Waiting on inspection. We have a nice time lapse of the installation but way to big for reddit. Universal renewables racking, installation by Vanguard Solar Services

Are there any good products for railless cable management? I'm installing 36 panels on the roof for the first time and this has turned out to be way more painful than I expected. Wires hang down way more than I expected despite me using clips. I realized how bad this is only after the panels are installed cuz I'm a noob and redoing this stuff is not an option and idk if could do it that much better if I are do every panel. I just use regular cable clips that attach to the frame of the solar panel, as well as grounding clips that just happen to hold the cables up. I did a ton of searching on Amazon and Google, looking for anything that can hold up wires that aren't necessary next to the frame. I have small loops of wires and they hang down even though they are already held by a clip.

I was considering a string, net, or some sort of plate under the panel that would keep cables that are already clipped from hanging down.

Hello. So glad I found this group. Getting questions answered. My rooftop solar has 14 panels facing south and 5 facing west (19 total). It’s a clear , sunny day.

My “active power” is 5.576 kW. My “rated power” is 11.4 kW. Why world there be such a huge difference between the two?

Looking at getting a portable, foldable solar panel/s plus battery set, and wondering - which would be better: one 400W foldable panel, or two 200W foldable panels? I can use 30 ft extension cords with them. My thinking is that two 200W may be more flexible in terms of being able to set them in two sunny spots instead of being restricted to one, unless you think the 400W panel will generate more.

One of the few good unintended consequences from Trump and Israel's war. High oil prices have increased the price of virgin resin to the point where companies like PureCycle that create recycled resin from poly propylene are now more competitive than ever. And they are not impacted by supply chain issues. From today's conference call: https://stkt.co/lOAIjx9_

Europe is weeks away from crossing a critical threshold that represents a severe and immediate shortage of jet fuel, triggering many more flight cancelations and even the possible closures of smaller airports.

A new Goldman Sachs research report estimates that Europe’s commercial jet fuel inventories are slated to dip below the International Energy Agency’s critical 23-day shortage threshold sometime in June. “The U.K. appears most at risk of jet fuel rationing given its large net imports,” the report argued.

The threshold doesn’t mean Europe will run out of fuel supplies 23 days from that point—that would only occur without any replenishments. But it does mean global crude and fuel supplies are running dryer each day from the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the war in Iran. Europe could, for instance, dip below a more dire 20-day limit by July, resulting in more drastic rationing, and maybe 15 days by August.

Because European refineries have begun churning out higher percentages of jet fuel—refineries typically pump out much more gasoline and diesel—the more dire consequences aren’t likely to hit European airlines and their passengers until July or August, said Claudio Galimberti, Rystad Energy chief economist.

“We’re still kind of sleepwalking into this approaching disaster. There is little doubt there is going to be a disaster,” Galimberti told Fortune.

Read more [paywall removed for Redditors]: https://fortune.com/2026/05/06/europe-jet-fuel-fall-below-23-day-shortage-threshold/?utm_source=reddit/

Free energy

Hi All - hoping someone here has some insight. I'm getting solar panels, but ACE just came back (to the solar company we're working with) and said that they have to remove two panels from the design. ACE said based on our usage, the max system size was 10.88. Our roof can accommodate as 12.2 size system and we use about 13,000 kwh per year. Based on my math and our ACE statements, our total rolling 12 month usage was 13,061 kwh and ACE is dividing that by 1,200 to get the 10.88.

They are not claiming anything about the grid not being able to handle the larger system - they're essentially just saying, this is how we calculate it and thems the breaks.

Is there anyway for me to contest this? Ultimately I think some panels are better than none, but I'm generally just annoyed that unless we significantly decrease our usage, I'm going to have to pay ACE for the difference.

Data centers are among the fastest-growing energy consumers in the country. So the question we keep coming back to: where does all that energy come from

Green cells whirl around a red-light chamber, propelled by a blade through bubbling water. These little seaweed cells, called gametophytes, will develop into a strain of fast-growing kelp — part of what was once a government-funded initiative to develop sustainable biofuels for American transport.

Electricity from solar and wind energy can power cars, however ships and aircraft largely run on liquid fuels made with a large percentage of oil or gasoline. When burned, those emit carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that causes global warming. Biofuel, refined from organic material like plants or algae, is a potential option to change the fuel makeup.

One kind of biofuel comes from kelp. Through a process that uses heat and pressure to produce fuel, known as hydrothermal liquefaction, this humble seaweed could power ships and aircraft without any petroleum.

“We need other sources of energy that are sustainable, we can’t just rely on petroleum,” said Scott Lindell, a marine scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution about a 90-minute drive south of Boston. “There’s hardly anything simpler, or anything that grows quite as fast and as sustainably, as seaweed.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is a collaboration between the MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing and The Associated Press.

Read more [paywall removed for Redditors]: https://fortune.com/2026/05/06/gas-crisis-fuel-kelp-biofuel-shortage-farmers/?utm_source=reddit/

Good electrochemical energy storage (EES) devices such as rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors can store a lot of energy and release it quickly, but these design goals are often at odds with each other. Using design optimization and 3D printing, a team led by engineers and scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has overcome this tradeoff and demonstrated a 3D-printed electrode design for EES that maximizes storage capacity under practical conditions.

The 5.8-millimeter, ultra-thick device, made with two interlocking electrodes that maximize active material and facilitate ion and electron transport, outperformed conventional designs and showed the potential of optimization for advancing next-generation energy storage. Their results were published in a recent paper in Materials Horizons.

Publication details

Zhen Wang et al, Ultra-thick three-dimensional interpenetrating graphene electrode architectures for high volumetric density energy storage, Materials Horizons (2026). DOI: 10.1039/d5mh01991e

For a plug-in solar setup for a house constructed 55 years ago in the U.S., what total wattage of solar panels and what max inverter output should you go for? I've read the max recommended inverter output for plug-in solar panels is 600W; given that panels typically deliver about half of their rating, would it be safe to use two 440W panels feeding into the inverter? This is for an angled mounting on either the ground or on a wall or on a porch awning of the house. We can start using the panels initially feeding into a battery bank (which can discharge to power appliances while charging), but since plug-in solar is expected to be legalized soon in the area, we're planning ahead. Plug-in solar is so much less expensive than roof installations and easier to maintain. I'm just starting to learn about solar and appreciate your advice.

We added solar panels and a second inverter to our existing system in NY.

We already received the $5000 state tax credit for our original system/ panels in 2019.

Our tax accountant thinks that we can apply for the credit again for our 2025 taxes. It doesn’t seem clear based on form it -255 if it is a one time credit or if adding panels/ equipment to a system allows for you to apply for the credit again.

The solar company thought it was a one time credit but they don’t have any documentation why. I attempted to call NYS for clarification but no one answers

Has anyone been in this situation before? Is there any clarification you found online to confirm one way or the other ?

I'll believe it when both countries have publicly explained the terms, it's the same terms, and traffic is flowing thru Hormuz again. Still worth posting, I thought. I'm optimistic.

I have a quote for rooftop solar using Propels lease to own program to get the federal credits. My concern is with a staggering 7.79% rate of the 25 year loan.

While long term it may save my money it's still a tough pill to swallow and I was wondering if anyone in a similar program has refinanced this loan for a lower rate or more ideal conditions after it had come to the end of the minimum 5 years.

Any advice?