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Solar Army launches as news, culture, and community for the people driving the clean energy transition.
By Solar Army
The transition to clean energy
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News and culture for the people driving the solar transition.
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Deep Dives
Empty sodium-ion battery manufacturing line in Holland, Michigan — operational for less than six months before Natron Energy closed in September 2025
China Is Buying What America Built
Natron Energy spent 13 years and $363 million proving that sodium-ion batteries could power America's grid — domestically sourced, domestically made, no foreign supply chain. Then a certification delay, a lithium price war, and a missing bridge loan killed it. A Denver company called Peak Energy rose in its place with better chemistry and $500M in contracts. The bridge that killed Natron still doesn't exist for Peak. We've already paid for this lesson once.
By Solar Army 18 min read
Deep Dive
The Boom Nobody Told You About
The fastest technology deployment in human history is happening right now, across the American grid. 17.75 gigawatts of battery storage added in 2025 alone. Almost none of it built before this decade. You're already inside it — you just weren't told.
By Solar Army 14 min read
Deep Dive
The Desert Blooms
China planted solar panels in the Gobi and turned sand into farmland. Nobody planned it. Life found the way. America has millions of acres of degraded land waiting.
By Solar Army 14 min read
Community
SolFest 2026: Where the Solar Community Gathers
SolFest returns to Hopland, California — off-grid demos, panels on the transition, and a community that chose the sun.
By Solar Army