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Elon Musk’s Tesla given go-ahead to supply electricity in Great Britain

March 15, 2026 jrobinson

Ofgem licence means firm can replicate Texas setup of powering homes, businesses and EVs

Elon Musk’s Tesla has won approval to supply electricity to households and businesses across Great Britain, as the tech billionaire expands his energy ambitions.

The energy regulator, Ofgem, has formally granted Tesla an electricity supply licence, enabling it to provide electricity to domestic and business premises in England, Scotland and Wales.

The company is expected to replicate its supply business in Texas, where it is branded as Tesla Electric and offers to help customers power “your home, electric vehicle and community with low-cost sustainable electricity”.

However, Tesla’s electricity licence means it cannot offer a dual fuel contract to households. It could supply a customer’s electricity if they had a separate tariff agreement for their gas supply.

In Texas the company already operates a “virtual power plant” that allows Tesla owners to charge their cars cheaply and then pays them for selling electricity stored in its Powerwall home batteries back to the grid.

In Britain the “virtual power plant” for Powerwall owners is offered through Octopus Energy, another household energy supplier.

Tesla does not report how many Powerwalls it has sold in Britain but it has sold more than 250,000 electric vehicles.

The carmaker’s sales have slumped in the UK and much of mainland Europe in the past year amid tougher competition in the electric car market and controversy around Musk’s politics.

Tesla’s UK sales fell 37% from 3,852 to 2,422 in February compared with the same period last year, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

It estimated that Tesla’s market share in the UK stands at 1.34% in the year to date, below its Chinese rival BYD at 2.64% and BMW at 5.43%.

Sales were hurt in part by a buyer backlash against Musk’s support for Donald Trump and a period working in the president’s administration. In his role at the “department of government efficiency”, or Doge, the billionaire led sweeping job cuts, but he quit in May after falling out with Trump over the “big, beautiful” tax and spending bill.

Musk also alienated customers through other political interventions, including appearing to give a Nazi salute at Trump’s victory rally, showing support for Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland party, and accusing Keir Starmer and other senior UK politicians of covering up the scandal about grooming gangs.

In December, Tesla launched a lower-priced version of its Model 3 car in Europe, in a push to revive sales. Musk has previously argued that the cheaper option would reinvigorate demand by appealing to a wider range of buyers.

Tesla was approached for comment.

The Guardian

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UK must double down on renewables as wars drive up energy costs, experts say

March 15, 2026 jrobinson

Fossil fuel price surge after US-Israeli attacks on Iran prompts calls to end dependence on ‘volatile’ energy source.

The UK government must double down on its clean energy drive to protect bill payers from increasingly volatile fossil fuel markets in the wake of the US-Israel war on Iran, climate groups, academics and energy experts have warned.

Research published on Thursday shows that the last fossil fuel energy crisis, caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, cost the EU and the UK $1.8tn between 2022 and 2025, driving up bills and fuelling a devastating cost of living crisis.

The US-Israeli attacks on Iran, which started at the weekend, have resulted in fossil fuel prices surging again. Experts say it underscores the need for the UK to end its dependance on such an unstable energy source.

Bob Ward, from the Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics, warned the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and subsequent surge in oil and gas prices “could translate into significantly higher energy bills for British households and consumers”.

“The UK is vulnerable to the volatility of international fossil fuel markets, and the only way to protect ourselves from these price increases is by speeding up the transition to domestic supplies of clean energy, namely renewables and nuclear power.”

The UN’s climate chief, Simon Stiell, said the latest upheaval in the Middle East “shows yet again that fossil fuel dependence leaves economies, businesses, markets and people at the mercy of each new conflict or trade policy lurch.”.

He added: “There is a clear solution to this fossil fuel cost chaos – renewables are now cheaper, safer and faster-to-market, making them the obvious pathway to energy security and sovereignty.”

Research published on Thursday by the Transition Security Project showed that the 2022 energy shock had cost the UK and the EU $1.8tn and left governments increasingly dependent on imports of liquid natural gas from the US, giving Donald Trump a stranglehold over EU and UK energy supplies.

The study found the rising costs came through higher household and business energy bills and from the cost of government policies such as price caps, rebates and tax cuts, which aimed to softened the direct impact on consumers of the fossil fuel crisis.

Kevin Cashman, author of the report, said the 2022 energy crisis “presented a fork in the road for Europe – double down on volatile fossil fuel markets, or pivot to homegrown clean energy and greater security”.

“The failure to do the latter has left people on ordinary incomes paying the price for an irresponsible and shortsighted energy policy,” he said.

Khem Rogaly, co-director at the Transition Security Project, said European leaders had prioritised their relationship with the US over the needs of their citizens after the 2022 energy crisis. “Instead of clinging on to a broken transatlantic partnership, Europe needs to develop an independent foreign policy based on international solidarity, restraint and climate collaboration.”

Earlier this week, eight former energy ministers wrote an open letter to the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, urging the government to reverse its ban on new oil and gas licences in the North Sea and give the green light to two new fields, Rosebank and Jackdaw.

But experts say such a move would do nothing to reduce energy bills, improve energy security, protect fossil fuel jobs in the long term or reduce the UK’s reliance on fossil fuel imports. It would also be a significant blow to efforts to fight the climate crisis and reduce emissions.

The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, said on Wednesday that the latest conflict in the Middle East was “yet another reminder that the only route to energy security and sovereignty for the UK is to get off our dependence on fossil fuel markets, whose prices we do not control, and onto clean homegrown power we do”.

He added: “The Tories and Reform have opposed our clean energy mission at every turn. They have learned nothing from their own failures during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which landed us with the biggest cost of living crisis in generations due to our exposure to fossil fuels. The North Sea will continue to play an important role in our energy mix for decades to come, but new exploration licences won’t take a penny off bills.”

Tessa Khan, the executive director of Uplift, said the “oil and gas industry, and its political cheerleaders, were peddling a fantasy”. She said new fields such as Rosebank would do nothing to protect UK households from the inevitable price shocks caused by war in the Middle East.

“Rosebank is an oilfield whose reserves, if developed, would be exported – like 80% of all UK oil. It contains minimal gas. In the best case, it would provide just one per cent of UK gas demand. Like all North Sea production, it would do nothing to lower our energy bills.”

Khan pointed out that even if the UK continued to develop new fields, it would still become almost entirely dependent on gas imports by 2050, due to the declining oil and gas reserves in the North Sea basin, leaving bill payers and businesses “hugely exposed to price shocks for decades to come. All this while the nation sits on some of the best wind resources in the world”.

She added: “This is not the first time we have seen the gas price soar off the back of conflict and it will not be the last. We need this government to urgently learn the lessons of the past five years – that the UK’s dependence on oil and gas is making us all poorer – and instead free us from fossil fuels by doubling down on renewables and upgrading homes.”

The Guardian

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Australian Energy Regulator to cap power bills and offer free solar electricity

March 15, 2026 jrobinson

Australia’s energy regulator will cap key elements of electricity bills for the first time while introducing incentives to use power when solar generation is flooding the grid, as the Albanese government moves to ease political pressure over soaring household energy costs.

The reforms will be made through the Default Market Offer – the benchmark electricity price set by the Australian Energy Regulator for households and small businesses in NSW, South Australia and southeast Queensland.

The changes will cap individual tariff components such as daily supply charges and peak electricity rates, tightening a system that previously allowed retailers broad flexibility in how tariffs were structured provided the overall annual benchmark price was met.

The regulator had flagged the changes without specifics to the Default Market Offer.

The most eye-catching element of the reforms is the introduction of a new ‘Solar Sharer Offer’ – which will provide households with a daily window of free electricity in the middle of the day when solar power is abundant.

Under the proposal, retailers with more than 1000 customers will be required to make the opt-in tariff available, offering three hours of free electricity during daylight hours – between 11am and 2pm in NSW and southeast Queensland, and from noon to 3pm in South Australia.

The free electricity will be capped at roughly the amount of power used in a day by a five-person household, after which normal regulated tariffs will apply.

The policy is designed to encourage households to run energy-hungry appliances – such as washing machines, dishwashers or electric vehicle chargers – in the middle of the day when solar generation is flooding the grid and wholesale power prices are often at their lowest.

The changes come as electricity costs remain a politically charged issue after households endured sharp increases in power bills following the global energy shock triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Wholesale electricity prices surged as global gas and coal markets tightened, flowing through to retail power bills across Australia. The spike left a record number of households struggling to pay their electricity bills and forced governments to introduce a range of cost-of-living measures aimed at cushioning the blow for consumers.

The surge in electricity prices also became a significant contributor to Australia’s inflation spike, prompting repeated warnings from policymakers about the role energy costs were playing in pushing up household living expenses.

Against that backdrop, Labor has increasingly sought to point to retailer pricing behaviour as it tries to demonstrate action on energy bills.

Retailers, however, argue thebiggest driver of rising electricity costs is the expense of expanding networks and building new generation needed to support the government’s rapid shift toward renewable energy.

The AER says the latest reforms are designed to stop retailers shifting costs into particular parts of a power bill – such as sharply higher supply charges or expensive peak-time electricity rates – while still technically complying with the overall annual benchmark price.

Before the reforms, the Default Market Offer operated primarily as a cap on the total annual bill rather than the structure of the tariff itself. While the regulator set the benchmark price for a typical customer, retailers could decide how the individual charges – including supply fees and electricity usage rates – were arranged to reach that total.

The new measures form part of a broader redesign of the benchmark price following reforms announced by the federal government in late 2025 aimed at strengthening the Default Market Offer as a consumer safeguard while adapting the electricity system to Australia’s rapidly growing solar generation.

Alongside the tariff limits, the regulator will also publish two benchmark prices for households in each distribution zone for the first time – one based on a flat electricity rate and another based on time-of-use tariffs – giving consumers a clearer way to compare electricity plans as retailers increasingly charge different prices depending on when power is used.

The latest initiatives come as energy policymakers have increasingly focused on the challenge created by Australia’s rooftop solar boom. While solar power has helped push down electricity prices during daylight hours, demand surges in the evening as people return home and solar generation fades, putting pressure on the grid and driving the need for additional generation and network investment.

Shifting more electricity use into the middle of the day could help smooth those peaks and reduce the amount of expensive infrastructure needed to keep the system running.

The Default Market Offer itself is designed as a safety net for customers who do not shop around for better electricity deals, while also acting as the reference price against which retailers advertise discounts on market offers.

Despite its role as the benchmark price, relatively few customers remain on the standing offer, with fewer than 10 per cent of households and about 18 per cent of small businesses using it.

The regulator will release a draft determination next week before finalising the benchmark price in May following consultation with retailers, consumer groups and other stakeholders. The new price will take effect from July 1.

The Australian

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Faced with rising electricity prices, Americans are stealthily adding DIY solar systems. And they aren’t telling utilities

March 15, 2026 jrobinson

Agnes Chan is part of a stealth solar revolution bubbling up in the US. The retired teacher has a tiny solar system propped up in her backyard in Berkeley, California, and plugged into a regular outlet. It costs around $2,000, shaves about $50 off her monthly bills, and she’s evangelical about it. “I have already recommended it many times,” she said.

Originally, Chan had wanted a full rooftop solar system, but the $20,000-plus price tag was unaffordable. Plug-in solar offered a cheaper, portable and more flexible option: It was incredibly easy to set up, would help keep her 100-year-old house toasty this winter and would pay for itself in three years.

Chan is one of a growing number of Americans turning to plug-in solar — also called “balcony solar” as it’s often slung over balconies — to help bring down soaring energy bills. Even as the Trump administration seeks to squash renewable energy, the interest is spurring action in nearly 30 states that are now considering legislation to make these cheap, small systems more accessible.

There are hurdles, however. Plug-in solar currently exists in a legal “gray area,” said Cora Stryker, co-founder of Bright Saver, a non-profit that advocates for balcony solar. Almost every state requires an agreement with the local utility company, a process that can take months and add costs.

That’s why people are going stealth and hooking up “guerilla solar” systems without telling their utility, Stryker said.

The beauty of plug-in solar is its simplicity: People pick up cheap, small solar panels, hang them almost anywhere without the need for an electrician, plug them into a regular outlet and start generating electricity — it’s essentially a DIY power plant. The only bit of special kit required is a microinverter, which allows the energy generated from the sun to feed directly into household electricity.

Germany is the pioneer, with 1.23 million balcony systems installed, according to the country’s Federal Network Agency. The real number may be as high as 4 million, as many systems are believed to be unregistered, according to a 2025 report from Solar Power Europe.

Regulations in that country have facilitated the boom, including by effectively preventing landlords blocking tenants from installing balcony solar. For Germans, it’s as easy as popping into Ikea to buy a panel, with prices starting at around $235. Data suggests plug-in solar can cut energy bills by 10% to 20%.

When Utah Republican State Representative Ray Ward first came across news articles about what was happening in Germany, it got his brain whirring. The more he read, the more it appealed. “You’re like, oh my gosh, this is so simple compared to what we’re doing and then it makes you wonder why you can’t have that here.”

So, he did something no other state had done. He sponsored a bill to allow small plug-in systems to be used by Utah residents without needing agreements with utility companies.

“People always want to tell you: ‘well that’s just impossible, that’s dangerous, you’d better not do that it will burn the building down’,” Ward said. He just pointed to Germany’s yearslong record, and told them: “It hasn’t burnt down.”

Ward’s arguments worked; the bill passed last year. What was astonishing was that it passed unanimously, said Jennifer Eden, a senior associate at the non-profit Utah Clean Energy. “The amount of buzz and interest it has created is fairly remarkable.”

The appeal of balcony solar is clear for those on the left, who want clean energy, and for those on the right, who want to meet their needs without government interference, Stryker said. “It’s almost a choose your own adventure of what narrative will appeal to your constituency,” she added.

Concerns about rising oil and gas prices due to conflict in the Middle East, may add another reason for both sides of the aisle to be interested.

Utah’s move has set off a legislative wave. At least 28 states, including Washington, California, Oklahoma and South Carolina, have draft bills in the works that would smooth the way to a much broader uptake.

But utility agreements are not the only hurdle. Another key issue is safety standards. While the constituent parts of plug-in solar — the panels and the microinverter — are certified for safety, there isn’t a certification for the system as a whole.

Concerns include the risk of overloading home circuits, causing wires to overheat and catch fire, and potential shock hazards for utility workers if devices unexpectedly export power to the grid. Germany has introduced measures to mitigate these risks, but the market is much newer in the US, which also operates a different electrical system.

Some utilities and trade groups have opposed draft bills. In Washington, Puget Sound Energy and the Association of Washington Business both testified against the state’s draft plug-in solar bill, citing safety concerns. There is a lack of “clear product safety certification for how these devices perform in real apartment buildings,” said AWB’s government affairs director Peter Godlewski.

But neither organization said they were opposed in principle to balcony solar. “If we’re able to address these issues, we could get to supporting the bill,” said a spokesperson for Puget Sound Energy.

Each safety risk “can be mitigated with engineered solutions, but products with those safety mitigations will differ from those presently on the market,” said Ken Boyce, a vice president at UL Solutions, a company that develops safety standards. In January, UL Solutions released a certification framework for plug-in solar.

Advocates hope final safety standards won’t add extra costs to those wanting plug in solar, for example by requiring professional installation.

“I am not trying to say we just don’t need a safety standard … but it’s not an electrically complicated product,” Ward said. He believes opposition lies in unfamiliarity with these tiny systems, which are very different to more complex rooftop solar systems.

There aren’t official statistics on how many US households have balcony solar, but there is evidence of their popularity. Texas-based company CraftStrom sells plug-in solar in all 50 states and sold 1,200 units last year. It advises customers to notify their utility but, as their kits don’t export any power to the grid, interconnection agreements typically aren’t needed, said Stephan Scherer, a company founder.

Balcony solar will only ever cover a fraction of American’s energy needs; these systems are small — that’s their whole point. But Stryker believes they can both tackle soaring bills and show people the benefits of renewable energy. “It is real gateway to clean energy awareness,” she said.

As proponents wait for regulations to catch up, they say the numbers of early adopters like Chan will continue to grow. “There are people who are savvy and adventurous, who are going to figure out ways to make this work,” said Utah Clean Energy’s Eden.

Ward thinks the clamor for balcony solar will only get louder. “It’s so easy to understand and people know they want it,” Ward said. “People are saying well why can’t I have this?”

CNN

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The Push for US Balcony Solar Comes to California

February 1, 2026 jrobinson

Nearly two dozen states are weighing plug-in solar systems.

For years, many Europeans have enjoyed what Americans can’t have. Balcony solar has taken off there, while American homes and apartments have been left in the dark.

But that may be changing: California recently introduced legislation that would legalize installing cheap DIY solar systems to protect against blackouts and help with affordability. It’s not the only state, either.

As electricity prices soar and rooftop solar subsidies vanish, some US renters and homeowners are surreptitiously installing solar panels on balconies and backyards without their utility’s permission. Legislation recently introduced in nearly two dozen states would legalize “plug-in solar” systems, jumpstarting a nascent market for an affordable source of renewable energy.

Also called balcony solar, such systems usually comprise two to four solar panels that are plugged into wall outlets. They typically cost about $2,000 or more and generate enough electricity to power a refrigerator, electronics and lights, potentially shaving several hundred dollars a year from utility bills. Some plug-in solar systems come with batteries to store power for use during peak demand when electricity rates spike and when storms or heat waves knock out the grid.

Millions of balcony solar systems have been deployed in countries like Germany, which regulates the technology. But only about 5,000 have been installed in the US, according to advocates, most without utility authorization. That’s because plug-in solar has remained in the shadows due to a lack of safety standards and often costly requirements imposed by utilities, but that’s changing. Utah in 2025 enacted a law allowing plug-in solar without utility approval and other states are considering similar legislation, including New York and California, the nation’s largest solar market.

“The impact of California passing legislation would be huge and will get manufacturers to come into the market,” said Kevin Chou, cofounder and executive director of Bright Saver, a Bay Area nonprofit that sells do-it-yourself plug-in solar systems and has pushed to legalize the technology.

Under the legislation introduced in January in California, residents could install plug-in solar systems without utility authorization. But those systems couldn’t generate more than 1.2 kilowatts of electricity and must be certified by a nationally recognized testing lab. Legislation in other states contains siBmilar requirements.

Utah’s Republican-dominated legislature unanimously approved a plug-in solar bill in 2025, and the state’s Republican governor signed it into law. Although pro-renewable energy Democrats hold a supermajority in the California legislature, the bill introduced by state Senator Scott Wiener, who is running to replace US Representative Nancy Pelosi, is likely to face opposition from some landlords, homeowners associations and utilities, according to Chou.

Utilities have expressed concern about plug-in solar’s impact on the ability to balance the grid if the systems feed excess electricity to the network without their knowledge. Landlords may worry about solar panels falling off balconies or how they change the look of a building, he said. Homeowners associations, which regulate everything from house colors to landscaping, may object to the aesthetics of backyard solar.

California’s three big investor-owned utilities currently require plug-in solar owners to apply and secure approval to interconnect to the grid, just as owners of rooftop solar must do.

Chou estimates that more than a thousand plug-in solar systems have been installed in California. But PG&E and San Diego Gas & Electric have yet to receive any interconnection applications for the equipment, according to spokespeople.

Bloomberg

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Locking in Resilience Ahead of Global Pricing Shifts

January 18, 2026 jrobinson

The New Cost Reality

Jamaica confronts a sobering reality. The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) has cautioned that inflationary pressures, intensified by Hurricane Melissa’s impact on agriculture, infrastructure, and energy supply chains, will persist, with headline inflation unlikely to return to the 4–6% target band until 2027.

Recent electricity bills have already reflected this strain, registering a 7% increase in December 2025 (for November consumption), driven by reliance on more costly fuel alternatives following disruptions to natural gas supplies and a sharp drop in overall sales.

Beyond these projected domestic pressures, global pricing shifts are set to take effect from April 2026 and will reshape the cost landscape for solar adoption.

Property as the Hedge

Against this backdrop, a more structural response is quietly asserting itself through the transformation of property from a passive holding into an active hedge against inflation.

The BOJ’s warnings underscore the urgency of this shift. With inflation projected to remain elevated well into the medium term, and utility costs unlikely to ease meaningfully before 2027, Jamaicans face a prolonged period in which essential expenses will continue to erode disposable income and operating margins.

The present environment underscores that resilience includes repositioning assets to absorb economic shock. When energy generation is embedded into a home or commercial building, the property itself becomes a stabilising mechanism.

A solar-equipped asset delivers a measurable, recurring financial benefit by reducing exposure to rising electricity costs and, in some cases, eliminating it altogether. Over time, this predictability functions much like an inflation hedge, insulating cash flows, preserving purchasing power, and improving the long-term economics of the asset.

The Household and Business Dividend

For families, this means greater disposable income for education, healthcare, or discretionary spending, alongside more predictable energy costs and a meaningful step towards economic resilience.

For businesses, the implications extend beyond savings. Commercial clients contemplating expansion should incorporate solar as the foundational step.

Lower and more stable energy costs free up capital that might otherwise be siphoned into overhead, enabling reinvestment in growth. Capital can be redeployed into staff investment, productivity enhancements, or expansion.

A solar-powered factory or office also enhances its value proposition to investors, creditors, and clients.

In this context, incorporating solar at the point of business growth, whether during construction, renovation, or scale-up, is a strategic first step in protecting future profitability. The property now becomes not merely an energy source, but a strategic multiplier of value and profitability.

Banking Innovation as the Critical Link

This asset-based logic should resonate just as strongly within Jamaica’s financial sector and, by extension, our public policy.

Banks and lenders have an opportunity, and arguably a responsibility, to modernise how they assess and finance energy infrastructure. The BOJ’s admonition that borrowing will remain costly lends particular urgency to innovative financing mechanisms for solar adoption.

A well-maintained solar system with competitive warranties and a reliable 15–25-year lifecycle constitutes a tangible, appreciating asset.

Banks can leverage solar systems that are actively maintained, particularly those whose upkeep meets insurability criteria, to offer secured lending options where the installation itself serves as collateral. This materially lowers risk and creates scope for more competitive interest rates and terms, reflecting the reduced probability of performance failure or asset degradation.

Such an approach would also alleviate the barriers many borrowers face when attempting to leverage property equity for energy upgrades.

“A well-maintained solar system is not merely equipment; it is bankable infrastructure.”

Financing frameworks that recognise the solar system itself as collateral, particularly when its upkeep is verifiable and insured, can simplify approval processes, reduce transaction costs, and accelerate solar adoption.

In doing so, banks can avoid the cumbersome and often discouraging equity-based lending models that slow decision-making and dampen client demand.

Secured financing where the solar installation itself serves as collateral, democratizes access for middle-income families and small-to-medium enterprises, while aligning lending portfolios with resilient, future-proof investments.

Embedding solar financing into mortgage products, whether for new construction or existing property improvements, would mark a watershed moment. Homebuyers and property investors could access clean energy without a separate financing hurdle, thereby accelerating solar adoption.

For developers and commercial landlords, integrated solar not only reduces operating costs, but enhances rental and resale valuations.

Commercial enterprises must factor energy autonomy into their core expansion playbooks to reduce utility overhead and create competitive headroom in pricing, investment, and growth.

The banking industry is called upon to innovate and craft solar-enabling products that are accessible, equitable, and aligned with long-term economic resilience.

Policy Must Reduce Barriers, Not Add Them

Complementing these private-sector innovations, we recommend that government incentives, particularly the residential solar tax credit (offering 30% of acquisition and installation costs, capped at credit of J$1.2 million for systems valued up to J$4 million for primary residences), be further reviewed and optimized to accelerate mainstream solar adoption.

The residential solar tax credit was conceived to stimulate solar adoption, yet its current structure could benefit from adjustments to enhance accessibility.

For instance, the requirement for a net billing licence, with its associated costs and administrative steps, presents an upfront challenge that may deter some potential adopters, even for systems primarily intended for self-consumption.

For homeowners, the promise of a future credit is diluted by immediate cash outlays and procedural complexity.

There is also a practical precedent for how effective the incentive can be when designed to minimise barriers. One of our clients successfully completed the income tax application process under the residential solar tax incentive and received their benefit by way of a cash refund at a time when the net billing requirement had not yet been introduced.

In that instance, the only meaningful upfront cost was the Government Electrical Regulatory (GER) Certificate of Compliance, which made the process attractive, credible, and relatively seamless. The incentive functioned as it should, rewarding responsible investment while shortening the payback horizon and strengthening household resilience.

If solar energy is to be truly mainstreamed as a national resilience strategy, we suggest evolving incentive mechanisms accordingly. For example, considering a review of the net billing requirement for residential installations primarily intended for self-consumption could help improve adoption rates.

Additionally, structuring the tax credit to facilitate refunds with reduced upfront costs would shorten payback periods, enhance returns, and make solar investment accessible to a wider cross-section of households.

For banks, such policy alignment would further de-risk solar lending by improving cash-flow profiles and strengthening borrower capacity. Homeowners would be better positioned to accelerate the transformation of their property into a stabilising asset capable of absorbing inflationary pressure rather than amplifying it.

“When incentives are accessible, they move from policy intention to lived outcome.”

Several of our clients whom we have assisted in submitting their applications are now awaiting their incentive, which will be issued either as a cash refund or as a tax credit, as applicable.

Our clients’ progress reinforces a central point, that when incentives are structured to reduce upfront costs and procedural requirements, they encourage solar adoption in both principle and practice.

Why Timing Now Matters

The impact of Hurricane Melissa on the standard of living cost is not the only factor urging immediate action by businesses and homeowners to rethink what their assets can do for them.

China, the global epicenter of solar and battery manufacturing, is eliminating key export tax rebates for photovoltaic and battery products beginning April 1, 2026, with further phase-outs for batteries through January 1, 2027.

This reduction is poised to elevate wholesale and retail prices globally, which is significant as most Jamaican solar suppliers rely heavily on Chinese imports.

Solar systems procured now will likely prove more economical than those acquired in the coming quarters, as the absence of these rebates will force upward adjustments in procurement and resale costs.

For Jamaican homeowners and entrepreneurs, this means that early action can avert higher asset costs down the line. Those considering solar must act now, before pricing shifts materially erode the cost advantages of installation.

In this transition, one persistent bill becomes the foundation for sustained prosperity, and properties become the quiet architects of resilience.

The antidote to Jamaica’s protracted inflationary challenge cannot be confined to incremental household austerity or episodic business cost-cutting. Jamaicans will have to be willing to proactively fortify the very assets that define household and commercial stability.

Solar adoption, therefore, is best understood as an exercise in strategic asset optimisation that converts property into a productive instrument capable of stabilising cash flow, preserving purchasing power, and enhancing long-term value.

BOJ’s inflation outlook, higher borrowing costs, utility volatility, and impending global price adjustments are not isolated developments. Together, they form a clear signal.

For stakeholders prepared to respond with innovation rather than inertia, they define a narrowing window to act decisively while the economics remain favourable.

For those considering adoption, SolarBuzz can provide a tailored quote and timeline while current pricing conditions remain favourable. Our team is available for a complimentary online consultation for your home or business.

Deidre Wedderburn is the Client Relations Manager at SolarBuzz, dedicated to building long-term partnerships and delivering top-tier client experience (deidre@solarbuzzjamaica.com).

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China to scrap export tax rebates for photovoltaic and battery products

January 18, 2026 jrobinson

BEIJING, Jan 9 (Reuters) – China will cancel value-added tax export rebates for photovoltaic products from April 1, the finance ministry said in a joint statement with the State Taxation Administration on Friday.

The ministry also said VAT export rebates for battery products will be cut to 6% from 9% between April and December and scrapped entirely from January 1, 2027.

Consumption-tax rebate rules for these products will remain unchanged, the statement added.

The China Photovoltaic Industry Association, in a statement later on Friday, said the move should help curb an excessive decline of export prices in the long run as China’s PV products face intensifying competition in overseas markets.

It noted that some Chinese exporters were using rebates as a price discount for foreign buyers.

“Timely reduction or cancellation of export rebates for photovoltaic products can help promote a rational return of foreign market prices and reduce the risk of trade frictions,” the association said.

China previously reduced the export tax rebate for PV products to 9% from 13% in December 2024 as part of its broader efforts to curb overcapacity and deflationary price wars amid international trade tensions.

Reuters

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Renewable energy project approvals hit record high in GB in 2025, data shows

December 30, 2025 jrobinson

Applications to build battery storage drive boom as offshore wind projects given go-ahead jump sevenfold year on year

A record number of renewable energy projects were given the go-ahead in Great Britain in 2025, after planning approvals almost doubled year on year, according to an analysis.

The energy capacity of new battery, wind, and solar projects that received approval climbed to 45GW this year, 96% higher than in 2024, according to data from Cornwall Insight.

The boom was driven by applications to build new battery storage, which almost doubled to 28.6GW this year from 14.9GW in 2024. Planning approvals for offshore wind developments jumped more than sevenfold to 9.9GW from 1.3GW last year.

Planning approvals for battery, wind and solar power have risen by more than 400% over the past five years.

The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, said: “After years of delay and underinvestment, this government is keeping its promise to take back control of Britain’s energy with clean homegrown power.

“Every project we approve, every investment we make is about getting the country off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets, protecting households and lowering bills for good.”

The record-breaking surge in planning approvals signals real momentum in the UK’s energy transition, according to Robin Clarke, a senior analyst at Cornwall Insight, but many could still face delays starting up.

“On paper, the UK’s renewables pipeline has never looked stronger,” he said. “But approvals don’t generate electricity, and we urgently need to move from ambition to actual delivery of these projects. Too much capacity is still stuck in queues or waiting on grid upgrades. Grid bottlenecks remain one of the biggest risks to turning today’s approvals into tomorrow’s power.”

Although approvals have accelerated, the pace of projects starting up has lagged behind, largely as a result of long construction timelines and grid connection delays, according to Cornwall.

Many projects have been stuck in a “first come, first served” connections queue, but recent reforms to remove “zombie projects” from the queue and shift to a “first ready, first needed, first connected” approach is expected to clear some of the bottlenecks and quicken the pace of Britain’s renewable energy buildout.

Britain’s energy system operator pulled the plug on hundreds of electricity generation projects earlier this month to clear a huge backlog that had stopped many “shovel-ready” schemes from connecting to the power grid.

More than half of the energy projects in the queue will be removed to make way for about £40bn-worth of schemes considered the most likely to help meet the government’s goal to build a virtually zero-carbon power system by 2030.

Britain’s growing renewables industry may also have accelerated in 2025 as developers rush to get their projects over the line before tougher rules over which projects can connect to the grid, and upcoming local elections that could create uncertainty over future renewable energy planning policies.

Clarke said: “The recent grid connection reforms are a significant step forward, and should help clear some of the backlog, but they won’t solve everything. We need faster decisions, more investment in the grid, and real collaboration between government, regulators and industry. Without that, these record numbers risk becoming just another statistic.”

Cornwall added that the rapid expansion of renewable projects would also mean the UK must reinforce and build out its electricity grid at scale.

“The current infrastructure was never designed for such high volumes of intermittent generation and storage, so investment in grid flexibility, transmission upgrades, and smart technologies will be critical to ensure these projects can deliver power where and when it’s needed,” it said.

The Guardian

battery storage Government News Renewable Energy Solar Energy

Spain’s commitment to renewable energy may be in doubt

December 23, 2025 jrobinson

On the edge of the sleepy town of Figueruelas, a single, vast wind turbine spins around, casting its shadow over the buildings nearby.

It’s a reminder of the importance of renewable electricity in this windswept area of Aragón, in north-eastern Spain, whose plains are host to many of the country’s wind and solar energy farms.

Figueruela’s status as a symbol of Spain’s green transition has been further boosted recently, as work starts nearby on the construction of a vast factory that will produce batteries for electric vehicles.

Chinese firm CATL and the Netherlands-based Stellantis are investing a combined €4bn ($4.7bn; £3.5bn) in the facility. Yao Jing, China’s ambassador in Spain, described it as “one of the biggest Chinese investments Europe has ever seen”.

Luis Bertol Moreno, mayor of the town, says the area was a logical choice for the project.

“We’re in Aragón, where there’s wind all year round, there are lots of hours of sunshine, and we are surrounded by wind turbines and solar panels,” he says.

“Those [energy sources] will be crucial in generating electricity for the new factory, and I understand that was the key reason for building it here in Figueruelas.”

The factory can be seen as vindication of Spain’s energy model, which prioritises renewable sources. In 2017, renewables contributed just a third of Spain’s electricity production, but last year they represented 57%.

By 2030, the government wants them to contribute 81% of electricity output.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez summarised his government’s approach as he delivered a riposte to US President Donald Trump’s pro-fossil fuel “Dig, baby, dig” slogan. “Green, baby, green,” said the Socialist, as he pointed to the benefits of renewable energy.

However, in recent months, Spain’s all-in commitment to renewables has come under scrutiny. This was in great part due to an 28 April blackout that left homes, businesses, government buildings, public transport, schools and universities in the dark across Spain and neighbouring Portugal for several hours.

With the government unable to offer a full explanation for the outage, the country’s energy mix became a fiercely-debated political issue. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the conservative opposition, accused the government of “fanaticism” in pursuing its green agenda, suggesting that an over-reliance on renewables might have caused the incident.

Feijóo and others on the right advocated a rethink of the national energy model.

The fact that, a week before the blackout, solar generation in mainland Spain registered a record 61.5% of the electricity mix has fuelled such claims.

Yet the government and national grid operator Red Eléctrica have both denied that the outage was linked to the preponderance of renewable energy sources in Spain.

“We have operated the system with higher renewable rates [previously] with no effect on the security of the system,” says Concha Sánchez, head of operations for Red Eléctrica. “Definitely it’s not a question of the rate of renewables at that moment.”

Ms Sánchez said the blackout was caused by a combination of issues, including an “unknown event” in the system moments before, which saw anomalous voltage oscillations.

However, Red Eléctrica and the government are still awaiting reports on the incident that they hope will determine the exact cause. A cyber-attack has repeatedly been ruled out.

Meanwhile, since April, Spain’s electricity mix has been modified somewhat, with greater reliance on natural gas, reinforcing the notion that the country is at an energy crossroads.

Spain’s nuclear industry, which currently contributes around 20% of national electricity, has been particularly vocal since the blackout, pushing back against government plans to close the country’s five nuclear plants between 2027 and 2035.

With many European countries undergoing a nuclear renaissance, the planned closures make Spain something of an outlier. The companies that own the Almaraz plant in south-western Spain, due to be the first to shut down, have requested a three-year extension to its life until 2030. That request is currently under consideration.

Ignacio Araluce, president of Foro Nuclear, an association that represents the industry, says Spain is the only country in the world that is scheduling the closure of nuclear plants that are in operation. He believes nuclear energy provides stability while being compatible with the green energy transition.

“It’s prudent to have a mix of renewables and nuclear energy,” he says.

Mr Araluce praises renewable sources because they only require natural elements to generate electricity, but points out that they are not able to operate around the clock or when weather is unfavourable.

“How can you produce energy in those hours when the renewables are not producing?” he asks. The answer, he added, is “with a source like nuclear, that is not producing CO2, that is producing all hours of the year”.

The political opposition is staunchly opposed to the nuclear shut-down. The far-right Vox, criticising what it saw as a lack of explanation by the government for the April blackout, recently described nuclear power as “a crucial source of stability”.

Ms Sánchez acknowledges that there is room for improvement for Spain’s electricity model, pointing to the Iberian peninsula’s relative isolation from the European grid compared to most of its EU neighbours. She also sees storage as an issue.

“While we have taken a good path when it comes to renewable installation, we cannot say the same regarding storage,” she says. “We need to foster storage installation.”

Spain’s political panorama adds an element of uncertainty to its energy future. The Socialist-led coalition has been mired in corruption scandals and its parliamentary majority appears to have collapsed in recent weeks, raising the possibility of a snap election in the coming months.

A right-wing government, which polls suggest would be the likely outcome, would almost certainly place less emphasis on renewables and advocate a partial return to more traditional energy sources.

But in the meantime, Spain’s renewable transition continues.

And for Figueruelas, in Aragón, that means not just cheap, clean energy, but investment. The town’s population, of just 1,000, is due to increase dramatically, with 2,000 Chinese workers scheduled to arrive to help build the new battery plant, which is expected to create up to 35,000 indirect jobs once it starts operating.

“These kinds of investments revitalise the area, they revitalise the construction sector, hostelry,” says local man Manuel Martín. “And the energy is free – it just depends on the sun and the wind.”

BBC

battery storage Climate Change Electricity News power resilience Solar Energy solar panels

After Jamaica’s Disastrous Storm, Solar Power Is a Bright Spot

December 23, 2025 jrobinson

People with rooftop solar panels got their power back almost immediately. The ‘entire neighbourhood benefits’, one resident said.

The morning after Hurricane Melissa tore through Jamaica, Jennifer Hue, a retired tax auditor living close to hard-hit Treasure Beach, woke up to devastation. Her mango, breadfruit and papaya trees were lost, their tops snapped off by 180-mile-per-hour winds. There was water everywhere.

But her roof was intact, and just as importantly, so were the solar panels she had installed two years ago. Most of her neighbors didn’t have electricity. But she did.

Neighbors began stopping by to charge their phones, to take a cool drink from the refrigerator, to message loved ones to let them know they were safe. Ms. Hue is still hosting a cousin and his mother, as well as two medical students from the local university, whose accommodations were damaged.

“The wind was like a tornado, and water came through every crevice,” Ms. Hue said. “But we didn’t lose any solar panels, and the next morning, the sun was shining bright and early,” she said. “We had our power back.”

A small but vibrant market for rooftop solar panels in Jamaica has long been seen as a promising way to wean the nation off imported fossil fuels. The country is reliant on oil and gas from abroad for its power plants, which not only is polluting but also makes Jamaica’s electricity some of the priciest in the world per kilowatt-hour.

But now, solar power is also seen as a way for Jamaica and other nations in one of the world’s most hurricane-prone regions to become more resilient to ever-intensifying storms.

Rooftop solar has grown significantly in Jamaica over the past decade, from less than 1.4 megawatts in 2015 to nearly 65 megawatts in 2023, a significant amount for a small island, experts say. Overall, solar and other forms of renewable energy made up about 10 percent of Jamaica’s power generation in 2023.

The hope is that growth will start to cut down on Jamaica’s dependence on imported oil and liquefied natural gas, which is shipped in tankers to the island nation, at a time when ports, refineries, power plants and transmission lines are becoming vulnerable to extreme weather worsened by a warming planet.

Wide swaths of the country remain without electricity after Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica as a Category 5 storm last week, killing at least 32 people and destroying an untold number of buildings and homes. “You’re talking about restoring a very lengthy, complex and expensive infrastructure,” said David Gumbs, an expert on energy in the Caribbean at the Rocky Mountain Institute and the former chief executive of the Anguilla Electricity Company.

“With solar, you maintain some ability to continue generating electricity” without relying on hundreds of miles of damaged power lines, he said. “And in the Caribbean context, when the hurricane passes, if I have rooftop solar and batteries and if I can keep my refrigerator running, my entire neighborhood benefits.”

The solar panels must survive the high winds, of course. Jason Robinson, who runs Solar Buzz, an installer based in Kingston, Jamaica’s capital, has been surveying the damage this week, navigating roads on the west side of the island strewed with downed trees and power lines. “With nearly 200 mile-per-hour winds, you’re in the universe’s hands,” Mr. Robinson said.

But so far, none of his nearly 300 clients have reported extensive damage, he said. Panels installed flat against the roof, in particular, fared well. Some rooftop solar owners have taken to removing their panels ahead of strong winds. Many were already back online.

“As long as you install to code, and your roof stays on, you have a chance of surviving extremely long power outages,” Mr. Robinson said. “Resiliency is becoming even more important than lowering your bill.”

Solar panels remain beyond the reach of many Jamaicans, but prices are falling rapidly as Chinese gear floods into the market. In recent years the Jamaican government has also started providing a solar income-tax credit, and banks have begun to offer more financing. Jamaica’s electric utility also now compensates solar households for excess electricity they put back into the grid.

That’s helping Jamaica make progress toward its goal of generating 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

Annabelle Todd manages an oceanfront guest villa on Treasure Beach, where two dozen panels and battery storage were installed two-and-a-half years ago. The panels survived, apart from one that was punctured by flying debris. She had electricity and air-conditioning the morning after the storm, much to the envy of her neighbors.

The system wasn’t cheap, costing about $30,000. But it has virtually eliminated electricity bills that used to top $1,000 a month, because her guests “would run that A.C. morning and noon and night,” she said. “Honestly, we could pay it off in two, three years,” she said.

More than that, not losing power has been a relief, she said. It’s the second year in a row that the seaside community, known for its black sand beaches, has been ravaged by a hurricane.

“Now everyone who runs villas here wants solar. I already see solar suppliers driving up and down Treasure Beach,” Ms. Todd said. “They got hit two years in a row, and they’re not going to fool around anymore.”

Twila-Mae Logan, deputy executive director of the University of the West Indies’ business school, spent about $20,000 to install panels at her Kingston home two years ago. The capital was spared the worst of Hurricane Melissa, but even then, her neighborhood lost power, making her home one of the few with electricity. Ahead of the storm, her brother and her niece rushed to her home to store food in her freezer so it wouldn’t spoil.

“We’re a third-world country and our government is significantly under-resourced, but I really do think our government has put some fair degree of priority behind solar,” she said. “Most people would go solar, save for the expense.”

Leaders across the Caribbean have demanded more financial assistance from the world’s rich countries to help Jamaica contend with the consequences of climate change. Caribbean island nations will suffer the most from climate change, despite being least responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the world, they say. The International Monetary Fund says the region requires about $100 billion in economic investment to build resilience to climate-fueled disasters.

Ms. Hue, the retired tax auditor, doesn’t expect to quickly make back the tens of thousands of dollars she paid for her solar panels in 2023. But “it was never about that,” she said. “It was about having very reliable power, and having peace of mind.”

“We were just fortunate to have the sun out the next morning,” she said.

The New York Times

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