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
Opinion
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
These are the top 10 most read solar articles by your peers this week!
News
1 Greentech Media:
SunEdison Shares Plunge as News of Debt Restructuring Leaks
2 PV-Tech:
Terraform Global cancels 326MW deal
3 CleanTechnica:
Utility-Scale PV Projects
4 PV-Magazine:
New Jersey Senate passes 80% renewable energy mandate
5 Rocky Mountain Institute:
Market Price Risk and the “Hockey Stick PPA”
6 PV-Tech:
California utility SDG&E responds to protests regarding net metering reversal
7 Washington Post:
Why this new solar market could be set to explode
8 Greentech Media:
The Trump Energy Policy in Tweet Form
9 Las Vegas Sun:
Lawsuit seeks to overturn ruling on rooftop solar rates
10 Miami Herald:
We’ve got the sun — now let’s go solar!
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 March 25th, 2016
The top stories today are about community solar. This market segment is now gaining large amounts of traction from a publicity and development standpoint. Legislators are gearing bills up to allow this practice but there are two points I’d like to point out. As the second story asks, how will regulators ensure that the pricing of credits are done fairly. This is key for the financing of the asset because if the language is nuanced or vague, investors will find themselves having a hard time getting debt or more importantly tax equity. With all of the traction, you’ve seen few get built to this point and the lack of regulatory certainty is probably behind some of the slow growth.
News
1 Vox:
Love solar power but got no rooftop? "Shared solar" is coming for you.
2 Renewable Energy World:
Will Utilities Price Community Solar Subscriptions Fairly?
3 Think Progress:
Worldwide Renewable Energy Investment Hits A New Record
4 EDF:
Boost Investor Confidence and Watch America's Energy Market Transform
5 Greentech Media:
What Drives Utility Solar Growth in a Post-ITC-Extension World?
6 Utility Dive:
How Maine's power players are reacting to its pathbreaking new solar proposal
7 Huffington Post:
Energy Co-ops in America
8 Grist:
How much energy could the U.S. get from solar?
Opinions:
9 Washington Post:
Why this new solar market could be set to explode
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 24th, 2016
For independents in swing states, the key metric is “more likely to support.” These voters are the holy grail when it comes to campaigns and a new poll shows that an astounding 27% of independents in swing states are more likely to support a candidate that shows vocal support for solar. Solar is now a meaningful issue, we have already seen the support of subsidies by government but now the politicians that support those subsidies can benefit. This poll comes just a week after the utility group, formerly SEPA, released a push poll that showed that consumers like have robust net metering even after the utility pollster tried to influence their response. See the results here
News
1 Solar Industry:
Poll - Candidates’ Solar Stance Could Sway Independent Voters In Swing States
2 PV-Tech:
Commerce dept. confirms Silevo decision pushed to April
3 Rocky Mountain Institute:
The Many Flavors of Community-Scale Solar
4 Greenbiz:
Despite politics, U.S. ahead of pace on Clean Power Plan goals
5 Utility Dive:
Updated - DC PSC approves Exelon-Pepco merger
6 New York Times:
Nuclear Plant Leak Threatens Drinking Water Wells in Florida
7 MIT:
Solar Is a Booming Business, but It’s Still Not Generating Much of Our Power
8 Seattle Times:
Solar incentives sunset as states grapple with tight budgets
Opinions:
9 The Advocate:
Letters - Nevada a case in what not to do in solar power metering
Have a great day!
Yann
