The number of fires involving solar panels in the UK increased 133% from 2022 to 2025, while the number of solar installations increased by 52%, according to research from insurer QBE.

UK fire services reported 212 fires involving solar panels in 2025, compared with 91 in 2022. There were 131 in 2023 and 155 in 2024.

Meanwhile, the number of solar installations increased from 1,268,795 in 2022 to 1,933,148 in 2025. By May 2026, the UK had reached 2,047,225 solar installations.

The leading reported cause in 2025 was DC cabling and connectors, linked to 49 fires. The solar panel itself was linked to 36 fires, battery banks to 23, and inverters to 19.

Most of the fires occurred at residential properties, which recorded 102 incidents in 2025. Commercial properties had 48 fires, industrial buildings had 14, and solar farms had 14.

Commercial solar-related fires increased from 33 in 2024 to 48 in 2025, while industrial fires increased from 6 to 14.

QBE says loose connections, damaged wires and faulty wiring can cause electrical arc faults and other failures. It recommends using certified installers and regularly inspecting solar systems.

The fires are also becoming more serious. The number that spread beyond the solar installation nearly tripled, rising from 33 in 2022 to 88 in 2025.

QBE says the rapid growth of battery storage in solar systems is another concern because lithium-ion battery fires can undergo thermal runaway, causing fires that can be difficult to control.

The figures come from Freedom of Information requests to UK fire services made by QBE in February 2026. The installation figures come from UK Government Solar Photovoltaic Statistics.

Importantly, the figures refer to fires involving solar-panel systems and do not mean that solar panels themselves are inherently dangerous. QBE’s data points particularly to wiring, connectors and other electrical equipment as important sources of fires.

Source: QBE European Operations, August 2026; UK Government Solar Photovoltaic Statistics.

Hoymiles has introduced the first UL 3700-listed plug-in balcony solar microinverter in the United States, marking a major step toward legalizing plug-and-play residential solar. The HiFlow Pro plugs directly into a standard 120-volt household outlet, allowing homeowners and renters to generate electricity without a traditional rooftop installation.

The microinverter complies with the new UL 3700 safety standard, published in late 2025 specifically for plug-in photovoltaic systems. It includes anti-islanding protection that automatically disconnects during power outages, improving safety for utility workers and making plug-in solar easier for utilities and regulators to approve.

A typical balcony solar system consists of one or two solar panels connected to the HiFlow Pro microinverter, which converts DC power into grid-compatible AC electricity. Multiple units can be connected in parallel, allowing a maximum combined output of up to 1,200 watts, enough to offset a meaningful portion of a home’s daytime electricity consumption.

Currently, plug-in balcony solar is gaining momentum across the U.S. Eight states have already enacted enabling legislation, while many others are considering similar laws. The technology is already widely used in Europe, especially Germany, where millions of balcony solar systems have been installed to help reduce household electricity bills.

Although the HiFlow Pro is a microinverter rather than an energy storage system and therefore provides no battery storage, it enables safe, low-cost distributed solar generation using existing household outlets. The launch represents an important milestone for expanding affordable rooftop and balcony solar access to renters, apartment residents, and homeowners across the United States.

The world just added more clean power in one year than India’s entire electricity grid can hold.

In 2025 alone, countries installed 692 gigawatts of new renewable energy, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. That is the biggest single year jump ever recorded. Solar panels did most of the heavy lifting, making up nearly three quarters of everything added. ⚡ Global renewable capacity has now crossed 5,149 gigawatts, or about half of all power generation on Earth.

Behind every panel and turbine is a quiet race against time. Scientists have long warned that the next decade will decide how much warming the planet locks in. This surge shows the shift is no longer a promise. It is already happening. Could this be the turning point we needed all along?

Source: IRENA Renewable Capacity Statistics 2026

Your EV charger trips overnight. The DNO says the voltage is fine. The charger says otherwise.

So who’s right?

In this video, we dive into one of the biggest challenges facing the modern electrical grid: rising voltages caused by solar PV, battery storage, EV chargers and changing power flows on local networks. We explore ESQCR voltage limits, BS 7671 Regulation 722, open PEN protection, Clause D vs Clause E, EV charger nuisance tripping, voltage rise, solar exports, DNO responsibilities and why some chargers cope better than others.

The Sahara Desert is the largest hot desert on Earth. It gets between 6 and 7 hours of strong, uninterrupted sunlight every day because it is rarely cloudy.

Scientists from organizations like MIT and NASA have calculated that if we covered just 1.2 percent of the desert with solar panels—an area of about 140,000 square kilometers—it would generate twice as much electricity as the entire world uses.

While this sounds like an easy fix for clean energy, building a massive solar farm in the middle of the desert comes with major challenges.

First, transporting that power across continents requires thousands of miles of expensive electrical grids, and storing energy for use at night is still very difficult.

Dust storms would also constantly coat the panels, requiring enormous amounts of water to keep them clean and running efficiently.

Additionally, climate models show that a solar farm of this scale could actually change the local weather.

Solar panels are much darker than desert sand, so they absorb more heat.

If you cover a massive part of the desert in dark panels, it warms the air above them, creating strong updrafts.

This would pull in moisture and cause heavy rain to fall over the Sahara and the neighboring Sahel region, causing plants to grow where it was once dry.

While a green Sahara sounds like a good thing, changing the desert’s climate would alter global wind patterns, which could accidentally cause droughts in places like the Amazon rainforest.

Aurinkovoimaa on rakennettu Suomessa nopeasti. Sitä oli viime vuoden lopulla sitä oli noin 1600 megawattia, joka vastaa Olkiluoto 3:n sähkötehoa. Kasvua tapahtui erityisesti teollisen mittaluokan aurinkosähkökapasiteetissa, mutta valtaosa kokonaiskapasiteetista oli edelleen pientuotantoa. Uusia suuria aurinkosähkökohteista rakennettaan koko ajan,