Higher Power PV Modules Drive Up BOS Costs

IHI Power Services Corp. (IPSC), a leading provider of operations and maintenance (O&M), asset management, technical and compliance services for the power generation industry, announced that it has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Kyuden International Corporation, a part of the Kyuden Group, a Japan-based global energy leader with extensive experience in power generation and infrastructure, through its U.S. subsidiary, Kyuden International Americas, Inc. Upon completion of customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions, IPSC will officially join the Kyuden Group—marking a significant milestone that positions the company to accelerate growth, expand its national footprint and enhance service delivery.

With decades of experience as an operator of power generation facilities, IPSC has built a strong reputation for safely optimizing plant performance, reducing operational risk and maximizing asset value across a diverse portfolio of services and technologies, including natural gas, renewable energy and other generation assets. The addition of Kyuden’s global expertise and resources will further strengthen IPSC’s ability to grow, broaden its capabilities and deliver even greater value to customers across an increasingly complex energy landscape.

“This is an exciting next chapter for IPSC,” said Tony Dabbene, IHI Power Services Corp. CEO and CFO. “Kyuden International brings deep operational experience and a strong global energy platform that aligns with our mission and values. Together, we are well-positioned to accelerate growth, expand our operations and maintenance and asset management capabilities, enhance operational excellence and build upon our reputation as a trusted partner to power generators across the U.S.”

Under the current leadership, IPSC will ensure a seamless transition with zero disruption to existing operations or the onboarding of new client assets. By merging its local O&M and asset management excellence with Kyuden Group’s global resources, IPSC is strengthening its commitment to safety and reliability while scaling capacity to manage the industry's most complex technical challenges.

This transaction represents Kyuden Group’s first investment in an O&M-focused business in the United States and reflects a shared vision to combine global capabilities with regional expertise to drive sustainable growth and long-term value creation.

IHI Power Services | https://www.ihipower.com 

Kyuden Group | https://www.kyuden-intl.co.jp/en/

Leading offshore wind developers and the Carbon Trust have updated a groundbreaking common methodology for calculating the carbon footprint of offshore wind farms, bringing harmony and transparency to carbon emissions measurement in the sector. 

The Sustainability Joint Industry Programme (SUSJIP) is a collaborative programme to accelerate decarbonisation action across future fixed and floating projects for a Net Zero offshore wind industry, with partners including EnBW, JERA Nex bp, Ørsted, RWE, ScottishPower Renewables (SPR), Statkraft, SSE Renewables and TotalEnergies. ​ 

The programme aims to drive decarbonisation in the rest of the offshore wind supply chain through harmonising carbon reporting in offshore wind. In September 2024, it published its ‘Offshore Wind Industry Product Carbon Footprinting Guidance’, addressing the lack of industry guidance to provide a clear, accessible and freely available reporting standard. 

The updated carbon footprinting Guidance follows an in-depth review by an expert working group, giving greater clarity and alignment with current industry best practices. Updates include updated templates for reporting and disclosure; improved guidance for assessing data quality, sensitivity and uncertainty; and the addition of use cases on how to apply the product carbon footprint methodology. 

SPR, RWE and Ørsted have given real‑world examples of how the SUSJIP methodology is being applied.  

• SPR has used the SUSJIP methodology to calculate portfolio‑level baselines and identify emissions hotspots, strengthening supplier engagement and supporting scenario modelling for lower‑carbon design and procurement.  
• RWE conducted a Life Cycle Assessment on Thor, its flagship offshore wind project in Denmark, using its in‑house tool before benchmarking it against the SUSJIP methodology. This enabled RWE to calculate the project’s carbon footprint, test scenarios such as using greener steel towers, validate assumptions and improve data quality. 
• Ørsted used its LCA model, which is closely aligned with the SUSJIP methodology, to identify major emissions sources, such as steel production and marine fuels. It plans further alignment with the methodology to improve comparability and support supply‑chain decarbonisation. 

Recent research from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has found Offshore wind to have almost 99% less impact than coal-fired power plants when generating electricity. Although offshore is a lower emission generation source, there are opportunities to further understand the exact impact of the lifecycle of these developments, from material extraction through to decommissioning. 

Carbon footprint calculations can be used across the offshore wind industry to provide insights into baseline data, emission hotspots and decarbonisation opportunities. However, to ensure standardisation and comparability, the SUSJIP argues that industry-wide alignment on carbon footprint calculations is vital. 

In a position paper also published today, SUSJIP partners make the case for the widespread adoption of its guidance, with harmonisation of carbon reporting in offshore wind leading to better alignment, enhanced transparency and comparability. This is increasingly relevant for developers, as discussions continue incorporating carbon footprint criteria into renewable energy auctions. Indeed, the EU’s Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA) adds important context on the need for harmonisation. 

The paper outlines additional benefits of harmonisation for developers and stakeholders, including:  

• Enhanced transparency of carbon footprint calculations produced by developers 
• Presenting a standard approach for any future greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions monitoring that successful projects may have to undertake as part of potential regulatory obligations 
• Sector-specific rules for the application of the relevant standards for Product Carbon Footprints (PCFs) to an Offshore Wind development (ISO 14067, GHG Protocol Product Standard).  

Mary Harvey, Programme Manager for SUSJIP from the Carbon Trust, said: 

“The launch of the SUSJIP Phase 2 methodology reflects our partners’ continued commitment to a harmonised approach to product carbon footprinting of offshore wind farms. Combined with case studies demonstrating real-world adoption over the past year and a position paper setting out a unified developer voice, the revised methodology signals that the industry is ready to adopt consistent, robust PCF calculations and accelerate the reduction of emissions across the sector.

Jean Gavalda, Director of Construction Asset Management, Offshore Wind Business Unit at TotalEnergies, said: 

"Through our participation in Phase II of the JIP Sustainability programme, TotalEnergies reinforces its commitment to reducing emissions across our operations and value chain, while advancing a lower carbon energy mix built on renewables such as offshore wind. A shared, harmonised methodology is essential to improve transparency and comparability, enabling the industry to accelerate decarbonization."  

Louis Alen, Sustainability Officer at JERA Nex bp, said: 

“We want to apply the SUSJIP carbon footprint analysis to our Arcadis Ost I wind farm as a test case. Using the methodology, developed within the Sustainability Joint Industry Programme, we will carry out a standardised life cycle assessment (LCA) to map the project’s CO₂ emissions from construction to decommissioning. This provides transparency and comparability within the industry, helps identify emission hotspots, and supports both internal decision-making and external reporting, for example under the Net Zero Industry Act. It is a valuable step to substantiate our sustainability objectives and prepare for future tendering and reporting requirements.” 

SUSJIP is the fifth addition to the Carbon Trust’s renewable energy innovation platform, which consists of a portfolio of R&D activities including the Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA), the Floating Wind Joint Industry Programme (FLWJIP), the Integrator and the Offshore Renewables Joint Industry Programme (ORJIP). 

Carbon Trust | https://www.carbontrust.com/

Avantus and Toyota Tsusho America (TAI) – a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan, announced the completion of construction of the 159-megawatt (MWdc)/125 MWac Norton Solar Project in Runnels County, Texas. The project achieved substantial completion in October 2025. The successful delivery of Norton highlights the strength of the relationship between Avantus and TAI and demonstrates Avantus’ ability to deliver high-quality projects that help global corporate leaders advance their clean energy commitments. TAI entered into a long-term Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) with Toyota Motor North America for the full output of the solar plant. 

“Avantus delivered on their promises throughout the construction of the Norton Solar Project,” said Akihiro Yoshida, Vice President of TAI Norton Solar, LLC. “Their collaborative work ethic and rigorous focus on safety, schedule, and budget gave us confidence and comfort every step of the way. With the project now in operations, Avantus has helped us achieve concrete progress in advancing our sustainability goals.”

Avantus oversaw the successful completion of the project with RES providing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services.

“Our track record for executing large-scale projects like Norton safely, on time, and on budget is the foundation of our reputation and our partners’ trust,” said Fausto Perez, Executive Vice President, Engineering and Construction at Avantus. “Our team is proud to deliver certainty and reliability for project owners, enabling them to advance their sustainability goals and invest in clean energy with confidence.” 

Norton created nearly 250 jobs at peak construction and will continue to provide economic benefits to Runnels County and the local community throughout its operating life.

Avantus continues to advance one of the nation’s largest pipelines of solar and energy storage projects, with approximately 24 gigawatts (GWdc) of solar and 75 gigawatt hours (GWh) of energy storage under development across the Western United States.

Avantus | www.avantus.com

Black Moon Energy Corporation ("BMEC") announced it has secured a contract to supply Helium-3 to the U.S. Department of Energy's Isotope Program (DOE IP), marking a key milestone in the company's plan to develop the first commercial supply of lunar Helium-3. The agreement positions BMEC at the forefront of efforts to establish a scalable supply of Helium-3.

BMEC is among a very limited number of companies holding a contract to supply newly sourced Helium-3 to the DOE IP. Managed by the Office of Science, the DOE IP is the only federal entity authorized to sell and distribute Helium-3. For more than 50 years, the program has overseen the federal Helium-3 inventory, supplying the isotope for mission-critical applications including national security, government research, medical diagnostics, quantum computing, cryogenics and fusion energy. Day-to-day commercial operations are administered by the National Isotope Development Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Helium-3 is extraordinarily scarce on Earth. Small trace amounts escape annually from the Earth's core, but the primary terrestrial supply is derived from the decay of nuclear materials—an expensive and very limited source. In contrast, the Moon has accumulated abundant quantities of Helium-3 in its regolith over billions of years through continuous exposure to the solar wind, making it the only known scalable reserve within our reach.

Earlier this year, BMEC announced its engagement of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Caltech to lead robotic systems, scientific instrumentation, data acquisition, and mission operations for the company's inaugural Fusion 1 Mission. The mission will conduct the first systematic survey of an operational area in the equatorial regions of the Moon, directly sampling and analyzing lunar regolith to quantify Helium-3 resources and test excavating and processing procedures for production and return of the resource to Earth.

Over a one-year operational period, Fusion 1 will generate a decision-grade dataset on Helium-3 abundance, define terrain and regolith conditions necessary for scalable field development, and demonstrate autonomous robotic operations through multiple lunar day-night cycles. The mission is designed to deliver the first commercial-grade resource model for lunar Helium-3 production.

Addressing return logistics, CEO David Warden explains "Helium-3 gas will be robotically compressed into transport cylinders and returned at a cost substantially lower than any potential terrestrial supply, without the associated radioactive, operational, and waste challenges. In any event, the terrestrial quantities are miniscule and insufficient to meet the projected demand for quantum computers and fusion power plants. Importantly, no breakthrough technologies are required to harvest Helium-3 from the Moon—rovers, return vehicles and supporting hardware systems are already in production by multiple commercial providers."

Helium-3 is essential for the low operating temperature required by quantum computers. In a recent report, McKinsey reported: "According to our conversations with tech executives, investors, and academics in quantum computing, 72 percent believe we'll see a fully fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2035." McKinsey has identified it as one of the next big trends in tech, accounting "for nearly $1.3 trillion in value by 2035." See, What is Quantum Computing, McKinsey & Company (April 2024).

Global interest in fusion energy continues to accelerate. Recent demonstrations of net energy gain have advanced the field, while growing electricity demand—from AI infrastructure to global decarbonization commitments under the Paris Agreement—continues to drive investment in next-generation power solutions. U.S. policy has moved decisively toward enabling commercial space development, including a recent Executive Order directing federal agencies to accelerate permitting and regulatory approvals for space activities.

The development of a scalable Helium-3 supply has the potential to unlock a new generation of fusion energy systems capable of delivering reliable, carbon-free baseload electricity.

BMEC's commercial roadmap targets Helium-3 production at scale within the next eight years, establishing a supply capable of supporting a substantial portion of future U.S. electric demand. Fusion power is compatible with existing electrical infrastructure, enabling integration with the current grid. Several private fusion companies are already partnering with utilities to build pilot plants with projected grid connections in the early 2030s. 

When realized, Helium-3-based fusion could provide large-scale power generation to support global electrification while delivering a stable energy supply for hundreds of millions of people worldwide.

Black Moon Energy Corporation | https://blackmoon.energy/

A newly released report from the Minnesota Department of Commerce confirms that Minnesota’s Low- and Moderate-Income Accessible Community Solar Garden Program (LMI Accessible CSG Program) is achieving its intended goal of driving equitable access to clean energy, while maintaining the state’s leadership in community solar deployment. 

Launched on January 2, 2024, with the express goal of expanding solar access to households typically left out of renewable energy participation, the program is demonstrating that community solar can deliver on both climate and equity objectives. According to the 2026 Annual report on the LMI Accessible CSG Program, the majority of capacity is serving the Minnesotans it was designed to reach. Key findings of the report include: 

● 90% of the program participants are low-income, residential, or public interest customers 

● 77% of the program is made up of residential subscribers, of which 47% are LMI 

● 62% of subscribers in the LMI category, exceeded set program goal of 55% 

● The third largest subscriber group is public interest organizations, such as schools, religious institutions, municipal governments, and other non-profits 

“For years, MnSEIA staff and members worked to design and advance the LMI Accessible CSG Program with a clear goal: expand access to affordable clean energy. This report confirms the program is delivering measurable savings to low- and moderate-income households while strengthening Minnesota’s leadership in community solar,” said Logan O’Grady, Executive Director of MnSEIA. “By embedding equity into policy design from the start, Minnesota is proving that the clean energy transition can lower costs, expand opportunity, and deliver real value to the families who need it most.” 

Achieving fast deployment while reaching critical community organizations, the program made 100 MW available in both 2024 and 2025 and as of December 16, 2025, 179 MW of projects had been approved across a total of 133 gardens. This impressive deployment pace maintains Minnesota’s ranking as one of the top community solar states nationwide. 

“Minnesota has long been a leader in community solar, and this report highlights how that leadership translates into meaningful access for historically underserved communities,” said Kevin Cray, Vice President of Existing Markets and Regulatory Affairs for Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA). “When lawmakers design equity-focused policy, we get results that have real impact on people’s lives. Minnesota is setting a national example that community solar is both scalable and equitable.” 

Even though the program is only two years old, these early results demonstrate that Minnesota’s policy framework is aligning clean energy growth with affordability and access. Pouya Najmaie, Policy and Regulatory Director at Cooperative Energy Futures, emphasized the broader significance of the findings. 

“This program proves that when intentionally designed, the clean energy transition is equitable,” said Najmaie. “Solar is the most democratizing form of energy on the planet so it is essential that it is accessible to working families. With the overwhelming majority of capacity serving residential customers, public interest groups, or low-income participants, Minnesota’s LMI Accessible CSG Program is showing the rest of the nation exactly what the energy transition can achieve.” 

majority of capacity serving residential customers, public interest groups, or low-income participants, Minnesota’s LMI Accessible CSG Program is showing the rest of the nation exactly what the energy transition can achieve.” 

As energy prices skyrocket across the nation and state clean energy policies fill in the gap left from the overturning of the Inflation Reduction Act, Minnesota’s equitable clean energy program provides compelling evidence that well-crafted policy, paired with industry excellence, produces measurable and meaningful results. 

MnSEIA | www.mnseia.org

CCSA | https://communitysolaraccess.org/

Cooperative Energy Futures | https://www.cooperativeenergyfutures.com/

OptiGrid, a leader in battery-integrated charging technology, has begun assembly of “Reservoir,” its DC fast charging solution, in Kansas City, Kansas, marking a critical milestone in transitioning from product design to commercial deployment. Production takes place at OptiGrid’s manufacturing partner, Orange EV’s 440,000-square-foot facility, in Kansas City, where OptiGrid’s headquarters is co-located. The site includes dedicated assembly, testing and validation areas that form the foundation for early customer deployments and volume scaling. Orange EV is OptiGrid’s first customer and started receiving Reservoir units on March 13.

Reservoir can be fully white-labeled to meet each customer's branding and operational needs. Orange EV is deploying Reservoir units under the “Orange Juicer” brand to its fleet customers.

“This is a pivotal milestone for OptiGrid,” said Tyler Phillipi, CEO of OptiGrid. “Start of production means Reservoir, a fourth-generation battery-integrated charger design, is tested and ready for real fleet operations. We designed it to deliver high-performance charging without requiring fleets to wait for time-consuming and costly grid upgrades. Manufacturing in Kansas City will allow us to leverage existing manufacturing capacity and experience to scale production rapidly and meet fleet demand nationwide.”

Demo Unit Deployment

This week, an Orange Juicer-branded charger is being installed at a leading U.S.- based marine terminal. The operator plans to use this as a technology validation to support the electrification of fleet and equipment at one of its port facilities, where electrical infrastructure constraints can make the deployment of traditional high-power charging difficult. With the Reservoir, an operator can support 500% more fleet vehicles with the same amount of power. 

How Reservoir Works

Reservoir is a battery-integrated charger that steadily draws available AC power from the grid and stores it in an onboard 180 kWh battery. When vehicles need charging, Reservoir delivers that stored energy as up to 200 kW of DC fast charging on demand.

Reservoir Performance Highlights

• An onboard 180 kWh battery enables high-power charging from a constrained grid and keeps vehicles charging during grid instability.
• The charger delivers up to 200 kW DC fast charging on demand.
• Reservoir supports electric vehicle fleets from rideshare vehicles to Class 8 trucks.
• Reservoir reduces grid input power requirements by 85% while maintaining full charging performance.
• The charger’s scalable, flexible design supports easy relocation and incremental fleet electrification.
• Installation takes hours versus days or weeks with other charging solutions.
• It is cross-compatible with multiple OEMs.

OptiGrid | www.optigridllc.com

Origis Energy, one of America’s leading renewable energy platforms, announced that the Wheatland Solar project in Knox County, Indiana, has achieved commercial operations as of February 27, 2026. Wheatland Solar is a 210 MWdc  / 150 MWac utility-scale solar facility contracted under a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement with CenterPoint Energy, delivering clean, affordable electricity to support the reliability and resiliency of CenterPoint’s Indiana service territory.

“At Origis Energy, we take pride in delivering high-quality projects safely, on schedule, and in close partnership with our customers,” said David Groleau, Senior Vice President of Origination at Origis Energy. “Reaching commercial operations at Wheatland reflects the strength of our development and execution platform and our continued commitment to providing reliable, cost-effective energy solutions for utilities and the communities they serve.”

“Our long-term electric generation plan is focused on delivering reliable, affordable and diversified energy for our southwestern Indiana customers,” said Shane Bradford, CenterPoint Energy’s Vice President, Indiana Electric. “We appreciate working with Origis Energy to bring the Wheatland Solar project to commercial operations in support of that effort.”

Construction of the Wheatland Solar project supported local economic development throughout Knox County. At peak, the project supported approximately 360 construction jobs, contributing to local employment and investment during the construction period.

Wheatland Solar was previously financed through a combination of tax equity and debt, including a tax equity commitment from J.P. Morgan and portfolio financing with MUFG, underscoring strong market confidence in Origis Energy’s ability to deliver large-scale renewable energy projects.

For additional information about Wheatland Solar, visit https://origisenergy.com/project/wheatland-solar/.

Origis Energy | www.origisenergy.com