One of our goals at HES Solar is to keep you up-to-date with the latest and greatest in solar technology and innovation. Check out our past collections here and keep reading to learn more about where solar is headed in 2021 and beyond!

3 SOLAR ADVANCES YOU NEED TO HEAR ABOUT

FARMS + SOLAR ENERGY = AGRIVOLTAICS

What you need to know: The US Department of Energy has dedicated a $7 million package to invest in solar technologies that “demonstrate benefits to the local community and local economic activity.” Many of the awardees aren’t farmers, but all focus on the benefits of solar energy and panels on agriculture: one such benefit is a practice called regenerative agriculture, which uses “agricultural practices that conserve water and energy while building soil and improving soil health.”

SCI-FI ENERGY COMING TO LIFE?

The story so far: A method of energy creation that was first dreamt of in the 1920s is some modern-day scientists’ passion project. Scientists seek to generate solar energy in space as a workaround to the age-old issue of needing electricity around the clock—not only when the sun is shining, or the wind is blowing.

The science behind how the technology could be developed is in the first draft stages, and the future has never looked more clear. Beam the story here.

HOW SOLAR ENERGY IS GIVING BACK TO TEACHERS

What you need to know: A school district in Arkansas installed solar panels in 2017 as a way to fight its growing budget deficit. The results? The district has climbed out of their $250,000 budget deficit in spades—they accumulated a $1.8 million surplus that’s being redistributed into the schools in the form of raising teacher salaries to prevent turnover and keep quality faculty and educators in their schools.