?”
Times 1st Oct 2025, https://www.thetimes.com/uk/environment/article/octopus-energy-ceo-greg-jackson-jv92kbp2l
Renewables blow past nuclear when it comes to cheap datacenter juice.
Study finds microgrids with wind, solar, and batteries can be built years sooner and at lower cost than SMRs
CNZ describes itself as an open research institute, founded by Octopus Energy Group in the UK, and claims to advise the State of California and Europe’s International Energy Agency as well as the British government.
While CNZ’s study applies to the UK sector, where energy costs are among the highest in the industrialized world, it is likely that the overall conclusion would still be valid in other countries as well.
Its analysis shows that renewables can meet 80 percent of the constant demand from a large datacenter over the course of a year. Offshore wind can provide the majority of load requirements, with gas generation backed by battery storage as a stopgap source of power representing the most cost-optimal mix.
Greater capacity in the on-site battery storage system would reduce the reliance on gas power, and this would likely happen over time as the cost of such systems is expected to come down, the report claims.
Fri 26 Sep 2025, Dan Robinson,
https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/26/renewables_vs_smr_datacenter/
Sorry, Donald Trump and Keir Starmer – Scotland doesn’t need nuclear
Craig Dalzell: I’M going to preface this article by saying that unlike
many of my comrades across the green and environmental movement, I’m not
ideologically against nuclear power per se.
In this decade of the 21st
century, we’re seeing the true energy transition start to change the
world around us faster than we realise. When I was in school, renewables
were taught as a thing that existed but were likely to only supply a small
fraction of the energy future. Today, wind and increasingly solar power are
dominating the globe in terms of new installed capacity.
Just after I left
high school in 2002, the total combined new energy generation installed
between both renewables and nuclear was about 20% of the global total that
year. Now, it’s more like 80%. And that’s massively overemphasising the
impact of nuclear.
The International Energy Agency’s 2025 Global Energy
Review found that more than 7GW of new nuclear power capacity was brought
online in the previous year compared to 700GW of new wind turbines and
solar photovoltaic panels (with solar providing around three-quarters of
that capacity). The age not just of renewables but of solar power
specifically, appears to be crashing over us.
It makes sense. The panels
are now cheap and easy to produce as once you have a production line going
it can just keep fabricating them. They’re easy to install just about
anywhere (to the point where in places like Germany it’s increasingly
common to see folk hanging them from their balconies). And every single new
panel installed anywhere starts producing power immediately with no fuel,
almost no maintenance and will keep producing power for decades.
The efficiencies of production have been stark. A solar PV panel in my school
days cost about £4.87 per watt in today’s prices. That panel now costs
about 20p per watt. A 96% price reduction in real terms.
Conventional nuclear power, on the other hand, requires years to decades of planning and
construction, truly massive upfront capital costs and the plants don’t
produce any power until they are switched on.
One way that the nuclear
sector is adapting is through the development of “small modular
reactors” (SMRs). Last week, Keir Starmer used Donald Trump’s state
visit to sign a deal for the US to produce such reactors for the UK. Costs
are expected to remain high though. Right now, a watt of conventional
nuclear energy costs about three to five times as much as solar and even
the best estimates for SMR cost reductions aren’t expected to make up
that gap.
The UK Government accepts that SMRs will only reduce the cost of
electricity by about 20% compared to conventional nuclear, which will mean
they will remain the most expensive way to generate electricity for the
foreseeable future. The future of energy, especially in Scotland, isn’t
going to be expensive conventional nuclear or expensive and untested SMRs.
It’s going to be by capturing the wind, waves and sun all around us and
bottling it for later use.
The National 25th Sept 2025, https://www.thenational.scot/politics/25496145.sorry-donald-trump-keir-starmer—scotland-doesnt-need-nuclear/
Australia rooftop solar hits 26.8 GW as home battery uptake surges
Australia is on track to exceed its 2030 rooftop solar targets with a combined 1.1 GW of new capacity installed across 115,584 households and businesses in the first half of 2025.
September 15, 2025 David Carroll, https://www.pv-magazine.com/2025/09/15/australia-rooftop-solar-hits-26-8-gw-as-home-battery-uptake-surges/
A new report from the Clean Energy Council (CEC) shows that at the end of June there was a combined 26.8 GW of rooftop solar capacity deployed across 4.2 million homes and small businesses in Australia.
The CEC’s Rooftop Solar and Storage Report reveals that 115,584 rooftop solar units were installed nationwide in the first six months of the year, down 18% on the same period 12 months prior, while the total installed capacity of 1.1 GW was 15% lower than the 1.3 GW installed over the same period in 2024.
Despite the slowdown, the CEC said Australia is likely to exceed the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) 2030 target for rooftop solar.
AEMO’s Integrated System Plan, which underpins the federal government’s 82% by 2030 renewable energy target, expects rooftop solar to contribute 36 GW to the National Electricity Market by the end of the decade.
The CEC said based on current trends, it expects the rollout of rooftop solar in Australia will reach 37.2 GW by June 2030, beating projections by 3.3%.
CEC Distributed Energy General Manager Con Hristodoulidis said the figures highlight the pivotal role of rooftop solar in keeping Australia’s energy transition on track.
“Australian consumers and small businesses are delivering the transition at breathtaking speed, turning suburban roofs into one of the biggest power stations in the country,” he said.
Rooftop solar contributed 12.8%, or 15,463 GWh, of Australia’s total energy generation in the first six months of the year, up from 11.5% in the same period 12 months prior.
The report also shows that Australians are embracing home batteries at record pace, with 85,000 battery units sold in the first half of 2025, representing a 191% increase from the same period last year.
The uptake has surged again since the introduction of the federal government’s Cheaper Home Batteries program with government data revealing more than 43,500 installations installed in July and August alone.
“Just as Australians have long understood the value of solar in lowering household energy bills, we are now seeing a surge in battery adoption, which allows households to store their own clean energy and maximise savings,” Hristodoulidis said.
Queensland added the most rooftop solar in the first half of 2025, with 326 MW of installed capacity, followed by New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria with 321 MW and 230 MW, respectively.
NSW has the highest level of total installed rooftop solar capacity in the nation at 7.5 GW, with Queensland second at 7.2 GW, ahead of Victoria with 5.4 GW. Queensland remains the state with the most installations, with 1.1 million.
Japan shocks the world — Solar panels as strong as 20 nuclear reactors unveiled.
by Beatriz T., September 6, 2025.EcoNews,
Imagine a country with limited space, a large population, and an urgent need for clean energy. That’s Japan, a nation that, since the Fukushima disaster in 2011, has been burdened with rethinking its entire energy system. This is because the catastrophe not only shook confidence in nuclear energy but also accelerated the race for sustainable and safe alternatives. More than a decade later, Japan surprises the world again with revolutionary perovskite solar cells, a light, thin, and flexible material that can be installed in places unimaginable until recently, like windows, walls, and even car roofs.
There are several important advantages
of these cells, and some of these are: Superior efficiency; application
flexibility; strategic security; export potential. Japanese companies like
Sekisui Chemical are already investing heavily in research (and other
companies are investing in the first typhoon turbine).
Internationally, Swedish company Exeger has successfully applied flexible panels to consumer products like headphones and keyboards, demonstrating that the future may be closer than we imagine. The dilemma lies in Japan seeking not only clean energy but also economic security. Essentially, the question remains: invest billions in a still-immature technology or risk losing its global leadership once again?
For a country dependent on energy imports and
vulnerable to international crises, investing in perovskites is both a
necessity and a strategic move. The country’s plan is clear: by 2040,
Japan aims to generate 20 gigawatts of power with perovskites, the
equivalent of 20 nuclear power plants.
Achieving this goal will not only be
a technological victory but a historic milestone in the global energy
transition. Essentially, this advancement could transform Japan into an
exporter of energy technology, offering the world a more efficient
alternative that’s less dependent on large areas. For densely populated
countries like South Korea, Singapore, or even parts of Europe, the
Japanese experience could serve as a model.
Eco News 6th Sept 2025,
https://www.ecoticias.com/en/japan-shocks-the-world-solar-panels/19817/
German experience shows transition to renewables possible for Taiwan and the world.
https://tcan2050.org.tw/en/nonuke-2/ 2025-08-19, Dr. Ortwin Renn |Professor emeritus of Environmental Sociology and Technology Assessment, Stuttgart University; Scientific Director emeritus, Research Institute for Sustainability at GFZ, Potsdam , Germany (RIFS)
I am writing to express my full support for your initiative to keep Taiwan’s nuclear power reactors permanently shut down and to accelerate the transition toward renewable energy. This position is not only grounded in scientific evidence but also in practical experience from countries such as my home country Germany that have successfully advanced toward a sustainable energy future.
In 2011, I served as a member of the German Federal Government’s Ethics Committee on a Safe Energy Supply, established after the Fukushima disaster. Our task was to assess the future role of nuclear energy in Germany. After extensive consultations with leading scientists, economic stakeholders, and civil society organizations, the Committee reached a consensual recommendation: to phase out nuclear energy within ten years while investing heavily in renewable energy sources. This decision was not only an ethical imperative but also based on sound economic and technological reasoning.
The results speak for themselves. Between 2011 and 2025, Germany’s share of renewable energy in electricity generation rose from 23% to over 54%—an increase of 230%. Nuclear power, which contributed less than 18% in 2011, was more than compensated for by renewables. In addition, the expansion of renewables significantly reduced reliance on fossil fuels, thereby contributing to climate protection and energy sovereignty.
Today, renewable energy is not only clean but also cost-competitive. The production of electricity from wind and solar power is now cheaper than generating electricity from coal or gas and even cheaper than nuclear power when comparing the costs of building new facilities. It is true that the transition requires substantial upfront investment in grid upgrades, storage systems, and backup solutions. However, once this infrastructure is in place, the long-term costs of renewable energy generation are lower than those of fossil or nuclear alternatives.
Germany’s relatively high electricity prices are not a consequence of renewables, but largely due to global gas price spikes and the cost of imported electricity. The long-term trend is clear: renewable energy is becoming the most economical, environmentally sound, and politically stable source of power.
The lessons for Taiwan are evident. A transition to renewable energy is possible, economically viable, and ultimately beneficial for society. It contributes to climate protection, environmental quality, and public health. It reduces dependence on imported fuels and avoids the long-term risks and costs associated with nuclear energy, including waste management and potential catastrophic accidents. Most importantly, it enables a decentralized and resilient energy system that benefits local communities.
Achieving this transformation requires significant investment and strong political will, but the German experience demonstrates that it is both feasible and advantageous. I strongly encourage Taiwan to seize this opportunity and prioritize a renewable-based energy future over a return to nuclear power.
https://tcan2050.org.tw/en/nonuke-2/
Albanese government substantially expands renewable energy scheme amid 2030 target concerns
Albanese government substantially expands renewable energy scheme amid
2030 target concerns. Chris Bowen says Labor will increase size of its main
climate and energy program by 25% to capitalise on falling cost of solar
panels and batteries. The Australian government will substantially expand a
renewable energy underwriting scheme as it aims to capitalise on the
falling cost of solar panels and batteries and combat concerns it may
struggle to meet its 2030 climate target.
Guardian 29th July 2025,
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jul/29/australia-expands-renewable-energy-scheme-2030-target
“We can do that:” Australian Energy Market Operator says the country’s power system can be run on 100 pct renewable energy.
The head of the Australian Energy Market Operator says he confident that
the country’s main grid – and its smaller ones for that matter – can
be run on 100 per cent renewable energy. “At AEMO, I set an ambition in
2021 for us to understand what it takes to run a power system on 100%
renewable energy,” Westerman said in an address to the Clean Energy
Summit in Sydney on Tuesday. “And today, we’re confident that with
targeted investments in system security assets, we can do just that. I’m
incredibly proud of this, but the future is coming at us fast and those
system security investments are needed urgently run a power system on 100%
renewable energy.”
Renew Economy 29th July 2025,
https://reneweconomy.com.au/we-can-do-that-aemo-says-power-system-can-be-run-on-100-pct-renewable-energy/
EPR nuclear reactors are just not performing well at all
The French EPR reactor was supposed to be built in 4 or 4,5 years, and to
produce 13 TWh of electricity per year. (As for EDF:s promise, see for
example https://lnkd.in/dFXe5geb point 19.)
At 13 TWh/year and operating when planned to do so, the first 4 reactors, in Finland, France and China should have produced about 648 TWh by the end of 2024. According to new
data from the IAEA PRIS they have produced 123,4 TWh, a mere 19 % of what
was promised.
Much of this underachievement is explained by construction
delays, on average 8,5 years for the first 4 reactors. But even after they
have started to produce electricity, it is far less than the 13 TWh/year.
In fact, it is 8,4 TWh. Put it in another way, the ”load factor” is
low. Lifetime load factors through 2024 are Taishan 1: 55%, Taishan 2: 76
%, Olkiluoto 3: 77,6%. Flamanville 3 in France was connected to the grid
only in December 2024 so it is too early to tell.
But as for the other three, the weighted average so far is about 67 percent. 100 per cent is
impossible. The world average load factor is about 82 per cent, as real
world reactors have both planned and unplanned stops.
The EPR has consistently been marketed as being able to produce 13 TWh per year, for 60
years. The theoretical maximum for a 1600 megawatt reactor, 24/365, is just
above 14 TWh, so 13 TWh corresponds to a load factor of 92.8%.It is
conceivable that the load factors will increase but it is not sure. Taishan
is the oldest EPR in operation, and it is also the worst performer.
Frederik Lundberg 24th June 2025,
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7343320565471924224/
Vatican City Is Now Powered By Solar
Carolyn Fortuna, May 2025
Vatican City Is Now Powered By Solar. Pope Francis had a dream that the
Vatican would run entirely on green energy. He wanted to highlight the need
“to make a transition to a sustainable development model that reduces
greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, setting the goal of climate
neutrality.”
To model what this could look like, he announced that solar
panels would be installed on a Vatican-owned property outside Rome, and the
power generated from that could supply all of Vatican City’s energy
needs. The future installation would be projected to “ensure, not only
the power supply of the radio station existing there, but also the complete
energy support of Vatican City State,” he wrote. Fast forward to 2025,
and the project is completed.
Clean Technica 29th May 2025,
https://cleantechnica.com/2025/05/29/vatican-city-is-now-powered-by-solar/
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