Aurora Solar integrates storage modeling into HelioScope software. By Martin McConnell June 16, 2026 Renewable energy data and automation firm Aurora Solar has made an update to its commercial and industrial solar design software HelioScope, adding integrated energy storage modeling capabilities. The web software aims to united solar design, storage, and financial cost-benefit analysis under one proverbial roof, Aurora Solar representatives say. With the new update, the web-native HelioScope becomes the world's first software solution purposefully built for commercial solar design, which can combine PV asset layout, production estimates, fiscal analysis, and storage modeling in one program. // ** advertisement **// "The solar market is being tested right now, and the companies that come out ahead will be the ones that make their teams faster and their numbers more defensible," says Sudeep Deshpande, COO at Aurora Solar. "That's exactly where we're investing. Storage is becoming the heart of the commercial deal, and we're bringing design, storage, and financials into one place so developers can move at the speed this market demands." The new energy storage modeling software comes at a critical time for that part of the solar industry, with storage and batteries sweeping the American solar market. Regardless of sector, storage options have swiftly moved from a luxury to a project necessity. Being able to model storage solutions, complete with performance and financial metrics, in just minutes, will push that even further. // ** advertisement **// Fulfilling Aurora Solar's vision. Design capabilities that once required three separate tools is now available in the same place, Aurora Solar officials say. Everything from layout to a lender-ready output can come together as part of the same workload. As Aurora officials put it, "when a client asks what a bigger battery does to the economics, the answer takes minutes, not days." The new software additions also pushes Aurora Solar's vision forward, helping to create a solar industry that is not only more efficient, but more resilient and fully adaptable to policy change. "These abrupt policy changes far from signal the end of solar," says Aurora Solar founder Chris Hopper. "If anything, this is the beginning of a new energy future, and a lot of the foundation - convincing people that solar is worth it - has been built... It's time to make solar policy-proof. We can't wait on Washington; we have to change the way we work." Hopper says that the industry must make "real changes," allowing solar firms to meet the market where it is, and where it's going. That means eliminating soft costs and project-wide uncertainties, he says, through means like the new HelioScope software. A preview of the new HelioScope software will be available at this year's Intersolar Europe trade show, June 23-25. Potential customers can sign up for a free trial of the program on its website. Share:

Aurora Solar announces Empower 2026: free virtual summit on May 14 to help solar professionals navigate the New Shape of Solar. Former SEIA CEO Abby Hopper, Octopus Energy, Palmetto LightReach, Ohm Analytics and more headline a full day of expert sessions - free to attend, with up to five NABCEP CEUs available April 29, 2026 - SAN FRANCISCO - Aurora Solar, the leading platform for solar sales and design used by more than 7,000 organizations to design over 20 million solar projects globally, today announced Empower 2026, its seventh annual free virtual summit for solar professionals. The event draws more than 5,000 solar professionals each year and features keynote speaker Abby Hopper, former President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), alongside experts from Palmetto LightReach, Octopus Energy, Ohm Analytics, and more. Registration is free and open now - the summit takes place May 14 at aurorasolar.com/empower-2026. WHAT: Empower 2026 - Aurora Solar's seventh annual free virtual summit for solar professionals WHEN: May 14, 2026, 9:00 AM PDT / 12:00 PM EDT WHERE: Virtual - free and open to all solar professionals REGISTER: aurorasolar.com/empower-2026 CEUs: Up to 5 free NABCEP CEUs available (PVTS and PVDS tracks) SPEAKERS: Abby Hopper, former President & CEO, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA); Chris Collins (Ohm Analytics); Troy Roble (Palmetto LightReach); Sebastian Blake (Octopus Energy); Toni Werner (Energiekonzepte Deutschland), Mike Gilroy (Sungage Financial), and more. TOPICS: Solar financing and TPO; whole-home electrification; homeowner market data; AI and soft cost reduction; C&I strategy; Aurora Solar product roadmap. Empower 2026 is designed for a solar industry in transition. This year's summit theme, "The New Shape of Solar", comes at a pivotal moment: the 25D residential tax credit for cash and loan purchases expired, and the companies that will lead the next decade of solar growth are those actively adapting today. New research from Aurora Solar underscores the urgency. The 2026 Aurora Solar Snapshot - Aurora Solar's annual survey of U.S. homeowner and installer sentiment - finds that 71 percent of homeowners say they have at least some interest in solar, yet 44 percent say it costs more than they initially expected, a barrier Aurora Solar calls "Cost Shock." At the same time, 41 percent of homeowners say it is difficult to determine which solar companies are trustworthy - the second-largest barrier to adoption after cost. The full 2026 Aurora Solar Snapshot is available at https://aurorasolar.com/aurora-solar-snapshot/. "The solar industry is at an inflection point, and the professionals who show up, adapt, and invest in getting better are the ones who will lead what comes next," said Chris Hopper, co-founder of Aurora Solar. "Empower 2026 is built around the market solar professionals are actually in - not the one we wish existed. The new shape of solar is defined by lower soft costs, smarter financing, diversified offerings, and customer trust. That is the playbook for this moment." Sessions: what attendees will learn. Empower 2026 features seven sessions spanning the topics most critical to solar professionals right now: * Abby Hopper will deliver the opening keynote: "Working Together to Create a Future of Solar for All," addressing how solar businesses can lead through the current market contraction, covering customer trust, financing diversification, storage, and soft cost reduction. * Financing in a post-25D market: Troy Roble, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Palmetto LightReach and Mike Gilroy, CEO at Sungage Financial, will break down how TPO structures, including Palmetto's LightReach lease and PPA products - are becoming the primary path for residential solar customers in 2026. According to the 2026 Aurora Solar Snapshot, 65 percent of solar sales professionals anticipate that more than half of their 2026 projects will use TPO financing, up from 44 percent in 2025, and TPO has surpassed loans and cash to become the most popular financing option for the first time. * Whole-home electrification: Barry Cinnamon, CEO of Cinnamon Energy Systems, Toni Werner of Energiekonzepte Deutschland, and Sebastian Blake of Octopus Energy - the UK-based clean energy company serving millions of customers across Europe - will show U.S. solar installers how to expand beyond panels into storage, EV charging, and electrified appliances, drawing on direct experience scaling whole-home energy solutions across European markets. The session is particularly timely: 53 percent of U.S. homeowners say the power grid has become less reliable, and 62 percent say extreme weather events are currently impacting their area, according to the 2026 Aurora Solar Snapshot. * What homeowners are saying - and what it means for your business: Chris Collins, Founder of Ohm Analytics, will discuss findings from the 2026 Aurora Solar Snapshot and Ohm's top data-driven findings for the year ahead. Key topics will include Cost Shock - the gap between perceived and actual solar costs - and how declining prices and improving trust can help installers close more deals. * Additional sessions include: AI as a soft cost advantage, C&I in a post-ITC environment, and Aurora Solar's product roadmap. "The data is pretty clear - homeowner interest in solar remains strong, but cost perception and trust are the real conversion barriers right now. Installers who address those two things directly will have a significant advantage this year," said Chris Collins, Founder of Ohm Analytics, who will present at Empower 2026 on May 14. Registration. Empower 2026 is free and open to all solar professionals. Attendees who complete full sessions are eligible to earn up to five NABCEP continuing education units across PV Technical Sales (PVTS) and PV Design Specialist (PVDS) tracks. Register now at aurorasolar.com/empower-2026. About Aurora Solar. Aurora Solar is creating a future of solar for all. The company puts the power of data, automation, and AI into the hands of every solar professional to make solar adoption simple and predictable. Aurora Solar's cloud-based platform has been used to design more than 20 million solar projects globally, and more than 7,000 of the industry's top organizations rely on it to streamline workflows and grow their businesses. Aurora Solar has been recognized by TIME as a 2026 Top U.S. GreenTech Company, named to the Inc. 5000 and Deloitte Fast 500 in 2024, and listed among Solar Power World's Top Solar Software & Monitoring Products in 2024. The company is headquartered in San Francisco. For more information, visit aurorasolar.com. Media Contact Karen DeVincent-Reinbold PR & Communications Director, Aurora Solar [email protected]