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🌐 This week in Supercool: Deployed

Author

Josh Dorfman
March 13, 2026

This is Deployed — Supercool's weekly newsletter tracking where the low-carbon economy is scaling up.

If it isn't operational, it isn't Deployed.

This week: Ireland opened its first hybrid grid-stabilization system — a synchronous condenser paired with a battery — at the site of a former coal plant. In Missouri, a single solar farm increased the state's installed solar capacity by 25%. Tanzania connected its first utility-scale solar plant. Volkswagen commissioned its first grid battery, putting battery expertise built for cars to work on the grid. And from the Bronx to Seattle, two all-electric affordable housing developments opened in the same week — a reminder that the low-carbon economy is getting built across every sector of the market, down to the neighborhood.

DEPLOYED

What went operational this past week.

The Shannonbridge B project in County Offaly is now operating — Ireland's first system pairing a synchronous condenser with a battery (180 MWh). The condenser supports grid frequency and inertia; the battery stores excess renewable power and dispatches it when needed. The facility can export up to 20 MW for nine hours. It sits beside the old peat-fired power station in Shannonbridge — exactly the kind of site this technology is meant to replace.

Arevon Energy's Kelso Solar project reached commercial operation in Scott County — 430 MW across two phases, built with more than 1.1 million First Solar thin-film modules manufactured in Ohio. Missouri had roughly 1.7 GW of installed solar before Kelso came online. At its peak, the project employed more than 450 workers. 

A 50 MW project in Shinyanga has achieved full-capacity grid connection, marking Tanzania's first utility-scale solar plant in stable operation. The facility is projected to generate approximately 72,000 MWh annually and cut roughly 57,000 tons of CO₂ per year.

Battery expertise developed for cars is now being applied to the grid. The Elli PowerCenter at Salzgitter is now grid-connected — 20 MW / 40 MWh, built on the same battery cell Volkswagen uses in its EVs — and marks the automaker's first move into stationary storage and active energy trading. A dedicated team is running algorithmic transactions on the European power exchange.

A major American consumer brand just put 13 MW of solar directly behind the meter at its primary manufacturing facility — the site where every Poland Spring bottle is produced and filled. Northern Sun Energy completed the installation across 50 acres near Portland, Maine: more than 23,000 panels generating power at the point of consumption.

Baez Place has reached completion in the Bronx: 154 apartments, all-electric. Eighty-six units are supportive housing for residents living with mental health concerns and seniors who have experienced homelessness, with on-site case management, employment assistance, and health care connections. The building includes a year-round greenhouse designed to expand food access and create shared space for residents.

Atrium Court just opened steps from the Othello light rail station in South Seattle: 271 apartments, all-electric, with 200 units income-restricted for households earning 50–80% of area median income. The financing stack included a $16 million below-market loan from Amazon's housing fund. The ground-floor retail is being converted to permanent community ownership, stabilizing commercial rents alongside residential ones.

Clean Energy Fuels expanded renewable natural gas supply agreements this week across trucking, refuse, transit, and airport operations, spanning more than a dozen operators in roughly as many states. Highlights include a renewed deal with Ecology Transportation Services covering 150 trucks and 2.1 million gallons per year; an extended contract with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority covering more than 400 buses and five million gallons annually; and a new supply agreement fueling 63 shuttle buses at Nashville International Airport. Fleets are signing because it works with the infrastructure already in place.

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This week’s Supercool sponsor

Do you have a high-performance building strategy? Do you know why you need one?

Building codes are evolving fast. Decarbonization, electrification, air quality, resilience — the standards are getting more rigorous. And they no longer only apply to construction.

They follow your building into operations. Which means if you're responsible for how a building runs, this is on your plate now, too.

Johnson Controls has been on Supercool. We're big fans. This month, they're launching a new webinar series on building performance standards. We're excited to partner with them to bring it to you.

The first session is Thursday, March 19th, 12 to 1 pm CT. 

Host: Rob Tanner, Director at Johnson Controls, who has spent two decades reimagining the performance of buildings to serve people, places, and the planet.

Guest: Josh Brackett from Banner Health, where he leads compliance across operations, design, and construction for all healthcare facilities.

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SUPERCOOL ECOSYSTEM

Operational updates from companies we’ve featured.

Its Electric (Episode 61) installed San Francisco's first two curbside EV charging stations last April. The pilot delivered 70% utilization, 62,000 gas-free vehicle miles, 934 gallons of gasoline offset, and $1,300 in revenue share back to the host building providing the power. This week, Mayor Daniel Lurie and the Board of Supervisors announced plans to expand the network citywide — new permitting pathways for private vendors aimed at the roughly 70% of San Francisco residents who live in apartment buildings without access to home charging.

Climate First Bank (Episode 64) closed 2025 with more than $1.6 billion in assets under management — an 83% year-over-year increase. Solar lending grew 300%, connecting the bank with more than 400 solar companies across 44 states to finance more than 5,600 household clean energy upgrades. The bank is now expanding into commercial solar, community solar, battery storage, geothermal, and project finance.

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HORIZON

Not yet deployed, but we’re tracking.

Solar Glass That Curves With the Car 
Energy | Transportation

Vehicle-integrated solar has never generated enough power to matter — because solar films bonded to glass bubble and wrinkle, and can't follow a car's curves. Hefei Puskai has developed a curved photovoltaic module in which the solar layer is formed directly into the glass during molding, rather than applied afterward. Researchers estimate the coating could cover up to 10 square meters of a vehicle's surface, generating 6–8 kWh per day — enough for a typical commute. Still in pilot stage. But the manufacturing problem that made vehicle solar a novelty rather than a meaningful energy source may finally have a solution.

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If you see something go live — opened, launched, commissioned, connected, shipped — hit reply and send it my way.

Deployed stays selective about what's actually moving, and tips make it smarter.

Josh

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