This is your SolarWakeup for May 11th, 2016
Day 1 of the Solar Summit covered the role of software in solar. Speaking on the panel yesterday I reflected a bit about what software I use to be successful at my day job. The answer is not nearly as clear as I thought. Solar is complicated and requires people to make decisions that implicate their future in big ways. I failed to mention one stat that I wanted to make people aware of. The best VC in the space is DOE SunShot which has invested $138mm into companies that innovate which has resulted in over $3bb in follow on investments. That’s quite the track record in my opinion and we should do more to help them.
News
1 EDF:
Putting the Customer First - How California can Achieve a Distributed Energy Grid
2 Utility Dive:
Arizona lawmakers pass bill altering conflict-of-interest standards for utility regulators
3 PV-Tech:
Vivint Solar quarterly installs still falling as company looks to life after SunEdison
4 Reuters:
After hot rally, solar shares turn ice cold
5 GreenBiz:
Institutional investors back new solar
6 PolitiFact:
Hillary Clinton says market forces made coal companies go bankrupt
7 Greentech Media:
As Feed-In Tariffs Wane, Auctions Are Enabling the Next Wave of Solar Cost Improvements
8 Grist:
Oil-rich Alaska has surprising solar power potential
Opinions:
9 Solar Industry:
Solar Valuation - Is Compromise The Right Path Forward?
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 10th, 2016
Today is the start of GTM’s Solar Summit. Part of the conference will include looking at the data in each State but before the data comes out let me give you some thoughts. Generally, the first quarter seemed quite soft. The public companies back me up on this and I have seen it as well in my daily work. I don’t find any systemic issues or blame SunEdison for this. The first quarter is often soft and competition is more fierce than it has been in the past. We will also see quite a divergence in State markets. New York is trying hard to create a market while Illinois is being smothered by their utility. Politics and monopolies are a unique match because one created the other and now cannot get out of the parasitic relationship. Welcome to Scottsdale!
News
1 New York Times:
New York Plans to Make Fighting Climate Change Good Business
2 Utility Dive:
ComEd jumps on the demand charge train with new Illinois proposal
3 CleanTechnica:
California Utility-Scale Solar Energy Surpasses Wind Energy For 1st Time
4 Renewable Energy World:
Benefits of Clean, Distributed Energy - Why Time, Location, and Compensation Matter
5 Greentech Media:
Breaking - Oil Giant Total to Acquire Battery Maker Saft for $1.1 Billion
6 PV-Tech:
Unease over Chinese solar imports to India
7 GreenBiz:
The blooming promise of green bonds
8 Bloomberg:
Riding the ‘Solarcoaster’ as Shares Plunge Even More Than Coal
Opinions:
9 CNBC:
Going beyond one million solar installations
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 9th, 2016
More changes coming to the busy residential solar sector. Last week SolarCity announced it was getting into grid services including some consulting practice segments. This could look similar to some of the moves that Edison International has made recently including personnel additions to the energy practice. The big move came from NRG, through NRG Home Solar and EVGo. NRG is getting out of the financing business and will be passing that off to Sunrun and Spruce while focusing on three northeastern States. EVGo was sold to Vision Ridge, which is led by Reuben Munger, the hedge fund manager and EV Company CEO that now has a few plays in the cleantech space. I hope to see you all in Phoenix for the solar summit. I will be having some live SolarWakeup sessions where you can help choose the stories.
News
1 NJ Biz:
NRG streamlining solar unit, with renewed focus on N.J. - some job losses expected
2 Greentech Media:
America Has 1 Million Solar Installations. Will the Next Million Reach Low-Income Communities?
3 PV-Magazine:
Elon Musk calls for mass political mobilization and a price on carbon
4 CleanTechnica:
Santa Monica Follows The 1 Million, Requires Solar On New Rooftops
5 Motley Fool:
Last Week in Solar
6 PV-Tech:
Illinois utility’s solar plan comes under fire despite ‘improvement’
7 Renew Economy:
Solar breakthrough? Regulator says tariffs should recognise PV benefits
8 Post and Courier:
Lighten up on solar users
Opinions:
9 Huffington Post:
Disrupting Solar
Have a great day!
Yann
These are the top 10 most read solar articles by your peers this week!
News
1 CleanTechnica:
What Uses The Most Energy In US Homes? (Infographic)
2 Greentech Media:
A Conversation With David Crane on Getting Fired From NRG
3 Huffington Post:
Here Comes The Next Huge Wave Of Solar Panels
4 Solar Industry:
Solar Policy Report Card - 10 Sunny States Fail
5 Fortune:
Vivint Solar's Chief Executive to Leave
6 Vox:
Solar power is contagious. These maps show how it spreads.
7 Bloomberg:
New Record Set for World's Cheapest Solar, Now Undercutting Coal
8 New York Times:
Utilities Must Stop Blocking Solar Growth
9 Bloomberg:
Harvard Scientist, Longtime Solar Skeptic, Now Sees the Light
10 Fast Company:
New Apple campus drone fly-over video shows huge solar panels, theater
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 May 6th, 2016
Who’s going to join me in Scottsdale at GTM’s Solar Summit next week? A nice twist on the conference is the first day, a day spent discussing software in solar. Without a doubt, software plays and will grow its role in solar because we are just building so much of it. Add some storage? Participate in wholesale markets? Install two residential systems per day with the same crew? That’s going to take some efficiencies across our business platforms because we have to work faster and more accurate.
News
1 Greentech Media:
A Top Utility Regulator Talks About How to Prepare California for 50% Renewable Energy
2 PV-Magazine:
SolarCity to offer utility-scale solar and grid services for utilities
3 CleanTechnica:
US Energy Storage Up, Coal Down, Down, Down
4 Advanced Energy Economy:
At 2.7 Million Jobs Nationwide, Advanced Energy Is a Major Employer
5 Portland Press Herald:
Republican states benefiting from shift to wind and solar energy
6 Business Journals:
NC WARN tries to appease regulators on church solar order - will it work?
7 Utility Dive:
4 drivers of solar growth utilities need to know
8 Huffington Post:
Here Comes The Next Huge Wave Of Solar Panels
Opinions:
9 GreenBiz:
Renewable energy is at a tipping point — let's push it
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 5th, 2016
Solar in Latin America is largely highlighted by three Countries: Chile, Mexico and Brazil. Brazil and Mexico have used the auction mechanism to get price discovery, each receiving multiple times over the amount of projects the auction was open for. However, market dynamics have caused Brazil projects to be slow to take off and Mexico is yet to be seen. Mexico originally went with a remote PPA approach and has had limited capacity built on that before the program was sunset. If you are working on Mexico or Brazil, give me a shout. I want to learn more from you.
News
1 PV-Magazine:
9 GW of solar projects registered for July auction in Brazil
2 Vox:
Solar power is contagious. These maps show how it spreads.
3 PV-Tech:
PV Talk - The Smart Electric Power Alliance on dropping ‘solar’ from its name
4 GreenBiz:
50 shades of climate opposition
5 Bloomberg:
Harvard Scientist, Longtime Solar Skeptic, Now Sees the Light
6 Utility Dive:
Making sense of Q1's monster M&A activity in the power sector
7 Think Progress:
The Energy Revolution Is Actually Happening Right Now
8 Los Angeles Times:
How SunEdison went from Wall Street star to bankruptcy
Opinions:
9 Renewable Energy World:
SunEdison is Not Solyndra - Why 2016 Looks So Different from 2011
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 4th, 2016
1 million solar installs! That’s a big deal but what is really the big deal is that the next million will happen in less than 2 years. Dubai is signing PPAs for sub $0.03/kWh and storage prices are dropping like silicon in 2010. Here’s the kicker, States like Florida contributed less than 1% of those solar projects while being one of the largest energy users in the Country. We have a long, long way to go and I really enjoy going through this growth with everyone of you. Take a moment, pat yourself on the back and go sell another project!
News
1 Huffington Post:
Million Solar Strong
2 Time:
Bill Richardson - What Saudi Arabia’s Bet on Solar Power Means
3 PV-Magazine:
US - DOE grants $25m to aid grid integration of solar energy
4 PV-Tech:
New Hampshire bill expands state financial incentive for solar
5 EDF:
Benefits of Clean, Distributed Energy - Why Time, Location, and Compensation Matter
6 Bloomberg:
New Record Set for World's Cheapest Solar, Now Undercutting Coal
7 Utility Dive:
Oklahoma utility proposes demand charges to cover distributed energy costs
8 Greentech Media:
Do We Really Need Solar That’s Too Cheap to Meter?
Opinions:
9 New York Times:
What’s Holding Back Renewable Energy? / Utilities Must Stop Blocking Solar Growth
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 3rd, 2016
EEI (utility trade association) says “Vision without execution is just hallucination.” Let’s talk about their vision and execution because the execution shows that the vision seems to end at the next quarter. Over $100bb in grid investments per year and $90mm in EV fleet investments with a whopping 740 charging stations. That’s a 1000 to 1 ratio between betting against distributed generation and growing demand by competing with oil companies. So look at conglomerates like Berkshire that have fought distributed solar all over America including Washington, Utah, Iowa and Nevada. Let’s have a vision that helps consumers and doesn’t push ratebase up for the wrong reasons.
News
1 Utility Dive:
EEI - How investor-owned electric companies are delivering America's energy future
2 Renewable Energy World:
US Celebrates One Million Solar Installations
3 PV-Magazine:
GTM Research predicts 2016 market declines in China and Japan as India and the U.S. boom
4 Energy Collective:
Power Sector Coal Demand Has Fallen in Nearly Every State Since 2007
5 Fortune:
Vivint Solar's Chief Executive to Leave
6 EDF:
Texas Cities Lead on Solar, But Tapping The State’s Potential Has Just Begun
7 GreenBiz:
Community solar - An unlikely utility savior?
8 Fast Company:
New Apple campus drone fly-over video shows huge solar panels, theater
Opinions:
9 Huffington Post:
New York’s Clean Energy Commitment Is a Great Economic Strategy
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 2nd, 2016
There is a trend in the utility sector. While NRG is not a typical utility, more of an independent power producer, it does have to make decisions on what type of power plants to invest in. David Crane has an interview with Greentech Media that touches on a few topics but emphasizes one point. Solar is the future and that is where he wants to be. Jim Rogers, former Duke Energy CEO, made similar comments after leaving Duke following the Duke/Progress merger. The question is, how does the market allow the difficult internal transformation of utilities going solar?
News
1 Greentech Media:
A Conversation With David Crane on Getting Fired From NRG & What’s Next for His Energy Plans
2 PV-Tech:
Yingli Green delays financial reporting on liquidity issues
3 AZ Central:
Rooftop solar cease-fire takes ballot measures off table for now
4 PV-Magazine:
Mexico launches call for second electricity auction in September
5 CleanTechnica:
What Uses The Most Energy In US Homes? (Infographic)
6 Solar Industry:
Solar Policy Report Card - 10 Sunny States Fail
7 Vox:
Millennials love clean energy, fear climate change, and don’t vote. This campaign wants to change that.
8 Utility Dive:
Duke University backs push for third-party renewables sales in North Carolina
Opinions:
9 Motley Fool:
California Has Too Much Solar Power -- And That's a Good Thing
Have a great day!
Yann
These are the top 10 most read solar articles by your peers this week!
News
1 Investor's Business Daily:
First Solar Q1 Torched On ITC Extension - SunPower, Sunrun Burned
2 PV-Tech:
SunEdison’s upstream suppliers hit hardest with US$321 million owed in bankruptcy
3 PV-Magazine:
Senate passes energy bill with benefits for solar and renewable energy integration
4 Fortune:
Startup That Provides Home Solar Loans Raises Big Cash
5 New York Times:
Renewable Energy Stumbles Toward the Future
6 Greentech Media:
Grid Alternatives Sues SunEdison for $2.3 Million in Unpaid Donations
7 SF Gate:
If you have solar panels in Oakland, Prince might have paid for them
8 EDF:
The True Cost of Electricity
9 Huffington Post:
Billionaire Has A $25 Million Plan To Get Young People Voting For Climate Action
10 USA Today:
Can N.Y. solar-electric deal recharge U.S. green-energy effort?
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
