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High-voltage transmission lines crossing pine flatwoods toward a new industrial campus under construction in Georgia

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Commercial Solar News for Businesses in the Southeast

What changed this week in incentives, utility rates, battery storage and solar technology, and what it means for a business in Georgia, Florida or the Carolinas. Reported by the people who build the systems.
High-voltage transmission lines crossing pine flatwoods toward a new industrial campus under construction in Georgia

Latest · Utilities & Rates

Large load tariffs in the Southeast: what they mean for a 500 kW business

An August 2026 catalog from the Edison Electric Institute lists the large load tariffs now in force across the Southeast: FPL's 50 MW contract schedules effective January 1, 2026, Georgia Power's minimum billing and longer terms for 100 MW customers, and Duke Energy Florida's pending filing. They are written for data centers. Here is what they change for everyone else.

4 min read

  • Solar modules mounted on the long metal roof of a Georgia broiler house, with feed bins and a second house behind

    Incentives

    REAP grant scoring criteria: how USDA awards 100 points to a solar application

    USDA scores a REAP renewable energy grant on a 100-point scale set out in 7 CFR 4280.121: 25 points for the energy the system replaces, 15 each for committed funds, first-time applicants and a payback under ten years, 10 for requests of $250,000 or less. The rule is being rewritten; the logic still guides sizing.

    5 min read

  • Shipping containers stacked at a Southeast port terminal at dusk with a gantry crane and a cargo ship behind them

    Solar Technology

    Anti-dumping duties on solar cells: what the Laos, India and Indonesia case means

    Commerce set preliminary anti-dumping margins of 123.04% on solar cells from India, 35.17% from Indonesia and 22.46% from Laos, with cash deposits already collected at the border. The Laos final determination was scheduled for September 9 and the ITC injury vote for October 19. What that does to a module quote this fall.

    3 min read

  • Rooftop solar array on a manufacturing building in the North Carolina Piedmont with rolling hills and hardwoods behind it

    Carolinas

    North Carolina solar RFP pause: why a business should not wait for October 5

    Duke Energy's 2026 solar and battery storage RFP has been paused since an April 23 order from the North Carolina Utilities Commission, and a ruling on the challenge is now expected October 5. A business in Duke territory does not have to wait on it: the project behind its own meter is not part of the procurement.

    3 min read

  • Pallets of solar modules with shipping labels stacked beside a partly built rooftop array on a Georgia warehouse

    Incentives

    Prohibited foreign entity rules for solar: the 40% test a 2026 project must pass

    A commercial solar project that begins construction in 2026 keeps the federal credit only if at least 40% of its manufactured-product cost comes from suppliers that are not prohibited foreign entities. Storage needs 55%. IRS Notice 2026-15 explains how the ratio is counted and what paperwork proves it.

    4 min read

  • Rows of white battery storage containers beside a solar field on the south coast of Puerto Rico with mountains in the distance

    Caribbean

    Puerto Rico utility-scale battery storage comes online: 440 MWh at Jobos

    LUMA announced on September 4 that the Jobos solar and battery project in Guayama has been energized: 80 MW of solar with a 110 MW, 440 MWh battery that shifts daytime output into the evening peak. For an island business the lesson is in the design: four hours of storage beside the generation.

    4 min read

  • Utility substation and transmission lines at dawn in Georgia, with a commercial building and rooftop solar array behind

    Utilities & Rates

    Georgia Power real-time pricing docket: what the PSC heard on September 1

    The Georgia Public Service Commission's calendar lists Docket No. 57171, RTP Revenue Credit and Allocation Methodology, for Georgia Power Company, with a first hearing on September 1, 2026. The docket decides how real-time pricing revenue is credited and allocated, and that is an accounting question with a bill attached.

    4 min read

  • Aerial view of a rural substation beside ground-mounted solar and battery cabinets next to a poultry complex in south Georgia

    Incentives

    USDA PART Energy Program loans: $410 million window opens September 8

    The Rural Utilities Service is taking letters of interest from September 8 to October 9 for its Powering Affordable Reliable Technology loans: $410 million for rural renewable generation, storage, microgrids and grid work, open to for-profit companies as well as cooperatives and utilities.

    4 min read

  • Unmarked pallets of solar modules being unloaded by forklift beside a commercial building in Georgia, with racking already on the roof

    Solar Technology

    Section 232 solar module price floor: what it means for a 2027 project

    Minimum import prices of 38 cents per watt on modules and 22 cents on cells take effect on December 4, 2026. Spot prices sit near 46 cents, analysts see US-assembled modules near 30 cents in 2027, and the federal credit calendar decides how long a business can wait.

    4 min read

  • Two outdoor battery storage cabinets on a concrete pad behind a Georgia warehouse, with bollards and utility transformers nearby

    Battery Storage

    NFPA 855 2026 changes: what every commercial battery project must now document

    The 2026 edition of NFPA 855 removes the 600 kWh trigger, so a hazard mitigation analysis is required for any stationary battery in scope, along with a documented emergency response plan, an annual review and annual training. The paperwork moves to the front of the project.

    4 min read

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