Solar News This Week - August 2, 2026
Clean energy grants canceled based on how states voted
The Trump administration has acknowledged in court documents that it canceled $7.6 billion in grants for hundreds of clean energy projects "based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient's state" — in this case, 16 states that voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
The statement contradicts repeated assertions by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and other officials that the projects were canceled because they did not adequately advance the nation's energy needs or had other problems that made them a poor investment of taxpayer dollars.
Projects that were cut were located in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington state. All 16 targeted states supported Harris, but Wright had claimed the cuts were "business decisions" based on whether the projects were a good use of taxpayer money Court filings by the Trump administration now show that those public statements were knowingly false.
Vehicle-to-grid collaboration to cut grid costs by up to $7 billion per year
By 2030, EVs with vehicle-to-grid capability could reduce grid costs by up to $7 billion per year according to a recent report by the consultancy company E3.
The study projected that, if compensated at a level to induce customer enrollment, a V2G-capable electric vehicle could offset grid costs from $680 to $2,750 per vehicle per year across 14 U.S. electricity markets.
In response, General Motors has called on automakers, utilities and energy policymakers to collaborate to reach that potential. GM proposed that a V2G partnership could collaborate to achieve three goals: increase customer enrollment in utility V2G programs, "modernized" tariffs and rate structures to accommodate bi-directional charging, and streamline permitting and interconnection of bidirectional chargers installed in parking lots and driveways.
GM is currently testing V2G-capable vehicles and bidirectional chargers in vehicle-grid integration pilot studies with the utilities PG&E in California and DTE Energy in Michigan.
FCC bans new foreign inverter imports
The Federal Communications Commission has banned new internationally manufactured power inverters, like those used in solar PV and energy storage projects, from being imported into the United States.
Last week, the FCC added "foreign-produced power inverters" to a list of communications products and services that it considers a risk to national security, citing alleged risks to the supply chain and cybersecurity for the nation's electrical infrastructure.
While many of the details of the ban, which went into effect immediately, are still unclear, it appears that this ban is primarily concerned with where the inverter is actually made, not the company's country of origin.
Inverters that are unaffected by the ban must be manufactured domestically and follow the Buy American statute. Prior to the FCC issuing this ban, the agency has not previously been involved in approving which inverter technologies could be deployed within the United States.
PJM emergency capacity falls short by about 7,000 MW
Each year PJM holds capacity auctions to secure future electric supply —ensuring enough generation is available to meet peak demand, including during extreme weather events.
In the recent auction for 2028/29 capacity, the grid operator, which manages power for 67 million people served by the region located between NY and Chicago, fell short of its required reserve margin for the first time in the history of the PJM capacity market.
The auction hit the $329/MW day price cap and still failed to procure enough capacity commitments to meet the forecast peak load. PJM estimated the auction would have cleared at roughly $555/MW day had the price cap not been in place.
To address the 6,831 MW shortfall, PJM is proposing a one time Reliability Backstop Procurement (RBP) auction with a maximum price of $555/MW day.
Rising capacity prices are one of the clearest signals that a power system is becoming structurally strained. They indicate tightening supply, shrinking reliability margins, and the need for new investment or operational changes.
Despite rising cost pressures, renewables remain cheapest form of energy
Lazard, Inc. last week released its 19th edition of its Levelized Cost of Energy+ (LCOE+) report.
Key findings of the report include, that despite rising costs across all generation technologies, renewables remain the most cost-competitive form of new-build generation on an unsubsidized basis and will account for the majority of near-term electric capacity additions in the U.S.
Rising demand will continue to put pressure on an already fragile grid, lengthening permitting delays, raising costs and reducing grid reliability.
Fossil fuel prices, such as oil, coal and natural gas, are increasingly subject to fluctuations based on weather, geopolitical events and broader commodity market conditions.
Lazard's analysis also shows an increase in costs for standalone storage configurations, reversing previous declines. This year, the effect of tariffs on lithium-ion battery imports have become evident, curtailing access to the low-cost Chinese cell supply that previously drove costs lower.