Navigating the Complex Landscape of Energy Storage Permitting

S-5! announces the establishment of a formal Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policy, including a Modern Slavery Statement, underscoring the company’s commitment to environmental stewardship, ethical business practices and strong corporate governance. 

“The company is deeply involved in the solar industry and plays a small but critical role in solar projects,” said Dan Belling, S-5! Director of Special Projects. “We are committed to ‘walking the walk’ as a good corporate citizen—operating in a way that aligns with the values we support through our products.”

S-5! currently offsets approximately 80% of its energy consumption across its facilities in Texas and Colorado Springs and plans to expand solar generation at its Iowa Park, Texas facility in 2026, bringing the company within reach of its net neutral goals. The company also uses its own rooftops to test innovations and validate new attachment methods, supporting continuous improvement and real-world performance.

“Sustainability has to show up in how we operate—not just in what we sell,” said Belling. “We’re committed to responsible manufacturing, continuous innovation and doing business The Right Way!®”

The ESG policy outlines S-5!’s approach to reducing environmental impact through energy-efficient operations, use of highly recyclable aluminum, recycling and scrap sorting, water conservation and solar-powered energy at its facilities. It also reinforces the company’s commitment to employee safety, ethical conduct and customer value.

As part of the ESG framework, S-5! has adopted a Modern Slavery Statement establishing zero tolerance for forced labor and human trafficking and outlining supplier engagement and assessment efforts to promote ethical standards throughout relevant portions of its supply chain. 

“In 2024, S-5! began responding to RFQs and RFPs from large, publicly held global companies and pursued opportunities to support those organizations in meeting their sustainability and governance goals,” Belling explained. “As ESG expectations expanded internationally, S-5! also responded to emerging social governance requirements—including modern slavery compliance demands that began in the Australian market—by formalizing processes and procedures to strengthen oversight and accountability.”

“We engaged Bureau Veritas to perform an independent audit using 250 checkpoints,” Belling continued, “and since then, we conduct quarterly reviews with key stakeholders to ensure ongoing compliance and monitor updates or changes that may impact evolving requirements.”

S-5!’s ESG policy reflects a broad commitment to environmental responsibility, employee and customer care, and delivering high-quality products. Looking ahead, the company is preparing for the next chapter of its sustainability journey, including development toward an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) to support lifecycle assessment and quantify comparable carbon-footprint metrics—one of the most ambitious and rigorous sustainability benchmarks in the market.

S-5!’s ESG policy and Modern Slavery Statement are available on the company website under the Sustainability section.

S-5! | www.s-5.com

Stardust Solar Energy Inc. (TSXV: SUN) (OTCQB: SUNXF) (FSE: 6330) ("Stardust Solar" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has received full approval and formal acceptance as a registered contractor within the BC Hydro Alliance of Energy Professionals (the "Alliance"), with membership confirmed for a two-year term.

As an approved Alliance member, Stardust Solar Energy is authorized to assist residential and commercial customers across British Columbia with energy-saving projects and related online incentive applications available through BC Hydro programs. Approval followed a comprehensive review of the Company's technical qualifications, compliance standards, and operational practices, reflecting Stardust Solar's commitment to quality, safety, and industry best practices.

Through Alliance membership, Stardust Solar customers may be eligible for a range of BC Hydro programs, including solar and battery storage rebates for qualifying residential and business installations under 100 kW, energy storage incentives designed to support grid responsiveness, and business energy-efficiency programs aimed at reducing electricity consumption and operating costs. All projects remain subject to applicable permitting, technical requirements, and BC Hydro program rules.

Alliance membership provides access to program tools, approved equipment lists, financing pathways, and training designed to support efficient project execution and scalable clean-energy deployment across the province.

"This approval strengthens our operational foundation and aligns well with our long-term growth strategy," said Mark Tadros, Chief Executive Officer of Stardust Solar Energy Inc. "Alliance membership enhances our ability to support customers navigating incentive-driven clean-energy projects while reinforcing the scalability of our franchise-based model."

"From an investor standpoint, Alliance approval signals operational credibility and execution readiness," said Erica Bearss, MBA, DBA (c), Vice President, Corporate Communications. "It reinforces confidence in our ability to scale responsibly and support sustainable, incentive-driven growth."

The BC Hydro Alliance of Energy Professionals is a province-wide network of qualified industry participants that support BC Hydro's objectives related to conservation, electrification, demand management, and greenhouse-gas reduction. Membership does not constitute endorsement by BC Hydro.

Stardust Solar | stardustsolar.com

Okovate Sustainable Energy, Inc. (“Okovate”), a leader in agrivoltaic project development, announced the successful acquisition of the assets of Fundusol, a modeling platform born out of Stanford University and Carnegie Mellon. This acquisition, supported by Okovate’s backing from The Schmidt Family Foundation, establishes a new frontier for data-driven precision in the co-location of solar energy and agriculture.

Okovate is now integrating Fundusol’s proprietary modeling engine—a sophisticated technology stack designed to simulate the complex interactions between solar array architecture and crop phenology—directly into its development pipeline. The acquisition allows Okovate to move beyond traditional development to become a technical data partner for the agricultural community.

“By acquiring the Fundusol platform, Okovate is delivering on its mission to make agrivoltaics a reliable, data-driven reality for the American farmer,” said Miles Braxton, CEO of Okovate. “We are building predictive AI tools on top of this genomic modeling engine to translate complex solar engineering into actionable insights for rural farmers. This ensures that we aren’t just building energy projects; we are providing the data-driven clarity needed to strengthen the economic fabric of our farming communities.”

The Science of Symbiosis The integrated platform utilizes the SIMulated PLant Ecosystem (SIMPLE) crop biomass model to project outcomes for over 60 different crop types.

By merging this framework with proprietary irradiance and thermal dynamics models, Okovate provides:

• Genomic Optimization: Utilizing a custom, in-house genetic algorithm to determine the ideal solar array configurations—such as panel spacing, height, and tilt—specifically tailored to the light saturation needs of individual crops.

• Precision Phenology Insights: High-fidelity modeling that projects how specific crops will respond to the microclimates created by solar infrastructure.

• Advanced Data Visualization: Leveraging 3D system representations and digital twins to allow farmers and landowners to visualize optimized farm layouts before construction begins.

This acquisition reinforces Okovate’s "Agriculture First" philosophy, providing the technical infrastructure needed to scale agrivoltaics while preserving the integrity of the land and the financial stability of the farm. 

Okovate Sustainable Energy | https://www.okovate.com/

A review by the SUN DAY Campaign of data recently released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reveals that, during the first ten months of 2025, solar and battery storage have dominated growth among competing energy sources. Moreover, all net new generating capacity in 2026 is forecast to be provided by renewable energy sources and batteries.

Solar electrical generation set new records in October and the first ten months of 2025:

EIA’s latest monthly "Electric Power Monthly" report (with data through October 31, 2025), once again confirms that solar is the fastest growing among the major sources of U.S. electricity.

In October alone, electrical generation by utility-scale solar (i.e., >1-megawatt (MW)) expanded by 23.3% compared to October 2024 while “estimated” small-scale (e.g., rooftop) solar PV increased by 12.6%. Combined, they grew by 20.6% and provided 9.1% of the nation’s electrical output during the month, up from 7.8% a year ago. [1]

Moreover, utility-scale solar thermal and photovoltaic expanded by 34.5% while that from small-scale systems rose by 11.3% during the first ten months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. The combination of utility-scale and small-scale solar increased by almost a third (28.1%) and produced a bit over 9.0% (utility-scale: 6.86%; small-scale: 2.16%) of total U.S. electrical generation for January-October - up from 7.2% a year earlier.

Similarly, solar-generated electricity year-to-date (YTD) easily surpassed - by over 67% - the output of the nation’s hydropower plants (5.4% of total generation). In October alone, solar-generated electricity nearly doubled hydro’s output. In fact, in both October and YTD, solar produced significantly more electricity than hydropower, biomass, and geothermal combined. [2]

Wind continues to hold the lead among renewables:

Wind turbines across the U.S. produced almost a tenth (9.9%) of U.S. electricity in the first ten months of 2025 – an increase of 1.1% compared to the same period a year earlier and 84% more than hydropower.

Wind + solar are almost one-fifth of total U.S. electrical generation – a larger share than that provided by either coal or nuclear power:  

During the first ten months of 2025, electrical generation by wind plus utility-scale and small-scale solar increased by 12.4% and provided almost a fifth (18.9%) of the U.S. total, up from 17.3% during the first ten months of 2024.

Further, the combination of wind and solar provided 16.6% more electricity than did coal during the first ten months of this year, and 10.8% more than the nation’s nuclear power plants. In fact, while solar and wind expanded, nuclear-generated electricity experienced zero growth.

Electrical output YTD by the mix of all renewables was almost 26% of total U.S. generation:

The mix of all renewables (i.e., wind and solar plus hydropower, biomass and geothermal) produced 8.6% more electricity in January-October than they did a year ago and provided (25.7%) of total U.S. electricity production compared to 24.3% twelve months earlier.

Renewables’ share of electrical generation is now second to only that of natural gas whose electrical output actually dropped by 3.6% during the first ten months of 2025.  

During the past year, solar and battery storage have dominated capacity additions, coupled with a strong showing by wind:

Between January 1 and October 31, 2025, utility-scale solar capacity grew by 19,477.6-MW while an additional 4,837.7-MW was provided by small-scale solar. EIA foresees continued strong solar growth, with even more utility-scale solar capacity - 36,071.9-MW - being added in the next twelve months.

Explosive growth was also experienced by battery storage, which grew by 45.0% since the beginning of the year and added 12,150.3-MW of new capacity. EIA also notes that planned battery capacity additions during the next 12 months total 21,940.4-MW - a further increase of 56%.

Wind has also made a strong showing since January 1, adding 3,796.0-MW, while planned capacity additions over the next year total 9,567.0-MW (on-shore) plus 800.0-MW (off-shore).

On the other hand, during the past ten months, natural gas capacity increased by only 3,479.6-MW and nuclear power added a mere 46.0-MW. Meanwhile, coal capacity plummeted by 3,241.1-MW and petroleum-based capacity fell by an additional 476.3-MW.

Thus, since January 1 - roughly the beginning of the Trump Administration, renewable energy capacity, including battery storage, small-scale solar, hydropower, geothermal, and biomass ballooned by 40,174.4-MW while that of all fossil fuels and nuclear power combined actually declined by 218.0-MW. [3]

In 2026, all net new generating capacity is projected to come from renewables and battery storage:

EIA forecasts the trends seen in 2025 YTD to continue and accelerate during the coming 12-month period.

Utility-scale renewables plus battery storage are projected to increase by 68,528.0-MW (EIA does not provide a forecast for small-scale solar, but the SUN DAY Campaign estimates it will provide an additional 7,200-MW). [4]

Meanwhile, natural gas capacity will have a net increase of only 4,167.4-MW, which will be completely offset by a drop of 4,287.0-MW in coal capacity. Petroleum and “other gases” will decrease by 42.2-MW. In addition, EIA does not project any new growth for nuclear power in the coming year.

Thus, in 2026, all net new capacity growth will be attributable solely to renewables and battery storage.

Should that forecast materialize, by October 31, 2026, the mix of all renewables, including small-scale solar, would reach 504,634.6-MW - almost equal to that of natural gas (514,018.2-MW) - and account for over 36% of U.S. generating capacity.

Moreover, the installed capacity of utility-scale and small-scale solar combined (244,308.6-MW) would surpass that of wind (166,260.3-MW). Solar capacity would also handily exceed that of coal (166,649.5-MW) and more than double that of nuclear power (98,437.2-MW) although the latter two sources would still have significantly higher capacity factors. [5]

"As 2025 draws to a close, it is clear that - notwithstanding the roadblocks created by the Trump Administration - growth by renewable energy sources and battery storage has greatly outpaced fossil fuels and nuclear power," noted the SUN DAY Campaign's executive director Ken Bossong. "Moreover, it now appears highly possible that renewables and batteries could account for 100% of net new capacity additions in 2026."

EIA | https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly

[1] In its “Electric Power Monthly” report, EIA refers to small-scale or distributed solar as “Estimated Small Scale Solar Photovoltaic.” Unless otherwise indicated, all calculations presented in this release include electrical generation by small-scale solar which EIA estimates to have totaled 81,887-GWh in January-October 2025 and 7,588-GWh in October alone. Utility-scale solar totaled 260,117-GWh for the first ten months of 2025 and 24,439-GWH in just October.  

[2] In January-October 2025, wind produced 376,465-GWh (9.9%) of total U.S. electrical generation while utility-scale and small-scale solar combined produced 342,004-GWh (9.0%), hydropower produced 204,619-GWh (5.4%), biomass produced 38,459-GWh (1.0%), and geothermal produced 13,050-GWh (>0.3%).

[3] EIA presents its capacity data as “summer capacity”. See Table 6.1.

[4] Between November 1, 2024 and October 31, 2025, utility-scale solar accounted for 30,134.9-MW of new capacity while small-scale solar accounted for 6,049.4-MW (or approximately one-sixth of the total). For the next 12 months, EIA anticipates 36,071.9-MW of new utility-scale solar to be added. Assuming the same ratio of utility-scale vs. small-scale solar, that yields an approximation of 7,200-MW in new small-scale solar capacity.

[5] During the first ten months of 2025, EIA reports average monthly capacity factors of 48.8% and 90.3% for coal and nuclear power respectively. By comparison, the average monthly capacity factor for utility-scale PV is 26.1%. See Tables 6.07.A and 6.07.B. Capacity factors for small-scale systems are usually lower – i.e., 10%-25%.

FranklinWH Energy Storage Inc., a leading provider of home energy solutions, proudly announces that the FranklinWH System with aPower battery storage has obtained the world’s first TIA-942 certification across the full rating spectrum spanning from rated 1 through rated 4 (4 is the peak of the certification hierarchy) for residential systems. TIA-942 is a well-known data center standard for ensuring reliability and availability of equipment and extending that to home energy systems is critical for providing homeowners the confidence that they will have power when it is needed. This milestone sets a new benchmark in the residential energy storage system (ESS) sector, signifying the FranklinWH System meets the stringent data-center standard for reliability, resiliency, and availability.

The demand for exceptional energy reliability is increasingly required in modern homes. However, the residential ESS industry today lacks a universally accepted benchmark for reliability. Adopting the data center standard offers consumers and partners a transparent, objective assurance that the ESS performs to the highest standard of reliability and robustness, with ultra-clean and stable UPS-grade power delivery.

“With this certification, we are raising the bar for residential energy storage, giving homeowners added confidence that their system will perform when they need it most,” said Gary Lam, CEO of FranklinWH. “TIA-942 is a rigorous, measurable standard trusted by the world’s most critical facilities. Bringing this level of proven reliability to the home means performance isn’t just promised, it’s verified.”

Developed by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and accredited by ANSI, TIA-942 certification evaluates infrastructure across power systems, redundancy, monitoring, fault tolerance, and overall resiliency. The standard is issued by Enterprise Products Integration (EPI) and defines four increasing levels of reliability, each requiring stringent engineering and system design to minimize downtime and ensure continuous operation. It is widely considered the leading standard for uptime in data centers and other always-on facilities and, until now, it had never been applied to residential energy systems.

The standard defines four rated levels, with rated 4 representing the highest level of redundancy, fault tolerance, maintainability, and resiliency. For decades, the standard has served as one of the most rigorous and complete reliability frameworks.

With this milestone, FranklinWH sets a new industry standard that brings enterprise-level reliability to homeowners for the first time.

FranklinWH | franklinwh.com

The global wind‑energy market is entering its strongest growth phase to date, driven by accelerating national decarbonization targets, energy‑security needs and long‑term industrial strategies. The aggregate installations are expected to reach 934.6GW in 2030, forecasts  GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.

GlobalData’s latest report, “Wind Turbines Market Size, Share and Trends Analysis by Technology, Installed Capacity, Generation, Key Players and Forecast, 2024–2030,” reveals global annual wind‑turbine installations totalled 115.3GW in 2024. Onshore wind accounted for 91.8% of installations, with offshore wind representing the remaining 8.2%.

Bhavana Sri Pullagura, Senior Power Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region leads the global wind turbine market, accounting for the largest share of annual installations and possessing the most advanced manufacturing capabilities for turbines, components, and offshore technologies. APAC's dominance is primarily driven by China's extensive onshore and offshore development, India's rapidly growing domestic manufacturing and auction-driven expansion, and the emerging offshore projects in Japan and Australia.”

Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) represents the second-largest market. Europe serves as the regional anchor, bolstered by binding climate mandates under the EU Green Deal, the revised Renewable Energy Directive III, and a strong offshore wind trajectory led by countries in the North Sea.

The Middle East and North Africa are advancing utility-scale renewable energy projects through government-backed procurements and decarbonization initiatives, while certain areas of Sub-Saharan Africa are gradually unlocking wind projects with the help of international financing and regional power pool initiatives.

The Americas ranks as the third-largest market, with the US leading the way, where the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has stimulated clean energy manufacturing, repowering activities, and the development of an emerging offshore wind supply chain.

Pullagura adds: “Market share leadership is increasingly concentrated among China's major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), supported by cost-efficient manufacturing and unmatched domestic deployment volumes. Meanwhile, European and US manufacturers remain competitive through advanced offshore technology, digital optimization, and robust service portfolios. The current trends such as turbine upscaling, hybrid project integration, and supply chain localization are transforming how and where turbines are produced and deployed.”

The global wind turbine market is on the brink of a new era of accelerated growth, fuelled by increasing clean energy commitments, rapid technological advancements, and more resilient manufacturing ecosystems.

Pullagura concludes: “With Chinese OEMs leading global capacity additions and Western manufacturers driving innovation in offshore and digital turbine platforms, the industry is entering its most competitive and transformative phase to date. As nations ramp up wind deployment to meet climate targets and ensure long-term energy independence, the global wind turbine market is expected to grow significantly, reinforcing wind power's role as a cornerstone of the world’s renewable energy future.”

GlobalData | https://www.globaldata.com/

The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) issued the following statement from ACORE President and CEO Ray Long in response to the Department of the Interior’s action to halt fully permitted offshore wind construction projects:

"Americans expect their government and private sector to work together to ensure that the lights stay on and their electric bills are affordable. The five East Coast offshore wind projects that have been paused should be a total success story: $28 billion in committed private sector capital, expanded port infrastructure, support for domestic shipbuilding, and 10,000 good-paying local jobs—all to support a more robust, affordable, reliable, and secure electricity resource base for decades to come. Given skyrocketing electricity demand forecasts and consumers' clear concerns about affordability, projects like these need to get over the finish line to give people confidence that government and the private sector can still deliver on big things. Unfortunately, actions like this send the opposite message at exactly the wrong time."

ACORE | http://www.acore.org