E/lectrify’s Cool News on Clean Energy

I don’t know about you, but with Energy Secretary Chris Wright laying waste to broad swathes of federally funded clean energy projects — even direct air capture and hydrogen hubs that fossil fuel companies have long supported — I need some encouraging, forward-looking news. 

Ditto, stories about the clean energy transition; fun, cool stuff that has little if any connection to data centers. In other words, it’s time for E/lectrify’s Cool News on Clean Energy, where I check out the specialized energy industry media to find news flying under the mainstream radar — and hopefully lift a few spirits.

My first stop was pv magazine, where I found a great story about agrivoltaics in the Czech Republic.

Since May of 2024, the Central European nation has passed a series of laws that provide guidelines for the use of solar on agricultural land — and let’s stop here for a minute to consider the significance of a country developing an evolving set of rules to promote agrivoltaics. 

The first law in 2024 allowed farmers to install solar on their land without having to apply for rezoning — as was previously required — while also limiting solar installations to no more than 10% of the surface area of their farms. 

A January 2025 law designated six types of crops that could be grown alongside solar – vineyards, hopyards, orchards, tree nurseries, crops in containers and truffle areas (solar mushrooms!!). It also set rules for horizontal and vertical solar systems; for example, horizontal projects have to be at least 2.1 meters (6.9 feet) high to ensure room for plants, while vertical rows of solar panels have to be at least 6 meters (19.7 feet) apart (see picture above, courtesy of Next2Sun).

The most recent update, from the Czech Ministry of Agriculture, expands the use of vertical solar on arable – that is, productive – farmland, requiring that labor-intensive veggies be grown at least once every three years. So along with solar mushrooms, we could have solar tomatoes, lettuce, peppers and cucumbers.

Jiří Bím of Solární Asociace, the Czech solar association, stressed the grid benefits of vertical solar. “Vertical systems oriented to the east and west … do not contribute to midday overproduction of electricity,” Bim said Rather, they “supply electricity … in the morning and evening, thereby helping to stabilize the electricity system.”

The practicality and common sense here are striking — and truly refreshing. 

The loss of tax credits may slow the electric vehicle market in the United States, but the rest of the world seems to know that EVs are the future of transportation and way cooler to drive — and is working on making them even better

Electrek reports on Toyota’s recent update on its progress toward developing solid-state batteries that could put EVs with a range of more than 600 miles on the road by 2027 or 2028.

The main difference between solid-state and the lithium-ion batteries now powering EVs is the electrolyte inside the battery — the material that carries the electric charge between the anode and cathode. Current EV batteries have a liquid electrolyte; solid-state batteries, as the name implies, have a solid electrolyte.  

Toyota’s goal is to produce solid-state batteries that will be smaller, lighter and cost significantly less than current EV batteries, and they are partnering with other Japanese corporate giants to build out a domestic supply chain and break their dependence on Chinese imports. 

The company is working with Sumitomo Metal Mining and Idemi Kosan, an oil company, on developing and manufacturing the advanced materials needed for solid-state batteries. 

Of course, the Chinese have already introduced a low-cost EV with a “semi-solid-state” battery — that is, with a gel electrolyte, halfway between liquid and solid. Rolled out in August, the MG4 (pictured above), manufactured by SAIC MG, has a top range of more than 300 miles and costs less than $15,000, according to electrek. 

Meanwhile, Chevy is rolling out its updated Bolt electric crossover SUV, with a range of 255 miles and starting prices of $29,000 to $32,000. In other words, the coolest and cheapest EVs might not be manufactured or, in some cases, even sold in the U.S., which is definitely uncool. 

The U.S. isn’t the only country dealing with higher electric bills. Second only to Germany, Ireland has some of the highest energy costs in Europe, with household electric bills coming in at €350, or about $404, more per year than the rest of the EU. The average per-kilowatt-hour rate translates to around $0.40. 

What is the Irish government doing to help? According to pv magazine, it is ponying up €1.1 billion ($1.27 billion) for bill- and emission-cutting measures in its 2026 budget, with €558 million ($646 million) of that total going to support residential and community solar and energy efficiency upgrade programs.

What’s totally cool here is that Ireland has a National Retrofit Plan, with different programs all aimed at improving energy efficiency and lowering bills. One example, Ireland has set a target of replacing existing heating equipment with heat pumps in 400,000 homes by the end of 2030. Grants are available for installing rooftop solar — currently €1,800 ($2,084) per household — and for other energy efficiency upgrades, such as improving insulation. Low-income households can get free upgrades.

According to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, home energy upgrades were up 2% year over year, to 11,910 homes in the first quarter of 2025, including 1,350 free upgrades for low-income homes. 

(And check out the SEAI website to see what a government-funded one-stop shop for clean energy home upgrades can look like.)

Ireland even has a €400 ($463) income tax exemption for any income a solar owner receives from selling their excess generation. The exemption was scheduled to run out the end of this year but has been extended to the end of 2028.

Ireland’s numbers may not seem large, but the country’s total population is 5.4 million, about the same as South Carolina, which ranked 40th in the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s 2025 scorecard on state energy efficiency policies. SC shared the No. 40 ranking with Alaska and Ohio, with all three scoring a total of 14 points out of a possible 100. 

Figures from the Solar Energy Industries Association also show that new solar on the grid has been steadily declining in South Carolina since 2022.

(You can find my thoughts on reducing electric bills in the U.S. on E/lectrify here.) 

Twenty some-odd years ago, I was sitting in the City Council chamber in Palm Desert, Calif. — about 12.5 miles southeast of Palm Springs — listening to home builders argue that beefing up local energy efficiency codes would increase housing costs. 

Apparently, those arguments haven’t changed much in the past two decades, according to a recent blog on the ACEEE website, but coauthors Lowell Ungar and Ben Somberg counter that “modern building energy codes are a key housing affordability tool. 

“By ensuring all new homes meet minimum standards for energy efficiency, codes save new and future residents money on utility bills and reduce the overall cost of housing,” they say.

Housing construction numbers bounce around a lot, affected by a range of factors. So, Ungar and Somberg zeroed in on new home construction in five states that have adopted what was then the most recent and rigorous national code, the 2021 update of the International Energy Conservation Code. (The IECC is updated every three years, so the 2024 code is the new standard.)

What they found is that adopting the 2021 code did not have a major impact on new home construction in those five states — New Jersey, Maryland, Florida, Illinois and Washington. Rather, construction rates more or less tracked national averages, sometimes running a bit below or above (see chart above). Similar patterns were found in the construction of multifamily housing.

A recent financial risk filing from homebuilder D.R. Horton notes that residential construction is affected by factors such as consumer confidence, workforce availability and interest rates. But, Ungar and Somberg say, Horton does not include building codes or even regulation in general as a major obstacle. 

“The choice between reducing energy costs and producing more housing is a false one,” they conclude. “We can, and must, advance both at the same time.” 

And let’s close with some very cool news about heat pump water heaters, from Clean Technica. Switching from a gas-fired water heater to a HPWH often means an expensive electric panel upgrade because the heat pump requires a special 240-volt plug. But in 2023, two manufacturers — Rheem and A.O. Smith — introduced 120V HPWHs, which can use a regular household plug. 

Figures from California show that the plug-in models cost about $1,700 less and only required panel upgrades in 2% of the installs versus 27% for 240V models. Large households with more than four people or with a water heater located outside may need to stick with a 240V, but in many cases, a 120V plug-in will keep your morning shower plenty hot. 

Tax credits up to $2,000 are still available for HPWHs through the end of the year. Enough said.