Solar Blog

The Solar Energy Technologies Office’s Solar Blog features stories about the office, its awardees, and its work. Learn more.

Group photo of the members of the People Power Solar Collective
The members of People Power Solar Cooperative in Oakland, California, are demonstrating the feasibility and benefits of community-owned solar, a type of community solar in which residents of a community collectively own a solar system.
Black-eyed Susan flowers are blooming at sunrise at the Carter Farms solar site.
Pollinators—such as bees, butterflies, and other insects—are critical to the success of about 35 percent of global food crop production. Learn about the benefits of establishing pollinator-friendly plants under and around ground-mounted solar arrays.
Queensbridge Houses community solar installation, Long Island City, Queens.
The team that pioneered community solar at the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) Queensbridge Houses worked together to overcome challenges and ensure access to the benefits of community solar.
residential energy storage system in Arizona
Residential solar energy systems paired with battery storage—generally called solar-plus-storage systems—provide power regardless of the weather or the time of day without having to rely on backup power from the grid. Check out some of the benefits.
Photo of a solar array overlooking a city with train, bridges, and buildings
If you want to power your home with clean energy and lower your electricity bills, but live in an apartment or multifamily home, don’t own your roof, or your roof isn’t suitable for a solar energy system, you can subscribe to a community solar project.
A building in HOPE Village in Washington, DC has solar panels on the roof.
Community-owned solar is growing in Hope Village, a 107-block neighborhood in Detroit, thanks to the work of HOPE Village Revitalization, the neighborhood’s community development corporation.