These are the top 10 most read solar articles by your peers this week!
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The Top 10 is ranked by the number of SolarWakeup.com readers that clicked on the news article during the previous week. It is the poll of the most relevant solar news of the week as judged by your colleagues and competitors.
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for October 28th, 2016
Some quick hits for you today. Mexico has had a tumultuous energy reform for a few years and a new report is out that is set to outline the effects and further changes that need to happen. Solar has been dropping prices like crazy in the reverse auction system, though not many auction projects have been announced to have started construction. On the other side of the continent, keep your eyes set on North Dakota a State that once was home to a glacier and also the home of Trump energy advisor. An oil pipeline is set to be built there but plenty of high profile opposition coming to this issue. Lastly, we continue our analysis of the utility attempts to pass an anti-solar ballot amendment. The reason I continue to show you the news on this issue is because utilities from around the Country are watching closely. If successful, you can bet your right arm that the initiative will be copied in other States.
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Yann
The Sierra Club Thinks Amendment 1 Is The Worst (Podcast)
As the Nov. 8 election draws ever nearer (are we there yet?), Florida’s Amendment 1 comes ever closer to either success or failure — and Florida residents just can’t let the utilities win. More corruption was exposed this week by The Miami Herald — and we asked Mary Anne Hitt, director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal program, to talk about it.
This is your SolarWakeup for October 27th, 2016
Couple of news items that are important for your day today. We have now seen the first campaign debate on energy in the Presidential campaign, albeit between campaign advisors. Trevor Houser (Clinton energy advisor) and Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-ND, Trump campaign) met at the University of Richmond. In the hourlong debate which you can watch in its entirety, we confirmed what we already knew. A Trump victory means climate change would be considered non-existent and the Paris Deal gets squashed. Not a good day for the planet. On more positive news, Tesla beat investor expectations by a mile. The company had to show a good result before returning to dramatic levels of investments for the SolarCity acquisition and Model 3 expansion. A new pitch deck from Tesla is out, explaining the benefits of the acquisition to its shareholders, see it here.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for October 26th, 2016
Another twist of events in the Terraform Power story. If you recall, a few months ago David Tepper and Brookfield Asset Management made a play at buying the yieldco. This idea has now been replaced by a larger owner of the company, DE Shaw, otherwise known as DESRI. DE Shaw is one of the sharpest players in the solar market, anyone that has dealt with them likely agrees with me. They also have a relationship with the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), a Canadian pension fund, which could give it some aggressive source of capital. Let’s see if they are also looking to increase their ownership in addition to becoming the sponsor of the assets.
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Yann
United States Of Solar: Corruption Surrounds Florida’s Amendment 1 (Podcast)
Vote no on Amendment 1, misleadingly titled “Rights of Electricity Consumers Regarding Solar Energy Choice.” It’s bad policy for Florida. And it was written to trick voters into making that bad policy permanent by adding it to Florida’s Constitution. If passed, the utility-sponsored Amendment would extend no new rights to consumers regarding the installation or use of solar energy equipment, as the ballot language implies. Home- and business owners already have the right to install solar equipment under Florida law. –Florida Today Editorial Board
This is your SolarWakeup for October 25th, 2016
We are getting some public clarification. After SolarWakeup asked the question about the future of Silevo’s technology in the NY factory, Wall Street had some questions. Yesterday, Tesla elaborated on Panasonic’s statements about the solar factory. It will be a blend of the HIT and Silevo technology. Panasonic will now be the operator of the factory and sell the modules under a long term supply agreement to Tesla (SolarCity). There is a danger in doing PR comms when the PR team doesn’t have the business and technical knowledge to understand the point that is missed in the release. Executives get complacent when reading the draft releases and don’t think ahead. Do yourself a favor, either get a comms team that understands your business or really read your releases. This was an unforced error 4 weeks before a crucial shareholder vote.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for October 24th, 2016
It is no secret that Utilities have been fervent supporters of the republican party especially at the State level. One GOP legislator has told me that the scariest part of supporting the utility in his district is that the market is working against the monopoly. The monopoly has long been protected by the responsibility to serve, ability to finance and protect consumers from blackouts and such. The past decade has been a case study on innovation against the slow and steady monopoly business model. Look at the latest development in adaptation. A PJM connected solar farm in North Carolina is now selling its energy through the free markets to offtakers including MIT in Boston. Here’s the punch line, the plant is owned by the utility, Dominion. Expect more of that to come, solar power plus open markets because that is what consumers want.
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Have a great day!
Yann
These are the top 10 most read solar articles by your peers this week!
News
The Top 10 is ranked by the number of SolarWakeup.com readers that clicked on the news article during the previous week. It is the poll of the most relevant solar news of the week as judged by your colleagues and competitors.
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for October 21st, 2016
Earlier this week, Tesla announced that they are working on a partnership with Panasonic to manufacturer modules at the new Buffalo gigafactory. It seems by the wording of the release that the intent is to make the HIT modules as opposed to the acquired Silevo technology. Without saying it, it appears that SolarCity is giving up on the technology at this scale in favor of a product that is already in the market. Of course, the reasoning is likely not to become public but the result is the same nonetheless. We are less than a month from the shareholder vote for the acquisition by Tesla so stay tuned.
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Have a great day!
Yann