LG Energy Solution fires up a major battery cell factory in Lansing, Michigan

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

• LG Opens Major Battery Factory in Michigan: LG Energy Solution began production at its Lansing facility, manufacturing large-format LFP and NMC cells for grid-scale battery energy storage systems and electric vehicles. Trump administration officials attended the opening, per Canary Media. Read More: Canary Media.
• Two Utilities Seek 800 MW of Battery Storage: Appalachian Power and 3CE launched RFPs for up to 800 MW of battery energy storage capacity across Virginia and California, according to Energy Storage News. Read More: Energy Storage News.
• $67 Billion Utility Merger Draws Fresh Scrutiny: The proposed NextEra Energy–Dominion Energy deal faces continued pushback in Virginia over concerns about rooftop solar access and net metering protections, per PV Magazine. Read More: PV Magazine.
• New Jersey Approves 52 MW of Agrivoltaic Solar: The state Board of Public Utilities greenlit 16 agrivoltaic projects totaling 52.06 MW on agricultural land, pairing farming with solar generation, per CleanTechnica. Read More: CleanTechnica.
• Translucent Solar Begins Panel Production in South Carolina: The manufacturer started producing solar panels at a South Carolina facility, adding to the growing roster of domestic solar manufacturing operations, per CleanTechnica. Read More: CleanTechnica.

Solar & Storage

The battery storage pipeline keeps fattening. Appalachian Power and California's 3CE are together seeking up to 800 MW of new battery energy storage capacity through freshly launched RFPs, spanning sites in Virginia and California. For developers holding shovel-ready BESS projects in either state, these solicitations represent near-term contracted revenue — the kind of demand signal that can move financing committees off the fence. The dual-coast procurement also reflects a broader truth: utilities in very different regulatory environments are converging on storage as a grid management tool.

That procurement push gains an industrial backbone with LG Energy Solution's new Lansing factory now producing cells. The Michigan plant is notable for running two chemistries — LFP for stationary storage and NMC for EVs — on the same campus, giving LG flexibility to shift production mix as market demand shifts. The presence of Trump administration officials at the opening suggests the political calculus around battery manufacturing has decoupled, at least partially, from the broader clean energy debate. For storage developers, a domestic cell supply means shorter lead times and fewer tariff headaches. Read More: LG Energy Solution's new Lansing factory.

Meanwhile, Canadian Solar's E-STORAGE subsidiary notched a safety milestone: its KuBank 3.0 battery system passed large-scale fire testing under the UL 9540A:2026 standard, becoming the first commercial and industrial-scale system to earn the certification. The test subjected the system to thermal runaway at full charge with fire suppression deactivated; no explosion occurred during the four-hour fire event. That certification matters for permitting — fire marshals and local authorities increasingly demand third-party safety validation before approving BESS installations. Read More: passed large-scale fire testing.

On the solar project front, EDF Power Solutions locked in two 25-year PPAs with NV Energy for the 400 MW / 1,600 MWh Winston Energy Project in Lyon County, Nevada, with operations slated for October 2029. The project sits near NV Energy's planned Greenlink North transmission line and is expected to generate roughly 1.11 GWh annually while creating more than 400 construction jobs, PV Magazine reported. Separately, Engie signed a PPA to supply 61 MW of solar PV generation to a data center in Irving, Texas — another contract tying renewable energy directly to the insatiable electricity appetite of the data center sector, according to PV Tech. Read More: PV Magazine reported, PV Tech.

In New Jersey, the Board of Public Utilities approved 16 agrivoltaic projects totaling 52.06 MW — utility-scale solar installations designed to coexist with active farming. Agrivoltaics remain a niche but politically palatable model in states where competing land-use pressures make standalone solar farms contentious. The same board also proposed expanding the Garden State Energy Storage Program to deploy 150 MW of storage capacity statewide, including residential behind-the-meter batteries — a move supporting Governor Sherrill's broader energy storage goals. Read More: proposed expanding.

Smaller-scale innovation is also finding its footing. Sun 'N Lake Improvement District in Florida deployed 375 solar-powered streetlights through an infrastructure-as-a-service arrangement with Sustainability Partners, PV Magazine reported. The off-grid model eliminates the cost of connecting each light to the distribution grid — a potentially replicable playbook for municipalities looking to modernize public lighting without capital outlays. Read More: PV Magazine reported.

Policy & Markets

The proposed $67 billion merger between NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy continues to draw fire. Concerns center on what NextEra's track record in Florida — where the company has clashed with rooftop solar advocates — could mean for Virginia's distributed solar market and net metering protections. For residential solar installers and community solar developers operating in Dominion's Virginia territory, this deal could reshape the competitive landscape for years. As reported Tuesday, Virginia State Corporation Commission Chair Kelsey Bagot, a former NextEra attorney, declined to recuse herself from the proceeding — a decision likely to remain contentious as hearings progress.

Domestic manufacturing continues to expand, driven by federal policy incentives that predate the current administration. Translucent Solar began producing solar panels at a South Carolina facility, joining a growing list of companies that have bet on US-based production. The durability of those incentives remains an open question, but the physical reality of an operating factory creates its own political constituency.

LOOKING AHEAD

• Winston Energy Project Timeline: EDF's 400 MW solar-plus-storage project in Nevada targets October 2029 operations; watch for construction milestones and whether the Greenlink North transmission line stays on schedule.
• Virginia and California BESS RFP Responses: Appalachian Power and 3CE's combined 800 MW storage solicitation will reveal pricing trends and developer appetite in two of the country's most active storage markets.
• NextEra-Dominion Merger Proceedings: Virginia regulators will continue weighing the $67 billion deal amid unresolved questions about the SCC chair's recusal and the merger's impact on rooftop solar policy.

THE BOTTOM LINE: From LG's new Michigan battery factory to 800 MW in fresh storage RFPs and a steady drumbeat of solar PPAs, the US clean energy supply chain is building physical momentum that increasingly operates independent of — and sometimes in tension with — the political winds blowing through Washington.