This is your SolarWakeup for February 19th, 2015
Not all spokespeople are created equal. Bill Walton speaks about solar in a way that should be emulated by many in solar. Not afraid to fight for the industry that we make our living in and say so publicly. Bill can even be heard saying that he would like to be like a solar panel, absorb the energy that shines down on planet earth. So it is great to see his ‘blog’ post on the recent addition of solar on his home. He’d be happy to tell you the exact details of the project and as a homeowner with solar on the roof, I know the feeling that comes free of charge with the panels.
News
1 Bill Walton:
My Life as a Solar Panel
2 Renew Economy:
Why your bank should offer to buy your solar output
3 Breaking Energy:
Three Military Bases Partner With Energy Department To Train Veterans For Solar Jobs
4 Giga Om:
Big growth, but also losses, for solar company SolarCity
5 RE World:
Two Ways PG&E Community Solar Gardens Enable 100 Percent Solar for All
6 NRDC:
ALEC's latest attack on the Clean Power Plan is fizzling
7 PV-Magazine:
EU poised to hit RE target thanks to solar and wind, EEA reports
8 Reuters:
Indiana House panel advances measure to add solar power fees
Opinions:
9 Energy Collective:
The Job Creation Shuffle
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for February 18th, 2015
I learned something new today. From 1935 to 2005, Congress felt the need to limit the size of regulated monopolies and the same act in 1935 kept the separation between regulated and unregulated utilities. The trend continues of utilities getting into the solar game with the unregulated affiliates in some cases becoming larger than the regulated units. As utility IPPs with regulated (and unregulated) parents get into the solar game what is the main goal? Is it capital deployment, customer loyalty or revenue generation? Let’s see how it plays out.
News
1 Energy Collective:
Does Merger Madness Signal Return of the Mega-Utility?
2 Utility Dive:
Hawaiin Electric posts earnings, reaches 21% renewables
3 Greentech Media:
Which Residential Solar Firms Have Raised the Most Tax Equity?
4 The Guardian:
Minister's claims that solar panels harm UK food security are false
5 CleanTechnica:
China’s 2014 Solar Figures Confirmed, 10.6 GW Pushes Country To 30 GW
6 PV-Magazine:
M+W Group to shutter German semiconductor, PV unit
7 BBC:
Is the sun rising on an African solar revolution?
8 Huffington Post:
Carpe Diem - Low Oil and Gas Prices Could Be a Clean-Energy Opportunity
Opinions:
9 Indy Star:
Critics - What’s the rush on new solar regulations?
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for February 17th, 2015
Karma can be the most satisfying thing sometimes. It feels like yesterday, when Governor Romney (and Presidential hopeful) called Tesla a loser and stood at the front door of the Solyndra building to tout the failure of the loan guarantee program. Fast forward a few years and the program is cash flow positive, Tesla has paid back the loan well ahead of schedule, and SolarCity is leasing the Solyndra building. Should we wait for the next round of Presidential hopefuls to set up a press conference in front of the building? Perhaps they will say: Stop creating all these jobs; and clean energy, it makes it hard to talk about ‘clean’ coal.
News
1 Business Journals:
Exclusive - SolarCity fills former Solyndra manufacturing facility in Fremont
2 IREC:
Happy Graduation Day to Newly Solar Trained Veterans!
3 Yale 360:
Will New Obstacles Dim Hawaii’s Solar Power Surge?
4 India Times:
Clean energy push - Drop in solar power cost a game changer, says PM Narendra Modi
5 Renew Economy:
Power shifts to prosumers, but can regulator keep up?
6 Breaking Energy:
New York’s Green Bank Committing To Diverse Transactions
7 PV-Magazine:
Turkey targets 5 GW of PV by 2023 in new action plan
8 Bloomberg:
Cloudy Prospects for Rooftop Solar’s Growth in Florida - Energy
Opinions:
9 Huffington Post:
Future of Power 2 - Outrunning the Revolution
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for February 16th, 2015
There is a lot of discussion around the brewing EV battle. Apple confirmed a secret effort to build an EV that is self driving with 100s of people working on it. Meanwhile Tesla is delivering residential stationary storage in a few months. Note the name of the group, stationarystorage. That’s why I think Tesla is so much more than a car company. It defines the future where electric vehicles are the transmission lines connecting a distributed network. Elon may very well be working on an electric grid that leverages grid defection.
News
1 Washington Post:
Solar energy is playing surprisingly well in conservative parts of the U.S.
2 Utility Dive:
Elon Musk-Tesla home battery could be in production in 6 months
3 Motley Fool:
Can SolarCity's Business Survive Coming Solar Competition?
4 Breaking Energy:
Off the Well-Trodden Path – Where are the Hidden Solar PV Growth Markets?
5 Greentech Media:
The Carolinas Have Become Hot Spots for Solar Market Expansion
6 NBC:
Solar Project Fizzles, Could Cost Taxpayers Millions - Report
7 Huffington Post:
Is the Road to Solar a Solar Road?
8 Grist:
Kitzhaber is on his way out, but expect Oregon to keep being a green leader
Opinions:
9 USA Today:
Geoengineering won't solve climate change - Our view
Have a great day!
Yann
These are the top 10 most read solar articles by your peers this week!
News
1 Bloomberg:
What Apple Just Did in Solar Is a Really Big Deal
2 Greentech Media:
Duke Energy Buys Major Stake in REC Solar, Aims to Invest $225M in Commercial PV
3 Mother Jones:
Are Solar Companies Ripping You Off?
4 LA Times:
Minority groups back energy companies in fight against solar power
5 NY Times:
An Incubator for Innovation
6 Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Georgia House passes solar energy legislation, sends it to Senate
7 Forbes:
As Customers Disconnect From Grid, Wind And Solar Energy Are Threatened
8 NPR:
The Great Solar Panel Debate
9 RE World:
The Distributed Energy Storage Industry In One Chart
10 CleanTechnica:
Solar Jobs Boom Makes Keystone XL Pipeline Look Like A Tinker Toy
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 February 13th, 2015
Happy Friday the 13th! Let’s go back to the question from yesterday. How does Apple’s 130MW procurement of a 280MW project end up with a $850million price tag? You responded with great possible reasons, some with more conspiracy than others. The most likely is that Apple actually bought all of the output from the 280MW system over 25 years with an LCOE of 7cents, quite possibly in a tax deal that would make the energy an asset to Apple’s balance sheet while reducing US taxable income? The other tax deal is that Apple is the offtaker and investor at the same time with unrelated entities causing a double cost perhaps? Unless Apple has a really really good tax equity team, it is unlikely that the company paid a basis of ~2.5/Wdc for the 280MWac project that has a cost basis of well under $1.50/watt.
News
1 CleanTechnica:
Solar Jobs Boom Makes Keystone XL Pipeline Look Like A Tinker Toy
2 PV-Magazine:
SolarCity's Hawaiian study reveals grid regulation potential of inverters
3 Utility Dive:
Battle brewing in South Carolina over utility's solar proposals
4 NY Times:
Nevada Leads US in Per-Capita Growth in Solar Jobs
5 Star Tribune:
Three Xcel projects will boost state's solar power tenfold
6 PV-Tech:
Japan’s solar grid connection impasse starts to bite
7 Breaking Energy:
Infographic - The World’s Top 10 Solar Power Countries
8 RE World:
The Top Ten PV Manufacturers in 2014 and Why This List Can Lack Meaning
Opinions:
9 Greentech Media:
Can the Electric Utility Industry Support Both Solar and Fossil Fuels?
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for February 12th, 2015
I love that Apple is buying solar energy for their stores and headquarters but let’s be realistic about this. Apple is buying solar because its likely the cheapest source of energy AND it makes them look really good. What I don’t understand is the $850million. All of the data refers to 130MW at a cost of $850million. The articles also mention a PPA, so even if Apple paid an exorbitant $0.07/kWh, the 25 year total would be in the low to mid $400millions. I’m not a fan of mismatching numbers, so will someone please fill me in.
News
1 Bloomberg:
What Apple Just Did in Solar Is a Really Big Deal
2 The State:
Questions raised about SCE&G’s renewable energy proposal
3 AZ Central:
SRP goes beyond eliminating the solar subsidy
4 Solar Foundation:
Get the state level solar jobs information and data, local data sets also included
5 Utility Dive:
Inside the deal - Why Duke Energy is buying one of the largest U.S. commercial solar developers
6 Renew Economy:
Utilities hold renewables to ransom over coal pay-outs
7 RE World:
The Distributed Energy Storage Industry In One Chart
8 Sun-Sentinel:
FPL to launch community-solar program in Davie
Opinions:
9 PV-Magazine:
Spanish PV resurgence? Not on the horizon
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for February 11th, 2015
Let’s face it, utilities are the central part of today’s energy system and play a vital role to make sure that the light turns on when I flip the switch. So while every home installing solar is clearly a goal of mine, I see the need to recognize that a decrease in sales slows investment growth. Like a solar yieldco, growth in investments is how most IOUs make money. Peter Rive points out DSM which may require high levels of trading capability. I think that EV charging stations offer the most upward potential for demand growth. So let’s once again propose an EV charging station for every home that goes solar.
News
1 Greentech Media:
PG&E Seeks $654 Million to Build 25,000 EV Charging Stations
2 Utility Dive:
SolarCity CTO offers solutions to utilities losing revenue to solar
3 NPR:
The Great Solar Panel Debate - To Lease Or To Buy?
4 Giga Om:
Apple to spend $850M on solar energy from new solar farm in California
5 PV-Magazine:
Abengoa Yield and NextEnergy investment and equity news
6 CleanTechnica:
Utility-Scale Solar Outshines New GOP “Architecture of Abundance” Energy Plan
7 Star Tribune:
Xcel Energy says proposed giant solar gardens don't look like 'community' projects
8 Mother Jones:
Are Solar Companies Ripping You Off?
Opinions:
9 Energy Collective:
Studying Sustainable Finance
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for February 10th, 2015
News of the day comes in the majority investment of REC Solar by Duke Energy. This follows a long stream of commercial solar developers purchased or majority owned by other utilities; NextEra/Smart Energy, NRG/Solar Power Partners, Edison International/Socore to name a few. Also Total’s large investment in Sunpower Corp. The question is what is the motive? And why is it always a purchase or majority ownership? It definitely isn’t always a distressed purchase so the reason must be something else and is it the best move for the utility?
News
1 Greentech Media:
Duke Energy Buys Major Stake in REC Solar, Aims to Invest $225M in Commercial PV
2 LA Times:
Minority groups back energy companies in fight against solar power
3 Motley Fool:
SolarCity and NextEra Will Triple Hawaii's Solar Power
4 Utility Dive:
How utilities think they will make their money in the future
5 RE World:
Former FERC Chief Jon Wellinghoff Speaks Out on Grid Security and Distributed Generation
6 NY Times:
An Incubator for Innovation
7 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
Renewable energy advocates win court case on utility solar changes
8 Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Georgia House passes solar energy legislation, sends it to Senate
Opinions:
9 Forbes:
As Customers Disconnect From Grid, Wind And Solar Energy Are Threatened
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for February 9th, 2015
If you look back at the last 10 or so years in solar, you can see a ramp up of innovation followed by capital. The first phase was expensive capital into ‘risky’ ideas. The second phase was huge manufacturing plants funded by billions in venture capital, driven in large by the government policies that the capital was chasing. The third phase was the de-risking of solar and lower cost capital looking to invest in the sun. The next phase will be about solving the little problems, the problems we are largely ignoring because we have a status quo fixes for them. Part of what I hope to accomplish is finding the clean tech innovator that can improve my competitive edge.
News
1 RE World:
The Promise of Clean Energy Student Entrepreneurs
2 Greentech Media:
Solar Microinverter Startup Enecsys Now in Administration
3 Breaking Energy:
U.S. Solar Manufacturing Rising On The Horizon
4 Energy Collective:
Advanced Energy Technology of the Week - Utility-Scale Solar Energy
5 Solar Power Portal:
UK beats Germany’s solar installation record in 2014
6 India Times:
Drive for clean energy - Companies set to back 20,000 megawatts of solar expansion
7 Giga om:
Why Chile has emerged as a big solar market
8 CleanTechnica:
REsource - Get The Inside Scoop On Saudi Arabia Solar Power
Opinions:
9 USA Today:
Is solar poised for shale-like breakthrough?
Have a great day!
Yann
