This is your SolarWakeup for April 10th, 2015
We need to talk about water more often. A few years ago, while talking about the ratepayer impact of solar, I thought that water reduction (on a per kWh basis) should be included in the financial value of solar investments. Every gallon of water saved in energy, is an extra gallon available to farmers, ranchers and the environment which is an obvious economic and societal benefit. If we continue with the status quo, you can see a future where utilities have to scale back central power due to lack of water resource, it’s happening more and more…
News
1 Tea Party Tribune:
Nevada’s Latest Import? Energy Corruption
2 Quartz:
The electric grid’s latest threat? Rooftop solar cells
3 PV-Magazine:
US poised to hit 1994-levels of CO2 emissions this year, says BNEF
4 Scientific American:
Gas-Happy Texas Goes Solar
5 CNBC:
No oil needed! This solar stock is on fire
6 Utility Dive:
How Wellinghoff, Rabago, and other grid reformers would design their own electricity markets
7 Grist:
The bright side of California’s drought- More solar power
8 EDF:
"Australia (and possibly Texas) Undoes Best Strategy for Water Conservation - Clean Energy"
Opinions:
9 NRDC:
Going solar should be no more difficult than getting cable TV
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 9th, 2015
It’s been about a year since I put solar on my house and there has been some discussion recently about the value of residential solar O&M. I work in solar so I look at my production almost daily (through my awesome iPhone app) but I was shocked to see how bad the dirt, dust and salt had covered my panels. So my next step is to figure out a way to clean my panels (and troubleshoot the two underperforming panels). Solar is my entire career, so this should be easy for me but imagine how this impacts the everyday homeowner. O&M is crucial and is surely more than 20 years of repairs…
News
1 SolarWakeup:
Solar Asset Management - 4 Best Practices From The Experts
2 PV-Magazine:
Abdul Latif Jameel completes FRV acquisition
3 Inside Climate:
Bloomberg Pours $30 Million More Into Fighting Coal
4 Business Spectator:
Solar and wind 'now cheapest in UAE'
5 Standard Examiner:
Report - Big shift from electricity to solar power
6 Fox:
Utah man sent to ‘casual’ roundtable meeting gets a shock - Obama is sitting there
7 Utility Dive:
Developer scraps Maryland wind project due to local political opposition
8 NY Times:
If We Dig Out All Our Fossil Fuels, Here’s How Hot We Can Expect It to Get
Opinions:
9 RE World:
Making Residual Value Real - Where is Solar's Emilio Estevez?
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 8th, 2015
Thank you to the smart folks down under. Apparently Australians enjoy the benefits of cheap solar energy and don’t mind if the Chinese are willing to sell modules at the best price possible. So while the findings showed there was dumping of solar modules it found little injury to the Australian PV industry. If only the US commissions had used similar reasoning, maybe we would have realized that the solar industry would have been better off.
News
1 PV-Magazine:
Australia - Module dumping causes negligible injury
2 Hartford Courant:
Report - Solar Plus Batteries Means Tough Future For Utilities
3 Think Progress:
White House Announces Plan To Tackle The Health Threats Of Climate Change
4 Utility Dive:
PPL, Peco join list of utilities seeking big fixed fee hikes
5 Breaking Energy:
In New Survey, Even Republicans Love Solar
6 Solar Server:
PV in the U.K. - No large-scale solar for next financial year
7 Seeking Alpha:
China's And India's Increasing Impact On The Solar Industry
8 Daily Caller:
Arizona Solar Customers Complain About Deceptive Marketing Practices
Opinions:
9 Network World:
A better way to store solar power for data centers
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 7th, 2015
The yield-co game of chess is upon us. My favorite part about it is that nobody really knows what it means. Everyone is talking about yield-cos buying everything which in some part is true but can most people explain it? We know the buzzword, feeding the beast, but do we know who is getting the better bargain? What does it mean when one potential yield-co sells to another potential yield-co? And what is the value of a yield-co without a development platform, will it be able to stay competitive on pricing?
News
1 Motley Fool:
It's Official - Solar Is Taking Over in California
2 Climate News Network:
Water crisis pushes Brazil towards solar power at last
3 Forbes:
Solar Eclipses Are Slowly Disappearing, And There's Nothing We Can Do To Stop It
4 Greentech Media:
The Best and Worst Employee Reviews of America’s Top Solar Companies
5 Solar Love:
Integrated Utility Services Proposal In Colarado
6 RE World:
Rethinking the Grid - Personal Power Stations in Your Garage
7 Utility Dive:
Duke Energy Florida proposes 500 MW of utility-scale solar
8 CleanTechnica:
Another Big Blow For Big Coal- Solar PPAs Coming To China
Opinions:
9 Energy Collective:
Has Renewable Energy Finally Ended the Great Clean Energy Stagnation?
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 6th, 2015
It’s a great thing when a good plan comes together. President Obama visited his 49th State (Utah) last week to announce the mission to train 75,000 veterans through the SITN (Solar Instructor Training Network) managed by our dear friends at IREC. As Gallup shows in recent polling, support by all Americans for solar remains at the top with 76% saying we should do more. With the training and the support, it gives Congress another reason to expand the growth of solar going forward and not shrink it.
News
1 Washington Post:
Obama wants to train 75,000 new solar workers by 2020
2 Solar Love:
Gallup Energy Poll Says Most Favor Solar
3 AZ Central:
Solar water-heating industry cools off
4 Motley Fool:
The Biggest Challenge Facing SolarCity and Vivint Solar in 2015
5 Times-Picayune:
Do solar power costs outweigh benefits? New study reignites old debate
6 RE World:
Questionable Cost Concerns Slow Net Metering
7 Treehugger:
It's a solar powered electric bicycle. Now we're talking. Again.
8 CleanTechnica:
Big Money Bets On Utility-Scale Solar — But We Still Heart Distributed Solar
Opinions:
9 EDF:
Clean Energy Legislation in the Heartland Promises Jobs
Have a great day!
Yann
These are the top 10 most read solar articles by your peers this week!
News
1 AZ Central:
A rooftop solar proposal that should end the debate
2 Seeking Alpha:
The Increasing Competition Between SolarCity And Vivint Solar
3 Boston Globe:
Mass. solar projects could soon reach a limit
4 Huffington Post:
America's Top Solar Cities
5 Motley Fool:
5 Things You Should Know About Canadian Solar
6 CleanTechnica:
Georgia Legislature Passes Landmark Solar Bill
7 Venture Beat:
Elon Musk’s SpaceX buying $90 million of Elon Musk’s Solar City solar bonds
8 Greentech Media:
Here’s How US Commercial Solar Can Bounce Back in 2015
9 PV-Tech:
Solar irradiance map shows East Coast USA PV projects ‘underperformed’ last year
10 PV-Magazine:
Leading UK solar developers adjust to new market conditions
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 3rd, 2015
The data regarding the solar eclipse a few weeks ago is very interesting. Germany went from 13GW of solar power to 5GW within 45 minutes when the eclipse started. 20 minutes later, the grid was back at 20GW of solar. The point of the story is that solar isn’t going to be breaking the grid anytime soon. Engineers are pretty good at being able to forecast these things and make sure your light switches still work. So let’s make sure we remember the reality when someone is trying to hype up the ‘danger’ of solar.
News
1 PV-Magazine:
Meteocontrol solar eclipse analysis reveals German grid durability
2 Solar Server:
NREL - Industry-backed best practices guides aim to lower financing costs for PV systems
3 Utility Dive:
What's next in the energy storage boom, and what utilities need to know
4 PV-Tech:
Tax exemption for New York customer-sited solar
5 Energy Collective:
Renewable Portfolio Standards Under Attack Across America
6 RE World:
Un-Natural Monopoly
7 Tampa Bay Tribune:
Duke Energy proposes large scale solar power plants over next 10 years
8 AZ Central:
APS asks to raise solar fees
Opinions:
9 EDF:
The Revolution will be Solarized
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 2nd, 2015
Thank you for the kind notes yesterday, especially those of you somewhat angry with my SolarSunset concept. Much to your dismay, yesterday was April 1st so April Fools to you! On a serious note, I am always intrigued what investors write about solar because they look at our sector with a different point of view. It’s amazing how an article can be written about the “2” leaders in solar is clearly between SCTY and VSLR, my guess is that a new #2 will come in quickly. Lastly, there is another intangible between the two companies. SolarCity has an incredible policy team that fights for fair solar policies and has line of sight on what will be good for their business. Vivint Solar does not participate in policy and just hopes that SolarCity and others are successful, which in my eyes is complete free loading and bad for the industry.
News
1 CleanTechnica:
Georgia Legislature Passes Landmark Solar Bill
2 Seeking Alpha:
The Increasing Competition Between SolarCity And Vivint Solar
3 Huffington Post:
America's Top Solar Cities
4 Greentech Media:
Here’s How US Commercial Solar Can Bounce Back in 201
5 Motley Fool:
5 Things You Should Know About Canadian Solar
6 PV-Magazine:
Leading UK solar developers adjust to new market conditions
7 Utility Dive:
Three trends that get the grid to 70% renewables by mid-century
8 PV-Tech:
Solar irradiance map shows East Coast USA PV projects ‘underperformed’ last year
Opinions:
9 News & Observer:
A clear need for a clean power plan in North Carolina
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 1st, 2015
This summer will mark 3 years that SolarWakeup will be running. Started with a list of 30 recipients and now thousands of readers. Doing the Wakeup every morning is a lot of work but moreover a cumbersome task which gets in the way of the work of my day job at Conergy. As such we will be launching SolarSunset, in line with the 2016 sunset of the ITC, and sending you the email every evening instead. I hope that this will not cause too much issue with your reading and your understanding is greatly appreciated!
News
1 AZ Central:
A rooftop solar proposal that should end the debate
2 PV-Magazine:
Canadian Solar completes acquisition of Recurrent Energy
3 News & Observer:
Don’t derail North Carolina’s clean energy boom
4 PV-Tech:
Conergy launches Turkish solar JV
5 Renew Economy:
Cheap oil vs wind and solar - fight for future of energy
6 Utility Dive:
Inside the new approach to finding the true value of solar
7 RE World:
Is Community Solar Coming to Maryland?
8 Forbes:
Solar Power To Become Cheapest Source Of Energy In Many Regions By 2025, German Experts Say
Opinions:
9 Huffington Post:
New U.S. Climate Target Is Achievable and Sends an Important Signal to the World
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 31st, 2015
The art of the headline. It’s happening all over media and there is no shortage of it around the headlines on solar. Some are meant to get you to click (see yesterday’s “It’s Okay To Hate Solar”) and some are factual but it sounds so far fetched you may think it’s a joke. The overhyping of solar’s impact on energy grid is at times impressive, if only our grid operators were engineers of some thought that understood the impacts of technology on the grid…But most of all let’s make sure that politicians have to decide how much solar gets installed so that we can keep creating jobs and getting clean energy into our portfolio for future generations’ benefit.
News
1 Boston Globe:
Mass. solar projects could soon reach a limit
2 PV-Magazine:
California grid operator envisions 50% renewables
3 Venture Beat:
Elon Musk’s SpaceX buying $90 million of Elon Musk’s Solar City solar bonds
4 PV-Tech:
Georgia to allow third-party leasing for solar homes and businesses
5 RE World:
US Vote-a-Rama Reveals Senators’ Environmental Agenda
6 Utility Dive:
HECO clears PV interconnection queues in Maui, Hawaii Islands
7 Slate:
Renewable energy doesn’t have to be a luxury purchase.
8 BBC:
Solar Impulse plane lands in China
Opinions:
9 Greentech Media:
The Rise of Choices and the End of Natural Monopolies
Have a great day!
Yann
