• Bloomberg: Offshore Wind Industry Is Caught In a Financial Hurricane
• PV-Tech: US$450 million allocated by US govt to install rooftop solar PV for Puerto Rico residents
• Utility Dive: Young workers are flocking to renewable jobs, but the sector remains short on labor, reports show
• Axios: Phoenix is first U.S. city with a monthly temperature above 100°F
• Reuters: Texas power use hits record for second straight day as heat wave lingers
• Energy Storage News: Ameresco: Battery assets ownership strategy to focus on fixed capacity payment contracts
• Canary Media: Tesla alum aims to build the power company of the future
• PV-Magazine: Solar decommissioning plans for 36 U.S. states

Opinion

• New York Times: Solar Supply Chain Grows More Opaque Amid Human Rights Concerns

Best, Yann

The IRA Certainty Problem. There’s the downside of the political system and primarily of the rhetoric that comes out of DC. The IRA is an economic behemoth and were it not for the rhetoric that threatens to cut the IRA if political winds shifted, the onshoring of factories would be far greater than they already are. As a country, the United States cannot create the economic environment that requires every pro forma to turn positive before the next election but in many ways that’s already happening and it is unfortunate. 

• Axios: 2024 elections complicate climate tech startup investing
• Canary Media: FERC takes a big step to get more clean energy on the US grid
• Utility Dive: Southern California Edison eyeing ‘substantial investments’ in grid resilience and reliability, CEO says
• Bloomberg: US on Alert as It Enters Two Historically Super-Hot Weeks – Weather Watch
• Reuters: Texas power use hits record for sixth time this summer as heat wave lingers
• Solar Builder: SEIA to develop 11 new solar, energy storage ANSI standards
• PV-Tech: China’s installed solar capacity reaches 470GW as of H1 2023
• PV-Magazine: Stiff competition predicted for USDA $9.7 billion focused on renewables

Opinion

• Houston Chronicle: Are batteries the future of the power grid? In Texas the experiment is already underway

Best, Yann

Electrify Everything And Future Thing. This summer has caused challenges across the spectrum and some that haven’t been recognized yet. When we say electrification is the energy transition, we usually focus on EVs and gas stoves. But in reality there’s much more. One of those is that many more Americans and people across the globe want and need cooling solutions. This additional load will be additive to the load peak on the grid when the heat is most straining it, exacerbating the grid operators’ challenge.

• Bloomberg: Cooling Technology’s Next Act Could Be Even More Important Than Today’s Heat Pumps
• Axios: White House makes its move on permitting
• Los Angeles Times: California has new weapons to battle summer blackouts: Battery storage, power from record rain
• PV-Magazine: Enphase lowers revenue guidance as U.S. residential solar stagnates
• PV-Tech: Nextracker’s quarterly revenue rises 19% year-on-year
• Solar Power World: Biden Administration proposes new rules for solar permitting on federal lands
• Canary Media: Charts – US clean energy developers are hyped about post-IRA prospects

Opinion

• Utility Dive: Cautious investors and fast cash – Why AEP, Duke and other utilities have sold their renewable assets

Best, Yann

Weekend Rundown. A few things to get you into your weekend, back to regularly scheduled commentary next week.

FERC Gets Connected. New rules published by FERC to help with the interconnection backlog.

Factories In Focus. Enphase announced its second US factory and First Solar its 5^th, just yesterday.

Still Hot. If you build solar, stay up to speed on the hazard alert issued since it may affect your installation crews.

• New York Times: A Bottleneck on the Grid Threatens Clean Energy. New Rules Aim to Help.
• Axios: Biden announces first-ever heat wave “hazard alert” for workers
• PV-Magazine: First Solar announces fifth U.S. manufacturing facility
• Reuters: Enphase Energy sees revenue below estimates on weak U.S. demand, shares fall
• PV-Tech: SunPower reports net loss of US$30 million in Q2 2023 preliminary results
• Utility Dive: Barrasso ties possible transmission reforms to ‘premature’ power plant retirements
• Solar Builder: In for the long haul – Charting the rise of long duration energy storage
• Energy Storage News: Grid services revenues could be key to unlocking solar and storage for low-income communities

Opinion

• Bloomberg: No Clean Energy Source Is Marginal in the Quest for Net Zero

Best, Yann