This is your SolarWakeup for July 17th, 2017
Hope everyone enjoyed some Summer time off, I sure did. Now back in action and refreshed, many big things happening in the SolarWakeup world which I hope to share with you relatively soon. Time for some news updates.
Before and After (Lobbying Edition). A draft of the now famous DOE grid study has come out that finds, "The power system is more reliable today due to better planning, market discipline, and better operating rules and standards." Of course this is a draft that the politicians have likely not seen and edited yet, likely leaked to a lobbying shop by staffers to attempt to stop the political changes from happening. Call this the ‘deep state’ of energy science in the Government, an action I am thankful for. Don’t hold your breath that this will not be changed, dramatically perhaps. The grid does need changes, primarily in the speed and quantity of pricing signals. The market moves far too slow still, and once it speeds up with the right buy/sell signals, generators will be able to invest more capital.
Let’s Talk About NRG. The headline many solar people saw about NRG shedding its renewables business was perceived as a negative. So here is reality. First of all, the assets aren’t getting torn down or taken out of service. They are being monetized. Why? Because Wall Street doesn’t really feel like long term, stable returns produced by solar is very exciting or create much upside. Take the NPV of the asset and generate some cash and debt availability. Look at NRG as a bank that has to continuously dole out money (invest) and make a return. Letting it sit there in perpetuity is not what public equities are made for. The political/corporate reality was that NRG really had no choice. Elliot Management is a hedge fund that has taken an activist position and now sits on the board. A depressed stock with assets will often face these issues where a fund sees a way to find value by making different decisions. Recall Carl Icahn forcing Apple to issue a dividend. The NRG management team could have taken the position that renewables are core to the business and they didn’t want to sell them. Likely they would have been shown the door and someone else would have executed the sale. Now who will buy the assets? That is the interesting story in my opinion because someone can quickly challenge some of the big players currently aggregating assets.
SB 700 Gets Punted. The CSI for storage will happen, but this year the agenda for climate related policy was quite full and maybe the wrong time to invest $1.6billion in energy storage when the contractor community was largely still on the sidelines. The policy teams pushed this hard and created a great jumping off point for next year where the chances will look better to enact this law, likely with much cheaper battery prices and an exhausted SGIP.
News
1 Bloomberg:
Renewable Energy Not a Threat to Grid, Draft of U.S. Study Finds
2 Motley Fool:
NRG Energy Abandons Visionary Green Plan to Focus on Dying Fossil Fuel Business
3 PV-Magazine:
California energy storage incentive bill dies in committee
4 Greentech Media:
Chinese Wind Giant Envision Partners With US Tech Firms on Digital Energy
5 Renewable Energy World:
FERC Chair Nominee Could Set Direction on ‘Significant Issues’ for Renewables
6 Utility Dive:
AES CEO Andres Gluski on how his new storage venture will enable the 'network of the future'
7 Billings Gazette:
PSC puts Montana behind on solar energy
8 Forbes:
Federal Government Wakes Up To Surging Rooftop Solar
Opinions:
9 GreenBiz:
What to tell your CEO about the elephant in the boardroom
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 14th, 2017
Have a great weekend! Back to normal next week with daily summaries while I am in New York. Of course a Happy Bastille Day to all our French readers and a Happy 7th Birthday to my son! (though he’s not a subscriber)
News
1 Bloomberg:
Even the Man Who Tried to Turn NRG Green Backs Elliott
2 Greentech Media:
SolarWorld Americas Secures $6 Million Cash Infusion, Cuts 360 Jobs
3 Washington Post:
Trump says he wasn’t joking about a solar paneled border wall
4 Rocky Mountain Institute:
How Caribbean Islands Are Leading the Clean Energy Transformation
5 PV-Magazine:
Dispatches from Intersolar North America - The “Suniva effect” is real – and it’s already started
6 PV-Tech:
Vivint Solar enters Virginia in favourable policy climate
7 Think Progress:
Trump is jeopardizing Pentagon’s efforts to fight climate change, retired military leaders fear
8 Star Tribune:
Lawsuits, unpaid bills cast shadow over large Minnesota solar energy project
Opinions:
9 Renew Economy:
How did Australia get this stupid about clean energy?
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 13th, 2017
An ice shelf goes rogue, NRG has to shed solar, and DOE keeps funding.
News
1 Scientific American:
What Does the Antarctic Ice Shelf Break Really Mean?
2 Utility Dive:
NRG will sell 6 GW of generation, shed renewable assets in restructuring plan
3 PV-Magazine:
Net metering is dead. Long live net metering
4 Bloomberg:
Rooftop Solar Is No Match for Crony Capitalism
5 Grist:
Tesla has a big new competitor vying to build the batteries of the future.
6 Renew Economy:
AEMO - Politics needs to catch up with falling cost of wind, solar, storage
7 Washington Post:
Harry Reid, Nevada governor push bipartisan energy effort
8 DOE SunShot:
Energy Department Announces $46.2 Million for 48 Projects to Advance Solar Technologies
Opinions:
9 Solar Power World:
Solar start-up owners spar with utility representative on Intersolar panel
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 12th, 2017
What’s your takeaway from Intersolar? Let me know
News
1 Minnesota Public Radio:
Report - Solar plus storage can beat natural gas in Minnesota
2 PV-Tech:
Swinerton puts solar workers at forefront of new website as threat of job losses in US mounts
3 PV-Magazine:
Dispatches from Intersolar
4 Greentech Media:
How to Get Better Results From Utility Pilot Projects
5 EDF:
New plan could double $2.5 billion energy efficiency success in Illinois
6 Utility Dive:
DC Circuit remands FERC order over PJM's proposed tweaks to minimum offer price rule
7 Electrek:
Tesla Solar Roof - Panasonic is hiring 300 workers for the production of solar cells
8 Seattle Times:
Solar incentives bill has industry seeing sunny days
Opinions:
9 GreenBiz:
A microgrid grows in Brooklyn — is this the future of energy?
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 11th, 2017
No Intersolar for me this year, as I am still on vacation and soon en route to New York. Hope you are all enjoying yourselves and make sure to support CalSEIA with an awesome event at AT&T Park.
News
1 New York Magazine:
The Uninhabitable Earth
2 PV-Magazine:
Solar and political struggle - The view from Intersolar North America
3 Think Progress:
Funny or Die - Franken and Letterman take on climate change in hilarious web series
4 Grist:
California’s governor is making climate deals with China, but can he pass legislation at home?
5 GreenBiz:
Will giant batteries lead to giant emissions cuts?
6 Fortune:
These 100 Companies Are Responsible for Most of the World’s Carbon Emissions
7 Utility Dive:
California bill seeks to help local governments permit storage systems
8 Portland Press-Herald:
Gov. LePage vetoes solar ‘net metering’ bill, again
Opinions:
9 Rocky Mountain Institute:
What Salad and Ice Cream Tell Us about Climate Finance
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 10th, 2017
Energy Road Show Finale in NYC. Next week will be the end of the energy storage tour. After three successful trips through California, a lot of takeaways that guide a strong guidance on where energy storage is going in the solar industry. Next week, I will be in New York to discuss with capital providers what the next steps are to get more capital into this market and the path for energy storage needs to take to scale in solar.
News
1 The Post and Courier:
South Carolina solar industry weighs in on international trade case
2 Vox:
Utilities fighting against rooftop solar are only hastening their own doom
3 New York Times:
Rooftop Solar Dims Under Pressure From Utility Lobbyists
4 CNN:
Touting coal, Perry confuses supply and demand
5 PV-Magazine:
Close call for Illinois solar program funding
6 Utility Dive:
Low gas, renewables prices spur Idaho Power to phase out most coal generation
7 AZ Central:
APS rate case - 10 things to know ahead of Arizona regulators' vote
8 Dallas Morning News:
Berkshire Hathaway wants Texas electricity giant Oncor & might have power to buy it
Opinions:
9 Quartz:
Renewable energy is becoming so cheap US will meet Paris commitments even if Trump withdraws
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 7th, 2017
Opinion
News
1 Huffington Post:
The Economic Reality Of Proposed Tariffs On Solar
2 GreenBiz:
Volvo's plan to kill gas engines tops off EV's big makeover
3 Utility Dive:
Lessons from Nevada's rooftop solar victory - Consumer demand and collaboration
4 PV-Tech:
E.On establishes new power trading division to leverage renewables assets
5 ILSR:
U.S. Mayors Stand Up to Incinerator Industry in Landmark Renewable Energy Resolution
6 PV-Magazine:
HECO grid plan could enable 3x as much rooftop solar in Hawaii
7 Greentech Media:
Costs to Acquire US Residential Solar Customers Are High and Rising
8 Midwest Energy News:
Minnesota community solar projects aimed at low-income subscribers
Opinions:
9 Washington Post:
Renewable energy surges past nuclear for 1st time in decades
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 6th, 2017
Happy Thursday! Not for utility execs and regulators in Arizona though…
News
1 Arizona Daily Star:
Prosecutor - Gary Pierce bribery case grew from larger probe
2 PV-Magazine:
#Solar100’s Danny Kennedy - The Most Interesting Man in Solar
3 Houston Chronicle:
El Paso case could set the path for rooftop solar
4 Midwest Energy News:
Court - EPA must enforce Obama-era methane rule
5 Utility Dive:
After Kemper, new 'clean coal' plants face long odds
6 Australian Financial Review:
Battery player Sonnen aims to 'take the utility out of business'
7 Curbed:
Solar-powered prefab tiny house will do it all for $190K
8 Business Journals:
Oregon lawmakers kill rooftop solar incentive
Opinions:
9 ABC:
Sanford city leader questions value of FPL solar trees
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 5th, 2017
I Love This Story. Oklahoma Gas and Electric gets downgraded by Moody. Yes Sir!
News
1 The Oklahoman:
Citing Oklahoma's regulatory environment, Moody's puts OGE Energy on negative outlook
2 Greentech Media:
Younicos Acquired for $52 Million by Generator Rental Firm Aggreko
3 PV-Magazine:
Massachusetts joins energy storage revolution with 200 MWh goal
4 Reuters:
European utilities ready for new wave of mergers
5 PV-Tech:
The Empire Strikes Back - Britain’s solar revival
6 San Diego Union Tribune:
The trade flap roiling the solar industry — and Trump may have the final word
7 Michigan NPR:
Study - Solar roof customers benefit the grid
8 Midwest Energy News:
Third Party Solar Deals Growing
Opinions:
9 GreenBiz:
Energy wonks have a meltdown over U.S. going 100% renewable — why?
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 3rd, 2017
Vacation mode in effect. Currently reading Back From The Dead, by the amazing Bill Walton. Back on July 5th with the next SolarWakeup.
From The Readers! Anders in WA writes. In Washington State, we are finalizing a budget that does not include new funding for solar. This is hard in our market and is a big step away from the local dedication to solar, especially given the lack of leadership in DC. Utility prices are going up fast here, but we still needed a little more support to have that safe bridge to cheaper solar and expensive grid power. Rate ranges are $0.035-$0.13/kWh. The industry will continue here, but not at the growth rate that climate change and our industry's mission requires. We will contract and jobs will be lost this year. It is sad that such a liberal State can let something so important lapse without any public concern or media coverage.
News
1 Vox:
Trump wants fossil fuels to dominate. Nevada is betting on solar.
2 New York Times:
As Beijing Joins Climate Fight, Chinese Companies Build Coal Plants
3 PV-Tech:
How to predict the future price of PV
4 GreenBiz:
How Apple is moving its supply chain toward clean energy
5 Rocky Mountain Institute:
Banking on Renewables - Inside a Milestone Renewable Energy Deal
6 PV-Magazine:
California considers changes to community-choice-aggregation fees
7 Utility Dive:
North Carolina passes solar reform bill with 18-month wind moratorium
8 East Bay Times:
Oakland nonprofit provides free solar systems, job training
Opinions:
9 Fortune:
Why the Solar Industry Doesn’t Need the Paris Agreement
Have a great day!
Yann
