This is your SolarWakeup for June 4th, 2015
Hats off to the team at DNV for putting on an interesting and thought provoking forum about the Utility of the Future. During our panel two items were highlighted that need further discussion: whether the utility death spiral is nonsense and how solar on the grid provides data that may be valuable to utilities. Today, let’s have the talk about utility death spiral first, is it non-sense? Or is there a reality in which utilities can create irreparable harm to their business model? Let me know your thoughts.
News
1 Utility Dive:
SDG&E microgrid uses solar, storage to avoid outage in small town
2 PV-Tech:
Musk defends SolarCity and Tesla support after LA Times criticism
3 Renewable Energy World:
Understanding the Yieldco Structure for Renewable Energy Project Finance
4 PV-Magazine:
Ambitious interconnection plans could transform Europe
5 Fox News:
Fossil fuel split - Oil and gas companies 'demonize' coal as climate deal nears
6 Bloomberg:
At OPEC the Saudi Oil Minister Mainly Wants to Discuss Solar Power
7 NY Times:
California Lawmakers Advance Aggressive Climate Change Plans
8 Time:
Why You Should Think Seriously About Going Solar
Opinions:
9 Hugh McColl:
Don’t give up our solar advantage
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for June 3rd, 2015
Yesterday during the interview I was asked to list the markets in the US that were open to solar markets. From a fundamental standpoint, I had to answer that the list is more about the States that don’t want solar. With more solar and distributed generation coming online, it is clear that no matter how uneven the playing field may be, solar will be built. Tomorrow I join a panel to discuss how the advancement of solar affects the utilities of the future. I can only imagine that the utilities that don’t plan ahead will have trouble competing with solar, solar + storage, electric vehicles and the smart home.
News
1 Utility Dive:
How utilities can thrive through the 'all-encompassing evolution' of the grid
2 Good Magazine:
Pop Star Akon’s Ambitious Solar Plan Could Revolutionize Africa
3 Huffington Post:
Europe's Oil Giants Call For Carbon Pricing
4 PV-Magazine:
Hanergy delays release of info, SGM date
5 Denver Post:
The rooftops of municipal buildings could become solar power plants
6 NRDC:
Progress on Smart from the Start Solar in California and Nevada
7 Forbes:
Gizmo Cuts Cost Of Grid Interconnection For Rooftop Solar
8 Boston Globe:
Solar advocates fight to preserve incentives
Opinions:
9 Clean Technica:
Look Out Coal, Here Comes Fast-Track Solar
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for June 2nd, 2015
I am on my way to Washington DC to speak on a panel about the future of solar in the future utility system. But before I get on the panel at the DNV/GL conference on Wednesday, I will be having a discussion about solar with Monica Trauzzi of E&ETV. So many times, the solar industry (myself included) preaches to the choir and fails to engage those in the wider energy sector about the successes that our industry has had. Send me the best stats you see about the solar industry and I will look to include them in my discussions.
News
1 Seeking Alpha:
Solar Investing After First-Quarter Results
2 USA Today:
Solar Impulse plane lands in Japan due to bad weather
3 Post & Courier:
SCE&G, Duke Energy propose new incentives for solar power
4 NBC:
Solar Energy Powered an Entire Community - SDG&E
5 Breaking Energy:
Energy Quote of the Day - Agencies Fail to Keep Up with Renewable Energy Growth, Cost Cutting
6 News & Observer:
How solar could make NC the next Silicon Valley
7 Utility Dive:
What's solar worth? Inside Arizona utilities' push to reform net metering rates
8 Christian Science Monitor:
In quake-prone Nepal, why solar power is an energy solution (+video)
Opinions:
9 Renew Economy:
AGL sees no mass market for battery storage before 2020s
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for June1st, 2015
Here we go again! Solarworld, under the auspices of competitive markets, is no longer okay with any Asian Country making solar panels. The EU is obliging and opening against Malaysia and Taiwan. Let’s talk about subsidies, specifically for the energy grid in the US, because that is what Solarworld uses but doesn’t want to talk about. Natural gas right of ways and drilling tax incentives, guaranteed infrastructure returns for the utilities and land incentives for hydro plants providing energy to the NW factories they use. Cheap panels are good for solar, let the market decide the price, not a company that can’t find its own value proposition.
News
1 PV-Magazine:
EU to extend solar trade investigation to Malaysia, Taiwan
2 Tampa Bay Times:
Utilities change their tune on solar power
3 CleanTechnica:
SolarCity’s Solar Panel “Gigafactory” Resembles Tesla’s Gigafactory So Far
4 Renew Economy:
Mega hybrid solar projects ready to take on baseload fossil fuels
5 Greentech Media:
Inside the Minds of Regulators - How Different States Are Dealing With Distributed Energy
6 Think Progress:
‘We’re Not Going To Fake It'
7 Reno Gazette:
Solar-NV Energy compromise heads to governor
8 CNN:
Sun-powered Solar Impulse plane begins marathon Pacific flight
Opinions:
9 Energy Collective:
Will Silicon Valley Take On Clean Energy Access?
Have a great day!
Yann
These are the top 10 most read solar articles by your peers this week!
News
1 The Hill:
Obama administration pumps $32M into solar industry
2 NY Times:
Fire at Giant Apple Plant with Solar in Arizona Quickly Controlled
3 Solar Industry:
Companies Bring Third-Party Ownership To Commercial PACE
4 PV-Magazine:
NV Energy and The Alliance for Solar Choice announce net metering compromise
5 Renewable Energy World:
Quantifying Returns - Does Energy Storage Coupled with PV Offer Big Savings?
6 Renew Economy:
Solar energy needs smart solutions, not dumb economics
7 Huffington Post:
The Economics of Renewable Energy - Falling Costs and Rising Employment
8 Greentech Media:
California’s Major Residential Rate Reform - The Solar-Friendly Alternative
9 Gizmodo:
You Can Take this Little Wind and Solar Powered Home Anywhere
10 Good Magazine:
California Plans to Offer Free Solar Panels to Its Poorest Citizens
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 29th, 2015
Traditional energy systems are no longer just stranded assets they are potential financial liabilities. The Norwegian pension fund is divesting from coal and as such is planning on selling its stake in Duke Energy. In a vacuum, it may not be a drop in the bucket of a $52billion market cap, but imagine if more institutionals follow suit. AXA also gave fair warning last week, so the trend is starting to appear. The capital will have to flow somewhere, let’s bring it to solar and with new financing innovations (!!!) more markets will be available.
News
1 Greentech Media:
Creative Solar Finance Grows the Pool of PV Investors and Customers
2 New Republic:
Hillary Clinton Should Declare Her Own "War on Coal"
3 Business Journals:
Large Duke Energy investor to divest shares over coal
4 PV-Magazine:
EPIA rebrands as SolarPower Europe
5 Charlotte Observer:
Tech giants urge halt to green-energy freeze
6 Bloomberg:
Hong Kong Regulator Says Hanergy Under Probe After Li Denial
7 Utility Dive:
Georgia Power moving into rooftop solar market this summer
8 Clean Technica:
Insane Solar Jobs Boom About To Get $32 Million More Insane
Opinions:
9 San Diego Union-Tribune:
CA struggles to compute value of solar
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 28th, 2015
New markets are always intriguing. Mostly because it means that a small team worked on a new idea and was able to execute. It also means that the majority of the market isn’t there yet. We’ve all seen it, the morning email chain where internal talk is asking how it was done, is it for real and can we do it as well? Lots of that happening today which will be recapped tomorrow with the coverage. But keep in mind that every market, every state and all customer types will have access to solar at or below the grid rates in the near future.
News
1 Huffington Post:
The Economics of Renewable Energy - Falling Costs and Rising Employment
2 Energy Collective:
What Put California at the Top of Residential Solar?
3 Clean Technica:
Solar Co-Ops Growing In West Virginia
4 Business Journal:
SCE&G reaches settlement on $37M program to expand solar projects in South Carolina
5 Inside Bay Area:
Berkeley lab unveils new solar energy center aimed at producing fuel from sunlight
6 Renewable Energy World:
Powering African Mines - What Role Will Renewables Play ?
7 Utility Dive:
Buffett's BHE Renewables buys 655 MW of wind, 7 solar projects
8 Orlando Sentinel:
Duke Energy building solar facility at Disney World
Opinions:
9 CBS:
Pa. Official Says Gov. Wolf is Sold on Value of Solar Energy Industry
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 27th, 2015
If you have ever played in a poker tournament, you know the most important rule. Stay alive. Making the next hand, the next table keeps your chance at placing or even winning a possibility but if you go all in early on, you never get to play again. Same thing in politics and that is why the deal in Nevada is great for solar. The cap may be low (for now), the rules may be somewhat grey (for now) and utilities feel like they won (for now). Solar gets stronger, more support and cheaper with time, time being the keyword that we should always remember.
News
1 PV-Magazine:
NV Energy and The Alliance for Solar Choice announce net metering compromise
2 NY Times:
Fire at Giant Apple Plant in Arizona Quickly Controlled
3 The Hill:
Obama administration pumps $32M into solar industry
4 CNBC:
Ground zero in the solar wars - Nevada
5 Greentech Media:
California’s Major Residential Rate Reform - The Solar-Friendly Alternative
6 Renew Economy:
AGL targets 400MW rooftop solar in push into New Energy
7 Bloomberg:
Solar as Fastest Growing U.S. Power Source Rivals Shale Boom
8 Good Magazine:
California Plans to Offer Free Solar Panels to Its Poorest Citizens
Opinions:
9 Breaking Energy:
EIA on Clean Power Plan - Coal Down, Renewables Up, Bills Stable
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 26th, 2015
Arizona, Nevada and Utah all make the highlight reel today. First, Arizona’s conservative AZ Republic comes down with a challenge to the ACC: “show Arizona that you are not being told what to do by the utilities.” Second, in Nevada, the legislature has passed the baton to the utilities commission to determine if the net metering cap needs to be raised. Last but not least, in Utah, where another Berkshire company is fighting against personal property rights of the residents. 50 states, 50 utilities commissions, that’s where the battles are fought.
News
1 AZ Central:
The Corporation Commission needs to earn back our trust
2 Las Vegas Sun:
NV Energy fights to keep rooftop solar from cutting into its profit
3 Salt Lake Tribune:
Op-ed - Utah caught in larger battle of Berkshire Hathaway vs. citizen solar
4 Renewable Energy World:
Quantifying Returns - Does Energy Storage Coupled with PV Offer Big Savings?
5 Breaking Energy:
US Solar Adoption Pretty Dismal, Closer Look Reveals
6 Greentech Media:
Update - Hanergy Thin Film CEO Shorts Stock Days Before Price Plummets
7 Gizmodo:
You Can Take this Little Wind and Solar
8 CNN:
Solar plane delays attempt at most challenging leg of epic journey
Opinions:
9 Renew Economy:
Solar energy needs smart solutions, not dumb economics
Have a great day!
Yann
These are the top 10 most read solar articles by your peers this week!
News
1 Utility Dive:
Democratic US rep. files bill to extend solar ITC for 5 years
2 Forbes:
The 5 Solar IT Startups You Should Know
3 Wall Street Journal:
The Hole in the Rooftop Solar-Panel Craze
4 Investopedia:
5 Thought-Provoking Statements From Solar City
5 Time:
This May Be the Future of Solar Power
6 CNBC:
Solar CEO - This is our next big growth area
7 NY Times:
What Do You Really Get for a $7,000 Tesla Home Battery?
8 Bloomberg:
Warren Buffett Is Sending Mixed Messages on Green Energy
9 Forbes:
Yingli In Trouble
10 Fusion:
Solar power advocates are ‘the enemy,’ says utility in America’s sunniest state
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
