California's sees record growth in battery storage

At the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference in Brazil, California Governor Newsom announced that California has reached a record level of battery storage, with 16,942 megawatts (MW) of capacity available. This is a massive buildout that's redefining grid reliability and accelerating the state's transition to 100 percent clean energy. 

The new total marks an increase of about 1,200 MW in the past six months and a 2,100 percent surge in storage capacity since 2019. California has now built one-third of the storage capacity estimated to be needed by 2045 to reach its clean energy goals. 

California has more installed battery capacity than every other jurisdiction on the planet except for China. Within the United States, California leads all states in installed storage capacity, followed by Texas which has roughly 9,000 MW of battery capacity. 

Battery systems now provide enough capacity to meet the equivalent of one-quarter of California's record peak demand for several hours. Renewable energy now supplies two thirds of in-state retail electricity sales. The state continues to retire fossil-fuel plants and will eliminate coal power from its electricity mix by the end of this year. The California Independent System Operator (CAISO)—which serves roughly 80 percent of the state's electricity consumers—has, on average, met demand with 100 percent clean energy for nearly six hours every day so far this year.

Energy Information Administration projects continued electric price rises in 2026

• U.S. wholesale electricity prices are expected to continue rising next year, the Energy Information Administration said in its latest short-term energy forecast published last week. 

• The agency forecast the load-weighted average of the wholesale prices it tracks to be $47/MWh in 2025 — 23 percent higher than the 2024 average — and will reach $51/MWh in 2026, forecasting another 8.5 percent increase.

• Driving the rise in wholesale prices is a projected 45 percent increase at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (or ERCOT) pricing hub. "Natural gas prices tend to be the biggest determinant of power prices," the EIA said. "But in 2026, the increase in power prices in ERCOT tends to reflect large hourly spikes in the summer months due to high demand combined with relatively low supply."
• The increases in Texas and nearby states have contributed 34 percent of the growth in U.S. electricity sales in 2025 and will contribute 66 percent of the growth in U.S. sales in 2026 according to the report.

In addition to increased load demand, some price increases can be attributed to fuel costs. Natural gas prices are forecast to rise to an average of almost $3.90/MMBtu this winter and an average of $4/MMBtu in 2026. This is up from a $2.80 price point in September, or a 43 percent increase over a 6-month period of time.

US Custom delays result in solar worker layoffs

Solar panel manufacturer Qcells revealed last week that it would furlough one-third of its workers at its two plants in Georgia. The 1,300 employees will temporarily have reduced pay and working hours due to increased detentions by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of solar cells and other panel components imported to be assembled at the Georgia plants.

The federal government has stepped up enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which restricts Chinese goods made with forced labor from entering the United States. US Customs began detaining silicon solar cells made by South Korean-headquartered Qcells earlier this summer. Qcells has repeatedly stated that its products do not use Chinese components.

A similar situation has been affecting Maxeon, a solar panel manufacturer with some Chinese financing but no documented connection to forced labor. Maxeon's Mexico-assembled panels have been prevented from entering the country since the summer of 2024, despite the company providing thousands of pages of documents demonstrating full compliance in UFLPA. Maxeon has filed a complaint with the U.S. Court of International Trade and is awaiting updates which have been delayed due to the government shutdown.

New Report Touts Benefits of Agrovoltaics

A new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) highlights the opportunity to expand the use of agrivoltaics to boost generation from renewable energy, decrease water use and increase agricultural yields.

Agrivoltaics, which is the dual-use integration of solar panels and active farming on the same land — offers a solution that benefits all three core stakeholders. Landowners gain a new, steady revenue stream in a volatile industry while maintaining their land's agricultural productivity; solar project developers get access to viable sites with fewer permitting battles; and communities retain agricultural land in production while enjoying local investment and tax revenue.

While still not widespread, agrivoltaics installations are expanding, growing from 27,000 acres with 4.5 GW of capacity in 2020 to more than 62,000 acres and 10 GW in 2024 — enough capacity to power 1.5 million homes.