As this past week’s rain has nicely topped the little pond on my property, it (ironically) reminded me of something I’ve been thinking about more and more: Texas is apparently running out of fresh water faster than most people realize. The more one digs in to this topic, the dire implications become clear. The combination of declining supplies, population growth, infrastructure failures, and industrial demand is sucking down fresh water much more quickly than nature can overcome by itself.

Wars have been fought over access to fresh water. But I’m not going to go there for this blog entry. We also aren’t going to delve into the politics of water scarcity in Texas. It’s a whole other thing… Maybe i’ll write about this in future articles, but for now i’ll let you, dear reader,  do the research if you’re interested.

Here, we wanted to look at this issue from the solar angle -and talk a little bit about the increasingly solar-related tools that could help to slow the alarming trend of water scarcity here in our beloved state.

Lake Corpus Christi is currently sitting at just over 16% of capacity. Choke Canyon Reservoir is below 8%. Medina Lake fell to 2.5% during the 2025 drought. The Edwards Aquifer -which supplies drinking water for roughly 2.5 million Texans (including this human)- hit historic in 2025, triggering Stage 5 (the most severe) water restrictions in San Antonio and surrounding areas. These are symptoms of a kind of structural mismatch between water supply and demand that Texas has quite apparently been slow to address.

According to the Texas Tribune, if a severe drought were to occur in 2030, the state could face a shortfall of 4.7 million acre-feet of fresh water -more than 20% of projected demand. The Texas 2036 initiative estimates that without a diversified supply strategy, the economic impact of prolonged drought could reach $160 billion annually by 2030. And groundwater, which currently accounts for 54% of Texas’s total water supply, is projected to decline 32% by 2070.

Solar power won’t solve this alone. But it’s increasingly central to the technologies that can. So here we go…

The Water-Energy Problem Is Circular

Here’s the part most people don’t connect: water and energy are deeply interdependent. Conventional power generation -coal, natural gas, nuclear- requires enormous volumes of water for cooling. Meanwhile, moving, treating, and distributing water consumes significant electricity. The two systems stress each other. Yes, some of the water used for power generation is “reclaimed” – but not all. And merely reclaiming the water for other uses doesn’t address the supply issue -it doesn’t replenish water at the source.

Solar photovoltaic generation breaks that cycle. It produces electricity without water consumption. As Texas adds more solar to its grid (Texas is on track to generate more electricity from solar than coal in 2026 for the first time_) the grid’s overall water use intensity decreases. That’s a real, if indirect, contribution to water conservation.

But solar’s direct role in addressing scarcity is growing too.

Solar Desalination: Viable and Scaling

Texas sits atop enormous brackish groundwater reserves -this is water that’s too salty to drink or irrigate with without treatment. Desalination has long been the obvious answer. The problem is that traditional desalination is energy-intensive and expensive to run on grid power, especially when that grid power comes from fossil fuels.

Solar-powered desalination changes the economics. Two primary emergent technologies are relevant here:

Photovoltaic-powered reverse osmosis (PV-RO): Solar panels generate electricity that drives reverse osmosis membranes. The systems can be scaled from small community installations to utility-scale operations. Research published recently identified areas such as West Texas as a particularly strong candidate for this approach -the combination of abundant sunlight, shallow brackish aquifers, and limited freshwater supply makes it a natural fit. AI-enhanced optimization and new materials science further strengthens the viability of the approach here.

Solar-thermal distillation: Concentrated sunlight generates heat that drives evaporation-based desalination. This approach is more energy-efficient in high-solar-radiation environments and produces no carbon emissions in operation. Both commercial and academic inertia in this direction haven’t slowed much in 2026.

Neither technology is purely experimental at this point. Texas already operates desalination capacity at several municipal facilities -the economics are largely being worked out. Now the question is scale and speed of deployment.

Floating Solar on Texas Reservoirs

One really cool emerging intersection of the solar and water crises that i think deserves more attention: floating solar on Texas reservoirs, water treatment facilities, and irrigation ponds.

Texas reservoirs and water infrastructure represent a significant opportunity for floating solar installations. Beyond generating electricity, floating solar panels reduce water evaporation from reservoir surfaces. The panels shade the surface, reduce algae growth, and produce power simultaneously. Here’s a really good article that covers the details and benefits of floating solar in Texas (and in general).

This isn’t a distant concept. Floating solar deployments are already operating at municipal water facilities in other states and internationally. For Texas reservoir managers navigating both water stress and energy costs, the economics are worth a hard look. Here’s a link to an article detailing an enormous “floating solar” project planned for Port Arthur: https://cleantechnica.com/2025/11/17/a-texas-sized-391-megawatt-floating-solar-power-plant-is-coming-to-texas-of-course/ 

Solar-Powered Irrigation: Measurable Results

Here’s a fact: agriculture accounts for roughly 60% of Texas water consumption. Irrigation practices (many of them decades-old) are a major driver of groundwater depletion in the Panhandle and South Texas. Hard, real-world test data collected and analyzed recently show that solar-powered irrigation systems will reduce energy costs while they enable smarter, more efficient water use. A 2025 research study found that solar-powered smart irrigation systems reduced overall water use by 16–25% and energy consumption by 30–40% compared to conventional irrigation, with some implementations cutting greenhouse gas emissions by more than 57%. (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11973206/)

The mechanism is straightforward: solar-powered pumps with variable-speed drives and real-time soil moisture sensors can deliver water precisely when and where crops need it, rather than running on fixed schedules. Off-grid capability matters especially in remote agricultural areas where grid access is limited or expensive.

For Texas farmers managing both energy costs and water rights, solar-powered irrigation represents one of the most practical near-term investments available.

*side note* Here’s an overview published by GVEC (the electric utility) showing how solar is impacting Texas agriculture more broadly
*another side note*

Smart Monitoring and Leak Detection

Texas loses an estimated 88 billion gallons of water annually through aging and broken infrastructure. Ouch. Solar-powered remote monitoring systems -sensors, flow meters, pressure monitors- can identify leaks and anomalies in real time across water distribution networks, without requiring grid connectivity in remote areas. This makes obvious sense, yeah?

This isn’t glamorous technology, but the impact is significant enough to mention. Municipal water systems that deploy solar-powered IoT (“Internet of Things”) monitoring consistently report faster leak detection response times and measurable reductions in non-revenue water loss. (source)

The Commercial Opportunity

For Texas businesses, the water-solar connection shows up in practical ways.

Facilities with high process water use  -food and beverage manufacturers, data centers, industrial laundries, agricultural operations- are already dealing with rising water costs alongside rising energy costs. Solar + storage systems can reduce electricity bills and, in some configurations, support water heating, treatment, and pumping operations. Commercial solar and battery energy storage installations at agricultural, municipal, and industrial facilities in Texas are increasingly being designed with water system integration in mind.

Water utilities themselves are among the most natural candidates for solar. Treatment facilities run 24/7, have large flat roofs or adjacent land, face predictable demand curves, and are often municipal entities with access to favorable financing. The ability to offset energy costs with battery energy storage while maintaining operational continuity during grid stress events seems particularly relevant in a state like ours where the grid and the climate are both increasingly unpredictable.

NATiVE’s Perspective

We’ve been installing solar (and battery energy storage systems!) in Texas since 2007, through droughts, grid failures, and everything in between. The water-energy connection isn’t abstract for us. It’s on the RADAR.

And from here, it looks like Texas’s water crisis isn’t going away. If anything, the 2025 drought data suggests the projections from state water planners were optimistic. Solar power isn’t a single solution -but it can be an increasingly capable tool in the mix, and in several applications, it’s a largely practical, proven, and cost-effective paving stone into the future.

The projects that make the most sense aren’t always the ones with the cleanest payback math. Sometimes the value of energy resilience and reduced exposure to volatile input costs -water included- is a bit harder to quantify -but it’s also a very real aspect for us to think about. If you’re managing a facility where water and energy costs are both material, it’s worth a conversation about what solar and storage could look like for your operation.

Talk to our team to get started.

More Sources we referenced for this piece:

• Texas Tribune: What to know about Texas’ looming water crisis
• Drought.gov: Drought in 2025
• Dallas Fed: Shoring up water supply, curbing demand key to Texas’ future growth
• Texas Water Journal: Floating Solar at the Energy-Water Nexus
• 8MSolar: Irrigation Systems and Solar Panels (2026)

Let’s run a little thought experiment here, folks. Shall we?

Let’s say a series of events in the Middle East -sanctions, shipping disruptions, armed conflict, that kind of stuff- sends global oil prices climbing. Natural gas (and regular gasoline) prices in Texas jump up quickly. Your electric bill follows. News anchors start using phrases like “energy crisis” and “market uncertainty.”

Sound familiar? It’s what seems to happen on a cycle -or at least every few years. And with recent tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, it’s top-of-mind once again. Our team was prepared to add our own detailed analysis on the implications for the Texas solar market, but instead, i think we’re going to just synthesize the most insightful perspectives that have already been shared.

Rather than repeat what’s been said, here I’ve decided to provide a digest of the key insights and conversations on this topic I found around the interwebs relevant to Texas energy consumers.

The Uncomfortable Truth: Electric Bills are Tied to Global Chaos

The most immediate and widely covered topic is the link between geopolitical instability and energy cost volatility. In Texas, where a majority of our electricity comes from natural gas, your power bill is tethered directly to global commodity markets. It’s just how it is…

As Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), has stated plainly, the volatility we’re seeing isn’t a one-off shock, it’s more like a structural dynamic we wee played out time over time…

The core argument is pretty straightforward:

• Disruptions to the world’s most critical oil chokepoints create uncertainty.
• Uncertainty leads to price spikes in crude oil and natural gas.
• Because natural gas is a primary fuel for electricity generation in Texas, this volatility directly impacts your ERCOT bill.

But there’s really good news here:  These apparent Truths have reinforced the case for on-site electrical generation and storage <solar+batteries!!>, which can reduce exposure to volatile and increasing energy costs for property-owners by producing power at a predictable, fixed cost for decades. This sounds like good medicine to us here at NATiVE.  

For Businesses: CFOs Hate Volatility – Solar+Battery Soothes the Balance Sheet

Volatile energy costs are frustrating  -and genuinely destabilizing- for businesses. A commercial facility in Texas can expect to see wild swings in electricity costs, driven by demand charges and wholesale price fluctuations. Added to the expected increases in electricity rates over time, that’s a planning and balance sheet nightmare for the bean counters.

The conversation for commercial and industrial (C&I) operators has centered on two key areas:

Business Driver	Strategic Value with Solar + Storage
Demand Charge Mitigation	Facilities with integrated solar and battery systems can manage their peak load, drawing from their batteries during the grid’s most expensive intervals to control costs as retail energy providers (your electric utility company) use “peak demand” to set the rates your company pays for the rest of the year.
Operational Resilience	On-site generation is not just a cost-management tool; it is a vital component of energy resilience and operational continuity, insulating a business from grid instability. Having solar generation plus BESS (battery energy storage) infrastructure installed on-site can help keep a business’s core/vital operations running during grid disruptions.

As Miranda Ballentine at the Clean Energy Buyers Association has framed it, corporate renewable energy procurement is now a board-level conversation about financial and operational resilience, not just a sustainability checkbox.

For Homeowners: It’s About Resilience, Not Just Savings

For years, the pitch for residential solar was about lowering your bill. That motivation hasn’t gone away, but as Vikram Aggarwal, CEO of EnergySage, has noted, there’s been a rise of the “resilience shopper.”

These are property owners focused on not being helpless during outages and price spikes. If you lived through Winter Storm Uri, you understand this on a gut level.  

Residential battery energy storage has accelerated this conversation. When the question moves from “How much will I save?” to “Will I still have power during blackouts?”, it’s a fundamentally different value proposition. As we hear from our clients, that peace-of-mind is hard to beat.

The (Potential) ERCOT Advantage

Because the ERCOT grid operates independently, Texas is (we hope and believe) uniquely positioned to partially insulate itself from global fuel supply shocks by scaling localized power generation and energy storage. According to the Texas Comptroller, utility-scale battery capacity in the state surged by over 4,100% between 2020 and 2024, working alongside a nation-leading solar fleet (51 Gigawatts of solar harvesting capacity Texas by the end of 2026)  to stabilize the grid during extreme weather and peak demand. As Sean Voigt, founder of the Austin Energy Hub, recently noted in Forbes, “Solar, wind and battery have emerged as the lowest cost, fastest to deploy forms of energy… competing and winning in the open market”. For commercial and industrial facilities, this current trajectory underscores the value of on-site solar and battery energy storage systems (BESS). By decoupling facility power from international oil and gas price volatility, Texas businesses and property owners can achieve long-term operational resilience, highly effective demand charge mitigation, and a level of execution certainty that global energy markets can no longer guarantee.

Our Perspective

While global events create headlines, our focus here at NATiVE remains on the same fundamentals as ever. The case for solar and battery storage has really never been about reacting to a single crisis but about building a sound, long-term energy strategy for the long-term. These systems are tools for budget certainty, operational resilience, and insulation from market volatility for both residential and commercial property owners. 

That’s not just “green” ideology, comfort, security, and cost-savings anymore. It’s also about risk management -broadly. At least, that’s how we see it.  

*More Reading and Sources*

Here’s a few more pretty good articles if you want to push in a bit deeper on some of the aspects we’re discussing here:

• Renewables: A hedge against inflation and volatile energy prices – Gravis Capital Management:
  https://www.graviscapital.com/news/renewables-a-hedge-against-inflation-and-volatile-energy-prices
• The Impact of Inflation on Energy Costs: Why Solar is a Smart Hedge – REP Solar:
  https://repsolar.net/the-impact-of-inflation-on-energy-costs-why-solar-is-a-smart-hedge/
• Why Are Electricity Prices So High in Texas and Can Solar Fix It? – EcoFlow:
  https://www.ecoflow.com/us/blog/why-are-electricity-prices-so-high-in-texas

And here’s some folks with their finger on the pulse of the issue:

• • Fatih Birol, IEA:
    https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2026/04/07/global-energy-shock-deepens-as-iea-warns-of-crisis-beyond-historical-precedents/
  • Pablo Vegas, ERCOT:
    https://ieefa.org/resources/solar-growth-reliability-undercut-opposition
  • Vikram Aggarwal, EnergySage:
    https://www.freeingenergy.com/heroesof-vikram-aggarwal/
  • John Berger, Sunnova Energy:
    https://www.cnbc.com/video/2023/07/14/there-certainly-is-a-relationship-between-purchasing-evs-and-solar-adoption-sunnova-ceo-john-berger.html

Hi Folks – Here’s some positive news for those of us who’ve been following the Texas renewable energy situation…

Even as some lawmakers push bills that could slow solar (and other renewable energy) adoption growth, the Lone Star State is quietly turning into a hub for solar manufacturing.  From massive PV (solar phovoltaic ) module factories to next-gen battery and microinverter manufacturing, Texas seems to be proving that market demand and smart investments can thrive even when the political winds don’t exactly blow in solar’s favor.

For NATiVE solar  -and really,  anyone in the “solar” space here in Texas, this boom isn’t just interesting. This is more great evidence that the market fundamentals behind the shift to renewable energy remain strong.  It means big players in the space are continuing to make bets and invest massively in domestic “greentech” manufacturing capacity.  Shorter and more plentiful supply chains, lower costs, and regional vendor support means more efficient projects and happier solar/smart energy storage customers.

Let’s take a look at some of the big players making renewable technology manufacturing moves in Texas :

1. Canadian Solar Inc. – Mesquite, Texas

• Canadian Solar announced a U.S. pv module manufacturing plant in Mesquite, Texas: ~5 GW annual output, >$250 million investment, ~1,500 jobs. PR Newswire+1

2. Waaree Solar Americas Inc. – Brookshire, Texas

• Waaree Solar Americas (Indian parent company) started module production at its Brookshire Texas facility (1.6 GW initial capacity) and plans to raise capacity. PR Newswire+1

3. Mission Solar Energy – San Antonio, Texas

• Mission Solar announced a $265 million investment to add a 2 GW solar‑cell manufacturing facility at its San Antonio campus. PR Newswire+1

4. T1 Energy Inc. – Texas (Wilmer / Rockdale)

• T1 Energy (formerly Freyr Battery) announced plans for a large solar‑cell manufacturing facility in Texas (~5 GW capacity) and purchased module factory in Wilmer. Chron+1

5. SEG Solar – Houston, Texas

• SEG Solar opened a module factory in Houston (~2 GW annual capacity) with ~$60 million investment.

7. Base Power – Austin, Texas

• Base Power, an Austin‑based startup focused on residential batteries, has leased the former Austin American‑Statesman building downtown to create its first factory for battery production. San Antonio Express-News+1

**I just wrote a short piece covering the new Base Power headquarters here in Austin. It’s a good overview of this unique new company that is both a battery manufacturer AND an electric utility which will enroll all its customers in a great new virtual power plant (VPP) network. Read it here.

What This Means For You (Residential & Commercial Solar Customers)

• Shorter delivery times: With factories in‑state, your modules and batteries don’t need to travel overseas or cross the country‑wide supply‑chain as often.

• Better cost outlook: Local supply and manufacturing help reduce shipping/logistics fees and mitigate foreign‑trade/tariff risk — savings that tend to flow into your project.

• Stronger supply‑chain resilience: If overseas manufacturing or shipping is disrupted, Texas‑based factories help buffer your project timeline.

• Local jobs & economy: You’re contributing to Texas jobs and the local economy — a good story when you want to share why you chose solar.

• Marketing and value: For commercial customers especially, you can advertise “locally‑manufactured solar modules” or “Texas‑made battery backup” as part of your green‑story.

• Installer advantage: For installers like us (NATiVE Solar), these facilities mean we can source locally, reduce risk, and pass benefits to you more reliably.

So what does all this mean?

Yes, there’s a lot of noise and unpredictability around Texas’s renewable‑policy debates, but when it comes to manufacturing solar modules and battery energy storage  -a regional manufacturing boom is definitely happening. These seven facilities (and more) are proof that the market sees Texas as a hub for solar/energy equipment fabrication. For you, the homeowner or commercial customer, that translates into better reliability, possibly lower cost, and more confidence in your solar project.

Got questions about any of this -or about the possibility of deploying solar and storage on your property? Connect with one of our expert smart energy practitioners!

The solar (and solar-adjacent) ecosystem is building coalitions to push through bottlenecks in permitting & interconnection, transmission, manufacturing/import, law-making, deal-making and social license. All this is happening just as policy turbulence, geopolitics and rising energy price pressures add friction and urgency.

Here, dead reader, we’re going to zoom in on solar + smart-energy coalitions gaining voice and leverage in the U.S. and abroad: what’s new, who’s organizing, and what’s actually moving the needle across economic, geopolitical, regional, social, legal, and environmental fronts. Let’s dive in…

The global clean-energy ship has clearly set sail

By the end of 2025, global energy investment is set to reach $3.3T in 2025, with ~$2.2T flowing to “clean” energy (renewables, grids, storage, efficiency, electrification, etc). This is about twice fossil investment and the largest clean-energy investment totals on record (IEA WEI 2025; full report PDF here; news: Reuters). Cool!

Even with all the political and supply chain chaos we hear about, solar remains the dominant growth driver in the outlook – and wind/solar generation surpassed coal globally in H1’25 (Guardian; also Reuters). The IEA (International Energy Agency) did trim near-term renewables growth based on U.S./China policy shifts, but still shows solar carrying ~80% of additions (Reuters).

Here in Texas, ERCOT shattered solar output records this summer – peaking near ~29.9 GW on Sept 9 – and set multiple evening storage-discharge records (>7 GW), with solar meeting ~15% of summer demand and batteries smoothing the ramp (IEEFA; Canary Media; ERCOT PDF notes: ERCOT Monthly; live record tracker: GridStatus). Cool!

Texas also overtook California in installed grid batteries (~14 GW+) by Q3 (S&P Global Commodity Insights). Very cool.

Headwinds

But folks, despite lots of encouraging numbers, stormy seas remain ahead. Luckily, the threats are now pretty articulated and well-understood.

• Trade : tariffs and supply chain issues are driving uncertainty – this pushes up pricing and makes investment more risky
• Policy & Law-making : On Oct 2, 2025, DOE terminated $7.56B across 223 projects (DOE; Reuters), prompting legal challenges (see “Legal” below).
• Tax credit resets (U.S.): The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) and Senate provisions scale back/phase out several IRA-era credits and incentives, with differing timelines by technology and marketplace (Congress.gov H.R.1; analysis Holland & Knight; BPC explainer; news Reuters).
• Social license: Local and group opposition to solar farms and battery storage is still a challenge for solar and renewable energy advocates and commerce – Especially after high-profile fires; dozens of communities have enacted rules that won’t help our energy situation. (AP News).

The IEA has lowered the 2030 renewables forecast on U.S./China policy changes, even as solar still leads growth (Reuters). But there is strength in numbers…

The coalition moment/movement in solar

Many organizations and coalitions have been formed and are quickly gaining the power to help clear long-standing (and newer) roadblocks that exist in the path to accelerated solar and smart energy adoption. Here’s a few that are bringing together public/consumer advocacy groups, academia, law-makers, and other stakeholders to effect real, positive, and effective resistance in the face of renewable energy threats:

• Manufacturing: SEMA Coalition coordinating policy & investment to reshore PV supply chains (“build solar in America”).
• Transmission: ACEG (interregional lines, Order 1920 implementation), ACORE’s Macro Grid Initiative, and the WATT Coalition (grid-enhancing technologies like dynamic line ratings/topology optimization) align business, labor, and NGOs to unlock capacity.
• Permitting (at scale): SolarAPP+ takes residential solar permitting from days to same-day in participating jurisdictions; states like Washington Commerce and Minnesota Commerce are funding adoption.
• Interconnection reform alliances: FERC’s Order 2023 and Order 1920 (planning & cost allocation) push “first-ready, first-served” and require planners to study long-term needs and GETs; regional pilots show movement (Utility Dive: MISO; Utility Dive: SPP). PJM is also deploying AI with Google/Tapestry to accelerate studies (Reuters; PJM lines).
• Global coordination: In Europe, the European Solar PV Industry Alliance (ESIA) and SolarPower Europe align policy under the NZIA; globally, the Global Solar Council amplifies solar + storage advocacy.

And right here in Texas, we have a large and growing list of organizations “fighting the good fight” – some of which NATiVE Solar is an active member:

• Texas Solar + Storage Association (TSSA) – statewide trade group advancing solar and storage (formerly “Texas Solar Power Association”). txsolarstorage.org
• Texas Solar Energy Society (TXSES) – nonprofit educating Texans on solar adoption (chapters statewide). txses.org
• Solar United Neighbors – Texas – member-based consumer advocacy, co-ops, and policy work in TX. solarunitedneighbors.org/locations/texas
• Environment Texas – state advocacy arm focusing on clean energy/solar policy and local reforms. environmentamerica.org/texas
• Public Citizen Texas – consumer/environmental advocacy with active solar campaigns/events. citizen.org (Texas)
• Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation (CTEI) – conservative clean-energy policy advocacy. conservativetexansforenergyinnovation.org
• Advanced Power Alliance (APA) – industry association supporting advanced/renewable power across the ERCOT region (Texas-centric influence). poweralliance.org
• SPEER (South-central Partnership for Energy Efficiency as a Resource) – TX/OK regional org; policy & DER participation in ERCOT (often allied with solar outcomes). eepartnership.org
• CleanTX (incl. legacy TREIA) – Texas cleantech/renewables network that merged with TREIA; hosts events and policy-minded networking. cleantx.org
• TEPRI (Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute) – equity-focused research/advocacy on affordable clean energy access in Texas. tepri.org
• Texas Solar for All Coalition – statewide coalition (led by Harris County & partners) to expand rooftop solar for low-income households. solarforalltexas.org • Background: EPA award + partner pages – EPA announcement • HARC overview
• Clean Energy Fund of Texas (TxCEF) – green bank-style nonprofit participating in TX Solar for All coalition. cleanfundtx.org/solar-for-all

About Amicus Solar Cooperative: scaling collaboration through shared values

As a long-standing member of Amicus Solar Cooperative, NATiVE Solar is part of a national network of independently owned solar companies that share resources, best practices, and purchasing power – along with active lobbying and legal advocacy – to strengthen the entire clean-energy ecosystem. Amicus demonstrates how cooperation – rather than competition – can accelerate equitable growth, improve supply-chain resilience, and uphold high ethical and quality standards across the solar industry. This collective model helps smaller regional installers like NATiVE Solar access the same economies of scale as national players, while maintaining their local focus and community ties.

Together, all of these efforts (and more) aim to help make the solar supply chain more secure and resilient, while keeping the industry’s momentum strong despite geopolitical tensions. Sounds pretty smart.

Fresh legal action

In a timely note – just this past week, coalitions of unions, nonprofits and solar companies sued in federal court to reverse the EPA’s cancellation of the $7B Solar for All program (Reuters; AP News; plaintiffs overview: SELC).

And earlier this year, amid years of rapid solar growth and perennial complaints about bad actors in our unregulated solar market, SB 1036 created a state licensing & oversight program for residential solar retailers (effective Sept 1, 2025) – a trade-supported step to preserve market momentum while protecting consumers. Here Texas Solar + Storage Association (TSSA), Senator Judith Zaffirini, Representative Drew Darby, Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) found common ground with each other – and worked with legislators who passed the bill. (NATiVE Solar supports this new Texas law 100% and is implementing it ahead of the mandated timeline!)

What the coalitions are up against – and how they affect forward action

1) Interconnection & transmission capacity

The backlogged interconnection queue (for connecting new solar farms and batteries to the grid, for instance) is still a huge choke-point. FERC’s transmission planning rule (Order 1920) and interconnection reforms (Order 2023) push first-ready/first-served clusters, long-term planning, and encourage grid-enhancing tech. MISO/SPP reforms and PJM’s AI collaboration point to shorter studies and clearer timelines (MISO; SPP; Reuters). But there’s a lot of partisan and Big Oil lobbying to work through.

2) Permitting friction

Residential and Commercial solar/battery permitting remains very costly, inefficient and time-consuming compared to most other places in the world. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Residential: SolarAPP+ delivers automated, same-day permits where adopted; states are helping cities onboard (Washington Commerce; Minnesota Commerce). Utility-scale: Some federal rulemaking and standardized data/process tools (released under the previous administration and still applicable) are giving local/regional AHJs (authorities having jurisdiction) and utilities clearer benchmarks. Here, coalitions provide the playbooks and political cover to copy/paste best practices into new rules.

3) Supply-chain security & geopolitics

The International Energy Agency (IEA) recently updated its forecast to reflect new U.S. and Chinese policies that are reshaping global trade in solar materials and equipment. Growth projections are now slightly slower than before – but solar energy still leads all other sources in new capacity additions (Reuters).

In response, U.S. and European industry groups – including the Solar Energy Manufacturers for America (SEMA), the European Solar Industry Alliance (ESIA), and SolarPower Europe – are advocating for:

• Local manufacturing and content rules to reduce reliance on imports,
• Long-term purchasing agreements to stabilize demand, and
• Targeted financing programs to help new solar factories compete globally.

4) Social License & Land Use

Community opposition to large-scale solar and battery projects is growing across the U.S., including Texas, as residents raise concerns about land use, habitat impact, and visual change (AP News). All voices count! But who will have the loudest or most heard voice in the room?

In response, developers and advocacy groups are building social license by pairing projects with local benefits and smart siting strategies:

• Conservation-aligned siting: Tools like The Nature Conservancy’s Site Renewables Right map lower-conflict areas where renewable energy can be built while protecting wildlife and natural resources.
• Agrivoltaics and dual land use: Groups such as the American Solar Grazing Association promote co-use of solar sites for grazing and agriculture – helping rural landowners benefit from both clean energy and farm income.
• Community partnerships in Texas: Local organizations like the Texas Land & Liberty Coalition and the Texas Solar Energy Society (TXSES) work to educate communities, align solar development with local priorities, and reduce conflict over siting. (NATiVE Solar is a very proud to be an active member of TXSES!)

Together, these approaches show that solar and storage can coexist with conservation, agriculture, and rural development – strengthening community trust while expanding clean energy. This feels for sure.

Playbook: what approaches seem to be working in 2025

• Bundle “wires + software.” Pair long-lead interregional lines (ACEG / Macro Grid) with near-term GETs (WATT: dynamic line ratings, topology optimization) to free capacity in months, not years (ACEG).
• Automate the simple stuff. SolarAPP+ plus state grants → instant permit wins; publish adoption scoreboards and ready-to-use ordinances (NREL SolarAPP+;)
• Common rails for interconnection. Align cluster milestones (FERC 2023), planning (FERC 1920), fast-track pilots (MISO / SPP), and digital tools (PJM / Google AI) to cut queue time and uncertainty (FERC 2023; FERC 1920; MISO; PJM / Google AI).
• Reshore strategically. Coordinate SEMA / ESIA advocacy & offtake constructs to make local PV bankable through cycles (SEMA; ESIA).
• Earn trust locally. Partner early with grazing co-ops / conservation orgs; site on low-conflict land; provide visible community value (ASGA)

What to watch next (Q4’25 → Q1’26)

Here’s what we’re watching in this space starting now:

• Transmission rule implementation: States’ roles under FERC 1920 and subsequent rehearings; how regions bake long-term need & cost allocation into plans (FERC).
• Queue throughput: Do MISO / SPP / PJM pilots materially cut study times and cancellations? (watch regional updates and PJM AI rollout: Reuters).
• Policy recalibration: Fallout from federal cancellations and how private capital + states backfill (e.g. record private funds like Brookfield’s $20B ET fund).
• EU solar manufacturing: ESIA forum outcomes and NZIA implementation (targets & action plan: EU NZIA background: Reuters).

As always, dear reader, we’ll keep you informed as there is more to report here!

Get in touch with us or call us at 855.234.3131 and let us help with your solar and smart energy-related needs.

Hill Country Growth = Perfect Solar+Battery Infrastucture Opportunity 

The Texas Hill Country is booming -and this could be really good news for regionalized solar and storage infrastructure investment.

New Braunfels was recently named one of the fastest-growing suburbs in the U.S., growing nearly 13 % in just two years. (MySA) New infrastructure projects like the 1,900-acre Mayfair development are creating entire new solar-centered neighborhoods, schools, and shopping districts. (MySA)

More homes and businesses = more concentrated electric load. We can easily predict enhanced opportunities to extract more value and probably faster ROI  from generating (and storing) renewable power locally.

The Growth Corridor Opportunity

• Population surges drive up grid demand and strain local substations.

• Distributed generation (rooftop solar) and neighborhood batteries help relieve stress and defer costly grid upgrades.

• New housing and commercial spaces = blank canvas. These areas look like ideal targets for smaller regional solar farms, community-scale microgrid BESS (Battery Storage), transformer right-sizing, solar-ready wiring, optimal roof pitch, and EV charger planning. (EV charging direct-from-solar is one of the very best use cases for consuming solar power efficiently on-site)

• Community Solar (& Storage) could really work well here

Solar Economics Improve with Load Growth

When a community grows, local self-consumption of solar can rise because there are more appliances, HVAC systems, and EV chargers pulling power locally. This is an important concept.

• This should shorten the ROI period for solar + battery systems.

• Businesses benefit from peak demand shaving -which can save thousands annually on demand charges.

• Some pressure is taken off the regional and state power grid!
• Electricity rate pricing can more effectively be stabilized

Local Examples & Pilots
The Hill Country isn’t just growing -it’s also experimenting:

• Bandera Electric Cooperative has launched a virtual power plant pilot using home batteries to stabilize the grid.

• Base Power is deploying residential batteries in partnership with co-ops to aggregate them into dispatchable resources. (Canary Media)

• Octopus Energy is deploying a massive VPP across wide swaths of Texas‘ unregulated energy markets.

This means that homeowners can join programs that actually pay them to let their battery help the community during grid stress events.

Look Ahead!

The Texas Hill Country growth boom is an invitation to think ahead. Solar + storage isn’t just a green upgrade -it’s a strategic hedge against rising costs, grid constraints, and future rate changes. With these insights in mind, we here at NATiVE encourage political and community leaders along with commercial interests to *think solar+battery* from project conception.

If you’re building or buying in New Braunfels, Comal, or Guadalupe County or anywhere else in the Hill Country, talk to NATiVE Solar now about smart, solar-ready design and battery options. Being early and all-in on renewables within a growth corridor unlocks opportunities to capture maximum value for the people and businessess who make their home there.

Got any thoughts about this? Please start a discussion below. Or if you’d like to have a chat about this stuff, get in touch!

You’ve probably seen an older ranch house with a mysterious boxy thing on the roof – maybe had a metal tank visibly attached.  It probably wasn’t a crashed UFO or a skylight gone wrong -it was probably a decades-old a solar-thermal water heater. So… where did they all go?

The solar-thermal collectors heated water (or other heat-transfer fluids) directly. This is quite different from solar PV (photovoltaic) cells which harvest solar energy to make electricity that can run electrical devices directly.The technology and economics used to make sense. But in Texas, in 2025, the numbers (and maintenance hassles) for roof-top solar-thermal water heating simply don’t work out. Once PV prices crashed and heat-pump water heaters got smart and efficient (and less expensive!), solar-thermal’s mainstream moment found itself played-out.Flashback: the golden eras of rooftop solar-thermal collectors (and why they fizzled)

• 1970s oil shocks: Incentives + expensive fuel = solar-thermal boom. Then oil prices fell and many incentives vanished, taking much of the market with them. (Context: BuildingGreen)
• Early 1900s: Sun-heated “day & night” rooftop tanks were a thing—particularly in warm climates like we have here. (History recap: Washington Post)
• 2010s onward: PV prices nosedived, heat-pump water heaters surged, and the balance tipped against rooftop thermal in most U.S. homes. (Green Building Advisor)

Why PV + heat pumps won the roof war

• One panel technology, many jobs: PV solar cells turn the roof into a universal energy plant—power for hot water, HVAC, EV charging, everything. That flexibility beat single-purpose thermal collectors. (REN21 GSR 2024)
• Costs & contractors: PV benefited from massive scale, simpler financing, and a rapidly expanding installer base since the 2000’s. Thermal often faced higher relatively installed costs and maintenance costs – and then, fewer service providers. (GBA: Why Aren’t Solar Water Heaters More Popular?)
• Heat-pump leapfrog: Modern heat-pump water heaters sip electricity and deliver 2–3× the heat per kWh as earlier generations -making them a perfect partner for PV. (Market trend overview: REN21)
• Maintenance+Overhead Cost: early solar-thermal collectors could actually freeze up in the winter – bursting pipes running into the home’s water system. Even with later tech refinements such as using antifreeze and gravity-drained systems to heat water tanks, there was yearly maintenance with costs that really added up over the years.

The market chill (and the installer gap)

Even in places that subsidized solar hot water, interest often cratered once PV incentives (a.k.a. “net metering” or “feed-in tariffs”) stole the spotlight and added even more value to the solar PV option. This essentially killed the market demand for these things.  Fewer trained installers + fewer parts + fewer new systems = a classic “vicious cycle of obsolescence”. (UK case study: Solarthermalworld.org)

Wait. Did solar-thermal actually all-the-way-die?

Not globally. Worldwide solar-thermal capacity (for hot water/space heat) still grew to an estimated 560 GW by 2023, though the U.S. shifted heavily toward PV-centric approaches. (Global snapshot, REN21) But these days, here in Texas at least, that tech is essentially a non-starter.

So is there a comeback path?

Solar-thermal energy storage is increasingly an area of interest for grid-scale operators for use as giant thermal batteries. But on the residential power side, there is also some renewed interest:

• Custom luxury + spa homes: High hot-water loads (multiple showers, soaking tubs, pools) can potentially justify specialty thermal—especially with integrated designs.
• Commercial & multifamily: Hotels, gyms, and apartments have predictable hot-water demand—prime candidates for modernized thermal or hybrid systems.
• Hybrid thinking: PV + heat-pump water heaters + smart controls (pre-heating when the sun is strong) already deliver “solar-thermal” outcomes—minus the roof plumbing.
• Grid-Scale Solar-Thermal Batteries: Large scale testing is underway to use the storage capacity of materials such as sand and liquid sodium to store heat (from the sun other other sources) which can be used to make steam and turn turbines to generate electricity on a massive scale during peak hours and/or when solar and wind isn’t producing as much.

*Here at NATiVE, we haven’t seen much option of or demand for these options yet. But our eyes are always peeled for emerging trends…and the engineers are always figuring out new tricks for old tech.

Bottom line (the friendly Texas version)

Solar-thermal water heaters didn’t vanish because they looked ugly on a roof -they just got out-competed. The combo of cheap PV and efficient heat-pump water heaters won on cost, versatility, and serviceability. But in the right niche, thermal can still make sense—and it absolutely helped blaze the trail that PV and batteries are cruising down today.

Here’s some links to a few good sources for further reading :

• Washington Post — The rise/fall of solar-thermal in the U.S.
• BuildingGreen — Solar hot water & other thermal applications
• Green Building Advisor — “Solar Thermal Is Dead” (debate + analysis)
• REN21 GSR — Global solar-thermal trends
• Solarthermalworld.org — UK demand drop case
• Leonard L. Northrup Jr. — Texas solar pioneer
• Solar water heating — Global overview

Texas solar fundamentals beyond OBBB are what matter now. When the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) became law in July, it reshaped federal clean-energy incentives. Headlines focused on deadlines and phase-outs. But here in Texas, the real story isn’t about a ticking clock. It’s about fundamentals that make solar too strong to slow down: rising electricity costs, record power demand, and the resilience Texans want in the face of grid instability.

Residential Solar: Independence and Rising Costs

Texans know energy costs aren’t going down. Modeling indicates household energy bills could rise about $220/year by 2030 and $480/year by 2035, with retail electricity rates up 23–54% as clean-energy buildout slows (Energy Innovation  -Texas impacts; Energy Capital HTX coverage).

That’s why many Texans are looking at solar+battery not just as an investment, but as insurance. Storage-backed systems keep the lights on during storms and ERCOT volatility—a reality made plain by the 2021 grid crisis and repeated summer stress events, where batteries helped carry the evening peaks (Texas Tribune – batteries during heat; Dallas Fed – solar & storage aided reliability).

For many of our clients, it’s less (or maybe as much) about chasing a tax credit and more about locking in control, predictability, and resilience. Bottom line: Texas solar fundamentals beyond OBBB are pushing homeowners toward solar + storage for control, predictability, and resilience.

Commercial Solar a& Battery Energy Storage: Economics and Scale

Texas businesses are staring down volatile wholesale markets and rising large-load demand. Grid-scale and solar + storage remains  the lowest-cost new-build option, making it a go-to for flattening long-run energy costs (Lazard LCOE+ 2025).

Reframed Reality Check (Still Strength): Even with OBBB cutting projections from over 100 GW to about 27 GW over the next decade, Texas remains on track to add substantial new capacity—enough to power millions of homes—because the underlying economics are still compelling (Houston Chronicle coverage; Advanced Energy United summary).

Manufacturing Momentum

Manufacturers see the opportunity, too. T1 Energy has advanced an $850M, 5 GW solar-cell plant in Rockdale (GlobeNewswire/Nasdaq release; T1 investor page), with local reports confirming scale and jobs (KXXV). These moves show confidence that demand is here to stay.

Texas Solar Fundamentals That Don’t Expire

• Low-Cost New Power: Utility-scale solar remains among the most cost-effective new generation resources (Lazard LCOE+ overview).
• Surging Demand (The Runway): ERCOT’s 2025 long-term materials show officer-attested large-load growth (especially data centers) driving tens of gigawatts of new demand this decade—ensuring solar must keep scaling because few resources can be built as quickly and cost-effectively (ERCOT long-term forecast report; ERCOT RPG slide deck).
• Reliability Value: Pairing solar with storage supports the grid during peaks and extreme events; Texas already leaned on batteries during summer stress (Texas Tribune; Texas Comptroller – batteries reduced prices).
• Top-Tier Resource & Scale: Texas has excellent solar resource (NREL solar resource maps) and ranks #2 nationally for installed capacity (SEIA Texas; SEIA Q2-2025 data sheet).

ERCOT Demand Makes Solar Inevitable

ERCOT’s large-load growth -from growing population to data centers-  means Texas needs immediately dispatchable, scalable, and cost-competitive power generation. That’s precisely where solar (and storage) excels. In other words, OBBB may slow growth, but surging demand keeps Texas solar on growth trajectory.

Our Conclusions –

OBBB may have shortened timelines, but Texas solar isn’t built on policy alone.

For homeowners, higher bills and grid risks make solar + storage a no-brainer.

For businesses, long-term operational savings and corporate sustainability goals keep the momentum strong.

For Texas, growth in population and demand means solar is here to stay—no matter how incentives shift.

**Oh, and our team is hiring for nearly all positions as we position for growth.

At NATiVE Solar, we’re guiding Texans through today’s urgency while building projects that deliver decades of value. The incentives may change, but the fundamentals are permanent. And the sun isn’t going anywhere.