Nearly a decade ago, Elon Musk borrowed the set of “Desperate Housewives” to show off Tesla’s newest product: solar-generating tiles that cover a rooftop like shingles. Tesla would be putting the solar tiles on 1,000 roofs a week by 2020, Musk predicted at the time. But by the time 2022 rolled around, Tesla had only installed about 3,000 solar roofs, and the tiles only made up 0.17% of residential solar capacity installed in the U.S. that year.
Now, as Julian Spector and Dan McCarthy report, Tesla is discontinuing its solar shingles, and will instead double down on traditional solar panels. The company recently announced plans to build a $10.1 billion solar cell factory in Texas that it says will be able to churn out 100 GW of integrated solar panels each year.
That would be a huge deal — if it happens. Altogether, every solar factory in the U.S. can only make a combined 65 GW of panels each year, so Tesla would have to take its manufacturing capacity through the roof to make that happen.
Clean energy is on track for a war-spurred milestone
Despite stagnant investment, renewables are still on track to hit a global milestone in 2026.
According to a fresh BloombergNEF analysis, the world invested about $327.5 billion into solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources in the first six months of 2026 — about the same amount as in the second half of 2025. Investment in standalone utility-scale solar power actually shrank to its lowest level in years, but investment in solar-plus-storage hit a record of more than $25 billion, while residential solar investment also skyrocketed.
While coal power generation has rebounded this year amid oil and gas shortages spurred by the war in Iran, clean power sources are expected to produce more electricity than coal for the first time ever this year, the International Energy Agency estimates — and surging demand for rooftop solar is a big reason why.
Clean energy news to know this week
Trump’s electrical blackout: President Donald Trump bans the “acquisition, importation, transfer, or installation” of foreign-made bulk-power electrical equipment from certain countries, though the DOE will first have to determine targeted equipment’s risk before the order can bar their import. (Project Finance)
The Army goes nuclear: The U.S. Army plans to award up to $2.2 billion to five companies to build small nuclear reactors at military bases around the country, with Antares Nuclear, General Atomics, and Westinghouse among the awardees. (New York Times, Axios)
Canada fights back: Ontario Premier Doug Ford threatens to slow or halt power exports to the U.S. in response to the Trump administration’s new tariffs on a range of Canadian goods. (Utility Dive)
Data-center gas-plant update: Around 189 gigawatts of natural gas capacity to power data centers has been announced, entered pre-construction, or started being built, up from 97 GW at the end of last year. (Heatmap, Global Energy Monitor)
Wind’s Maine event: After nearly two decades spent trying to build utility-scale wind power in its far northern reaches, Maine has finally approved an 800-MW array and a 1.2-GW transmission line that will be built near the Canadian border. (Canary Media)
Not-so-public comment: The U.S. EPA looks to eliminate a federal requirement that states seek public input on applications for air pollution permits for data centers and other industrial facilities. (New York Times)
Solar saves Europe’s summer: Europe has seen record heat and drought this year that has jeopardized power production from nuclear, fossil fuel, and wind sources, but solar performed better than normal and helped keep ACs running amid sky-high temperatures. (Grist)
