In an amazing twist of reality, it has come to light that a Wisconsin Utility regulator may have acted improperly and most likely unethically. Ellen Nowak, the deciding vote in a 2-1 ruling to place a fee on solar users, appeared on a panel with the CEO of WI Energy Corp. With possible ex-parte communications and other strange dealings, it is another sample of when regulators and companies get too close. Not all utilities act this way but this is a case gone awry…more to come (see the first story)
Yann
News
1 Bloomberg:
Wisconsin Utility Sought Solar Fees After Regulator Advised CEO
2 Nytimes:
Solar and Wind Energy Start to Win on Price vs. Conventional Fuels
4 RE World:
Renewable YieldCo Pricing Less Irrational, But Plenty of Opportunity Left
5 Greentechmedia:
Topaz, the Largest Solar Plant in the World, is Now Fully Operational
6 Reneweconomy:
Networks told they need to play fair with local energy, solar
7 Switchboard:
Three necessary steps for the Mexican energy reform to help boost clean power
8 Bizjournals:
Hawaii's largest solar energy market continues to suffer
Opinions:
9 Usatoday:
Solar power charging ahead in America
Have a great day!
Yann
It’s fun to watch solar at work. Last week at the Infocast conference you watch the panelists speaking kindly to each other but throwing hidden darts at the same time. Loans or leases, yieldcos or securitizations, david versus goliath (for the utility panel). Now Walmart goes out and gives a contract to SunEdison and SolarCity. That should be fun to watch.
Yann
News
1 Utilitydive:
Walmart inks solar contracts with SolarCity, SunEdison
2 Bloomberg:
U.S. Rejects Proposal for Solar Project in California Desert
3 PV magazine:
U.S. installs only 31 MW of utility-scale solar in October
4 Forbes:
Solar Ran A $40 Billion Surplus In 2013
5 Cleantechnica:
Keystone, Schmeystone
6 Solarlove:
US Could Generate 100 Times Its Electricity From Solar Power
7 Newsobserver:
Solar power backers
8 Fool:
Media Reports Another Solar Company Bailout, But They're Wrong
Opinions:
9 Huffingtonpost:
The Green Industrial Revolution
Have a great day!
Yann
These are the top 10 most read solar articles by your peers this week!
News
1 SolarWakeup:
A Behind the Scenes look at SolarWakeup
2 San Diego UT:
Here's who wants to sell you solar, and why
3 Solar Industry:
How To Make The Pitch That Owning Residential Solar Beats Leasing
4 Motley Fool:
How SolarCity and SunPower Plan to Dominate Solar
5 NY Times:
SunEdison and TerraForm Buy First Wind, Gaining a Toehold in Turbines
6 BRW:
Ten commandments of solar energy for business
7 ABC:
Huge Solar Plant Lags in Early Production
8 Breaking Energy:
Ivanpah's First Nine Months
9 Milwaukee JS:
Regulators agree to increase fixed charge on We Energies electric bills
10 GTM:
Celebrity Solar Installation of the Week Starring NBA Legend Bill Walton
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
Let’s go back to the ITC conversation. A panel of tax equity investors at this week’s infocast conference surprisingly (some would say shockingly) said that the ITC move to 10% wouldn’t make it to the bank CEOs desk. They said that they would just have to do more flow to deploy more capital at the same returns. I am sorry but anyone that thinks that solar in the US will maintain the same pipeline with a 10% ITC isn’t thinking through the market constriction properly. My 2 cents…
Yann
News
1 Utilitydive:
Georgia is the nation's fastest growing solar market
2 Greentechmedia:
It Was $40 Billion Cheaper to Install Solar in 2013 Than in 2012
3 Fool:
How SolarCity and SunPower Plan to Dominate Solar
4 Breakingenergy:
‘The Number of Megawatts is Simply not Replaceable in the Short Term with Renewables’
5 RE World:
Green Benefits
6 Huffingtonpost:
Powering Cars With Sunshine
8 Cleantechnica:
US Ex-Im Bank Offers $1 Billion Renewable Energy Loan To India
Have a great day!
Yann
