This is your SolarWakeup for April 7th, 2016
David vs Goliath is a metaphor that we hear quite a bit about our sector. Well some good news in the discussion in Arizona because two solar advocates won board seats in an election for the 10 member SRP board. Two other solar advocates were not successful but even when you don’t have the majority, you can sway the rules of the game. Welcome to the hot seat! We appreciate solar advocates doing the hard work of getting elected. Let’s get more people involved!
News
1 Arizona Central:
Solar advocates Paul Hirt and Nick Brown win seats on SRP board
2 Mass Live:
Massachusetts House passes bill lifting solar net metering cap
3 Bloomberg:
Wind and Solar Are Crushing Fossil Fuels
4 PV-Magazine:
Healthy competition - An interview with Jenny Chase, BNEF head of solar
5 Solar Power World:
New SEPA report details drivers for cutting utility-scale solar LCOE
6 Renewable Energy World:
Five Policies Blocking Microgrids (From a Veteran of Local Energy Wars)
7 PV-Tech:
Yingli fails to find agreement with bond holders as deadline nears
8 Greentech Media:
5 Quotes We Love From BNEF’s Future of Energy Summit
Opinions:
9 Utility Dive:
'Wake up worrying' - NextEra-Hawaiian Electric merger in doubt as regulators near decision time
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 6th, 2016
The second day at the BNEF Summit brought quite the crowd to the event to watch the speeches headlined by Michael Bloomberg and Secretary John Kerry. Kerry came across knowledgeable and polished as usual in a scripted speech. The speech included comments about how the industry has to look at energy investments with a long term vision that includes the societal costs. The “insurmountable cost in the long term” cannot be ignored when we make our investments while clean energy will bring trillions of investments to our sector.
News
1 PV-Magazine:
Miracles take work - Day 2 of BNEF’s Future of Energy summit
2 Huffington Post:
Clean Energy Is Worth Trillions, John Kerry Says
3 NRDC:
The State of Clean Energy in Ohio - Thaw the Freeze, Create Well-Paying Jobs, "No Regrets" Strategies
4 Bloomberg:
First Solar Delays 2017 Guidance on Choppy Revenue Recognition
5 Grist:
Unpacking climate change’s $2.5 trillion impact
6 Utility Dive:
As RPS importance declines, 3 factors help drive growth for utility-scale solar
7 Greentech Media:
Why Does the Media Ignore Grid-Scale Solar in Africa?
8 NPR:
Solar And Wind Energy May Be Nice, But How Can We Store It?
Opinions:
9 Fastco Exist:
A Texan Solar CEO Who Wants To Eliminate Subsidies Is Now A Fox News Darling
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 5th, 2016
News
1 New York Times:
A Renewable Energy Boom
2 PV-Magazine:
Solar takes center stage at BNEF Future of Energy Summit
3 Bloomberg:
SunEdison Said to Seek Buyers for 1GW of India Solar Projects
4 Yahoo!:
TerraForm Global sues SunEdison, says misappropriated $231 million
5 Fox News:
Federal agency making waves in battery storage, energy tech innovation
6 Greentech Media:
Investor Lessons From the Past 12 Years
7 Solar Industry:
Investor Lessons From the Past 12 Years
8 Utility Dive:
Xcel Wisconsin requests another rate increase to cover clean energy, infrastructure investments
Opinions:
9 Forbes:
Coal Baron Blankenship's Downfall Corresponds To The Rise of Renewables
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 4th, 2016
I am not really changing the name! If you thought it was true, my apologies, but you fell for an April Fool’s joke.
News
1 Bloomberg:
SunEdison Plunges on Report of Plans to File for Bankruptcy
2 Forbes:
Troubled China Solar Firm Hanergy Posts $1.6B Loss As Uncertainty Deepens
3 Greentech Media:
A First Look at Amazon’s New Drone-Based Solar Installation Service
4 Renewable Energy World:
Community Solar Tipping Point
5 Think Progress:
Florida Will Vote This Year On Measure That Would Block Solar Leasing In The State
6 PV-Tech:
German government could miss own solar capacity target for third year in row
7 Greenbiz:
Will some states be left out of clean energy's economic boost?
8 Los Angeles Times:
Are you paying too much for a rooftop solar system?
Opinions:
9 Huffington Post:
The WSJ’s Long Record of Protecting Polluters
Have a great day!
Yann
These are the top 10 most read solar articles by your peers this week!
News
1 Bloomberg:
How Wall Street's Favorite Solar Company Spent Itself to the Brink
2 Wall Street Journal:
Solar-Panel Installers Face Clouded Future
3 Greentech Media:
SunEdison Moves Closer to Bankruptcy as Federal Officials Investigate the Struggling Solar Company
4 Fortune:
This Is Why Shares of SunEdison Probably Shouldn't Be Soaring Today
5 Vox:
Wind and solar are growing at a stunning pace (just not enough to stop climate change)
6 Grist:
This chart shows the United States’ mind-blowing clean energy potential
7 Solar Power World:
7 cool solar installations at U.S. airports
8 Republican Herald:
Rooftop solar becomes political football
9 Forbes:
The Very Odd Idea That Exxon Should Become A Renewable Energy Company
10 Las Vegas Review Journal:
Judge rules rooftop solar measure doesn’t qualify as referendum
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 April 1st, 2016
All week I have been speaking with many of you via email and Twitter. Nearly 5 years ago I started SolarWakeup as a way to get the news out but obviously our industry has changed and grown. Associations much more sophisticated have announced rebrandings this month that make a lot of sense. Their guidance and marketing skills are something I look up to. So as SEPA becomes Smart Electric Power Alliance and EEI rebrands utility scale to community solar, I figured I would take some of both.
News
1 Utility Dive:
Report - EEI hired brand crisis consultant to improve utility industry's image
2 Greentech Media:
Navigant Consulting’s Report on Residential Solar Misconstrues Value of Tax Attributes
3 Miami Herald:
Utility-funded solar power amendment approved for November ballot
4 New York Times:
Obama and President Xi of China Vow to Sign Paris Climate Accord Promptly
5 Bloomberg:
The U.K. Propped Up Europe's Ailing Solar Market Last Year
6 Solar Industry:
The Price Of Solar Policy Inaction In Massachusetts
7 Utility Dive:
Oregon PUC rejects PacifiCorp bid to trim PURPA contracts
8 Reuters:
SunEdison served DoJ subpoena on Vivint Solar deal
Opinions:
9 US News:
When Will Rooftop Solar Be Cheaper Than the Grid?
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 31st, 2016
Just after market close yesterday, Terraform Global followed suit by delaying its financial earnings release. So the saga continues and a few things in the Sunedison process should happen tomorrow since their earnings release should be due based on their 15 day extension filed on March 16th. In other news, analysts are wondering what is happening at Vivint Solar since their stock has been beaten down quite a bit whereas other players like SolarCity and Sunrun have held their ground since the Sunedison stock price drop. Stay tuned tomorrow for more timely updates, you can always follow on Twitter @SolarWakeup
News
1 Bloomberg:
How Wall Street's Favorite Solar Company Spent Itself to the Brink
2 Power Magazine:
EEI Gets Pushback on Proposed Rebranding of Utility Solar
3 PV-Magazine:
Mexico awards more than 1 GW of solar at US$40.50/MWh
4 Rocky Mountain Institute:
5 Lessons Learned from the Pepco-Exelon Merger Battle in D.C.
5 Grist:
This chart shows the United States’ mind-blowing clean energy potential
6 Utility Dive:
Oklahoma utility pushes demand charge for DG users
7 Vox:
Like the US, China wants a national electricity grid. Unlike the US, China’s just building it.
8 Bangor Daily News:
Energy panel’s dissent darkens prospects for Maine solar power bill
Opinions:
9 Greenbiz:
Centralized or distributed power? We need both (for now)
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 30th, 2016
Two blurbs this morning about stories that you cannot miss:
News
1 Greentech Media:
SunEdison Moves Closer to Bankruptcy as Officials Investigate Struggling Solar Company
2 Huffington Post:
This Messaging Guru Is Helping Utilities Clean Up Their Appearance
3 New York Times:
Edison International Starts Energy Consultancy
4 Bloomberg:
Mexico First Power Auction Awards 1,720 Megawatts of Wind, Solar
5 Utility Dive:
Report - ITC extension to boost storage-plus-renewables by 33%
6 Midwest Energy News:
Minnesota co-ops rolling out high fixed charge for solar customers
7 CleanTechnica:
Australian Government Establishes $1 Billion Clean Energy Innovation Fund
8 Desert Sun:
Study - California could get 74% of power from rooftop solar
Opinions:
9 Mass Live:
Solar industry in Massachusetts frustrated by slow pace of legislative action
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 29th, 2016
I will be on the E&E News Show with Monica Trauzzi later today. With solar making a dramatic market entry, billions of new capital is looking for a way to participate. The money is not everything however as the politics are also quite clear. Independents in November swing States will support republican candidates that are vocal supporters of solar. Our next step as an industry is to make sure that the investors are educated about the solar support and market size because too many still carry the stigma that we have more regulatory and political risk that is actually the case.
News
1 Benzinga:
Are More Solar Asset-Backed Securities Coming?
2 Greenbiz:
Should clean energy companies be held to a higher standard?
3 Las Vegas Review Journal:
Judge rules rooftop solar measure doesn’t qualify as referendum
4 PV-Tech:
After achieving the impossible, Energiewende must make the impossible affordable
5 Renewable Energy World:
Energy Storage Could be Solution To Solar PV-related Blackouts in The Philippines
6 Energy Collective:
Economics, Not Politics, Is The Real Problem For U.S. Coal-Fired Fleet
7 Forbes:
The Very Odd Idea That Exxon Should Become A Renewable Energy Company
8 Fortune:
This Is Why Shares of SunEdison Probably Shouldn't Be Soaring Today
Opinions:
9 Greentech Media:
How Should We Structure Performance-Based Regulation of Utilities?
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 28th, 2016
Last week the UNEP released its 2015 data and it largely corresponds to the BNEF data we saw a few months ago. $286billion was spent globally to build renewable energy, which is more than double the total investment in oil & gas. Renewable energy now accounts for 10.3% of globally energy (excluding large hydro). WaPo makes a good point that we need to move faster because the world still installed 43GW of coal. The last 5 years was a coal replaced by NatGas cycle but hopefully we enter the phase where we skip that step and just go fossil to renewable.
News
1 Vox:
Wind and solar are growing at a stunning pace (just not enough to stop climate change)
2 CleanTechnica:
21% Solar PV Learning Curve To Continue, Report Projects
3 Solar Power World:
7 cool solar installations at U.S. airports
4 Energy Collective:
EIA Reviews and Enhances Data and Projections for Wind and Solar Electricity
5 Greenbiz:
The new clean energy powers
6 Republican Herald:
Rooftop solar becomes political football
7 Wall Street Journal:
Solar-Panel Installers Face Clouded Future
8 San Jose Mercury News:
Stanford Solar Vehicle team reeling over lost VW sponsorship
Opinions:
9 New York Times:
Wall Street’s Retreat From King Coal
Have a great day!
Yann
