Boots on the Ground. With Yann Brandt and Abby Hopper is launching tomorrow. Listen to the teaser here and subscribe on Apple Podcast or Spotify. Make sure you are subscribed as episode 1 releases later today. This episode of Boots on the Ground is sponsored by Cleantech Industry Resources, CIR
Why Data Centers Matter. It seems like SolarWakeup is becoming data center wakeup these days and I want to clarify why it’s so important. Imagine a scenario where data center hype goes away, now guess what would happen to the stock prices of the public solar and storage companies and the valuations of the private companies or the ability to raise money for the startups. Data centers represent three main sources of importance for our market. First, data centers are the growth of energy demand. More demand, more need for generation. Second, they are the source of inflation for the value of said generation, there is more demand than ability to build solar projects and therefore the tech companies are competing for the off take agreements, driving up the price and value of the projects. Third, solar developers are becoming data center developers pursuing a powered land strategy.
News
1 Energy Storage News:
Handling cell imbalances, communications interoperability and other blockers to BESS asset success
2 Axios:
Data center investors are overlooking the political risks
3 Solar Power World:
45X-eligble inverters are not part of foreign ban, FCC clarifies
4 PV-Magazine:
Enphase enters commercial battery storage market, announces IQ Battery C80
5 New York Times:
Trump Shuns E.V.s and Wind Power, but He’s Pouring Billions Into Batteries
6 Bloomberg:
India Needs Batteries to Keep Its Solar Boom Going
7 Reuters:
TV maker TCL mulls spinning off photovoltaic business
8 PV-Tech:
PV Chart of the Week
9 Canary Media:
PJM has finally greenlit a lot of new clean power. Can it get built?
Opinions:
10 Utility Dive:
Bills rise when utilities use conflicting forecasts to drive gas and electric investment
Have a great day!
Yann
Boots on the Ground. With Yann Brandt and Abby Hopper is launching tomorrow. Listen to the teaser here and subscribe on Apple Podcast or Spotify.
New EPC IPO. CoVolt Power has filed an S-1, i.e. they’re going public. Down the fairway IPO shell, being led by JP Morgan and Jefferies with leading law firms on the filings. Some thoughts on how this pans out and impacts from some public companies on today’s Wakeup Premium, if you want to hear that you can subscribe here.
News
1 Bloomberg:
CoVolt Power Files for IPO, Tapping Into Solar Power Demand
2 Axios:
Data centers "dug their own grave," says Texas Gov. Greg Abbott
3 Utility Dive:
ERCOT aims to complete Texas governor’s data center audit by December
4 Reuters:
Let there be sunlight
5 Electrek:
Tesla discontinues its Solar Roof tiles, not economically viable
6 PV-Tech:
Designing for water
7 Energy Storage News:
LG Energy Solution begins LFP and NMC BESS and EV cell production at Michigan factory
8 Canary Media:
Solar and storage still dominate US power plant construction
Opinions:
9 PV-Magazine:
FCC updates foreign inverter ban to include wired devices, adds 45X safe harbor
Have a great day!
Yann
The Incentives Tied to 232. 232 may not end trade politics, it may cause other things to happen unless the ecosystem changes. If you want to have my thoughts on this topic, you have to subscribe to SolarWakeup Premium, a business intelligence service.
Monday’s Big News. Stay tuned for more interesting programming coming to this platform starting next week. I’ll post this here on Monday morning, or maybe earlier.
News
1 PV-Tech:
European solar module prices up, buyer sentiment cools slightly in July
2 Axios:
The data center fight is heating up. Here's how they work
3 Politico:
Republican Mike Rogers backs Michigan data center moratorium
4 Canary Media:
PJM wants data centers to bring their own power. Pennsylvania’s on it.
5 Utility Dive:
Duke’s Carolinas resource plan targets 18.5 GW new solar by 2041
6 Solar Builder:
Enphase announces first U.S. commercial battery shipments for early 2027
7 Energy Storage News:
LG Energy Solution begins LFP and NMC BESS and EV cell production at Michigan factory
Opinions:
9 New York Times:
Climate
Have a great day!
Yann
Data Center Politics. Pennsylvania and Wisconsin had some interesting shifts on data center politics, Ohio Senate race and Texas (of all places) will have it as well. Surely something to watch for solar pros and catch some of my thoughts by subscribing to SolarWakeup Premium.
Monday’s Big News. Stay tuned for more interesting programming coming to this platform starting next week. I’ll post this here on Monday morning, or maybe earlier.
News
1 Axios:
The stakes of Josh Shapiro's data center pivot
2 Utility Dive:
Pennsylvania dangles permitting carrot for data centers that bring their own power
3 Bloomberg:
Solar Makes Midwest-Area Grid Biggest in US, BNEF Says
4 PV-Magazine:
TOYO revenue surges 88% in H1 2026 as U.S. solar market drives growth
5 PV-Tech:
Dimension Energy bags US$857 million for 149MW distributed PV portfolio
6 Energy Storage News:
Egyptian government minister lays foundation stone as Sungrow begins constructing MEA’s first specialised BESS factory
7 Canary Media:
How Qcells’ Georgia factory is surviving US solar policy whiplash
Opinions:
8 Solar Builder:
Vehicle-to-grid infrastructure to boost Calif. energy affordability, reliability
Have a great day!
Yann
