This is your SolarWakeup for April 12th, 2024
Happy Friday. Apologies for the lack of columns this week, unfortunately travel and daytime responsibilities have taken up all of the time. In the meantime, consider whether you have a paragraph to contribute. Email me your thoughts on a topic, in the format of SolarWakeup, and you could get published with your name and company in the byline. Have a great weekend!
News
1 PV-Magazine:
California Supreme Court to review rooftop solar net metering
2 Reuters:
Texas kicks on with solar, storage as developers eye profits
3 Financial Times:
Wall Street turns to ‘solar grazing’ sheep in its push to go green
4 Bloomberg:
Equinor’s Energy Trader Eyes New Zealand Amid Expansion in Asia
5 Axios:
National Grid's VC arm makes three Q1 investments
6 Renewable Energy World:
California’s virtual power plant potential is high, new report says
7 Energy Storage News:
IPP Lydian launches with 1.7GW US solar and BESS portfolio, backed by infrastructure fund Excelsior
8 Canary Media:
More demand, more gas - Inside the Southeast’s dirty power push
9 Utility Dive:
Regulators - Don’t panic and rush to gas amid cries we’re out of power
Opinions:
10 Heatmap News:
Is Renewable Energy Too Cheap to Be Profitable?
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 11th, 2024
Opinion
News
1 Bloomberg:
How to Cut Industrial Emissions and Dodge the Valley of Death
2 Axios:
European court ruling on climate may affect pending cases, including in U.S.
3 Renewable Energy World:
Nexamp raises $520M for community solar portfolio
4 Utility Dive:
FERC approves PJM’s $5.1B cost-share plan for transmission to be built by Dominion, others
5 Solar Power World:
Maryland General Assembly passes bill to incentivize local solar development, streamline permitting
6 Canary Media:
Texas got more electricity from solar than coal last month
7 Politico:
Great unknown
8 PV-Magazine:
Triple-junction solar cells have technical potential to reach 44.3% efficiency
Opinions:
9 Reuters:
France on track to smash clean electricity export record in 2024
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 10th, 2024
Opinion
News
1 New York Times:
The U.S. Urgently Needs a Bigger Grid. Here’s a Fast Solution.
2 PV-Magazine:
Five energy equity policy wins in 2024
3 Utility Dive:
Pennsylvania issues guidelines on using energy storage to boost distribution grid reliability
4 Reuters:
US power system set to cut coal use to record lows
5 PV-Tech:
Industry lobby group ERT says EU requires €800 billion in grid investment by 2030
6 Energy Storage News:
Maryland is first US state to pass vehicle-to-grid legislation, alongside virtual power plant tariff rules
7 Canary Media:
Solar and wind power have surged wildly in the US over the last decade
Opinions:
8 Bloomberg:
Power Bills Will Keep Rising Even After the Fed Tames Inflation
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 9th, 2024
Opinion
News
1 Bloomberg:
Eclipse Will Darken Solar Panels and Cut Off Power Supplies to the Grid
2 Utility Dive:
What federal officials want to see in critical infrastructure cyber incident reports
3 Reuters:
Taking stock of clean electricity progress in key markets
4 PV-Tech:
EU rooftop solar requires clear roadmap to sustain growth – report
5 Solar Power World:
Monthly solar generation tops coal for first time in Texas
6 Energy Storage News:
BESS noise has ‘exploded as a concern’ recently
7 Canary Media:
Selling used EVs is tricky business. These companies are making it work
8 PV-Magazine:
Livestream shows how eclipse impacts solar power production across the U.S.
Opinions:
9 GreenBiz:
How Google closes clean energy deals in as little as 2 months
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 8th, 2024
Opinion
News
1 Axios:
Brent boosted by geopolitics, jumps over $90
2 Utility Dive:
Don’t count on FERC as the ‘big sugar daddy’ for new transmission, generation - Commissioner Christie
3 Bloomberg:
New Solar Panel Trade Fight Looms, Industry Groups Warn
4 Reuters:
'Data driven' players help prolong record profits in commodity trading, says McKinsey
5 PV-Tech:
Solaredge acquires EV charging software startup Wevo Energy
6 Renewable Energy World:
Maryland passes bi-directional EV charging law
7 Energy Storage News:
Alberta awards funding to supercap, energy storage-as-transmission projects in Canadian province
8 PV-Magazine:
California elected officials call for repeal of “utility tax”
Opinions:
9 Solar Power World:
More solar companies apply to work in Foreign Trade Zones
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 5th, 2024
Opinion
News
1 Utility Dive:
Monday’s eclipse could cut US solar output by 40 GWh. Here’s how 5 grid operators are preparing.
2 Bloomberg:
Ukraine Says Russia Targeting Power After Deadly Kharkiv Attack
3 Axios:
Ukraine Says Russia Targeting Power After Deadly Kharkiv Attack
4 Reuters:
Renewables growth still lags climate targets, think tank says
5 PV-Tech:
Sunnova to expand virtual power plants to manage solar and storage grid connections in the US
6 Energy Storage News:
LG Energy Solution starts construction on Arizona ESS gigafactory
7 Heatmap News:
The Biden Administration Is Unleashing $20 Billion for Green Banks
Opinions:
8 PV-Magazine:
New solar antidumping tariffs are on the way, said Roth
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 4th, 2024
Opinion
News
1 Reuters:
Yellen won't rule out more protections for US clean energy sector amid Chinese excess capacity
2 Axios:
America's solar and wind energy hotspots, mapped
3 Grist:
US experienced staggering growth in solar and wind power over the last decade
4 Politico:
Electric grid woes foretell risk of blackouts
5 Utility Dive:
Goldman renewables spinoff MN8 Energy secures $325M investment
6 Bloomberg:
India Coal Miner Plans $720 Million Sale of Renewables Unit
7 Solar Builder:
Federal funding for clean energy projects to strengthen U.S. farms
8 PV-Tech:
Malaysia launches 2GW large-scale solar tender
9 Energy Storage News:
California regulator approves export regime for PV, energy storage to avoid costly grid upgrades
10 Canary Media:
US Steel plant in Indiana to host a $150M carbon capture experiment
11 PV-Magazine:
Microsoft signs two large solar power purchase agreements
Opinions:
12 New York Times:
What Tesla’s Troubles Signal for the E.V. Revolution
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 3rd, 2024
What If. What if we permitted solar plus storage with the caveat that it only charged and discharged to the grid at the times that make the most sense as opposed to the worst-case scenario? How much of the interconnection queue could go through right away? Think of it like a flight plan that an airline would file to get in and out of an airport in orderly fashion. Then asset managers would get charge and discharge clearances with the words “operator, hold for a phone number for an asset deviation” whenever something happens outside of the plan.
News
1 Utility Dive:
DOE to invest $22M to improve planning, permitting of renewable energy, storage projects
2 Bloomberg:
Swing States Net Half of $114 Billion in Inflation Reduction Act Factory Investment
3 Axios:
Why Biden's climate law needs a permitting boost
4 Reuters:
US climate law has boosted solar, batteries; hydrogen, other initiatives lag
5 PV-Tech:
China calls for WTO to investigate IRA, alleging ‘discrimination against goods of Chinese origin’
6 Solar Power World:
First round of 48C Advanced Energy ITC dollars distributed by DOE
7 Renewable Energy World:
Interior approves two wind farms offshore Massachusetts
8 Canary Media:
California’s new rules allow solar and batteries to help out the grid
Opinions:
9 PV-magazine:
Portuguese utility says renewables covered 91% of demand in March
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 2nd, 2024
Farewell AEE Solar. Installers got a brief email yesterday stating that the distributor AEE Solar would be closing their doors in just over a month. With a slowing market and higher cost of capital, it ultimately got to be less than profitable. There’s also been an increase of competition from electric supply houses that leave the specialized company in a bind.
News
1 Utility Dive:
IRS direct pay framework opens doors for tax-exempt entities to access clean energy credits
2 PV-Magazine:
Solar equipment distributor announces business close, inventory clearance
3 Axios:
Granholm eyes talks with Big Tech on AI power needs
4 Reuters:
Virginia regulators approve Dominion Energy solar projects
5 PV-Tech:
Nordcell plans 1.2GW module plant in Sweden
6 Renewable Energy World:
Feds announce $4B in tax credits for supply chain, decarbonization
7 Canary Media:
New DOE-backed projects tackle factory emissions with heat pumps and more
Opinions:
8 Energy Storage News:
Friday Briefing
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 1st, 2024
Problems With Blame. I am on the more concerned side of many when it comes to the ever-present energy crunch that I see on the horizon. Both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal wrote about it over the weekend and in similar points of view brought in the climate goals as part of the equation which is this. The WSJ says the energy crunch is partly to blame on our climate goals whereas the NYT says the energy crunch hurts the climate goals. Both are mostly wrong and I’ll give you two concrete examples. First is a conversation I had with an ER doctor in 2008, who also happened to Chair the Energy Committee in the Florida State House at the time. (I point out that he’s a doctor so that you know his career wasn’t spent analyzing energy markets) He told me when we wanted to create an RPS (renewable portfolio standard) that it wasn’t the Government’s job to pick winners and losers but solar would have to compete in the free market. My other example is Texas, one of the largest users of solar and storage in the Country today, which I assure you have nothing to do with climate goals. Ultimately the energy crunch is caused by an overlap of two versions of the energy transition; solar and wind are cheaper than alternatives and electrification of everything (EVs, homes, and data) is massively increasing consumption. Climate goals aside, we simply are not doing enough to keep our grid reliable into the future.
A Thank You. Over the last few weeks there have been some big corporate offtake agreements which are always important for the market expansion and I’m glad those are happening. We’ve also seen a major expansion of the energy communities which is a major win by our policy teams, I know SEIA staff played a major role alongside other association and corporate teams. Thank you!
News
1 New York Times:
America’s Energy Needs and Climate Goals
2 Wall Street Journal:
The Coming Electricity Crisis
4 Reuters:
Canadian Solar denies patent infringement claims filed by Maxeon
5 PV-Tech:
Walmart inks solar PV PPA in Texas, invests in community solar across US
6 Renewable Energy World:
New England’s last coal plants to be shut down, replaced with renewables
7 Energy Storage News:
German mayor allocates land for 280MWh BESS after nuclear waste storage plan rejected
9 PV-Magazine:
California pivots to propose $24 average fixed fee to electric bills
10 Utility Dive:
MISO seeks FERC approval for new capacity accreditation process to
11 bolster grid reliability:
Opinions:
12 Bloomberg:
A Historic British Chapel Is Powering Easter Service With Solar Energy
Have a great day!
Yann
