From The Desk of Jon Abe. Blue chip teams, NIL, and transfers dominated March Madness. There were several great games; Karaban could be the last of his kind. In Solar Madness, though, small but mighty organizations, our deep roster of Cinderellas, are the heart of our industry from innovation and workforce development to making projects happen. I encourage everyone to make an assist, in the form of a donation, to a local program that boosts solar, such as workforce coach, Browning the Green Space or top-dog PPA scorer, MSPCA. Cut the nets for small victories, and bring it in with your solar teams, friends, and family. I am grateful for the full-court hustle of the Sunwealth team and partners; huddles with solar OGs, HCB, DL, WT, CN, HW, RM, and CC; and the love of family, TNKA, SKA, and HKA – we have each other’s backs. And remember, every day tips off with SolarWakeUp.com. Kind regards, J. Abe
Opinion
News
1 Canary Media:
Data centers are on the ballot in 2026 — and just failed the first test
3 Associated Press:
Hosting solar can be a lifeline for farmers. But overcoming local opposition is tough
4 Politico:
Texas’ latest solar fight feels different
5 Utility Dive:
PJM proposes adding 14.9 GW with bilateral contracts, central procurement
6 Bloomberg:
Soaring Electric Bills Stoke Voter Fury Ahead of Midterms
7 Reuters:
Equinor aims to sell 8% stake in solar energy firm Scatec
8 PV-Tech:
Vikram Solar doubles PV deployments to 10GW
9 Solar Power World:
American-made FranklinWH Energy Storage keeps manufacturing local
10 Energy Storage News:
Brazil’s electricity regulator ANEEL delays energy storage rulemaking, approves hybrid solar-BESS
Opinions:
11 New York Times:
Why Investing in Wind and Solar to Avoid Gas Shocks Hasn’t Added Up for Some
Have a great day!
Yann
The Tournament Champs. Congrats to Jon Abe for winning the Men’s bracket challenge and Robert Pierno for winning the Women’s! I came in dead last in the Men’s which is an impressive feat as well, in my opinion. Better luck next year for all the players! Jon and Robert, come claim your prize by sending me an email to get your paragraph out.
Opinion
News
1 Utility Dive:
Energy storage pricing beginning to ‘fracture’ by product type
2 PV-Magazine:
Batteries buying “free” California solar, driving up price
3 The Guardian:
Turkey to race ahead of EU on battery storage amid fossil fuel crisis
4 Reuters:
China's Xi urges faster development of new energy system as Middle East war continues
5 Bloomberg:
UK Approves Largest Solar Farm in Clean Energy Drive
6 Solar Builder:
Deadline approaching to comply with new NERC regulations
7 Energy Storage News:
IPPs Zelestra, BNZ adding BESS to solar PV plants in Southern Europe
Opinions:
8 Canary Media:
Xcel Minnesota is building a first-of-its-kind virtual power plant
Have a great day!
Yann
The Storage Thesis, Executed. Congrats to my former colleagues at FlexGen for acquiring CES and increasing their capacity for keeping energy storage systems running at the highest levels of availability and safety in the market. 5 Years ago, we set out to build a storage company that wouldn’t focus on making the battery boxes but to help asset owners buy them, commission them and keep them running. With a portfolio of control systems, software built over a decade and an amazing team, FlexGen slowly built itself into the largest integrator not hyping its own box and continues to build that lead expanding even further into the storage asset operations support. Most battery systems don’t run as well as they could, certainly aren’t balancing remotely and barely doing any data analytics on their performance, and you deserve better.
Opinion
News
1 Power Magazine:
FlexGen Acquires BESS Provider Clean Energy Services
2 New York Times:
In Imperial County, Calif., half of the roads are unpaved and the unemployment rate is sky-high.
3 Reuters:
Britain hits renewable power record in 2025, but fossil fuel use also up
4 PV-Magazine:
All emerging cyber threats targeting power infrastructure at a glance
5 Utility Dive:
Trump adjusts metal tariffs, sets 15% rate for some electrical grid equipment
6 Bloomberg:
Polish Power Prices Turns Negative for Some as Renewables Boom
7 Maine Biz:
Plug in solar bill gets green light from maine legislature
8 Axios:
Oil climbs anew on mixed signals about Iran war's future
9 Solar Power World:
Texas attorney general launches investigation into residential solar sales practices
Opinions:
10 Canary Media:
This spring has been a record season for renewables
Have a great day!
Yann
Opinion
Best, Yann
News
1 Axios:
Google eyes natural gas as AI power demand outpaces clean energy
2 Bloomberg:
Neoen to Build France’s Largest Battery Amid Strained Power Grid
3 Reuters:
The Iran war's energy 'paradox'
4 Energy Storage News:
EnerVenue closes US$300 million Series B for 30,000-cycle nickel-hydrogen battery manufacturing
5 New York Times:
Trump’s Budget May Target Climate Programs. Here’s What Still Survives.
6 Canary Media:
Green steel is the way forward for Indiana, former steelworkers say
7 PV-Magazine:
Rooftop solar now accounts for one fifth of Puerto Rico’s generation capacity
Opinions:
8 PV-Tech:
Are US solar tariffs helping or hindering PV manufacturing?
Have a great day!
Yann
