Why Climate Remains Partisan Policy. It’s not lost on me that climate is a bipartisan polling topic but remains deeply partisan when it comes to passing in Congress. The conservative or libertarian argument for energy policy is clearly obvious while also being a great tool to offset inflation. Energy inflation topped 40% in the latest release and when it comes to solar, the fuel cost remains consistently free for the life of the asset, passing that cost through to consumers is good for everyone. Ultimately there are two things I see as the most pressing for Congress on solar and storage policies, first is a robust and permanent tax credit structure. Second is consistent and predictable supply chain systems that eliminate volatility as much as possible. Biden could do something about the latter, using some version of emergency proclamation that grants the executive branch legitimate powers to act. It’ll be up to Congress to act on the tax credit.
Opinion
News
1 Reuters:
U.S. Senate Democrats urge Biden to declare climate emergency
2 Axios:
Europe heat wave turns deadly as France and U.K. brace for hottest days on record
3 Utility Dive:
Puerto Rico’s electricity rates have nearly doubled since 2020 - IEEFA
4 Solar Power World:
GAF Energy to start second solar shingle manufacturing plant in Texas
5 Energy Storage News:
Massachusetts authorities host public comment hearings for 800MWh of battery storage
6 PV-Magazine:
Solar panels power the James Webb telescope
Opinions:
7 Canary Media:
Smart electric panels in homes could prevent overtaxing the grid
Have a great day!
Yann
We’re Back! Thank you for letting SolarWakeup go on a brief break last week, back to our regular programming. Like many of you, I read the news brought to us by Senator Manchin. I’ll have some thoughts for your consideration tomorrow and would love to hear from you on the topic.
Opinion
News
1 CNN:
White House economic adviser says Biden will pursue climate agenda 'with or without Congress'
2 Politico:
Manchin disputes claims he rejected Dems’ climate and energy spending
3 New Yorker:
For the Third Time in Three Decades, Congress Punts on Serious Climate Legislation
4 Bloomberg:
Texas’ Power Grid Is Straining — And It’s Not Even August
5 Axios:
A GOP generation gap on climate change
6 RMI:
The Solution to Grid Reliability? Go Bigger and Bolder on Renewables and Energy Storage
7 Solar Power World:
Illinois Commerce Commission approves detailed roadmap to reach 40% renewables by 2030
8 Energy Storage News:
CEOs call on European policymakers to do more to accelerate rollout of ‘proven and scalable’ energy storage technologies
9 PV-Magazine:
Californians will still get burned under solar killer proposal
Opinions:
10 Canary Media:
5 things to know about the Supreme Court’s recent climate ruling
Have a great day!
Yann
The Grid Gets Managed By. In my work I have gotten to see and read about all different ways that electric regulators go about managing the grid infrastructure. France is going back to pre-monopoly days of making it the State’s business to run the grid. Meanwhile deregulated markets are seeing the most innovation coming in from energy storage with investor owned utilities really picking up the resilience focus as well. One of the hardest aspects of the planning work comes from the other end of the wire, demand response and distributed resources. When the grid was built there was very little focus or opportunity for shaping demand, only generation could be shaped against the potential demand. One thing is for sure, both ends of the wire will get focus from regulators and no one way of managing a grid will be used everywhere.
Programming Note. SolarWakeup will be offline for the week of July 10th, returning on July 17th.
News
1 Solar Power World:
Over 100 California city, county government leaders ask CPUC to reject new solar fees
2 New York Times:
France, Hoping to Weather Energy Crisis, Will Renationalize Electricity Giant
3 Reuters:
Texas power use to keep breaking records as heatwave lingers
4 Utility Dive:
Voltus presses FERC to end state opt-outs from aggregated retail demand response in wholesale markets
5 Bloomberg:
Shanghai Cases Double in a Day, Fueling Lockdown Fears
6 PV-Tech:
Shell to build green hydrogen project in the Netherlands
7 PV-Magazine:
Entergy seeks to grow renewables up to 2500% over next decade
Opinions:
8 Energy Storage News:
Do LFP battery systems deliver lower returns than NMC ones?
Have a great day!
Yann
Opinion
News
1 Utility Dive:
Upheaval in utility regulation emerging nationally as Hawaii proves a performance-based approach
2 Bloomberg:
Giant UK Electric-Car Charging Station Also Will Supply the Grid
3 Axios:
Climate change - Extreme weather events slam globe from Italy to Australia
4 Reuters:
Draft law shows Germany plans to revise key emissions target for energy sector
5 Solar Power World:
Finance company Nelnet acquires Midwest renewables contractor GRNE Solar
6 Energy Storage News:
Northvolt raises US$1.1bn in ‘cautious capital market’ as IPO looms
7 Canary Media:
Puerto Rico is pushing LNG when it says it’s shifting to renewables
8 PV-Magazine:
Florida added more than 40,000 rooftop solar systems in 2021
Opinions:
9 PV-Tech:
Indiana ‘taking a huge step backward’ by ending net metering, solar advocates say
Have a great day!
Yann
