This is your SolarWakeup for November 6th, 2014
Sitting in a utility executives shoes for a moment I think of two values that I would pitch to my regulators regarding solar. Diversity and Water. As an executive I may (or may not) be able to hedge my fuel costs but one surefire way to pitch the value of solar is to lessen the impact of fuel cost increases. At the same time I would build a coalition with farmers, environmentalists and others worried about water supply.
News
1 RE World:
6 Trends to Watch for in 2015
2 PV Magazine:
Republican wins in the U.S. Senate bode ill for renewable energy
3 Huffingtonpost:
Peak Water
4 Techcrunch:
The Department Of Energy Needs Your Help To Cut The Soft Costs Of Solar
5 Utilitydive:
How solar power spreads among neighbors 'like a contagion'
7 Theguardian:
German solar ambitions at risk from cuts to subsidies
8 Startribune:
Solar panel maker to open Minneapolis plant
Opinions:
9 Solarindustrymag:
Too Much Information? California Wrestles With Solar Data Collection Responsibilities
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for November 5th, 2014
Elections Matter, Democracy is not a spectator sports, and politics are full contact are some of my favorite election clichés. When people don't vote, good things tend to go wrong and that is what we, as a solar industry, need to make sure doesn't happen as we work to extend the ITC. That is our singular focus on the Federal level for the next two years. Strap in, contribute and make a difference as we continue to grow solar.
News
1 Greentechmedia:
The End of a Solar Era
2 RE World:
Despite Everything, 2014 Is Another Growth Year for Solar PV
3 PV Magazine:
World's largest merchant solar project goes online in Chile
4 PV Solar Report:
Solar Is for Everyone in Massachusetts!
5 The Energy Collective:
Achieving DoE's SunShot Goals Could Reduce the Costs and Benefits of EPA's
6 Clean Technica:
Same Price, More Renewables – San Diego’s Fight for Community Controlled Energy
7 Khon2:
Hawaiian Electric announces plans for approval of pending solar applications
8 Investopedia:
Solar Is Starting To Win The Price War
Opinions:
9 Sltrib:
Bloomberg View Op-ed
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for November 4th, 2014
Today is an important and potentially a very sad day. As Americans get to the ballot box, and many don’t, Governors and State legislatures will change and enhance power centers. The U.S. Senate could possible flip and be controlled by the Republican party which could create an urgency to do a tax extender bill during the lame duck session this fall/winter. Let’s see how today plays out.
News
1 Think Progress:
How The Florida Governor’s Race Could Unleash Solar Power In The Sunshine State
2 Breaking Energy:
Utilities Agree On Tough Times Ahead (But Disagree On The Future Of Transmission)
3 PV magazine:
Inside ABB's Power-One acquisition
4 Solar Power Portal:
Warning of fraudulently acquired solar modules on sale in UK
5 Bloomberg:
Solatio, Renova and Enel Biggest Winners in Brazil Solar Auction
6 Solar Love:
$15,000 Is Average Cost Of Home Solar Power In Massachusetts
7 Utility Dive:
The fight over solar moves from net metering to rate design
8 Renewable Energy World:
UN Sees Irreversible Damage to Climate Caused by Fossil Fuels
Opinions:
9 Huffingtonpost:
DiCaprio
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for November 3rd, 2014
Solar is cheap and that’s a fact across borders, regardless of policy, how big the local market is or currency risk. If you haven’t read yet, solar in Brazil came in at under 9 cents per kWh for about 900MW of capacity. At some point, in the near future (I hope), we will stop hearing from consumers and politicians that solar is too expensive.
News
1 Bloomberg:
He Ripped Their House Off the Grid and He's No Hippie
2 Breaking Energy:
5 Reasons Virtual Net Metering is Better than Plain Ol’ Net Metering
3 PV Magazine:
5 SPI takeaways
4 Grist:
Texas lobbying group busted for phony anti-solar campaign
5 Recharge News:
Brazil contracts 890MW solar PV
6 Boston Globe:
Massachusetts lights the way on solar energy policy
8 Dispatch:
Utilities feel burned by solar-energy users
Opinions:
9 Pv Solar Report:
Remember the Alamo! Embracing Solar’s Inevitability
Have a great day!
Yann
These are the top 10 most read solar articles by your peers this week!
News
1 Entrepreneur:
This Elon Musk-Backed Startup's Rocky Road to Solar 'Grand Slam'
2 Bloomberg:
While You Were Getting Worked Up Over Oil, This Happened to Solar
3 RE World:
SolarWorld To US Solar Developers
4 Denver Post:
Solar companies seek new ways to sell panels
5 HuffPost:
Utility Group Tries To Rally Black Caucus Against Solar Incentives
6 RE World:
A Tale of Two Booths
7 RenewEconomy:
How Coalition proposes to kill $20 billion renewables industry
8 Gizmodo:
Solar Energy Will Be as Cheap as Fossil Fuel Energy by 2016
9 NPR:
Solar Advocates Fight Utilities Over Grid Access
10 PV-Tech:
New twist in EU-China trade row could spread tariffs to new countries
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 October 31th, 2014
Brazil is having a second big event this week after a presidential election. Tomorrow Brazil hosts its first solar only auction and is expected to add more than 500mw of capacity. It will be intriguing to see at what price the solar energy is successful at achieving. At the end of the day it means another major market that becomes a little bit more familiar with solar in this case a country with over 200 million residents. Best of luck to the bidders and congrats to Brazil on an exciting day.
News
1 Technology Review:
Will a Breakthrough Solar Technology See the Light of Day?
3 Reuters:
Brazil's first solar power auction to clear 500 MW of new plants
4 Slate:
How do you make ray-soaking roof panels a hot investment? By making them a boring one
5 Voanews:
Solar's Future Looks Brighter
6 Capital Newyork:
LIPA to conduct internal review of solar contract
7 PV Magazine:
Greek PV market remains idle, defined by paradox
8 Breaking Energy:
New York Green Bank Begins Transactions
Opinions:
9 Renewable Energy World:
German Experts Lock Horns over Storage
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for October 30th, 2014
China is moving in on Russian solar while at the same time Sunedison’s Terraform is going shopping. Not part of the rundown but in separate news sources, TERP financed and acquired new projects from other funds. The entry to solar in used to be “We want to own and hold” but holding solar assets has become so competitive that owning may have become the new solar commodity.
News
1 Clean Technica:
US Solar Now 59% Cheaper Than Analysts Predicted Back In 2010
2 RT:
China expected to invest $1bn in Russian solar energy
3 Think Progress:
Florida Residents Rally Against Rick Scott’s Solar-Killing Policies
4 PV Magazine:
Alevo sets up gigfab in US, expands storage operations in China
5 PV Solar Report:
How to Reach and Acquire Residential Solar Customers
6 Solar Industry Mag:
The Search For Solar Cost Reduction Turns To Racking And Mounting
7 Bloomberg:
While You Were Getting Worked Up Over Oil Prices, This Just Happened to Solar
8 Renewable Energy World:
Part 2
Opinions:
9 EDF:
Barriers to clean energy financing could fall with EPA plan
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for October 29th, 2014
Love it or hate it, the SolarCity story is a great example of American business success. Great idea, lots of barriers, hurdles and pain helped by visionaries and forward thinking investors. Fast forward less than 10 years and the ideas have burgeoned into the residential solar industry we have today with multiple Billion dollar companies. I didn’t see it then but I am happy that residential solar entrepreneurs are getting the publicity now.
News
1 Entrepreneur:
This Elon Musk-Backed Startup's Rocky Road to Solar 'Grand Slam'
2 NY Times:
Europe Strives to Overcome Its Reliance on Russian Gas
3 Grist:
Black lawmakers push back against coal utilities’ new trick
4 ABC News:
Electric-Car Drivers Trading Gas for Solar Power
5 PV Magazine:
Utility scale solar tops 30 GW globally, finds Wiki-Solar
6 Renew Economy:
How Coalition proposes to kill $20 billion renewables industry
7 Thinkprogress:
How Solar PV Can Power A Carbon-Free Energy Revolution, In 4 Charts
8 Edf:
Germany’s Energiewende is Shifting the Energy Paradigm – Now it’s Time to Optimize
Opinions:
9 Renewable Energy World:
How the Right Kind of Electric Utility Can Increase Solar Energy and Jobs
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for October 28th, 2014
Since I didn’t make it to the main stage during SPI, today’s news catch me a bit off guard. The trade fight continues and from the press side of things it does not appear positive which is a shame. Seeing additional news out of EU make this smell a bit fishy and coordinated but maybe I am reading into this a bit too much or maybe not. Why this keeps happening is beyond me…why anyone wants to keep solar from getting installed is just plain silly.
News
2 Renewable Energy World:
SolarWorld To US Solar Developers
3 Huffingtonpost:
Five Principles for Taming the Wild West of Beyond the Grid Clean Energy Policy
4 PV-Magazine:
Deutsche Bank
5 PV Solar Report:
DOE Still Betting Big on Solar, Says Energy Secretary Moniz at SPI
6 Renew Economy:
Australia installs 1GW of rooftop solar since July 2013
7 WTSP:
Energy activists want answers from candidates
8 Triple Pundit:
SunShot Helps Bay Area Startups Drive Down Solar Costs
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for October 27th, 2014
One of the most important aspects of this column is to clear up misconceptions. It probably warrants a broader piece but the debate between solar and utilities isn't necessarily about solar but more about owning the investment. On one side utilities strive for energy demand growth that needs to be met by capital investments versus the potential of distributed generation investments that lower the demand growth, therefore reducing utility investments. Utilities love solar, especially if they get to own the investment. More on this soon.
News
1 Huffingtonpost:
Utility Group Tries To Rally Black Caucus Against Solar Incentives
2 The Desert Sun:
A tough road ahead for concentrated solar power
3 The Denver Post:
Reframing rays
4 SFGATE:
Bay Area solar firms take dim view of Arizona utility’s move
5 The Street:
Solar Economics May Be Too Good for BP to Pass Up in 2015
6 Clean Technica:
LCOE of Utility-Scale Solar Power Getting Really Competitive
7 Vox:
Solar power is contagious
8 NPR:
Solar Advocates Fight Utilities Over Grid Access
Opinions:
9 Miamiherald:
Fred Grimm
Have a great day!
Yann
