Solar-Powered Supercharger: Tesla has commissioned its new Supercharger, calling it the world’s largest, in Lost Hills, California. This is entirely powered by solar panels. The project, with 164 Superchargers and 10 Megapack batteries with 39 MWh of energy storage, was built in under 8 months to avoid forecasted electric vehicle (EV) charging shortfall on the San Francisco–Los Angeles route, ahead of the holiday season. With grid connections delayed, Tesla says it used its own solar arrays totaling 11 MW of ground-mounted solar and canopies, and Megapacks, which gives it control of the timeline and ensures reliable travel, said Max de Zegher, Tesla’s Director, Charging North America, Europe Middle East & Africa, Asia Pacific on his X account.
California Lawmakers Push CPUC Action: A group of 18 California legislators has urged the state’s Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to hold PG&E and Southern California Edison accountable for long delays in interconnecting solar and storage facilities. In a joint letter, they said the utilities are routinely missing state-mandated interconnection timelines, slowing clean energy progress and raising costs for customers. This time lag on the part of utilities forces customers to continue paying loans and leasing costs for potentially unreasonably or unpredictably long periods of time, which adds to their interest payments. They urge for timely interconnection as an accelerated end to the federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) requires systems to either come online by mid-2026 or complete by the end of 2027 to remain viable.
Swift Solar Partners With Eni’s Plenitude: US-based perovskite solar technology firm Swift Solar has entered a partnership with Plenitude, the renewable energy arm of Eni, for a pilot program to test the former’s high-efficiency perovskite-silicon tandem technology at utility-scale. Eni will pilot Swift Solar’s tandem modules at a utility-scale solar plant at one of Plenitude’s US solar facilities under true utility-scale operating conditions. Swift Solar calls this an important milestone in the commercialization of perovskite technology for utility-scale solar, providing early-stage verification of its field performance. “Major developers don't run pilots unless they see real commercial potential, and this reflects Plenitude's interest in exploring next-generation solar,” said Swift Solar CEO and co-founder Joel Jean. Eni’s corporate venture capital arm, Eni Next, is a major strategic investor in Swift Solar.
Ambia Solar Acquisition Complete: SunPower has completed the acquisition of Ambia Solar for $37.5 million, which now makes it the 5th top US residential solar company, it claims, citing Ohm Analytics rankings. The company had announced plans to acquire Ambia to streamline its sales and expand installations ahead of the ITC phase-out for the residential segment (see SunPower To Acquire Ambia Solar For $37.5 Million). Following this, SunPower has raised its Q4 2025 quarterly revenue guidance to $88 million with a record operating income and at least $2 million in operating income in Q1 2026.
Solar & Storage Project in the US: RWE Clean Energy, the US subsidiary of Germany’s RWE, has commissioned its 200 MW solar power plant with 100 MW/200 MWh of battery storage capacity in Milam County, Texas. The Stoneridge Solar Project created more than 200 construction jobs and is expected to generate millions in tax revenue for Milam County. RWE says this expands its energy capacity in the US to over 11 GW.
Partnership to Boost Solar Jobs: Solar Energy International (SEI) has entered into a new partnership with Nextpower (formerly Nextracker) to expand its Empowerment Program Scholarships and increase access to solar careers. They plan to provide additional scholarships for SEI’s full catalog of online and hands-on courses, including solar fundamentals, advanced system design, battery-based systems, grid-tied and off-grid technologies, and Spanish-language pathways. SEI says Nextpower’s support will enable it to continue offering comprehensive workforce development opportunities irrespective of the students’ experience level, location, or financial situation.