This is your SolarWakeup for May 16th, 2016
There’s some solar policy spinning going on in Maine. On a national level, the solar industry has to play a long game. This means that at times we have to give up some short term market certainty for a better market in the long run. It is easy to blame the ‘big solar companies’ but I wouldn’t be so fast to judge. I’ve been in the room with the utility where they try to dole out some small incentives and get the buy-in from the local installer in order to maintain their lock on the Statewide market. At the end of the day, politics is not a spectator sport.
News
1 Portland Press Herald:
Big solar worked to kill Maine solar energy bill
2 Greentech Media:
AES CEO - Solar Is ‘the Future’ but Utility Buy-In Is a Must
3 PV-Magazine:
SunEdison delays quarterly filing, parts ways with CFO
4 PV-Tech:
Renewables on the rise for Germany’s ‘Big Four’ utilities, conventional generation suffers
5 CleanTechnica:
Debunking 4 Myths About The Clean Energy Transition, Part 2 - Excess Generation
6 Renew Economy:
Solar lobby targets marginal seats in election campaign
7 Advanced Energy Economy:
NEWS - An ISO for Hawaii? Utilities Double Down on Renewables
8 Utility Dive:
Major US companies launch Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance
Opinions:
9 Forbes:
The Solar Story Is Just Beginning
Have a great day!
Yann
These are the top 10 most read solar articles by your peers this week!
News
1 NJ Biz:
NRG streamlining, with renewed focus and some job losses expected
2 PV-Magazine:
Elon Musk calls for mass political mobilization and a price on carbon
3 New York Times:
As West Virginia Goes…
4 Bloomberg:
Riding the ‘Solarcoaster’ as Shares Plunge Even More Than Coal
5 Huffington Post:
Disrupting Solar
6 Bloomberg:
Once a Billionaire, Miao Is Latest Humbled China Solar King
7 Huffington Post:
Why Is L.A. Toxic?
8 Motley Fool:
Last Week in Solar
9 Renewable Energy World:
Massachusetts Utility Seeks to Stay “Ahead of the Game”
10 New York Times:
New York Plans to Make Fighting Climate Change Good Business
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 13th, 2016
Yingli is falling into issues as it missed another debt payment. It is very important for you to know how to manage your part of the value chain in the appropriate way. For example, if you sell widgets then you have to manage your receivables and margins while capital deployment platforms must remain debt free at the corporate level. Sunedison and Yingli are not examples that indicate an issue within solar, they indicate an issue with executives managing money inappropriately.
News
1 PV-Tech:
Yingli Green officially defaults on China bonds
2 Bloomberg:
Once a Billionaire, Miao Is China’s Latest Humbled Solar King
3 Renewable Energy World:
Massachusetts Utility Seeks to Stay “Ahead of the Game” with Solar Grid Penetration
4 NJ Spotlight:
PSE&G LOOKS FOR STATE APPROVAL TO SPEND $275 MILLION ON SOLAR FARMS
5 PV-Magazine:
Sunrun reports strong growth in Q1 results
6 Vox:
The US is badly underinvesting in electricity infrastructure
7 Utility Dive:
Utilities, greens still miles apart on solar valuation, new report shows
8 Economic times:
India plans to seek bilateral solutions to settle solar disputes US
Opinions:
9 GreenBiz:
One way to sell a tax on carbon - Cut other taxes
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 12th, 2016
Sorry to bring this up, I really wasn’t planning on doing so until maybe 2021 but Corey Honeyman from GTM asked a question at the Solar Summit yesterday that almost made me fall out of my chair. During the 1 on 1 chat with a SolarCity exec, Corey asked how the ITC cliff in a few years was being planned for. I am no policy professional but I play one for a few minutes through this newsletter but there is absolutely no part of me or anyone else in the room that was thinking about the step down of the ITC. We just got it passed a few months ago, in a series of political miracles against the will of some of the biggest players from outside and within or sector. Let’s drop the step down talk until the end of the next President’s first term. And I really hope that Hillary Clinton’s energy advisor doesn’t get this question tomorrow. I do have a question for the interview. When will the trade tariffs which are taxes on the consumers be lifted if Secretary Clinton is President?
News
1 New York Times:
As West Virginia Goes…
2 PV-Magazine:
SunEdison yieldcos TerraForm Power & TerraForm Global granted financial report extension
3 CleanTechnica:
Emerging Markets Oust Europe As Most Attractive For Energy Investment
4 Renewable Energy World:
Chinese Solar Manufacturers Dominate Market in 2015
5 Energy Collective:
Capacity Mechanisms - DG Competition and DG Energy Clash Over Future of EU Energy Market
6 GreenBiz:
Shareholders win proxy access - Now what?
7 Biz Journals:
Majority of Hawaii solar energy firms reporting job losses, report says
8 Utility Dive:
Better together - How an organized market can help clean up the western US grid
Opinions:
9 Mark Ruffalo:
Why Is L.A. Toxic?
Have a great day!
Yann
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
