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Two Crises at Once

In the summer of 2022, while Congress negotiated the Inflation Reduction Act, people in several entire neighborhoods in Athens, Georgia received notice that their monthly rent was increasing several hundred dollars, their Section 8 vouchers would no longer be honored, and they had one month to decide whether to stay or go. Many tenants in these mostly Black neighborhoods had lived for years in their homes, some for decades. Long enough to fix up the kitchen, see the neighbors’ children grow up, and build community. And, long enough to see apartments fall into disrepair and the septic system become overwhelmed. Housing investors from out of state bought several whole neighborhoods, raised rents, rejected vouchers, and displaced over a hundred households. Some of the tenants organized, attempting to pressure the developers or seek help from elected officials. The community’s pleas to the property developers were largely ignored, and the local government had limited options for an emergency response. A few people were able to pay the higher rent. Most people just had to try to find another place to live in a town where rents are rising due to many pressures and the supply of affordable housing does not meet the needs. Many people had to move out of the county or become homeless. 

The Summer of 2022 was also the hottest summer on record, until the record was broken the following year. A few months later, in December, the South experienced an extreme and unusual winter storm with record low temperatures across the country, including in Athens. It is hard to know where the displaced residents went or how many people were still unsheltered by then. By January, 2023, the city’s homeless population had increased by 20% over the previous year’s count, following an upward trend that began during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Athens is not unique. All over the south and across the country, communities are grappling with a lack of affordable housing to meet the needs of the people who work and live in cities, small towns, and even rural communities.

According to a recent report from the National Low Income Housing Institution, no state in the United States has an adequate supply of affordable housing. And all over the south and across the country, climate disasters are increasing. These two major problems are linked. Their solutions are too.

Affordable Housing and Climate Change

Lack of affordable housing makes people and communities more vulnerable to the effects of climate change and climate disasters. As weather becomes more extreme in a changing climate, the unaffordability or inability to properly heat and cool inefficient homes can contribute to weather-related health problems; and extreme heat poses even greater threats to unhoused people, who are often displaced by unaffordable housing prices. People with few resources may be forced to live in places where they are more exposed to climate risks, such as flooding or urban heat islands, in order to be able to afford housing. This displacement can also contribute to urban sprawl, which can lead people to travel further by car and contribute to rising emissions. Meanwhile high utility costs, which disproportionately burden low-income residents, are often indicative of inefficient housing that lacks enough insulation and leaks air during cold and hot weather. Inefficient housing drives up residents’ bills while wasting energy and unnecessarily burning polluting fuels. 

Improving housing can shore up our communities and protect vulnerable populations while lowering climate emissions. Layering climate-smart practices with efforts to preserve affordable housing can stabilize communities and make them more resilient to the threats of climate disasters while also driving down harmful pollution that causes climate change.

Building new housing with climate in mind can provide safe, healthy, and affordable housing for the workforce necessary to build the new electric vehicles, solar panels, batteries, and associated goods that will allow us to accomplish the energy transition. 

Inefficient housing makes it harder for residents to stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

At the same time while the Athens residents were receiving their rent notices, during that hottest-summer-ever-until-the-next-summer, Congress passed the IRA on party line votes, directing historic funding to low-income communities like the ones affected by the housing crisis in Athens. Several programs in the IRA are aimed at building community resilience, improving existing affordable housing with climate-smart retrofits, and encouraging energy efficiency in new construction. Local governments, affordable housing owners, and nonprofit organizations can take advantage of historic funding targeted to disadvantaged communities through the Justice40 initiative.

These programs will not be enough alone to solve the climate crisis or the affordable housing crisis, but they can begin to shift the trends. Below are some of the opportunities available now. If you know of a property owner, local government, or community based organization who might be eligible for any of these programs, please send this blog post to them and encourage them to look into it!

Funding and Assistance Available Now

Below are several IRA programs that are available now. Some programs are for communities meeting specific criteria, and some are more broadly available.

These programs are subject to the Biden Administration’s Justice40 Initiative, an executive order that sets the goal of delivering at least 40% of the benefits of funding for climate and clean energy to communities defined as “disadvantaged” by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool.

HUD Thriving Communities Technical Assistance

What does it do?

The HUD Thriving Communities Technical Assistance program (TCTA) will support coordination and integration of transportation and housing in infrastructure planning and implementation. The TCTA is part of an interagency initiative among the Department of Transportation, HUD, Energy, Commerce, and Agriculture, as well as the General Services Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. 

Who is it for? 

TCTA is for local governments that have received federal funding for transportation projects and want to explore options for addressing local housing needs while completing infrastructure projects. For example, a community that has a project to construct multimodal improvements and connect a disadvantaged community could include TCTA to preserve affordable housing in the community.

When is it due? 

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Analysis:

The TCTA program can help local governments make the most of opportunities to address multiple community needs and get guidance on how to meet community priorities that cross federal agency boundaries. Often, infrastructure projects have consequences for affordable housing in communities. Receiving technical assistance across agencies could help mitigate the potential negative impacts and ensure that communities see better outcomes from current transportation projects.

HUD Green and Resilient Retrofits Program

What does it do? 

The Green and Resilient Retrofits Program (GRRP) provides three different grants to help property owners add energy efficiency and resilience measures to existing affordable multi-family housing. The three programs are called Elements, Leading Edge, and Comprehensive. Which cohort fits a project best depends on where the project is in relation to the recapitalization process and how ambitious the property owner wants to be. 

The Elements program provides up to $750,000 per property for gap funding for energy efficiency, renewable energy, carbon emissions reduction, and / or climate resilience measures. Gap funding allows the owner to finance the additional cost of the measures. For example, if a property owner is planning to replace windows in housing units, this grant could provide the additional funding needed to purchase high-efficiency windows instead of lower efficiency windows. To be eligible for this grant, properties must be in the process of recapitalization (a process whereby the owner uses third-party financing to make improvements on the property).

The Leading Edge program provides up to $10 million per property for projects where the owner is interested in pursuing an advanced green certification (examples of green building certifications at this link). Measures could include: energy efficiency, renewable energy, materials with lower embodied carbon, and other resiliency measures. 

The Comprehensive program provides up to $20 million per property to properties with extensive needs for energy efficiency and climate resilience. Under this program, HUD provides owners with substantial assistance through recapitalization and the green building process. 

Who is it for? 

This program has grants for owners of existing HUD-subsidized multifamily housing that are in need of eligible updates. Most eligible properties fall under Section 8, including project-based rental assistance housing with housing assistance payment contracts (PBRA with HAP), Section 202 housing (for the elderly), Section 811 housing (for people with disabilities), and Section 236 (housing preservation). The GRRP is not for non-Section 8 public housing (for example, housing projects owned by public housing authorities), properties that accept housing vouchers but do not have HUD subsidies, or homes owned by low-income homeowners. You can use this map to identify HUD assisted multifamily housing projects in your community, but not all of the identified properties fall under Section 8.

When are they due? 

Elements Deadline:  March 28, 2024 (Elements NOFO)

Leading Edge: April 30, 2024 (Leading Edge NOFO)

Comprehensive: May 30, 2024 (Comprehensive NOFO)

Analysis:

The HUD GRRP grants could help preserve and maintain existing affordable housing units, and improve the health and wellbeing of residents. These grants are limited to certain properties in specific conditions, so they may not be widely useful across communities, but will make a big impact where eligible properties take advantage of the grants.

Environmental Justice Community Change Grants

What do they do?

Safe and affordable housing is a crucial condition for delivering environmental justice, particularly to communities that have faced disproportionate harm from housing policies that have segregated people by race and restricted access to housing and homeownership for Black and brown people in the United States. The EPA’s new Environmental Justice Community Change Grants program is one of many efforts by the Biden administration to deliver investments and opportunities to disadvantaged communities and begin to redress the harms of past policies. While these grants are not targeted specifically at housing, the goal of these place-based grants to “reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity to address environment and climate justice challenges” could align well with community goals to improve affordable housing in communities through clean energy, energy efficiency, and other climate resilience measures. Read our Environmental Justice Community Change Grants blog to find out more about these grants.

Who are they for?

Community-based organizations (CBOs) that are governmentally recognized as nonprofits can apply for the Environmental Justice Community Change Grants in partnership with at least one other CBO, or in partnership with  tribal governments, institutes of higher education, or local governments.

When are they due?

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until November 2024.

Analysis:

The EPA’s Community Change Grants represent huge opportunities for communities to address complex environmental justice problems through community-driven solutions. Safe, affordable housing is just one aspect of environmental justice that could be realized for communities through this grant program. These grants could make a big impact on communities that have often been left out of the benefits of federal investments.

Climate Pollution Reduction Grants

What do they do?

Agencies in most states and the largest metropolitan centers in the Southeast are currently engaged in developing priority action plans to reduce climate pollution through the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program (CPRG). Plans will be submitted to EPA by March 1, 2024. Once plans are submitted, local governments will have until April 1, 2024 to apply for short-term, “shovel-ready” implementation grants (due May 1 for tribes).

State or local governments for whom affordable housing is a high priority could apply for CPRG implementation grants that provide for energy efficiency, renewable energy, electric vehicle charging, and other climate pollution reducing actions in affordable housing. See SACE’s letter to Tennessee’s Department of Environment and Conservation for example for how CPRG can be used for investing in multifamily affordable housing. For these projects to be included, planning agencies must include them as priorities in their planning grants, so it is important for communities to notify planning agencies that this is a priority for their community. For more information on how to provide feedback to CPRG planning agencies, check out our blog at this link. 

Who are they for?

Local or tribal governments, states, and state agencies must lead in implementation grant applications. Local governments are encouraged to form coalitions with other local governments, and can also include community-based organizations, institutions, or private companies as coalition partners.

When are they due?

State, local, and tribal governments must apply for CPRG implementation grants by April 1, 2024.

Analysis:

Residential and commercial buildings are a key sector for climate emissions. While the CPRG program allows for broad measures, communities that are focused on rehabilitating housing could benefit from applying CPRG funds to energy efficiency and clean energy measures for affordable housing. 

Tax Credits

What do they do?

The IRA included many tax credits for homeowners, developers, and builders to make home improvements such as energy efficiency, solar, batteries, and electric vehicle chargers.. Some base tax credits can be increased if developers deliver the benefits of clean energy and energy efficiency to low-income residents. The tax credits also encourage local workforce development by providing credit adders if developers pay prevailing wages, establish apprenticeship programs, and locate projects in low-income communities. 

The New Energy Efficient Homes tax credit (Section 45 L) provides up to $2,500 per single family home (site built or manufactured), and up to $500 per multifamily unit for builders of new housing that meets ENERGY STAR specifications. This tax credit does not require the housing to meet affordability standards, but the builders could access additional credits if they pay prevailing wages. This tax credit is stackable with Low Income Housing Tax Credits. Only builders can access this tax credit–it is not available to local governments through direct pay.

The Investment Tax Credit for Energy Property (ITC) has been newly increased and extended under the IRA. The tax credit could go to a building owner or other entity that installs solar or battery energy storage systems on a property. The ITC includes additional credits for locating the project on low income-housing, benefitting low-income residents, and meeting prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements. If all conditions are met, the developer can get up to 70% credit on the investment.

  The Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Tax Credit (AFITC) provides up to 30% tax credit for electric vehicle chargers that are installed in rural or lower-income areas. To receive the full tax credit, developers must meet prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements.

Who are they for?

The New Energy Efficient Homes tax credit (Section 45 L)  is for builders of new single family or multifamily housing. This tax credit is stackable with Low Income Housing Tax Credits. Only builders can access this tax credit–it is not available to local governments through direct pay.

The Investment Tax Credit for Energy Property (ITC) (Section 48)  is for property owners or other entities that install solar or batteries on a property. The ITC is eligible for direct pay, so local governments and nonprofits that do not have a tax liability can receive a payment in lieu of the tax credit. There is also a residential version of this tax credit for residents’ homes. 

  The Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Tax Credit (AFITC) (Section 30C), also known as the alternative fuel vehicle refueling property credit, is for property owners or other entities that install electric vehicle chargers or other alternative fuel equipment. The ITC is eligible for direct pay, so local governments and nonprofits that do not have a tax liability can receive a payment in lieu of the tax credit. There is also a residential version of this tax credit for owner-occupied homes.

When are they due?

The IRA tax credits are extended at current levels through 2032. Developers and builders can apply for the credits for the year when the project was completed.

Analysis:

The IRA tax credits provide opportunities for new and existing affordable housing. Building owners and developers who apply these credits can help residents lower their bills and reduce pollution, while increasing property value and reducing tenant turnover rate. Local governments can work to make sure that developers in their communities are aware of the tax credits, and may have opportunities to encourage developers and building owners to take advantage of tax credits to improve affordable housing in their communities.

Home Energy Rebates

What do they do?

The Department of Energy Home Energy Rebate Program provides rebates for home upgrades that reduce energy use. The rebates can be used for whole home upgrades, including insulation and weatherization. Rebates can also be used to offset the cost of new energy efficient appliances, such as electric stoves, heat pump HVAC equipment, and electric heat pump dryers, as well as electrical wiring and panel upgrades. Some of the rebate programs are designed for low-income households, with upfront rebates up to 100% allowed under the legislation for people earning below 80% of the area median income.

Who are they for?

The DOE Home Energy Rebates programs will be administered by state energy offices, which may develop their own eligibility criteria within the elements of the legal framework of the IRA. Homeowners and renters may be eligible for the funds, and building owners or other entities performing the work can access the funds on behalf of residents. Many of the rebate programs will be designed to be used by low-income households.

When are they due?

Most states are currently developing their rebate plans, and most programs are expected to be open by fall 2024. The rebate program is enabled to run through September 30, 2031.

Analysis:

The Home Energy Rebate programs will make available hundreds of millions of dollars to states in the Southeast to upgrade low income homes. Unlike tax credits, the rebate programs have a limited pool of funding. It could make sense for states to target funds to benefit the most vulnerable populations who may not otherwise be able to access funding for home energy upgrades.

Stay Up to Date With SACE 

Affordable housing and climate change can be addressed together with investments for local governments, nonprofit organizations, and housing developers. Above, we have outlined some of the opportunities available now, but there are more coming. At SACE, we are always looking for ways for our members to advocate for their communities to thrive with investments in climate and clean energy. To stay up to date as new grants and programs open up, join us on our next Clean Energy Generation monthly call.

Click Here to Join the Clean Energy Generation

The post Meeting the Climate Crisis with Investments in Affordable Housing appeared first on SACE | Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

Meeting the Climate Crisis with Investments in Affordable Housing

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The United States Run Amok

Published

10 hours ago

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January 13, 2026

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An old school chum writes:

“We live in a world … that is governed by strength … by force … and by power.” – Stephen Miller (see @ 5:55). For the record, that’s what Hitler said in 1939.

The United States has lost its place in this world. We’ve been taken over by a lunatic president and his “nazi” henchmen.

The United States Run Amok

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Solar Compliance & Regulations Every Australian Business Must Know

Published

11 hours ago

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January 13, 2026

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As we enter 2026, we all know that solar energy is not just an environmental choice for Australian businesses; it’s a smart commercial strategy.

Between rising energy costs, increasing ESG pressure, and attractive government incentives, of course, solar has become both eco-smart and economically powerful for Australian homes and businesses.

But before you order panels, sign contracts, or get excited about cleaner energy bills, it’s crucial to understand rebates, financing options, and the regulatory path that every business must follow.

However, from solar compliance regulations in Australia to safety standards, grid connection rules, and government incentives, navigating the legal landscape can feel complex without the proper guidance.

Also, falling behind on compliance can mean delays, penalties, or missed financial incentives, while staying ahead ensures smoother installations, long-term savings, and regulatory peace of mind.

As Australia accelerates its clean energy transition, this guide outlines the solar regulations every Australian business must know in 2026 to stay competitive, compliant, and future-ready.

So, if you are planning to install solar on your business property, let’s dive in!

In this blog post:

Solar Rebates & Incentives| Get the Most Financial Support!

Undoubtedly, Australia’s solar boom is transforming the way businesses cut costs, reduce emissions, and future-proof operations, but staying compliant is just as important as going green.

Initially, the cost of solar panels and battery systems may seem high at first glance, but  Government support can dramatically cut upfront investment. So, knowing what rebates or incentives your business is eligible for can mean thousands of dollars saved.

Here we’ve penned down the available solar rebates for Australians:

Federal Rebates: Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES)

The big headline rebate in Australia today is the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES).

Under this scheme, you earn Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs) when you install eligible renewable energy systems, including rooftop solar and solar batteries.

These certificates have a tradable value and are typically sold by your installer to offset the system’s upfront cost.

STCs can significantly lower your installation cost. Wondering how much?

The actual savings depend on:

  • The size of your system (in kW),
  • Your geographic location,
  • The installation date and the remaining deeming years until 2030, when STCs will phase out.

You can also ask your retailer how many STCs your system will generate and what value they’re assigning to each. Sometimes it’s already reflected in your quote.

State & Local Government Incentives

Beyond federal support, many states and even local councils offer additional rebates, loans, or incentives, especially for businesses. For instance:

  • Some regions provide solar panel rebates or partial subsidies for commercial PV systems.
  • Battery rebates and interest-free loans are becoming more common to help businesses install energy storage along with solar.
  • In NSW, battery and Virtual Power Plant participation incentives have increased, offering bonus payments for grid-connected battery systems.

Moreover, rebates can often be stacked. You might be eligible for:

  1. Federal STCs,
  2. State rebates, and
  3. Local council grants are also available if you check early and apply correctly.

How to Finance Your Solar Panel Installation: Find Out!

Not long ago, financing was one of the most common barriers to solar installation. Not all businesses want to or can pay upfront for a solar system, especially larger organisations and commercial properties.

But the story has changed! Solar financing has evolved rapidly, unlocking new, flexible pathways for businesses to go solar without the upfront burden.

Let’s have a look at the top solar financing option for Australians:

Solar Loans & Leasing Options

Many businesses use tailored solar financing:

  • Commercial solar loans with competitive rates,
  • Lease or Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), where you pay over time or only for the energy produced,
  • Environmental Upgrade Finance (EUF), where repayments are tied to council rates.

These funding options let you unlock solar savings without upfront capital, often making solar monthly costs lower than current energy bills.

Tax & Depreciation Benefits

Solar investments can also provoke tax benefits. It can result in immediate tax deductions in some cases and accelerate depreciation allowances for commercial systems.

However, tax strategies can vary by business size and structure, so it’s wise to seek professional advice before finalising anything.

Australia’s Solar Compliance Framework: Things You Must Follow

In Australia, getting rebates and finance is one thing, but meeting safety and regulatory requirements is another, and it’s mandatory.

Now you might be thinking what key requirements are set by bodies like the Clean Energy Council, local distributors, and state and federal governments.

The requirements list includes:

Accredited Installers & Tradespeople

To qualify for STCs and many rebates, your system must be installed by appropriately accredited professionals such as Cyanergy. To become eligible:

  • Solar installers must be accredited through Solar Accreditation Australia (SAA) and often registered with the Clean Energy Council.
  • Electrical work must be carried out by a licensed electrician or contractor, as required by state law.

No accredited installer?

Cyanergy is here to help you with these solar financing options, making your journey hassle-free.

Australian Standards Business Must Follow

Australia has a robust set of standards that solar systems must comply with. These aren’t optional; they’re embedded in electrical and safety laws and often referenced in codes.

The key standards include:

  • Wiring Rules
  • Installation of Photovoltaic (PV) Arrays
  • Wind Loading and Structural Design Actions
  • Lightning Protection
  • Stand-alone systems
  • Grid connection of inverters and energy systems

Among these, installation of Photovoltaic (PV) Arrays has been revised specifically to support modern solar installations and is a fundamental standard for safe, compliant solar work.

If you don’t meet these standards, regulators or your energy network may refuse to connect you or even fine your business.

Network & Electrical Connections

Even after panels are on the roof, you can’t just switch them on. Your installation must be commissioned by the installer, tested against local network connection rules, and may require type-specific metering, such as digital smart meters.

In many cases, utilities may delay grid export until safety and connection standards are confirmed, so leave time in your project plan.

Building Codes & Local Council Requirements

Compliance at the federal and state levels doesn’t always summarise the whole story. Local planning, building codes, and council approvals can also affect your solar installation process.

How to build approvals?

In Australia, you may need a building permit or development approval, depending on your municipality and the system’s size or location.

Strata, body corporate, or planning rules may require additional approvals before installing panels on shared property or heritage buildings.

Must check with local authorities or your installer before proceeding.

Roof Load & Structural Engineering

Solar arrays add weight and stress to roof structures. Many councils and insurers might ask for:

  • Structural assessments,
  • Proper Documentation
  • Prove that the roof can safely support your system.

This is especially important for older buildings or double-storey structures.

Keep in mind that some installers even refuse to proceed without structural confirmation, which can delay installation if not planned for early.

Australian Safety Standards & Best Practices for Solar Panel Installation

While planning an energy upgrade, safety isn’t just a legal requirement; it protects lives and assets.

So let’s see what the safety rules are for the installation of solar PV systems in Australia:

Electrical & Fire Safety

Solar systems involve high voltages, batteries, and sometimes complex inverter setups. That’s why:

  • Installers must manage risks in accordance with Australian electrical safety and work health and safety (WHS) rules.
  • Battery installations have specific safety requirements, including proper ventilation and fire safety measures.

After installation, your electrician must also provide a Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work to confirm that the system meets all electrical safety standards and is properly connected.

What are the Other Safety Measures?

Accreditation: Use CEC-accredited designers and installers.

Wiring: Maintain separation between AC and DC cables; protect all wiring from any physical damage.

Inverter Placement: Install your inverters in shaded, well-ventilated areas.

Panel Handling: Cover unpacked panels with opaque material to stop power generation. Also, wear insulated gloves.

Structural Integrity: Ensure proper mounting to withstand weather and prevent roof leaks.

Earthing: Essential for preventing shocks and managing fault currents.

Electrical Isolation: Isolate all power at the main switchboard before work begins.

Maintenance: Regular inspections by a licensed electrician can prevent failures.

Working at Heights: Take extreme care, especially near power lines; wear appropriate PPE, including a respirator, goggles, and gloves.

Documentation & Compliance Paperwork

If you are planning to install solar panels, don’t underestimate paperwork. Thorough documentation helps you:

  • Claim rebates,
  • Demonstrate compliance during inspections,
  • Protect your business in case of disputes.

Why Compliance Matters for Australian Businesses?

Now that you understand the rules and safety measures, it’s time to look at why compliance truly matters.

Following rebates, financing rules, and regulatory standards pays off in multiple ways:

Cost Reduction & Risk Avoidance

Non-compliance can:

  • Void rebates,
  • Lead to fines or permit pull-back,
  • Delay grid connection,
  • Result in expensive rework.

Staying compliant protects both your wallet and reputation. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Reliable Performance & Safety

Standards like AS/NZS 5033 weren’t written randomly; they’re based on decades of safety data. Compliance means your system is efficient, safe, and durable.

Insurance & Resale Value Boost

Properly installed and compliant solar systems often:

  • Improve business property value,
  • Support insurance claims,
  • Reduce liability exposure.

Final Checklist for Australian Businesses Installing Solar

Now that you understand the rules and safety measures, it’s time to look at why compliance truly matters.

Following rebates, financing rules, and regulatory standards pays off in multiple ways:

Cost Reduction & Risk Avoidance

Non-compliance can:

  • Void rebates,
  • Lead to fines or permit pull-back,
  • Delay grid connection,
  • Result in expensive rework.

Staying compliant protects both your wallet and reputation. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Reliable Performance & Safety

Standards like AS/NZS 5033 weren’t written randomly; they’re based on decades of safety data. Compliance means your system is efficient, safe, and durable.

Insurance & Resale Value Boost

Properly installed and compliant solar systems often:

  • Improve business property value,
  • Support insurance claims,
  • Reduce liability exposure.

Is Solar Worth It? Get It Right with Cyanergy

For Australian businesses in 2026, taking advantage of rebates, smart financing, and following the right regulatory path can transform solar from a cost burden into a long-term investment against volatile grid prices.

It also reduces our reliance on fossil fuels, lowering our carbon footprint.

Successful solar adoption happens when you leverage rebates intelligently, finance wisely, and comply meticulously with standards and codes. Ultimately, all you need to do is follow the guidance above.

For any further queries on solar installation, compliance, and regulatory measures, contact Cyanergy today!

Your Solution Is Just a Click Away



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The post Solar Compliance & Regulations Every Australian Business Must Know appeared first on Cyanergy.

Solar Compliance & Regulations Every Australian Business Must Know

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US Offshore Wind Halts, Japan Launches First Floating Farm

Published

11 hours ago

on

January 13, 2026

By

Weather Guard Lightning Tech

US Offshore Wind Halts, Japan Launches First Floating Farm

Allen, Joel, Rosemary, and Yolanda discuss the ongoing federal halt on US offshore wind projects and mounting lawsuits from Equinor, Ørsted, and Dominion Energy. Plus Japan’s Goto floating wind farm begins commercial operation with eight Hitachi turbines on hybrid SPAR-type foundations, and Finnish investigators seize a vessel suspected of severing Baltic Sea cables.

Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly newsletter on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard’s StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on YouTube, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary’s “Engineering with Rosie” YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us!

The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast brought to you by Strike Tape, protecting thousands of wind turbines from lightning damage worldwide. Visit striketape.com. And now your hosts, Allen Hall, Rosemary Barnes, Joel Saxum and Yolanda Padron. Welcome to the 

Allen Hall: Uptime Wind Energy Podcast. I’m your host, Alan Hall. I’m here with Rosie Barnes, Joel Saxum, and Yolanda Padron.

Many things on the docket this week. The, the big one is the five US offshore wind projects that are facing cancellation after the federal halt. And on December 22nd, as we all know, the US Department of Interior ordered construction halted on every offshore wind project in American waters. Uh, the recent given and still given is national security.

Uh, developers see it way differently and they’ve been going to court to try to. Get this issue resolved. Ecuador, Ted and Dominion Energy have all filed lawsuits at this point. EOR says [00:01:00] a 90 day pause, which is what this is right now, will likely mean cancellation of their empire. Project Dominion is losing more than about $5 million a day, and everybody is watching to see what happens.

Orton’s also talking about taking some action here. Uh, there’s a, a lot of moving pieces. Essentially, as it stands right now, a lot of lawsuits, nothing happening in the water, and now talks mostly Ecuador of just completely canceling the project. That will have big implications to US. Electricity along the east coast,

Joel Saxum: right Joel?

Yeah. We need it. Right? So I, I hate to beat a dead horse here because we’ve been talking about this for so long. Um, but. We’ve got energy demand growth, right? We’re sitting at three to 5% year on year demand growth in the United States, uh, which is unprecedented. Since, since, and this is a crazy thing. Since air [00:02:00] conditioning was invented for residential homes, we have not had this much demand for electricity growth.

We’ve been pretty flat for the last 20 years. Uh, so we need it, right? We wanna be the AI data center superpower. We wanna do all this stuff. So we need electrons. Uh, these electrons are literally the quickest thing gonna be on the grid. Uh, up and down that whole eastern seaboard, which is a massive population center, a massive industrial and commercial center of the United States, and now we’re cutting the cord on ’em.

Uh, so it is going to drive prices up for all consumers. That is a reality, right? Um, so we, we hear campaign promises up and down the things about making life more affordable for the. Joe Schmo on the street. Um, this is gonna hurt that big time. We’re already seeing. I think it was, um, we, Alan, you and I talked with some people from PGM not too long ago, and they were saying 20 to 30% increases already early this year.

Allen Hall: Yeah. The, the increases in electricity rates are not being driven by [00:03:00] offshore wind. You see that in the press constantly or in commentary. The reason electricity rates are going up along the east coast is because they’re paying for. The early shutdown of cold fire generation, older generation, uh, petroleum based, uh, dirty, what I’ll call dirty electricity generation, they’re paying to shut those sites down early.

So that’s why your rates are going up. Putting offshore wind into the equation will help lower some of those costs, and onshore wind and solar will help lower those costs. But. The East Coast, especially the Northeast, doesn’t have a lot of that to speak of at the minute. So, uh, Joel, my question is right now, what do you think the likelihood is of the lawsuits that are being filed moving within the next 90 days?

Joel Saxum: I mean, it takes a long time to put anything through any kind of, um, judicial process in the United States, however. There’s enough money, power [00:04:00] in play here that what I see this as is just like the last time we saw an injunction happen like this is, it’s more of a posturing move. I have the power to do this, or we have the power to do this.

It’s, it’s, uh, the, it’s to get power. Over some kind of decision making process. So once, once people come to the table and start talking, I think these things will be let, let back loose. Uh, I don’t, I don’t think it will go all the way to, we need to have lawsuits and stuff. It’ll just be the threat of lawsuits.

There’ll be a little bit of arbitration. They’ll go back to work. Um, the problem that I see. One of the problems, I guess, is if we get to the point where people, companies start saying like, you know what, we can’t do this anymore. Like, we can’t keep having these breaks, these pauses, these, this, you know, if it’s 90 days at $5 million a day, I mean that’s 450 million bucks.

That’s crazy. But that nobody, nobody could absorb that.

Allen Hall: Will they leave the mono piles and transition pieces and some [00:05:00] towers just sitting in the water. That’s what

Joel Saxum: I was gonna say next is. What happens to all of the assets, all of the steel that’s in the water, all the, all the, if there’s cable, it lays if there’s been rock dumps or the companies liable to go pick them up.

I don’t know what the contracts look like, right? I don’t know what the Boem leases say. I don’t know about those kind of things, but most of that stuff is because they go back to the oil field side of things, right? You have a 20 year lease at the end of your 20 year lease. You gotta clean it up. So if you put the things in the water, do they have 20 years to leave ’em out there before they plan on how they’re gonna pull ’em out or they gotta pull ’em out now?

I don’t know.

Allen Hall: Would just bankrupt the LLCs that they formed to create these, uh, wind

Joel Saxum: farms. That’s how the oil field does it bankrupt. The LC move on. You’ve, you’ve more than likely paid a bond when you, you signed that lease and that, but that bond in like in a lot of. Things is not enough. Right. A bond to pull mono piles out would have to be, [00:06:00] I mean, you’re already at billions of dollars there, right?

So, and, and if you look again to the oil and gas world, which is our nearest mirror to what happens here, when you go and decommission an old oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, you don’t pull the mono piles out. You go down to as close to the sea floor as you can get, and you just cut ’em off with a diamond saw.

So it’s just like a big clamp that goes around. It’s like a big band saw. And you cut the foundations off and then pull the steel back to shore, so that can be done. Um, it’s not cheap.

Allen Hall: You know what I would, what I would do is the model piles are in, the towers are up, and depending on what’s on top of them, whether it’s in the cell or whatever, I would sure as hell put the red flashing lights on top and I would turn those things on and let ’em run just so everybody along the East coast would know that there could be power coming out of these things.

But there’s not. So if you’re gonna look at their red flashy lights, you might as well get some, uh, megawatts out of them. That’s what I would do.

Joel Saxum: You’d have to wonder if the contracts, what, what, what it says in the contracts about. [00:07:00] Uh, utilization of this stuff, right? So if there’s something out there, does the FAA say, if you got a tower out there, it’s gotta have a light on it anyways.

Allen Hall: It has to or a certain height. So where’s the power coming from? I don’t know. Solar panel. Solar panel. That’s what it have to be, right? Yeah. This is ridiculous. But this is the world we live in today.

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Allen Hall: the dominoes keep falling.

In American offshore wind, last year it was construction halts this year, contract delays. Massachusetts has pushed back the signing of two offshore wind agreements that were supposed to be done. Months ago, ocean Winds and Berroa won their bids in September of 2024. The paperwork is still unsigned more than a year later, a year and a half later.

State officials blame Federal uncertainty. Uh, the new target is June and offshore wind for these delays are really becoming a huge problem, especially if you don’t have an offtake agreements signed, Joel.

Joel Saxum: I don’t see how the, I mean, again, I’m not sitting in those rooms. I’m not a fly on the wall there, but I don’t see how you can have something sitting out there for, it’s just say September 24.

Yeah. Yeah. You’re at 18 months now, right? 17, 18 months without an agreement signed. Why is, why is Massachusetts doing this? What’s, what’s the, what’s the thing there? I mean, you’re an, [00:09:00] you are, uh, an ex Massachusetts, Massachusetts, Ian, is that what it’s called?

Allen Hall: Yeah. I, I think they would like to be able to change the pricing for the offtake is most likely what is happening as, uh, the Trump administration changes the agreements or trying to change the agreements, uh, the price can go up or down.

So maybe the thing to do is to not sign it and wait this out to see what the courts say. Maybe something will happen in your favor. That’s a real shame. Right. Uh, there’s thousands of employees that have been sidelined. Uh, the last number I saw was around 4,000. That seems on the low end.

Joel Saxum: Yeah. I think about, um, the, the vessels too.

Like you’re the, like the Eco Edison that was just built last year. I think it’s upwards of 500 million bucks or something to build that thing down in Louisiana, being sent up there. And you have all these other specialized, uh, vessels coming over from Europe to do all this construction. Um, you know. Of course if they’re coming over from Europe, those are being hot bunked and being paid standby rates, which [00:10:00] is crazy ’cause the standby rates are insane.

Uh, ’cause you still gotta run fuel, you still gotta keep the thing running. You still gotta cook food. You still have all those things that have to happen on that offshore vessel. Uh, but they’re just gonna be sitting out there on DP doing nothing.

Yolanda Padron: You have the vessels, you have people’s jobs. You have.

Regular people who are unrelated to energy at all suffering because of their prices going up for energy and just their cost of living overall going up. All because they don’t look pretty.

Joel Saxum: Yeah. The entire, that entire supply chain is suffering. I mean, Yolanda, you’re, you, you used to work with a company involved in offshore wind.

How many people have, um, you know, have we seen across LinkedIn losing their jobs? Hey, we’re pivoting away from this. I gotta go find something else. And with that. In the United States, if you’re not from the States, you don’t know this, but there’s not that much wind, onshore wind on the East coast. So many of those families had to relocate out there, uproot your family, go out to Massachusetts, New Jersey, [00:11:00] Virginia, wherever, put roots back down and now you’re what?

What happens? You gotta move back.

Yolanda Padron: Good luck to you. Especially, I mean, you know, it’s, it’s a lot of projects, right? So it’s not like you can just move on to the next wind farm. It’s a really unfortunate situation.

Allen Hall: Well, for years the promise of floating wind turbines has dangled just out of reach and the technology works, and the engineers have been saying for quite a while.

We just needed someone to prove it at scale. Well, Japan just did the go-to floating wind farm began commercial operation this past week. Eight turbines on hybrid spar foundations anchored in water is too deep for anything fixed. Bottom, uh, it’s the first. Wind farm of his kind in Japan and signals to the rest of Asia that floating wind is possible.

Now, uh, Rosemary, their turbines that are being used are Hitachi turbines, 2.1 megawatt machines. I don’t know a lot about this hybrid spark [00:12:00] type floater technology, which looks to be relatively new in terms of application. Is this gonna open up a large part of the Japanese shoreline to offshore wind?

Rosemary Barnes: Yeah, I mean, at the first glance it’s like two megawatt turbine turbines. That’s micro, even for onshore these days, that’s a really small turbine. Um, and for offshore, you know, usually when you hear about offshore announcements, it’s like 20 megawatt, 40 megawatt monstrosities. However, I, I think that if you just look at the size of it, then it really underestimates the significance of it, especially for Japan.

Because they, one, don’t have a lot of great space to put turbines on shore or solar power on shore. Um, and two, they don’t have any, any good, um, locations for fixed bottom offshore. So this is not like this floating offshore wind farm. It’s not competing against many onshore um, options at all. For Japan, it’s competing against energy imports.

I’m really happy to see [00:13:00] a proper wind farm. Um, in Japan and they’ll learn a lot from this. And I hope that it goes smoothly and that, you know, the next one can be bigger and better. And then it’s also, you know, Japan traditionally has been a really great manufacturing country and not so much with wind energy, but this could be their chance.

If they’re the country that’s really on scale developing the floating offshore industry, they will necessarily, you know, like just naturally as a byproduct of that, they’re gonna develop manufacturing, at least supporting manufacturing and probably. Some major components and then bring down the cost. You know, the more that, um, these early projects might start out expensive, but get cheaper, fast.

That’s how we hope it’ll go. And then they’ll push out into other areas that could benefit from offshore wind, but um, not at the cost. Somewhere like California, you know, they have the ability to have onshore wind. They’d really like some offshore wind, some floating offshore wind. But it is a hard sell there at the moment because it is so much more expensive.

But if it gets cheaper because, you know, projects like [00:14:00] this help push the price down, then I think it will open things up a lot. So yeah, I am, I’m quite excited to see this project.

Allen Hall: Will it get cheaper at the two to six megawatt range instead of the 15 to 20 megawatt range?

Joel Saxum: That’s what I was gonna comment on.

Like there’s, there’s a, there’s a key here that the general public misses. For a floating offshore wind farm. So if you’re gonna do this cost effectively, that’s why they did it with the 2.1 megawatts ones because with a, with the spar product that they’re using basically. And, and I was sourcing this off at my desk, so here you go,

Rosemary Barnes: Joel.

We need a closed caption version for those listening on the podcast and not watching on YouTube. Joel’s holding like a foam, a foam model of a wind turbine. Looks like it’s got a stubby, stubby holder on the bottom.

Joel Saxum: This is. Turbine. Steel. Steel to a transition piece and then concrete, right? So this is basically a concrete tube like, um, with, with, uh, structural members on the inside of it.

And you can float this thing or you can drag these, you can float ’em key side and then drag ’em out, and [00:15:00] then it just fill ’em halfway or three quarters away with ballast sea seawater. So you just open a valve, fill the thing up to three quarters of the way with seawater, and it sinks it down into the water a little bit.

Water level sits about. Right at the transition piece and then it’s stable. And that’s a hybrid. Spar product is very simple. So to make this a easy demonstrate project, keyside facility is the key, is the big thing. So your Keyside facility, and you need a deep water keyside facility to make this easy. So if you go up to Alan, like you said, a two to six, to eight to 10 to 15 megawatt machine.

You may have to go and take, you may have to barge the spars out and then dump ’em off the spar and then bring the turbines out and put ’em on. That’s not ideal. Right? But if you can do this all keyside, if you can have a crane on shore and you can float the spars and then put the, build the whole turbine, and then drag that out as it sits, that’s a huge cost reduction in the installation operations.

So it, it’s all about how big is the subsea portion of the spar? How? How deep is your [00:16:00] deep water keyside port? To make it efficient to build. Right. So they’re looking at 10 gigawatts of floating offshore wind by 2030. Now it’s 2026. That’s only four years away, so 10 gigawatts. You’re gonna have to scale up the size of the turbines.

It’ll be interesting how they do it, right? Because to me, flipping spars off of a barge is not that hard. That’s how jackets and spars have been installed in the past. Um, for, um, many industries, construction industries, whether it’s oil and gas or just maritime, construction can be done. Not a problem. Um, it’s just not as efficient.

So we’ll see what, we’ll see what they do.

Allen Hall: You would need 5,000 turbines at two megawatts to get to 10 gigawatts, 5,000 turbines. They make 5,000 cars in a day. The, the Japanese manufacturing is really efficient. I wouldn’t put anything by the Japanese capabilities there.

Joel Saxum: The problem with that is the cost of the, the inter array cables and [00:17:00] export cables for 5,000 turbines is extreme.

Allen Hall: We also know that. Some of the best technology has come out of Japan for the last 50 years, and then maybe there’s a solution to it. I, I’m really curious to see where this goes, because it’s a Hitachi turbine. It’s a 2.1 megawatt turbine, as Rosemary’s pointed out. That’s really old technology, but it is inexpensive to manufacture and easy to move around.

Has benefits.

Rosemary Barnes: Yeah. It also means like they, they’re not gonna be surprised with like, you know, all of. When you make a 20 megawatt offshore wind turbine, you’re not only in the offshore environment, you’re also dealing with, you know, all your blade issues from a blade that long and 2.1 megawatt turbine has blades of the size that, you know, just so mature, reliable, robust.

They can at least rule those headaches out of their, um, you know, out of their. Development phase and focus on the, the new stuff.

Joel Saxum: Does anybody know who [00:18:00] makes blades for Hitachi?

Allen Hall: Rosie? Was it lm? I, I, I know we have on a number of Hitachi turbines over time, but I don’t know who makes the blades.

Rosemary Barnes: Yeah, I don’t know.

But I mean, also it’s like, um, it doesn’t mean that they’re locked into 2.1 megawatts for forever, right? So, um, if the economics suggest that it is be beneficial to scale up. Presumably there will be a lot that they have learned from the smaller scale that will be de-risking the, the bigger ones as well.

So, you know, um, it’s, there’s advantages to doing it both ways. It’s probably a slower, more steady progress from starting small and incrementally increasing compared to the, you know, like big, um, fail fast kind of, um, approach where you just do a big, big, huge turbine and just find out everything wrong with it all at once.

Um, but. You know, pros and cons to both.

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The Baltic Sea has become a chessboard under sea. Cables carry data. Pipelines carry energy as we’ve all seen and someone keeps cutting them. Finnish investigators are now saying a cargo ship dragged its anchor [00:20:00] across the seabed for tens of kilometers before severing a telecommunications cable. On New Year’s Eve, special forces seize the vessel.

Four crew members are detained, but the questions still remain. Who or what is trying to cut cables and pipelines at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

Joel Saxum: It’s not accidents like it happened on New Year’s Eve and it was, and you drug an anchor for tens of kilometers. That’s on purpose. There’s, there’s no way that this is someone, oh, we forgot to pull the anchor up.

You know how much more throttle you have to put on one of these? Have you seen an anchor for an offshore vessel? They’re the size of a fricking house,

Allen Hall: so they’re investigating it right now. And four, the 14 crew members are under detention. Travel restrictions, we’ll see how long that lasts. Crew includes nationals from of all places, Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan.

So there is a, a Russian element to this. [00:21:00] I don’t know if you were all watching, I don’t know, a week or two ago when there’s a YouTube video from and oral, which makes undersea. Equipment and defense, uh, related, uh, products. And Palmer Lucky who runs that company basically said, there are microphones all over the bottom of the ocean, all around the world.

Everything is monitored. There’s no way you can drag an anchor for a kilometer without somebody knowing. So I’m a little surprised this took so long to grab hold of, but. Maybe the New Year’s Eve, uh, was a good time to pick because everybody is kind of relaxed and not thinking about a ship, dragging an anchor and breaking telecommunication cables, wind turbines have to be really careful about this.

There, there have to be some sort of monitoring, installation sensors that are going on around the, all the wind power that exists up in that region and all [00:22:00] the way down in, in the North Sea. To prevent this from happening, the sabotage is ridiculous. At this point,

Joel Saxum: yeah. I mean, even, even with mattresses over the export cables, or the inter array cables or, or rock bags or rock dumps or, or burials, these anchors are big enough to, to cut those, to drag and cut ’em like it, it’s just a, it’s a reality.

It’s a risk. But someone needs to be monitoring these things closer if they’re not yet. ’cause you are a hundred percent correct. There’s, so, there’s, there’s private, there’s public sides of the acoustic monitoring, right? So like the United States military monitors, there’s, there’s acoustic monitoring all up and down.

I can’t actually never, I looked into it quite a while ago. There’s a name for the whole system. It’s called the blah, blah, blah, and it monitors our coastline. Like ev, there’s a sensor. Every man, it’s a couple miles. Like all, all around the EEZ of the United States. And that exists everywhere. So like you think like in international waters, guarantee that the United States has got microphones out listening to, [00:23:00] right.

So, but if you’re in the Baltic Sea, it’s a little bit different of an, of a confined space. But you have Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, all along the southern and eastern coast and the, and Russia. And then you have the Fins, Swedes, Norwegian, Denmark, Germany. Everybody is Poland. Everybody’s monitoring that for sure.

It’s just like a postmortem investigation is, is doable.

Allen Hall: Yolanda, how are they gonna stop this? Should they board the ships, pull the people off and sink them? What is it gonna take for this to end?

Yolanda Padron: I don’t know. In the meantime, I think Joel has a movie going on in his head about how exactly he’s gonna portray this.

Um, yeah, it’s. I mean, I’d say better monitoring, but I, I’m not sure. I guess keep a closer eye on it next time. I mean, I really hope it’s, there’s not a next time, but there seems to be a pattern developing. Right.

Allen Hall: I forgot how many of those happened.

Joel Saxum: Yeah. The maritime, this is a, this is a tough reality about the maritime world.

[00:24:00] ’cause I, I’ve done some work done in Africa and down there it’s specifically the same thing. There’s say there’s a vessel. Okay, so a vessel is flagged from. S Cy Malta, a lot of vessels are flagged Malta or Cyprus, right? Because of the laws. The local laws there that Cyprus flagged vessel may be owned by a company based in, um, Bermuda that’s owned by a company based in Russia that’s owned by a company based in India.

All of these things are this way. There’s shell companies and hidden that you don’t know who owns vessels unless they’re even, even the specific ones. Like if you go to a Maersk vessel. And you’re like, oh, that’s Maersk, they’re Danish. Nope. That thing will be, that thing will be flagged somewhere else, hidden somewhere else.

And it’s all about what port you go to and how much taxes you can hide from, and you’ll never be able to chase down the actual parties that own these vessels and that are responsible you, you, it, it’s so [00:25:00] difficult. You’re literally just going to have to deal with the people on board, and you can try to chase the channels to who owns that boat, but you’ll never find them.

That’s the, that’s the trouble with it.

Allen Hall: It does seem like a Jean Claude Van Dam situation will need to happen pretty soon. Maybe as Steven Segal, something has to happen. It can’t continue to go on it over the next couple of months with as much attention as being paid to international waters and.

Everything that’s happening around the world, you’d think that, uh, ships Defense Department ships from Denmark, Finland, Germany. We will all be watching this really closely UK be watching this and trying to stop these things before they really even happened. Interesting times. That wraps up another episode of the Uptime Wind Energy Podcasts.

If today’s discussion sparked any questions or ideas. We’d love to hear from you. Reach out to us on LinkedIn and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. [00:26:00] And if you found value in today’s conversation, please leave us a review. It really helps other wind energy professionals discover the show for Rosie, Yolanda and Joel.

I’m Alan Hall and we’ll catch you next week on the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast.

US Offshore Wind Halts, Japan Launches First Floating Farm

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