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Solar rail could become common in Europe after successful trial in Switzerland
17 days ago
- Successful trial in Switzerland: 100 meters of solar panels installed on railway tracks produced 16,000 kWh in one year.
- Efficiency and potential: Solar railway panels have only ~10% production loss; covering all Swiss tracks could generate 1 TWh/year, about 2% of national energy consumption.
- Safety measures: Panels are designed with anti-reflection filters, built-in sensors, and cleaning brushes to address risks like cracks, fires, and distractions.
- Expansion plans: Sun-Ways signed contracts in Italy and South Korea, with discussions ongoing in the Netherlands, China, India, and Singapore.
Syria's solar boom is redefining Middle East's energy model
13 days ago
- Damascus has become highly solarised due to a broken grid from civil war and cheap Chinese panels, with solar capacity growing rapidly from 249 MW in 2022 to 2,060 MW in 2025.
- Solar power in Syria is driven by individual adoption rather than government projects, providing basic electricity but struggling with heating and cooling demands despite high costs relative to income.
- Other crisis-hit countries like Lebanon, Yemen, and Pakistan have also turned to rooftop solar, while Libya and Iraq lag due to fuel subsidies that could be redirected to solarisation.
- Global cities with extensive rooftop solar, such as Honolulu and San Diego, benefit from sunny climates and incentives, with grids complementing solar output, whereas Syria lacks such grid support.
- For Gulf nations, large-scale solar plants are preferred due to lower costs, but distributed solar with batteries can reduce grid strain and improve resilience, especially in urban areas.
- Distributed solar is crucial in conflict zones, aiding rebuilding, saving fuel, reducing pollution, and empowering people, while also supporting remote sites and fostering local solar industries.
Idaho just switched on a big solar farm and a much larger one is next
10 hours ago
- Idaho's 125-megawatt solar farm, Pleasant Valley Solar 2, has come online, and construction has started on the larger 400 MW Blacks Creek Energy Center.
- rPlus Energies has now developed over 1 GW of solar and storage in Idaho, including operating, under construction, or under contract projects.
- Idaho, though a hydropower state, has 1,301 MW of installed solar as of June 2026, supplying 9.01% of its electricity and attracting $2 billion in investment.
- The two projects represent a combined investment of over $750 million, creating hundreds of construction jobs and permanent onsite jobs upon completion.
- The projects will generate ongoing revenue via Idaho's 3.5% solar energy tax and support local businesses through construction and operations spending.
- Pleasant Valley Solar 2's partners contributed $375,000 in workforce development scholarships for students at Boise State University and College of Western Idaho.

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#solar energy

Solar rail could become common in Europe after successful trial in Switzerland

Syria's solar boom is redefining Middle East's energy model

Idaho just switched on a big solar farm and a much larger one is next