This is your SolarWakeup for April 9th 2025
Deal Season? There are so many balls in the air that it’s sometimes hard to focus on the 3 that you actually want to juggle but let’s give it a whirl. First, it’s clear that the market is looking for the White House to make some trade deals, sooner the better. Second, the Senate and the House appear out of sync with each other on what’s going on with the budget/tax/debt ceiling plan and the House seems to have a shortfall in votes absent a broader deal. For those of us on the sidelines and in the weeds fighting for the IRA, let’s keep pushing on how important the tax credit and solar benefits are to the economy, AI and energy dominance. Lastly, let’s keep focusing on deploying and finding ways to help each other. This is a moment where I am leaning on my relationships and finding ways to work together. If there’s anything I can do to be helpful, don’t hesitate to reach out.
News
1 Reuters:
Renewables provided record 32% of global electricity in 2024, Ember says
2 Politico:
‘He’s just not going to change my mind’
3 New York Times:
Trump Signs Orders Aimed at Reviving a Struggling Coal Industry
4 Axios:
Oil prices ride a highway to the danger zone
5 Utility Dive:
AIP Management invests $500M in US solar producer
6 PV-Tech:
‘We want it to feel like magic’
7 Energy Storage News:
Tata Power deploys battery storage to support critical infrastructure in Mumbai, India
8 PV-Magazine:
Robots to work side-by-side with humans to demonstrate solar module installation
Opinions:
9 Canary Media:
Trump’s tariffs undermine his energy and manufacturing goals
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 8th 2025
The Winners Are. UConn took the top spot in the women’s tournament which gave Robert Pierno the win. On the men’s side, the winner is Dustin Dunaway who correctly predicted the Gators win. Without knowing a single thing about college basketball I correctly predicted both the men’s and women’s champions, yet still lost out on top spot. Thanks to all for participating and we’ll play again next year.
News
1 Politico:
Trump’s most loyal supporters are begging him to do tariff deals
2 New York Times:
Trump’s Trade War Escalates as China Retaliates With 34% Tariffs
3 Utility Dive:
US electricity demand will grow 50% by 2050, electrical manufacturer study finds
4 PV-Tech:
Trump tariffs to have limited effect on US solar imports from Asia – report
5 Baltimore Banner:
Maryland approves plan to fast-track power plants, override local solar bans
6 Axios:
"Climate realism" stresses security, mitigation and resilience
7 Reuters:
US battery and carbon capture projects slated for cuts on DOE list
8 Solar Power World:
CBP still won’t let Maxeon solar panels into the United States
9 Energy Storage News:
Australian Labor Party pledges to introduce AU$2.3 billion home battery subsidy if re-elected
10 PV-Magazine:
Colorado governor’s last-minute legislation would accelerate state’s clean energy targets
Opinions:
11 Inc:
Solar Power Is Reaching a Critical Tipping Point in the U.S.
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 4th 2025
Opinion
News
1 Bloomberg:
How Trade Wars Impact the Green Transition — What We Know So Far
2 New York Times:
How Trump’s Tariffs Could Hobble the Fastest-Growing Energy Technology
3 Utility Dive:
Experts raise concerns about cybersecurity and energy storage systems
4 Reuters:
Indian solar module maker Waaree sees no near-term impact from Trump tariffs, CEO says
5 PV-Tech:
Indian heavy industry offers 20GW solar PV opportunity
6 Solar Power World:
DOE announces plans to develop AI data centers paired with new energy infrastructure on public lands
7 PV-Magazine:
Origami Solar expands its portfolio of solar module frames
Opinions:
8 Energy Storage News:
Ontario IESO
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 2nd2025
Opinion
News
1 TechCrunch:
Data centers love solar
2 Reuters:
What's in Trump's April 1 trade reports ahead of US reciprocal tariffs
4 Utility Dive:
FERC review of PJM colocation rules for data centers, large loads may extend past mid-year
5 Bloomberg:
One of the World’s Biggest Coal and Gas Ports Is Being Tested
6 PV-Tech:
PERC technology is ‘obsolete’ in Europe and low PV prices are here to stay – report
7 Energy Storage News:
Europe installed 12GW of energy storage in 2024; EU state aid boost to come
8 PV-Magazine:
U.S. solar manufacturing boom “real — but fragile,” said CEA
Opinions:
9 New York Times:
Why Al Gore Is Shifting His Climate Activism Abroad
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 1st 2025
FTC Solar. Yesterday I had to pleasure of reporting on FTC Solar’s 2024 financial performance, my first annual report as CEO for the company. In the past 7 months, since I joined, and over the past year, the company accomplished quite a bit in deploying the Pioneer 1P product into the market. This has resulted in quite a bit of traction in the past months that put us in a great position for the future. I am thankful for the team that is speaking to the market every day and engineering the features that make FTC solar’s tracker the fastest and easiest to install. If this resonates with you and we can be helpful, I look forward to partnering with you in the future as well.
News
1 Energy Storage News:
Wärtsilä closes strategic review of energy storage segment, ‘remains committed’ to sector
3 Reuters:
Solar company Emeren gets takeover proposal, says CEO to step down
4 E&E News:
Solar is out as DOE rebrands Solar Decathlon
5 Utility Dive:
Moody’s upgrades PG&E on reduced credit risks from wildfires
6 Bloomberg:
Volatility Grips Wall Street Ahead of Trump’s Tariff Rollout
8 PV-Magazine:
APA Solar invests $19.5 million in Ohio expansion
Opinions:
9 Canary Media:
Will Texas self-destruct its clean energy industry?
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 28th 2025
Happy Birthday. We have a special happy birthday mention from a great SolarWakeup friend, John Murphy, who passes along a happy 50th to operations guru Chris Perron. Let this be the start of the SolarWakeup birthday mentions!
Halfway Leaderboard. Catherine Heigher and Joseph Abel are leading our women’s and men’s brackets as we head to the final stages. Still feeling pretty good about my chances, hopefully breaking the streak of never having won the SolarWakeup bracket challenge.
News
1 Bloomberg:
Shell and BP See Trading Edges in Clean-Energy Stakes
2 Energy Storage News:
‘BESS to help ERCOT manage doubling of demand by 2030’
3 PV-magazine:
Texas Senate passes bill to expedite permits for home solar, battery systems
4 Associated presses:
Renewable energy jumps to new high, powered by China solar boom
5 UTility Dive:
PJM fast-track interconnection process draws 26.6 GW in proposals
6 Reuters:
Shell scraps solar, onshore wind power projects in Brazil
7 PV-Tech:
JinkoSolar ships 99.6GW of modules in 2024, endures operational losses
8 Canary Media:
Span’s new smart electrical panel can plug right into utility meters
Opinions:
9 Axios:
Renewables surged globally in 2024, new data shows
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 26th 2025
Opinion
News
1 Bloomberg:
Altman-Backed Oklo Sees Trump Cutting Red Tape for Nuclear Power
2 PV-Tech:
European PV market will ‘consolidate’ amid economic uncertainty
5 PV-Magazine:
Minnesota legislation aims to sunset community solar program
6 Energy Storage News:
Ex-Tesla and Freyr team launch sodium-ion ESS startup for ‘distributed hybridisation’ with solar
7 Canary Media:
Hyundai to make ‘low-carbon’ steel at $6B plant in Louisiana
Opinions:
8 Utility Dive:
New England could connect 9.6 GW of offshore wind without new infrastructure
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 25th 2025
Opinion
News
1 New York Times:
The Vicious Cycle of Extreme Heat Leading to More Fossil Fuel Use
2 Utility Dive:
Texas Senate passes bill to establish ‘dispatchable’ power credits trading program
3 BLoomberg:
Ardian Agrees to Acquire ICG-Backed Renewable Developer Akuo
4 Axios:
The mystery of Trump's tariff bomb
5 Reuters:
Rule change to drive up clean energy project costs in India's top solar state
6 PV-Tech:
OCI Holdings to build 2GW solar cell plant in Texas
7 Solar Power World:
Sunrun home energy storage owners will help PG&E with load relief again this year
8 Energy Storage News:
US energy storage market saw ‘first year of double-digit deployment’ in 2024
9 PV-Magazine:
Distributed energy resource management enables a new paradigm for grid operators
Opinions:
10 Canary Media:
How Massachusetts is trying to turn EVs into grid batteries
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 20th 2025
March Madness Last Call. Make sure to get involved, last call this morning! It’s back for another year, you can join your fellow SolarWakeup readers in this year’s March Madness bracket challenge. Click here for the Men’s bracket and click here for the Women’s tourney, password is solar, and you guess the bracket. Winner as always gets to write the content for a day.
News
1 Axios:
Exclusive - UAE, U.S. partnership to invest to power data centers
2 Bloomberg:
Solar Generation Surge Sends European Power Prices Below Zero
3 Reuters:
Head of Trump's energy loan office departs this week
4 Solar Power World:
US energy storage installation market grows 34% in 2024
5 Utility Dive:
EPA yanks air quality permit for 1.5-GW Atlantic Shores offshore wind project
6 PV-Tech:
Dimension Energy upsizes credit facility to support 3.5GW community solar portfolio
7 Energy Storage News:
Local residents lose legal battle against NextEra over 1GWh BESS in US state of Georgia
8 PV-Magazine:
Supply deal struck between U.S. steel frame maker and Texas solar module manufacturer
Opinions:
9 Canary Media:
Indiana utilities want ratepayers to fork out for small nuclear reactors
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 19th 2025
March Madness. It’s back for another year, you can join your fellow SolarWakeup readers in this year’s March Madness bracket challenge. Click here for the Men’s bracket and click here for the Women’s tourney, password is solar, and you guess the bracket. Winner as always gets to write the content for a day.
News
1 Utility Dive:
Southwest Power Pool could need $263B generation investment by 2050
2 New York Times:
The Man Behind the Republican Case for Clean Energy
3 Canary Media:
A new way to power data centers
4 Bloomberg:
Partners in $2.2 Billion Deal to Buy California Gas Plants
5 Axios:
BYD could give EV market its DeepSeek moment
6 Reuters:
Innovators prime creaky US power grid to lift higher loads
7 PV-Tech:
France decreases 2035 solar PV target to 90GW
8 Energy Storage News:
AEMO Services sees ‘four drivers for success’ in Australia’s energy storage tenders
Opinions:
9 PV-Magazine:
Eliminating tax credits would reduce solar and wind deployment by half, says Brattle
Have a great day!
Yann
