New Boots on the Ground, now shorter. Abby and I trimmed the format down to make it more listener-friendly. Have you noticed the difference? solarwakeup.com/boots to get all the links.
Win and Fail? What is your win and fail from the last week in solar and storage?
Permitting Reform. Are you in or are you out? Because it’s not quite so clear even though trade groups what you to think so. Certainly environmental advocates are whipping votes against the bill, some are saying that utilities and data center companies could hate it and those that think they’ll be in charge post midterms want everyone to slow their horses. Meanwhile supporters are betting on this being the best deal that they can get and are looking to get it done regardless of opposition and who they have to cross. Question is, why were the groups ready to check their own home before making this the entire bet heading into the end of the year? Seems messy to me at best.
Wires. I’ve been in solar for a long time and it’s interesting what people have categorized as commodities versus value products. I will die on the hill that the most valuable attribute in product procurement is certainty of shipment and delivery. The products have largely been commoditized top to bottom, even those that shouldn’t be (most shouldn’t be). The one that is the most incredible is a low Capex item in wires and connectors. Failure rate is incredibly high if the quality is not there and could spell catastrophe for a site that experiences issues, why have we commoditized this?
RE+. I’ll be at RE+ and assume you will also. What should I see? Who should I meet? Where should Abby and I record podcast episodes? Should we interview anyone interesting?
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Yann
New Boots on the Ground, now shorter. Abby and I trimmed the format down to make it more listener-friendly. Have you noticed the difference? solarwakeup.com/boots plus the Florida Panthers won their season opener, time to raise the cup!
Permitting Reform. Senate and White House come to a deal, my thoughts in today’s Wakeup Daily Briefing, why haven’t you joined yet?
Don’t Mess With Solar. Tom with help from his friends is going into the general election for the midterms against 7 candidates that voted against solar. The group went 6 for 6 in the primaries, will they get some hits in the midterm?
PJM Mess/Opportunity. PJM has delayed its capacity auction after falling short on their need driven by the data center requests. How many data centers are going to fix their own needs with side deals? Is there enough gas to drive power to on site generation?
RE+. I’ll be at RE+ and assume you will also. What should I see? Who should I meet? Where should Abby and I record podcast episodes? Should we interview anyone interesting?
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New Boots on the Ground, now shorter. Abby and I trimmed the format down to make it more listener-friendly. Have you noticed the difference? solarwakeup.com/boots
Speed to power is the real bottleneck. Oracle had every permit in place and still couldn't build — because there wasn't enough power to the site. How many other projects are sitting in that same spot right now?
Rack density is about to 10x. Today's chips run around 130kW per rack; in the 2030s we're talking one megawatt. What does that do to solid-state transformers, DC architecture, and storage?
>Trump treats permitting like a trade. Stalled solar and wind projects, in his view, are the price Democrats pay for gas and oil permitting wins. What else is actually in that bill and how does it get done? Abby and I discuss on the podcast
Permitting reform won't happen before the election. After November, expect a budget deal, tax extenders, and maybe the Defense Authorization Act to move in the lame duck.
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Who’s Going to Yotta? Should I go? I’m considering heading to Vegas for the expo.
Clearing up my data center stance. Under 1% of voters will decide their ballot on this issue per a New York Times poll, but the pricing flexibility and multiples it's driving for solar are real. What happens to both if the hype turns into a bubble?
Oracle files force majeure in New Mexico. Fully permitted, ready to build — except they can't get gas pipeline approval to fuel it. Is power access, not construction, becoming the real bottleneck for AI everyone should be watching?
Module pricing jumps roughly 40%. Modules prices are going up, but how much? With FEOC, the executive order, 232, and domestic inverter costs stacking up, where does that get absorbed if not offtaker pricing?
Texas hits 474GW in requests. ERCOT's all-time peak is 91 gigawatts. Does that number change how Abbott's moratorium plays out?
Watching Senate Elections. There are the races that define the Senate but then there are the races that make us wonder where the electorate is more broadly. What happens if TX governor flips or the Senate seat in Kansas that hasn’t voted for a dem in nearly 100 years.
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