Solarize Charlotte-Mecklenburg to launch in June

For Mecklenburg County homeowners, nonprofits and businesses looking to install solar panels, local leaders hope a new program helps save money.
Next month, the Solarize Charlotte-Mecklenburg campaign is set to launch. The program aims to lower the cost of installing solar through large-group purchasing. As Charlotte's Chief Sustainability Officer Heather Bolick explains, the more homes, nonprofits and businesses participate, the order gets bigger and the cost per panel decreases.
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'By getting a lot of people to go at once together in this campaign, we can bring down the cost for everyone,' she said.
Everyone in Mecklenburg County is eligible to participate, though the campaign is also targeting low and moderate income households.
Bolick explains the program will use the $777k in Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant funding it received last year, from the Department of Energy to help make solar accessible to those who can benefit the most from energy savings.
'We're going to go out to homes that have already had weatherization done, have already had health and safety repairs done, so that they are solar ready,' she said.
The program is separate from the statewide Energize NC program, funded through the federal Solar for All program, though Bolick said the city and county hope to work with the Solar for All coalition to find ways for multi-family residents and those who live in homes less suited to solar installations to benefit from community solar or other alternative models.
Charlotte has a goal to install 600MW of renewable energy within the city by 2035. According to the Strategic Energy Action Plan dashboard, there's currently about 30MW of solar installed throughout the city.
VIDEO: Silfab Solar debate heats up again in Fort Mill amid safety concerns

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Canter Resources to Attend Fastmarkets Lithium Supply & Battery Raw Materials Conference in Las Vegas

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The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking statements. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained herein include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's plans for the Project and the payments related thereto, the issuance of the Consideration Shares and the Company's expected exploration activities. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including but not limited to: requirements for additional capital; future prices of minerals; changes in general economic conditions; changes in the financial markets and in the demand and market price for commodities; other risks of the mining industry; the inability to obtain any necessary governmental and regulatory approvals; changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations; hedging practices; and currency fluctuations. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements or information. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. To view the source version of this press release, please visit

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Every fusion startup that has raised over $100M

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Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Boston, MA | REGISTER NOW Backed by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, The Engine, Bill Gates, and others, Devens, Massachusetts-based CFS expects to have Arc operational in the early 2030s. The company has raised a total of $2 billion, according to PitchBook. TAE Founded in 1998, TAE Technologies (formerly known as Tri Alpha Energy) was spun out of the University of California, Irvine by Norman Rostoker. It uses a field-reversed configuration, but with a twist: after the two plasma shots collide in the middle of the reactor, the company bombards the plasma with particle beams to keep it spinning in a cigar shape. That improves the stability of the plasma, allowing more time for fusion to occur and for more heat to be extracted to spin a turbine. 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Tokamak Energy Tokamak Energy takes the usual tokamak design — the doughnut shape — and squeezes it, reducing its aspect ratio to the point where the outer bounds start resembling a sphere. Like many other tokamak-based startups, the company uses high-temperature superconducting magnets (of the rare earth barium copper oxide, or REBCO, variety). Since its design is more compact than a traditional tokamak, it requires less in the way of magnets, which should reduce costs. The Oxfordshire, UK-based startup's ST40 prototype, which looks like a large, steampunk Fabergé egg, generated an ultra-hot, 100 million degree C plasma in 2022. Its next generation, Demo 4, is currently under construction and is intended to test the company's magnets in 'fusion power plant-relevant scenarios.' Tokamak Energy raised $125 million in November 2024 to continue its reactor design efforts and expand its magnet business. 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Marvel Fusion Marvel Fusion follows the inertial confinement approach, the same basic technique that the National Ignition Facility used to prove that controlled nuclear fusion reactions could produce more power than was needed to kick them off. Marvel fires powerful lasers at a target embedded with silicon nanostructures that cascade under the bombardment, compressing the fuel to the point of ignition. Because the target is made using silicon, it should be relatively simple to manufacture, leaning on the semiconductor manufacturing industry's decades of experience. The inertial confinement fusion startup is building a demonstration facility in collaboration with Colorado State University, which it expects to have operational by 2027. Munich-based Marvel has raised a total of $161 million from investors including b2venture, Deutsche Telekom, Earlybird, HV Capital, and Taavet Hinrikus and Albert Wenger as angels. First Light First Light dropped its pursuit of fusion power in March 2025, pivoting instead to become a technology supplier to fusion startups and other companies. The startup had previously followed an approach known as inertial confinement, in which fusion fuel pellets are compressed until they ignite. First Light, which is based in Oxfordshire, U.K., has raised $140 million, according to PitchBook, from investors including Invesco, IP Group, and Tencent. Xcimer Though nothing about fusion can be described as simple, Xcimer takes a relatively straightforward approach: follow the basic science that's behind the National Ignition Facility's breakthrough net-positive experiment, and redesign the technology that underpins it from the ground up. The Colorado-based startup is aiming for a 10-megajoule laser system, five times more powerful than NIF's setup that made history. Molten salt walls surround the reaction chamber, absorbing heat and protecting the first solid wall from damage. Founded in January 2022, Xcimer has already raised $109 million, according to PitchBook, from investors including Hedosophia, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Emerson Collective, Gigascale Capital, and Lowercarbon Capital.

E&E News

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Bipartisan bill would move DOE office to Pennsylvania

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