Friday Rundown. Before we get into the quick recap of the news, let’s do a review on what it takes for an issue to become a big issue. When Colonial was attacked by ransomware it was a story, but when gas stations run out of fuel and there’s a run on gas across the east coast it will make headlines that won’t go away until the lines at the gas stations do.
The Hack And Pipe Shutdown. Colonial was attacked by ransomware hackers. The shutdown of the pipelines was precautionary but therein lies the problem for anyone in the energy space. One phish of your employees at the corporate level and companies have to determine what that means to their operating infrastructure, definitely a thought exercise for companies around the Country. The hack, as well as what happened with Solarwinds (not solar related), creates the impact of reaching the President’s desk and an executive order to tighten cyber-security protocols in infrastructure sectors including energy.
Pricing Signals (Again). The grass in California hasn’t been green for a few months and moisture levels don’t look promising. With a tough fire season anticipated and hot days to pressure the energy load, regulators are hoping that energy storage is going to play a role. A role indeed but it that doesn’t mean that energy storage asset owners and developers have received any new pricing signals from the operator, CAISO or any other.
What’s The Right Trade Policy? Administrations may have changed but it comes to trade policy in solar, not much has. There is a universal desire to have cheap solar for consumers while also having a domestic manufacturing market. This means that lowering tariffs for solar modules doesn’t work well for either party including the Biden administration.
Come To Florida. (Everyone else is and the traffic is out of control) But the sun is shining on the solar industry! Florida SEIA is hosting a Solar and Storage Summit on June 3 in Orlando! There will be continuing education classes, an exposition hall, two tracks of panel discussions, a cornhole competition during happy hour, along with a keynote by Abigail Ross Hopper, President and CEO of SEIA. Pre-registration is required, and tickets are selling fast with less than 120 remaining! Register here.
- Axios: Colonial pipeline hack – Key takeaways from Biden’s first energy crisis
- Energy Storage News: California battery additions help summer energy situation but state still faces ‘reliability risks’
- Politico: The green schism threatening Biden’s climate plan
- Canary Media: The political fight over solar tariffs wages on
- Brookings: Environmental permitting might block Biden’s clean energy targets
- PV-Magazine: Biden signs Executive Order addressing cyber vulnerabilities in energy and other sectors
- New York Times: An NYC Street Sweeper Like You’ve Never Seen
- Solar Power World: More than half of output at New Jersey community solar array to be allocated to low-income subscribers
Opinion
Best, Yann