These are the top 10 most read solar articles by your peers this week!
News
1 Bloomberg:
SunEdison's Chapter 11 Filing Leaves the Renewable Energy Industry Unfazed
2 Fortune:
Ray Kurzweil - Here's Why Solar Will Dominate Energy Within 12 Years
3 PV-Tech:
SunShot Initiative’s ‘Orange Button’ program to slash solar finance costs
4 Think Progress:
We Fact-Checked A High-Profile Article On Energy. It Wasn’t Pretty.
5 Bloomberg:
An Unlikely Alliance Is Born in the Battle Over Solar Power
6 Greentech Media:
Rhone Resch Is Stepping Down as Leader of SEIA
7 New York Times:
An Energy Bill in Need of Fixes
8 Motley Fool:
3 Lessons the Solar Industry Has Learned the Hard Way
9 Greentech Media:
As More Corporations Go Solar, How Are the Deals Structured?
10 Vox:
How cheap does solar power need to get before it takes over the world?
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 22nd, 2016
The worst kept secret in solar and Wall Street was the imminent Chapter 11 filing by Sunedison. Trading at 1% of their stock price from a year ago, the fall looks like a culmination of bad management decisions. With $16billion of liabilities in the filing, it had nothing to do with the solar industry and everything with an inability to pay liabilities. I like the people at Sunedison and I was hoping that this would not happen. What bothered me the most about the messaging is that the blame is being put on the capital markets (see #4). Don’t blame an industry that is growing and going well for the failure, we never asked you to become a ‘supermajor’.
News
1 Bloomberg:
SunEdison's Filing Leaves the Renewable Energy Industry Unfazed
2 Fortune:
SunEdison's Epic Failure Had Little to Do With Clean Energy
3 Greentech Media:
The US Solar Market Is Now 1 Million Installations Strong
4 Think Progress:
We Fact-Checked A High-Profile Article On Climate And Energy. It Wasn’t Pretty.
5 EDF:
The Supreme Court Continues a Trend of Protecting Competitive Markets. Here’s Why it Matters for Ohio.
6 Forbes:
Emerging Markets Draw Solar Developers
7 Utility Dive:
Indiana Supreme Court rules to keep lawmaker-utility emails private
8 Renew Economy:
Rooftop solar gets cheaper finance with first green bond in Australia
Opinions:
9 Renewable Energy World:
A Cleantech Recipe that Finally Works - Student Entrepreneurs
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 21st, 2016
It is compromise week, in New York and DC. In New York the IOUs and solar developers negotiated a compromise around net metering. In this iteration, the policy looks like it will largely remain the same for a few years before going along with a formula that will create long term certainty for new solar installations. In the Senate, the energy bill passed. On a bullet point basis, it looks like a State by State wish list for certain easements and land use rights. It still needs to reconcile with the House which should happen over the next few months if there is appetite to get the deal done.
News
1 New York Times:
An Energy Bill in Need of Fixes
2 Bloomberg:
An Unlikely Alliance Is Born in the Battle Over Solar Power
3 PV-Tech:
Polysilicon producer Hemlock suing JA Solar for almost US$1 billion
4 Green Biz:
We Mean Business - The Paris Accord is a $13 trillion opportunity
5 Greentech Media:
As More Corporations Go Solar, How Are the Deals Structured?
6 Fortune:
There Will Be More New Jobs in Solar Than Oil by the End of the Year
7 PV-Magazine:
Total to create new Gas, Renewables and Power segment
8 Vox:
San Francisco is requiring solar panels on all new buildings. But here's a much greener idea.
Opinions:
9 Utility Dive:
Minnesota judge urges higher carbon price to guide utility system planning
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 20th, 2016
This week there was an energy conference hosted by Platts in Las Vegas. Apparently, according to Power Finance & Risk, some IPP execs went a bit negative on the subsidies thrown at renewables. They are obviously confused considering their fuels receive billions more in subsidies but I understand their frustration. The wholesale markets are changing and being an IPP means you depend on the ability to trade and monetize your energy in those markets. There are several things happening here to try and add more value to firm capacity to allow power plants to make more money. Maryland in some way attempted to do that but a judge has sided with FERC against the rule (story #2 today). Keep watching this space…
News
1 Utility Dive:
'Graceful transition' - ISO-NE's CEO on how wholesale markets can ease decarbonization
2 PV-Tech:
US Trade Representative - India’s tit-for-tat WTO filings not helpful
3 NRDC:
Supreme Court Decision Striking Down Maryland Program Contains Good News for Clean Power
4 Bloomberg:
New York Utilities, Solar Companies Offer Alternate Payment Plan
5 PV-Magazine:
New Development Bank greenlights $811 million for renewable energy in member countries
6 San Francisco Examiner:
Leading the way on solar energy
7 Florida Times Union:
JEA delays vote on rooftop solar changes
8 Phoenix New Times:
Sparks fly in New Arizona Solar- Energy- Initiative Campaign
Opinions:
9 Huffington Post:
Fossil Fuel Companies Need to Become Renewable Energy Companies
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 19th, 2016
Yesterday after the market closer, David Einhorn from Greenlight Capital sold around 11million of his Sunedison shares between $0.29 and $0.37 per share. Clearly not a winning trade for the hedge fund but better to get out now before a probable imminent bankruptcy filing. So when some in the media label Sunedison as taxpayer funded, make sure to tell them about the hedge funds, private equity funds and private capital that funded the corporation because I doubt that any of the tax equity is going to be at risk in the proceedings. It will be messy for sure but I doubt any taxpayer dollars will have been misappropriated in this case.
News
1 Bloomberg:
SunEdison's Complex Finances Make Potential Bankruptcy `Messy'
2 Greentech Media:
Regulators Reject Third-Party-Ownership Petition in North Carolina
3 Vox:
How cheap does solar power need to get before it takes over the world?
4 Renew Economy:
New report shows 100% renewable by 2030 can save Australia money
5 Rocky Mountain Institute:
“Community Storage” Is a New Way to Think About Reducing Grid Costs
6 Utility Dive:
Utilities should join us in working toward a 21st century rate design
7 PV-Tech:
FERC to assess distributed solar-plus-storage impact on wholesale markets
8 Sun Herald:
NC regulators reject solar test of electricity monopoly law
Opinions:
9 NRDC:
It’s Alive! Senate Energy Bill Returns—But With More Problems for Our Environment
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 18th, 2016
Subsidy, seems like an ugly word and policy that almost everyone dislikes. But given the political environment we live in and conditioning of society to think long term, I wonder if subsidy is no longer considered bad but good. Ask your neighbor if more should have solar, likely answer is yes. Ask them if Government should subsidize it, likely answer is yes. Paying extra for your societal goals and social values is part of our DNA and we should test that concept more often. Be on the lookout - Sunedison is finalizing their DIP (bankruptcy) financing and likely files for protection shortly thereafter. Here is their deck they submitted to SEC on Friday. Rhone Resch has left SEIA after 12 years as the CEO, I look forward to see what is next for Rhone!
News
1 PV-Tech:
SunShot Initiative’s ‘Orange Button’ programme to slash solar industry finance costs
2 Portland Press Herald:
Subsidizing solar power in Maine would cost us each less than $5 a year
3 Greentech Media:
Rhone Resch Is Stepping Down as Leader of the US Solar Industry’s National Lobbying Group
4 Bloomberg:
Cheaper Than China Again, First Solar Vindicates U.S. Investment
5 PV-Magazine:
SunEdison reveals details from its debtor-in-possession talks
6 Arizona Central:
Arizona solar ballot initiative launched by super PAC
7 Think Progress:
We Just Crushed The Global Record For Hottest Start Of Any Year
8 Fortune:
Ray Kurzweil - Here's Why Solar Will Dominate Energy Within 12 Years
Opinions:
9 Motley Fool:
3 Lessons the Solar Industry Has Learned the Hard Way
Have a great day!
Yann
These are the top 10 most read solar articles by your peers this week!
News
1 San Diego Union Tribune:
Anatomy of a solar meltdown
2 Greentech Media:
David Crane and Tom Fanning Spar Over Distributed Generation
3 Renewable Energy World:
With Too Much Solar, California Looks To West For Markets
4 Fortune:
Financial Turmoil at SunEdison Imperils Solar Projects Worldwide
5 Greentech Media:
Charting SunEdison Employee Morale Against Its Collapsing Stock Price
6 Renew Economy:
Why rise of solar, and fall in costs, still shocks energy experts
7 Boston Globe:
Governor Baker to sign solar compromise
8 The Economist:
Follow the sun
9 MIT:
Watching SunEdison’s Collapse, Solar Industry Resets
10 Fortune:
The Other Side of the Solar Firestorm in Nevada
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 15th, 2016
Time for some Friday mash up. Vivint Solar held its first analyst call yesterday post Sunedison acquisition termination, looking to get investors back into the stock. Finnish oil giant Fortum is looking to buy Sunedison’s India assets and deploy some capital, and policy is always in play somewhere. One thing that makes the SolarWakeup community special is our communication. You can always send me an email or tips, even anonymously by going here. No need for a real email address if you want to pass along info confidentially. Everything is confidential.
News
1 The Economist:
Solar power is reshaping energy production in the developing world
2 Greentech Media:
SunEdison Investigates Self, Finds No Evidence of Fraud
3 EDF:
We're wasting solar energy because the grid can't handle it all. Here's a solution.
4 NDTV:
SunEdison In Talks To Sell India Solar Stakes To Fortum - Report
5 Utility Dive:
Kicking the can - Massachusetts solar law buys time, but full incentive plan remains elusive
6 Portland Press Herald:
Revised solar bill picks up 10 more votes in Maine House
7 Huffington Post:
The Sun Also Rises - Saudi Arabia’s Future Lies in Renewables
8 Oregon Public Broadcasting:
Is The Future Of Solar Bright In Oregon?
Opinions:
9 Advanced Energy Economy:
Businesses to Lawmakers - Get Ohio Out of the Deep Freeze on Advanced Energy
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 14th, 2016
What has lost investors over 95% of their investment in the last year and is hoping to get investors to double down in a losing bet? The company has lost money each of the last 4 years and has somewhere around $6billion of debt on its balance sheet. If you guessed Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU), then you are correct. The coal giant has filed for Chapter 11 in the hopes of getting lenders to swap for equity. The company will continue operations and sell coal into 25 Countries while the US keeps getting energy from coal for about 35% of the portfolio. Let’s hasten the change to solar/storage baseload with no emissions and fuel cost volatility in a distributed network.
News
1 New York Times:
Peabody Energy, a Coal Giant, Seeks Bankruptcy Protection
2 Forbes:
Solar Energy Giant SunEdison May Be In Technical Default, According To CreditSights
3 PV-Magazine:
Two-thirds of US solar installers do not offer storage, study finds
4 Renew Economy:
Why rise of solar, and fall in costs, still shocks energy experts
5 Think Progress:
The Paris Climate Agreement Is About To Hit A Major Milestone
6 Bloomberg:
Indian Solar Auction Sees Foreign Developers Mostly Shut Out
7 Grist:
More Californians work in “Advanced Energy” jobs than in farming or Hollywood
8 The Guardian:
Solar power sets new British record by beating coal for a day
Opinions:
9 Huffington Post:
Peabody’s Bankruptcy - A Giant Falls, But Its Obligations Remain
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 13th, 2016
Today’s top story about two utility execs (Crane and Fanning) debating the merits of regulated, central power utilities versus merchant IPPs moving towards distributed services seemed like it may have some spillover from an interesting commentary (albeit brief) at the BNEF summit. At BNEF, a National Grid exec, boasted about the company’s investment in HVDC transmission that will try to connect the wind markets to the eastern networks (which Nat Grid services). On the panel was also the CEO of Enel Green Power who was quick to comment that investing in transmission just as storage is picking up seems interesting timing. I’m not sure what happens in monopoly board rooms but thinking further than the next quarter doesn’t seem to be the most likely…
News
1 Greentech Media:
David Crane and Tom Fanning Spar Over Distributed Generation
2 Sun-Sentinel:
Solar issue supporters plan multimillion-dollar campaign
3 Fortune:
The Other Side of the Solar Firestorm in Nevada
4 CleanTechnica:
UN Expects More Than 130 Countries To Sign Paris Climate Agreement
5 NRDC:
New Study Concludes Getting 50% of NY's Electricity from Renewable Sources by 2030 is a Net Win
6 PV-Magazine:
Lux tips perovskite PV commercialization by 2019-2020
7 Washington Post:
Solar-powered plane gets back on track in round-the-world trip
8 KQED:
Too Much Solar in California? Not If You Bottle It
Opinions:
9 Think Progress:
‘Blackout Blackmail’ - New Report Casts Doubt On Utility’s Claims
Have a great day!
Yann
