This is your SolarWakeup for March 18th, 2023

Cheap Solar Panels, Winners and Losers. It’s always been the dilemma, cheap solar panels from Asia hurt the domestic manufacturing build out. On the other hand, imagine the lowest scenario, if solar panels were free then consumers and tax payers would benefit from cheaper PPAs (energy cost) and value of tax credits. I don’t know the right answer but the same is true for anything we import really. Imagine Amazon.com only selling domestically manufactured goods or Walmart. Nobody is saying all solar panels should be made here, I would welcome that, but there’s also an economic upside to it as well. I’d love to hear more thoughts on this from you all, how do you reconcile cheap solar panels?

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Yann


This is your SolarWakeup for March 14th, 2023

Sea Of Suits. If there is one legacy left behind from the solar industry, it’s the 3,500 navy blue suits that come together at the Infocast Solar + Wind (And Storage) Conference in Phoenix. For the veterans, this is the old Rancho Bernardo conference. It was great to catch up with so many of you that I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing in so long. It’s incredible that our industry drives this level of collaboration and investment, representing the $50billion market that we all created in 2023 and will continue to grow.

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Yann


This is your SolarWakeup for March 13th, 2023

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Yann


This is your SolarWakeup for March 11th, 2023

Politics And Pursuit Of None. I agree with Invenergy’s founder, Michael Polsky, that renewable energy would be better off without politics but the same could be said about most industries. Energy on the other hand is one of the most regulated industries because they are monopolies for most Americans and the trillions of dollars that exchange hands. So let’s agree that the energy markets will never exist without politics. Then agree on the next reality that is that in order to survive, grow and thrive, renewable energy markets need to win the politics of every moment. Not enough CEOs in our industry prioritize the public policy aspects of their jobs and the resources that need to be leveraged in order to advance our causes. We’ve come far, SEIAs budget is like 300x what it was 25 years ago for example and the public’s support of solar and storage is exceedingly high but when it comes to the regulators at local, state and federal levels, we are outnumbered by the incumbents that live in the nuance that is regulatory policies.

Subscribe. As you walk around the Biltmore this week in Phoenix, I thank you for telling your colleagues about SolarWakeup. If this newsletter was forwarded to you, you can subscribe at solarwakeup.com

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Yann


This is your SolarWakeup for March 8th, 2023

Phoenix Infocast. I’m coming back! I’ll be in Phoenix on Monday and Tuesday for the Infocast Solar + Wind conference. Would love to see many of you again, if you’re going reach out and say hello. Especially if you’re looking for some support on your energy storage projects!

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Yann


This is your SolarWakeup for March 7th, 2023

50Billion. With 32GW installed last year spanning from utility scale to residential, I would presume we’re close to the $50billion mark especially with project finance giving a 2 for 1 in the construction to perm markets. Add on the storage growth, we’ll cross the $100billion market size soon and keep growing. It’s not just for fun either, we’ve talked about how the market is based on load growth and more energy needs across the board. This has to come from reliable and cheap sources like solar which made up 53% of the new capacity last year.
Premium? What’s your view on domestic versus not? Can you justify and get your investors, board and shareholders comfortable with committing to domestic supply chain or is it economics above all? Would love your thoughts on this.
Phoenix Infocast. I’m coming back! I’ll be in Phoenix on Monday and Tuesday for the Infocast Solar + Wind conference. Would love to see many of you again, if you’re going reach out and say hello. 

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Yann


This is your SolarWakeup for March 6th, 2023

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Yann


This is your SolarWakeup for March 5th, 2023

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Yann


This is your SolarWakeup for March 4th, 2023

Some Stats For You. Electricity demand in 2022 was up 0.5% and grids are estimating a growth rate of 2-5% over the next ten years. But did you know that data centers will use 6% of energy demand in two years? Did you know that your ChatGPT query uses 9 times more energy than your google search? The CCA in Silicon Valley estimates it’s load to double by 2035. All of this will put enormous pressure on planners to figure out a way to say yes to growth opportunities because no Governor wants to hear that a data center didn’t come to their State because no connection was available.

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Yann


This is your SolarWakeup for March 1st, 2023

Happy Friday! Question for you, would you drive a Chinese car? Would your siblings, parents or kids?

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Yann