Rhode Island adds $11.5M heat pump pilot for two- to four-unit buildings

The first week of November 2026 in home energy ran from heat pump money that is not open to applications yet to a community solar farm already delivering power. In between, German rooftop solar bids outran the volume on offer after an undersubscribed June, and Octopus Energy signed a memorandum about batteries its release does not yet specify.

Rhode Island funds heat pumps for two- to four-unit buildings

Rhode Island's Office of Energy Resources (OER) has announced an $11.5 million heat pump pilot for low- and moderate-income households in residential buildings with two to four attached units, it said on November 2. Households at up to 80% of area median income get 100% of eligible heat pump system and installation costs covered, and those at 81% to 150% get 60%, each capped at $16,000 per housing unit; moderate-income Aquidneck Island gas customers and Narragansett tribal members get the full 100%. Households must meet weatherization requirements first, and rental properties need landlord approval.

The pilot covers buildings Rhode Island's federal HOMES rebate, launched in September, leaves out: HOMES requires five or more attached units, with the same $16,000-per-unit cap. This money comes from the New England Heat Pump Accelerator, a five-state initiative supported by federal funding through the EPA's Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program, per the Clean Heat RI pilot page. Announced is not the same as open: as read on November 8, the page said OER was finalizing program details and would announce an opening date, and that projects started before the program opens will not qualify. Participating Clean Heat RI contractors will apply on households' behalf.

Germany's rooftop solar tender draws more bids than it had room for

Germany's Bundesnetzagentur awarded 288 MW to 143 bids in its October 1, 2026 tender for solar on buildings and noise barriers, at a volume-weighted average of 9.67 ct/kWh, the regulator said on November 3. It received 177 bids totaling 347 MW against 296 MW on offer, up from 238 MW of bids in the June round, a rise of about 46% by our arithmetic that the agency called significant. June had itself drawn more than February's 177 MW, but the agency's June-round release still called that round undersubscribed again, which makes October the first of 2026's three rooftop rounds in which bids exceeded the volume on offer.

Exclusions then thinned the field. The agency excluded 34 bids totaling 58 MW, about a sixth of the bid volume by our arithmetic, so awards still landed just under the volume; president Klaus Müller said the tendered volume was almost covered. Awarded bids ran from 8.50 ct/kWh to the round's ceiling of 10.00 ct/kWh, and the agency put the average level with June's 9.72 ct/kWh. At about 2 MW per award on average, by our arithmetic, these are commercial-scale arrays rather than house roofs. North Rhine-Westphalia led with 66 MW across 38 awards.

Octopus signs a home battery MoU with CATL and Ampace

Octopus Energy, CATL and Ampace have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore next-generation smart home batteries, Octopus said on November 3. Per the release, the work will draw on CATL and Ampace research into next-generation battery chemistries, sodium-ion among them, paired with Octopus's smart tariffs, software and virtual power plant capabilities, and will initially explore European markets where Octopus has retail energy offices.

None of the batteries has a number attached yet: the release gives no capacity, price or launch date for the new batteries. CATL and Octopus have worked together before, on "Swaptopus" battery swapping stations across Europe, and Octopus already sells its own Nook home battery range.

A 7.4 MW community solar project switches on near Rockford

ECA Power's Rockford Community Energy Initiative, a 7.4 MWdc community solar project on 33.9 acres in Cherry Valley, Illinois, is delivering power in ComEd's service territory, the developer said on November 6, after a ribbon-cutting on November 5. Luminace owns and operates it. ECA says it generates enough electricity for more than 1,100 ComEd customers, and that households, renters and small businesses across ComEd's territory can subscribe and save up to 10% on their electricity bills.

The site sits in a state-designated R3 area, which the release describes as a community targeted for revitalization, and ECA contributed $150,000 toward an EV charging station under a community benefit agreement with the Village of Cherry Valley. ECA calls the project one of the largest community solar projects in ComEd's territory. Its boilerplate, less finished, says the company partners with landowners and communities to develop projects "across [states]."