Lots of mainstream media attention about the Powerwall energy storage system manufactured by Tesla. It has been selling through SolarCity customers for quite some time but now has an Apple like look to it as well. Next steps include a customer facing payback calculation so that reporters that are clueless don’t keep saying it doesn’t pay for itself. With solar and a time of use energy plan, peak shifting will pay for itself many times over but it will not be for everyone right off the bat. The biggest question is how Tesla goes to market, I can already see the SunRun sales team fielding questions about the Powerwall…
Yann
News
1 Bloomberg:
Musk’s SolarCity Customers First in Line for Tesla Batteries
2 Daily Beast:
The Hidden Star of Obama’s Cabinet
3 Greentech Media:
First Solar and SunPower Post ‘Transitional’ Quarters Prepping for New YieldCo
4 Tech Co:
5 of the World’s Biggest Solar Energy Plants
5 PV-Magazine:
UK renewable jobs market grows faster than average
6 US News:
Swiss pilot anxious, excited to fly solar plane from China to Hawaii for 5 days, 5 nights
7 Utility Dive:
Xcel subsidiary Northern States Power tests community solar in Wisconsin
8 NRDC:
Experts Agree - Electric Grid Will Stay Ahead of the Curve on the Clean Power Plan
Opinions:
9 EDF:
Fossil fuels haven't lost the race, yet. Here's the full story.
Have a great day!
Yann
These are the top 10 most read solar articles by your peers this week!
News
1 Seeking Alpha:
Vivint Solar And The Coming Onslaught Of New Entrants
2 Gizmodo:
California Farmers Without Water Are Installing Solar Panels Instead
3 Seeking Alpha:
The Impact Of California PUC Proposal On Solar Deployment In California
4 Vox:
A solar future isn't just likely — it's inevitable
5 Bloomberg:
Los Angeles Power Prices at Record April Low on Trapped Solar
6 Seeking Alpha:
The Solar Module Supply Shortage Trend Is Gaining Traction
7 Fox:
Tesla wants to reshape electric grid with combination of rooftop solar panels, home batteries
8 Grist:
Who should profit from solar energy?
9 Huffington Post:
Household Solar Is Becoming the New Normal -- and That Makes Some Utilities Uncomfortable
10 Oregonian:
Why SolarCity's university solar projects cost Oregon taxpayers $12 million
The Top 10 is ranked by the number of SolarWakeup.com readers that clicked on the news article during the previous week. It is the poll of the most relevant solar news of the week as judged by your colleagues and competitors.
Have a great day!
Yann
The long awaited (not so surprise) announcement from Tesla came out yesterday that it will be entering distributed and utility scale energy storage helped with solar. Of course there is a strong perceived partnership with SolarCity but surely Tesla will also be going out on its own as it expands its stationary power division in addition to its mobile power units it has already been selling for a few years. Let’s see what other solar companies do as some have already come out with partnerships, but I want to see who figures out how to sell solar + storage most effectively, a not so easy task.
Yann
News
1 Fox:
Tesla wants to reshape electric grid with combination of rooftop solar panels, home batteries
2 AZ Central:
SolarCity relocating 85 Arizona workers, cites solar fees
3 PV-Magazine:
Institutional investors increasingly target solar assets
4 Bloomberg:
First Solar, SunPower Yieldco Drives Losses at Top Panel Makers
5 Solar Industry:
SEPA Unveils Rankings Of Top Solar Utilities In The U.S.
6 Utility Dive:
Why community shared solar is ready to be the 'great equalizer'
7 ABC:
North Carolina solar tax credit expanded for 1 year
8 Greentech Media:
4 Ways to Blunt the Solar Tax Cliff
Opinions:
9 EDF:
Electricity Pricing - The Times, they Might be A-Changing
Have a great day!
Yann
A new poll in Nevada is not surprising at all and most likely represents similar sentiment if the poll were national. Voters in Nevada are less likely to vote for a politician that does not support solar policies such as raising the cap on net metering. Republicans were 69% less likely and Democrats 80% less likely. This kind of voter support for solar is the continued result from home and business owners looking to lower their energy costs and create energy freedom by installing solar.
Yann
News
1 Las Vegas Journal:
Solar energy poll results called warning for Nevada legislators
2 Investor’s Business Daily:
First Solar, SunPower Yieldco Plan May Impact Q1
3 Bloomberg:
Solar Yieldcos Hit a Bump as $242 Million IPO Pulled in France
4 Grist:
California sets fancy new climate goal, makes other states look bad
5 Utility Dive:
Louisiana lawmakers propose new limits on solar tax credits
6 Business Journal:
Xcel proposal could quash corporate solar garden projects
7 PV-Magazine:
Costa Rican regulator proposes solar FIT
8 Gizmodo:
The Cockpit of Solar Impulse Is Not For the Faint-Hearted
Opinions:
9 Seeking Alpha:
The Solar Module Supply Shortage Trend Is Gaining Traction
Have a great day!
Yann
