This is your SolarWakeup for February 5th
Opinion
News
1 New York Times:
A Trump ‘Blockade’ Is Stalling Hundreds of Wind and Solar Projects Nationwide
2 Utility Dive:
TVA pursues 6.2 GW of new generation, citing data centers, population growth
3 Bloomberg:
Power Equipment Maker Forgent, Backers Raise $1.5 Billion in IPO
4 Reuters:
Chinese solar shares jump on reports of Musk-linked visits, some firms deny cooperation
5 PV-Tech:
Cost the key consideration in European supply chains as reliance on China remains
6 Energy Storage News:
Standalone solar no longer enough in Europe as storage takes centre stage
7 Canary Media:
California has abundant solar power. Here’s how factories can use it.
8 PV-Magazine:
Lunar Energy raises $232 million to accelerate development of residential storage, VPP software
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for February 4th
Opinion
News
1 Bloomberg:
Texas Considers Revisiting Some Data Center Grid Approvals
2 New York Times:
Why U.S. Car Companies Want to Make Giant Batteries
3 Canary Media:
Colorado co-ops to Trump
4 Utility Dive:
Tesla sets battery storage deployment record in Q4 as EV sales slump
5 Reuters:
Saudi Arabia to build $2 billion solar farms in Turkey, Turkish energy minister says
6 Energy Storage News:
‘Scrutinising origin, ownership, and control’
7 PV-Magazine:
U.S.-India trade deal reduces solar tariffs
Opinions:
8 PV-Tech:
‘Difficult’ to make EU solar procurement initiatives work ‘on the ground’, developers say
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for February 2nd
It’s Getting Cold Outside. Grab your ice scrapers because the weather this weekend was out of control. I’m usually the one laughing at the rest of the Country given that I sit in Fort Lauderdale but yesterday morning we woke up to a balmy 37 degrees with a wind chill making it feel like mid twenties. I assume that our grid measured a new record or something near given that most Floridians heat their homes quite inefficiently.
News
1 Canary Media:
The 4 lessons New England’s grid can learn from Winter Storm Fern
2 Utility Dive:
NERC forecasts peak demand to rise 24% on new data center loads
3 Bloomberg:
SpaceX Seeks FCC Nod to Build Data Center Constellation in Space
5 Reuters:
SOLV Energy targets $5 billion valuation in US IPO
6 PV-Tech:
‘Clear and concerning’ rise in PV module defects – Kiwa PI Berlin
7 Solar Power World:
Tesla claims it’s making solar panels again at its Buffalo factory
8 Energy Storage News:
Battery recycler Redwood receives financing boost from Google, aims to expand US energy storage division
9 PV-Magazine:
Uncertainty looms as solar PPA prices climb for second straight quarter
Opinions:
10 New York Times:
Three Hours of Free Power and Other Ideas to Lower Utility Bills
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 30th
Last Testimonials. Today marks the end of Abby Hopper’s tenure as the CEO of SEIA. I was her first interview when she joined the trade association and I’d be lying if I didn’t have some skepticism but Abby never shied away from telling her story and solar’s story. Over the next 9 years, the skepticism turned to trust and friendship. So it’s fitting that in her last week, she’s talking to the Senate about the importance of permitting and cutting red tape. I’m excited for her to take some time off and do great things in the future. Meanwhile, Darren Van’t Hof takes the reigns as the interim CEO as the search committee looks for a permanent replacement. If you want to share some public words about Abby, feel free to send them this way and I’ll publish those that come in.
News
1 Solar Builder:
SEIA CEO emphasizes permitting reform in Senate committee testimony
2 Utility Dive:
Republican, Democratic senators call for project certainty at permitting reform hearing
3 Bloomberg:
Texas Data Centers, Crypto Miners Reduced Power During Storm
4 Axios:
Tesla discontinuing Model S and Model X electric vehicles, Elon Musk says
5 Reuters:
US faces growing risks of power outages due to rising winter demand, changing fuel mix
6 PV-Tech:
Rising Chinese module prices will be ‘short-term’, says Rystad Energy
7 Energy Storage News:
European Union battery storage market entered ‘new phase of scale and maturity’ in 2025, but ‘still has a long way to go’
8 Canary Media:
Tesla launches its own solar panel as its EV business falters
9 PV-Magazine:
Maryland residential solar market stifled by permitting and interconnection delays, report finds
Opinions:
10 New York Times:
It’s Very Cold. Just Wait for the Grid to Fail.
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 28th
Opinion
News
1 Financial Times:
US solar sector navigates loss of crucial tax credits
2 Solar Power World:
Maryland introduces legislation to curb energy costs, spur solar development
3 Bloomberg:
Climate Lessons for Democrats and Four Other Takeaways From the BNEF Summit
4 New York Times:
America Officially Leaves the Paris Climate Agreement. For the Second Time.
5 Axios:
Electricity grid is holding up despite outages, analysts say
6 Reuters:
Power plant outages surge in Eastern US amid restricted gas supplies and frigid weather
7 PV-Tech:
Global clean energy investment hits record US$2.3 trillion in 2025
8 Energy Storage News:
‘Greater acceptance of merchant exposure’ in UK market, investment firm says
9 Canary Media:
North Carolina may use batteries to give new life to old solar farms
Opinions:
10 PV-Magazine:
Ohm Analytics 2025 VPP market report reveals 21% growth in overall capacity
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 26th
Opinion
News
1 Axios:
Electricity grid is holding up despite outages, analysts say
2 Reuerts:
Power plant outages surge in Eastern US amid restricted gas supplies and frigid weather
3 PV-Tech:
Hecate Energy to list on Nasdaq in US$1.2 billion SPAC deal
4 Utility Dive:
PJM cost concerns bleed into transmission planning
5 BLoomberg:
Why Batteries Are About to Have a Moment in Brazil
6 Energy Storage News:
Fortescue claims ‘record-low pricing’ for large-scale battery storage in Australia
7 PV-Magazine:
U.S., Europe on track for 2030 solar goals despite pipeline gaps
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 23rd
Opinion
News
1 Utility Dive:
Can rising power demand boost renewables above policy obstacles in 2026?
2 Bloomberg:
Zero - Electrification is the Climate Story of 2026
3 New York Times:
Energy Dept. Says It Is Canceling $30 Billion in Clean Energy Loans
4 Axios:
Utilities brace for outages, disruptions ahead of winter storm
5 Reuters:
In Davos debut, Musk says US tariffs make solar power a challenge
6 Solar Builder:
Study says solar, storage could slash spiking New York energy bills
7 Renewable Energy World:
White House and governors pressure grid operator to boost power supply, slow electricity price hikes
8 Canary Media:
Geothermal startup Fervo Energy may finally go public
9 PV-Magazine:
Solar to anchor U.S. load growth as data center demand surges
Opinions:
10 PV-Tech:
Solar and storage are ‘the perfect bedfellows’ as BESS matures in Europe
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 22nd
Solar Goes Public, Welcome MWH. It’s always a great moment for the SolarWakeup community when one of us has a big accomplishment and that’s happening right now with our friends at SOLV. From Swinerton to SOLV to MWH, which will be the ticker once the company goes public in the next month or so. SOLV has become a great example of solar’s growth under the helm of George Hershman. With nice growth in the first 3 quarters of 2025 over the previous year and how the EPC peers are trading, I expect all the best to happen to the good people of SOLV. More to come…
News
1 Seeking Alpha:
Solar EPC Provider SOLV Energy Begins IPO Effort
2 Axios:
OpenAI vows to foot energy costs for Stargate
3 Reuters:
EDP CEO warns EU on lost urgency for energy security, renewables push
4 PV-Tech:
Inside the US solar supply chain labyrinth
5 Solar Power World:
New Jersey governor spends first day in office issuing executive orders on solar
6 Energy Storage News:
Over 2GWh of Europe BESS completed, financed and transacted in past week
7 Canary Media:
Massachusetts tries a market for distributed energy to tame grid costs
8 PV-Magazine:
Solar met 61% of U.S. electricity demand growth in 2025 as battery surge transforms the grid
Opinions:
9 Utility Dive:
Labor, tariffs collide with data center boom
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 21st
Free Electricity? The pod bros from the All-in Podcast talked about energy policy this week and made an interesting point, completely insane but why not? They said that America could make all residential electricity free by increasing the cost of industrial energy by 50% so that C&I owners would build their own power plants. Here’s the link for the exchange if you’re intrigued by the concept and/or want to tell me how this would actually work (also how much utilities would support this…)
News
1 New York Times:
On Day 1, Mikie Sherrill Focuses on Utility Costs and Children’s Safety
2 Axios:
Data centers could power solar market, despite Trump criticism
3 Bloomberg:
US Power-Grid Plan Aims to Accelerate Data-Center Connections
4 PV-Tech:
Radial Power secures US$355 million financing for 214MW solar portfolio
5 Solar Power World:
Utility-scale contractor Sunstall launches robotic installation platform SunRobi
6 Energy Storage News:
ANZA Power secures US$300 million from I Squared for Australia-New Zealand portfolio
7 PV-Magazine:
Solar to surge 49% as EIA forecasts 70 GW of new capacity by 2027
Opinions:
8 Canary Media:
After Helene, rural North Carolina turns to solar and battery hubs
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 20th
Opinion
News
1 Axios:
Trump makes a political power play on data centers
2 PV-Tech:
Two-thirds of electricity demand growth in the US came from solar PV in 2025 – Ember
3 CNBC:
Automakers like Ford and GM are jumping into a whole new business where Tesla is a serious player
4 Bloomberg:
AI Needs a BYOG Model to Keep Power Bills Down
5 Canary Media:
Trump’s plan to make data centers pay for power plants has big flaws
6 PV-Magazine:
Amazon acquires 1.2 GW Sunstone solar project from bankrupt Pine Gate Renewables
7 Energy Storage News:
DNV forecasts tenfold increase in MENA region’s installed energy storage capacity by 2030
8 Reuters:
Why U.S. states hold the key to an affordable, stable energy future in 2026
Opinions:
9 New York Times:
Trump Is Obsessed With Oil, but Chinese Batteries Will Soon Run the World
Have a great day!
Yann
