Rebirth Clings to Factory, Solar Fire Averted, Battery Tests Reveal Gaps

This week in energy transition, electric mobility and home storage both hit roadblocks and showed resilience. Rebirth Group refused eviction from its Normandy factory over unpaid rent, a French homeowner extinguished a rooftop solar fire before firefighters arrived, and German tests exposed real-world gaps in 16 home battery capacities amid falling buyback rates.

Rebirth refuses eviction from its Saint-Lô factory despite bailiff visit. On August 25 a bailiff arrived to enforce an eviction notice against the group behind Solex, Gitane, Peugeot Cycles, Angell and Cowboy. Saint-Lô Agglo demands more than 122,000 euros in unpaid rent as part of an 800,000-euro VAT dispute; the company's appeal is scheduled for September 1 in Coutances court. Source: Frandroid ↗

Homeowner in Moselle extinguishes solar panel fire with borrowed extinguisher. In Œting, the owner used a powder extinguisher to put out the blaze on his building-integrated solar roof before firefighters arrived, limiting damage to a hole in the roof. The installation style reduces ventilation, and factors such as extreme heat, aging or poor monitoring can trigger such fires. Source: Frandroid ↗

German tests show real usable capacity of 16 home batteries falls short of specs. IMTEST measured batteries from 1 to 5 kWh; the Anker Solix Solarbank 4 Pro delivered 4,851 Wh from a 5,024 Wh rating for a 3.4 percent shortfall, while the Hoymiles HiBattery 4020X showed a 14.7 percent gap. Since June 2026 EDF has paid only 1.1 cents per kWh for surplus solar power, down from 13 cents, increasing the value of accurate storage. Source: Frandroid ↗