This is your SolarWakeup for November 30th, 2015
Consider me enthusiastically excited about the Gates (and many others) Breakthrough Energy Coalition. I’ve been outspoken that Gates needs to focus on deployment of technology and not R&D and here is the key passage that makes my excited, "private investors that will take the risks that allow the early stage energy companies that emerge from the research programs.” Gates is not alone in this endeavor, he is joined by Bezos, Doerr, Zuckerberg, Khosla and many others that bring a plethora of experience. Let’s see who runs it and where it goes, plus more coverage from Paris this week.
News
1 PBS:
Gates to announce multibillion dollar fund to develop clean energy tech
2 CNN:
World leaders arrive in Paris for climate conference
3 PV-Tech:
IDB approves US$450 million finance package for Latin American climate targets
4 PV-Magazine:
City of Las Vegas to get 100% of its electricity from renewable energy
5 Grist:
China is totally crushing the U.S. on renewable energy
6 Motley Fool:
Why Growth Is the Enemy of Solar Stocks
7 Forbes:
Dubai To Make Rooftop Solar Mandatory By 2030
8 New Republic:
How the 2016 Presidential Candidates View Climate Change
Opinions:
9 Los Angeles Times:
Op-Ed Bill McKibben - What the Paris conference on climate change can do for planet Earth
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for November 25th, 2015
I hope everyone enjoys their long Thanksgiving Weekend. Get outside and soak in the Sunshine away from the grind! I am thankful to each of you for reading SolarWakeup every day. The SolarWakeup family has grown to be the most read newsletter in solar and it is thanks to you. Happy Thanksgiving!
News
1 WRAL:
Google to buy solar power to run massive NC server farm
2 Rocky Mountain Institute:
An Innovative Business Model Makes Solar Accessible to All
3 PV-Magazine:
Solar O&M market to surpass 390 GW by 2020, says GTM
4 Lakeland Ledger:
Solar price plan to reduce hidden subsidy for Lakeland Electric customers
5 Vox:
Clean energy tax credits mostly go to the affluent. Is there a better way?
6 Utility Dive:
Some energy storage already cost competitive, new valuation study shows
7 ABC San Antonio:
State Sen. Rodriguez says El Paso Electric rate case 'discriminates' against solar
8 Miami Herald:
GOP lawmaker proposes plan to open solar market in Florida
Opinions:
9 NRDC:
Latin America Green News COP21 Edition - Latin America gears up for Paris
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for November 24th, 2015
Paris (COP21) is coming up and it’s going to be a big deal. We will be there to get the best view of all the events and talks that should shape the global climate and energy policies. We are seeing developing nations building out clean energy infrastructure, central and distributed. On Sunday night, 60 Minutes covered the distributed solar innovation around their local currency. Access to energy and economic development are clearly linked, let’s see what deal at COP21 gets inked. Are you going to Paris? Let me know.
News
1 PV-Magazine:
New York to get half its electricity from renewable energy by 2030
2 CleanTechnica:
Governor Sandoval Gambling His Vice Presidential Chances Away With Anti-Solar Record
3 Utility Dive:
Montana utility withdraws bid for residential demand charge for DER customers
4 PV-Tech:
Alberta’s new climate plan targets 30% renewable energy integration by 2030
5 Bloomberg:
Leapfrogging to Solar - Emerging Markets Outspend Rich Countries for the First Time
6 Renew Economy:
How Australia could reach 90% renewables by 2030
7 Christian Science Monitor:
What a Rwandan solar plant is teaching Africa about clean energy
8 NBC Oklahoma:
Experts say it’s only a matter of time before the “big one” shakes Oklahoma
Opinions:
9 Energy Collective:
Paris Can Be a Key Step
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for November 23rd, 2015
It’s an interesting time in solar from my seat. Capital continues to come into the sector, financing billions in corporate and project equities. For the first time in a while, there is a nice balance between capital looking for projects and projects looking for the right capital. A good sign of a healthy market is that investors are choosing the path that they prefer, not just pumping it in like 8 years ago to anything with the word solar, in other words quality and, more importantly, the right people matter.
News
1 PV-Magazine:
Despite rapid growth, yieldcos face money troubles
2 Think Progress:
Ambassador Of Small Island Nation - It’s Critical For U.S. To Lead On Climate Change
3 Greentech Media:
Flying Robots Are the Future of Solar
4 Times Free Press:
TVA cutting back on solar incentives
5 Arizona Central:
Months before solar-rates case is heard, a fight for public support
6 Marketplace:
Tom Steyer talks climate change and the 2016 election
7 Grist:
Good news - Big companies are using a record amount of clean energy
8 Los Angeles Times:
How I Made It She leads the solar industry's expansion push in California
Opinions:
9 Motley Fool:
Solar Investors Beware - The One Thing That Could Make Or Break Solar Energy
Have a great day!
Yann
These are the top 10 most read solar articles by your peers this week!
News
1 Greentech Media:
Here’s What It Would Take for Solar Installers to Adapt to a World Without the ITC
2 Wall Street Journal:
Will Solar Energy Plummet if the Investment Tax Credit Fades Away?
3 Greentech Media:
Solar Stocks Continue to Plummet in a ‘Bizarre Confluence of Contradictory Events’
4 Inc:
What SolarCity's CEO Really Thinks About Climate Change and His Cousin Elon Musk
5 Bloomberg:
Crashing Solar's Convertible
6 Seeking Alpha:
Increasing Uncertainty In Rooftop Solar's Long-Term Business Model
7 Washington Post:
Why leasing solar panels may not be a good idea if you’re planning a home sale
8 Boston Globe:
Business groups make last-minute lobbying push to limit solar incentives
9 USA Today:
White House pushes community solar power as rooftop alternative
10 Slate:
How Solar Installations Could Be the Barn-Raisings of the 21st Century
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 November 20th, 2015
Policy in solar has good days, and days where there is more work to be done. One of those days happened in Mass yesterday when the Senate and House couldn’t reconcile their bills. At the same time, after the PUC in Hawaii went awol and cut net metering. Now there is a public outcry for fairness. A new poll was released yesterday that showed 97% of Hawaii residents want more rooftop solar. When they were told about the PUC’s solar changes, 4 out of 5 respondents saw it negatively. These are battles in the ongoing fight for a fair energy market.
News
1 Mass Lives:
Senate compromise on Massachusetts solar bill fails to pass before winter recess
2 Hawaii Business Journals:
97% support more rooftop solar in Hawaii, new poll shows
3 Bloomberg:
California to Miss Deadline in Setting Home Solar Payments
4 Miami Herald:
A debate over how to brighten solar power’s future in Florida
5 Greentech Media:
Strong Funding for Solar Finance, Technology and Startups Despite Stock Market Carnage
6 Utility Dive:
The future of rate design - Why the utility industry may shift away from fixed charges
7 Clean Technica:
Australia Boosts Solar Financing To Scalable Levels
8 ILSR:
It’s not Doomsday, but Neither is Ending the Solar Tax Credit Good Policy
Opinions:
9 EDF:
Local Solar Can Be Good For All Neighborhoods
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for November 19th, 2015
It’s all about the public markets right now. Last week, I was ready to call a bottom and see the short squeeze kick in but hedge fund investors have been selling out some positions this week. Does anyone really know why there are currently more sellers than buyers in the market? I don’t. In a discussion with a public markets investor, there was a clear difference with other sectors because of the value of the assets on the companies’ balance sheets. All of this is made more convoluted by the yieldco ownership structures but we shall see how this plays out.
News
1 Greentech Media:
Solar Stocks Continue to Plummet in a ‘Bizarre Confluence of Contradictory Events’
2 Bloomberg:
Crashing Solar's Convertible
3 New York Times:
Silver Lake Is Said to Invest $100 Million in SolarCity
4 PV-Magazine:
Enel marks push into renewables with Enel Green Energy repurchase
5 Boston Globe:
Business groups make last-minute lobbying push to limit solar incentives
6 USA Today:
White House pushes community solar power as rooftop alternative
7 PV-Tech:
Intersolar India - Government to restore 30% rooftop subsidy after slow start
8 Renewable Energy World:
Carbon Rules Under Clean Power Plan Would Survive Republican President - McCarthy
Opinions:
9 Renew Economy:
Wind and solar beating conventional fuels on costs – Lazard
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for November 18th, 2015
During the panel yesterday, I asked each of the panelists if solar was mainstream already. To my surprise, 50GW annual market does not give them the comfort that the industry is “mainstream”. Here’s my takeaway, especially after listening to last week’s GTM podcast about the Keystone pipeline. Solar is mainstream, not because of the market size but because of the size of our labor and advocacy force. Much like the NoKXL movement, solar is able to fight against the anti-competitive market makers and negotiate a fairer marketplace. Top article today shows what has to be done to overcome a drop in ITC and it doesn’t look good, so call your Senator today!
News
1 Greentech Media:
Here’s What It Would Take for Solar Installers to Adapt to a World Without the ITC
2 Mother Jones:
The Republican Wall of Climate Denial Is Starting to Crack
3 Washington Post:
Why leasing solar panels may not be a good idea if you’re planning a home sale
4 Renew Economy:
Australia open to 1.5 °C climate target, “carbon neutral” in 2050
5 New York Times:
Summit in Philippines Sets Stage for Climate Action in Paris
6 PV-Tech:
SolarWorld and REC Solar reports suggest collapse of UK solar market in 2016
7 Energy Collective:
If You Like Your Time-Invariant Electricity Price, You Can Keep It
8 PV-Magazine:
Australia - Clean energy funding program attracts 2 GW of applications
Opinions:
9 Treehugger:
Solar bicycle lane's first year is "a great success"
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for November 17th, 2015
I’m on my way to Boston to lead a set of panelists to discuss investing in solar. Massachusetts has been debating the net metering cap allocations and a set of rhetorical questions meant to challenge the logic used in public debate. The logic I want to challenge is that putting solar on my roof is subsidized by my neighbors without solar. Here are two questions for you and others to answer. I use 30-50kWh a day to charge my electric car, by using that much more energy, am I not subsidizing the grid for my neighbors that don’t have an EV? Should my utility be collecting gas tax now that more and more people are using electric vehicles? Aren’t gas users subsidizing the roads for me and other EV owners?
News
1 Wall Street Journal:
Will Solar Energy Plummet if the Investment Tax Credit Fades Away?
2 PV-Magazine:
India's Modi puts solar firmly on G20 agenda
3 Inc:
What Solar City's CEO Really Thinks About Climate Change and His Cousin Elon Musk
4 Vox:
It's easy to buy "green power." Making a difference is a little harder.
5 Utility Dive:
Why clean energy advocates are challenging SCE's historic storage buy
6 Energy Collective:
Will the Paris Agreement Be a Legally Binding Treaty?
7 Greentech Media:
6 Key Takeaways From an Upbeat Analyst Day at SunPower
8 ABC Las Vegas:
Dozens speak up against changes to net metering rates for solar
Opinions:
9 Renewable Energy World:
Ode to US Market Risks as Paraphrased from Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Raven'
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for November 16th, 2015
Apple is really going for it. First a massive California deal, followed by China and now in southeast Asia. There is a common thread here. Apple originally went big with self-owned assets ON site at the NC data center. But every big deal since has been OFF site and 3rd party. Having participated in several panels on this topic, there is a trend here. Apple and other corporate executives can easily see their company 20 years in the future but don’t have the same ability with real estate assets.
News
1 Straits Times:
Apple plugs into solar power in Singapore
2 Utility Dive:
Pot power - How utilities and regulators are dealing with the budding marijuana industry
3 Renew Economy:
Home battery storage market expected to “explode” in Australia in 2016
4 Hartford Courant:
Connecticut State Government Failing To Use Solar To Cut Electricity Costs
5 Greentech Media:
More Than Half of US States Are Studying or Changing Net Metering Policies
6 Slate:
How Solar Installations Could Be the Barn-Raisings of the 21st Century
7 All Africa:
Kenya - Why Solar Energy Is the Next Big Thing in Kenya
8 Seeking Alpha:
Increasing Uncertainty In Rooftop Solar's Long-Term Business Model
Opinions:
9 EDF:
What One Conservative Texas Think Tank Doesn’t Want You to Know about the Clean Power Plan
Have a great day!
Yann
