Solar projects have deadlines and more often than not, developers push the envelope on those deadlines in the hopes for the maximum profit. One thing I learned trading options was that time kills the premium and it couldn’t be more true in solar projects. Rushing the transaction costs more in lawyers and human resources. Rushing the install costs more on the EPC. It also stops the buyer from being able to put several projects together and get some of that premium back to the developer. Not sure that I resonate with sellers of projects but I hope that I do. I’ve seen this first hand and I can attest that majority of the time, dev fees are highest if time is not yet a factor.
Opinion
News
1 PV-Tech:
Finance experts criticise US market rush to close deals without compliance protocol
2 New York Times:
Testing the Clean-Energy Logic of a Tesla-SolarCity Merger
3 Think Progress:
India’s Plan To Bring Millions Out Of Poverty & Power Them With Clean Energy
4 GreenBiz:
Why batteries are the 'holy grail' for clean energy
5 Greentech Media:
What Would Tesla’s Solar Strategy Look Like if It Bought SolarCity?
6 Solar Industry:
Montana Governor Releases Energy Blueprint With Solar Goals
7 Motley Fool:
Why Latin America Is Where Solar Investors Will See a Bright Future
8 NPR:
'Beautiful Flight' Across The Atlantic Is Major Milestone For Solar Plane
Opinions:
9 Energy Collective:
EIA Annual Outlook Misses The Mark On Threat To Utilities, Generation Revolution
Have a great day!
Yann
Opinion
Have a great day!
News
1 PV-Tech:
Finance experts give Tesla-SolarCity deal mixed reviews at Intersolar
2 Renewable Energy World:
Notes from the Solar Underground - Conferences, Conferences Everywhere
3 Breaking Energy:
Corporations Directly Buying Renewable Power On The Rise
4 CNBC:
Musk's big bet on the future of solar
5 Advanced Energy Economy:
Internet of Things Comes to Life at Home
6 CleanTechnica:
Nest Teams Up With SolarCity On ‘Time Of Savings’ Plan
7 Bloomberg:
Solar Power to Grow Sixfold as Sun Becoming Cheapest Resource
Opinions:
8 GreenBiz:
Energy meets security - Can the military scale clean power?
Have a great day!
Yann
Elon Musk surely enjoys poetry. He chose the Summer solstice to acquire SolarCity. The deal makes sense for many reasons and we will discuss many of them in due time. With a depressed stock price at SCTY and great access to capital at TSLA but the acquisition is much more in my opinion. The new Tesla would become an end to end consumer energy company. From solar modules to generate power (the factory in Buffalo will use cells from the US, a correction from yesterday’s tariff story), powerwall to store at home and the vehicle to move that energy from one point to another. Let’s see where this goes.
Opinion
News
1 Vox:
Elon Musk wants to build a clean-energy juggernaut, merging Tesla and SolarCity
2 Greentech Media:
The Benefits and Drawbacks of Tesla’s Plan to Acquire SolarCity
3 Rocky Mountain Institute:
New Ruling Opens Up 400 GW Renewables Market
4 Utility Dive:
How storage can help solve the distributed energy 'death spiral'
5 PV-Tech:
SolarWorld and Hemlock continue last ditch talks as ‘crucial’ court date cancelled
6 US News:
California Utility to Close State's Last Nuclear Plant, Replace it With Solar and Wind
7 CleanTechnica:
How Can India Accelerate Its Rooftop Solar Deployment?
8 The Guardian:
Australians have spent almost $8bn on rooftop solar since 2007, says report
Opinions:
9 Quartz:
A pay-as-you-go solar solution could kickstart renewable energy adoption in Nigeria
Have a great day!
Yann
There are moments in politics that could change things. I have long been pushing for the settlement of the tariffs on modules made in China (and Taiwan, etc) to no avail. Mostly because the $0.15/Watt are just a part of life now and manufacturers have made other accommodations to deal with the tariffs. Now the cells for the SolarCity factory, which is in Buffalo (that is in America!), look like they will be hit with tariffs as well. I still see a way forward to get rid of them but we need the political will to push for it. If $0.15/Watt reduction in your module costs are worthy of your time and phone calls, send me a note so we can organize around this and garner the political will.
Have a great day!
News
1 PV-Tech:
SolarCity’s Triex cell to be included in Chinese anti-dumping investigation
2 Renew Economy:
Morgan Stanley - Battery storage to grow four times quicker than market thinks
3 Renewable Energy World:
Obama Administration Moves to Encourage 1.3 GW of Energy Storage Procurement
4 PV-Magazine:
EUPVSEC opens with rallying call to Europe's solar industry
5 Greentech Media:
Deep Politics, Dark Money and Fraud Join the Solar Party
6 EDF:
Valuing Energy Efficiency - The Case for Consensus
7 Forbes:
Distributed Generation Is Disrupting Britain's Power Market, Lawmakers Call For Major Reforms
8 Utility Dive:
EPA proposes CPP state renewable energy incentives despite SCOTUS freeze
Opinions:
9 GreenBiz:
Clues to our bright energy future
Have a great day!
Yann
