SolarWakeup.com

Home » Page 320

This is your SolarWakeup for January 6th, 2015

I love those words: “Intellectual honesty”. You often hear utility executives use this saying during their conversations with politicians, regulators and ratepayers. While I agree that solar needs to police itself with regard to sub standard sales practices, I don’t agree with the fact that solar should turn down the rhetoric with regard to policy. Solar is constantly attacked with arguments from dark money groups that are not being, shall we say, intellectually honest. So let’s be loud about our message that solar is here to stay!

News

1 AZ Central:

Ariz. regulator chastises rooftop-solar industry

2 Forbes:

2014 Energy Story #1 - Collapsing Oil Prices And The (Non)-Effect On U.S. Power Markets

3 Greentech Media:

Cleantech Venture Capital - Why Are These Investors Smiling?

4 Think Progress:

BREAKING - California Governor Calls For 50 Percent Renewable Power

5 CleanTechnica:

The Seven Most Attractive Nations For Renewable Investments

6 PV-Magazine:

Huge interest in Egyptian renewable energy tender

7 PV-Tech:

Chinese solar firms boosted by reduced 2012 US trade tariffs

8 Seeking Alpha:

The Changing Political Climate's Impact On The Solar Industry

Opinions:

9 RE World:

Six Renewable Energy Trends to Watch in 2015

Have a great day!
Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for January 5th, 2015

Welcome to gameday! The first Monday of business as usual for 2015, and I am excited to get to work. It’s going to be a great year for all of us and for the solar industry. A new look for us today! Start your year by sharing new content and let everyone know your outlook for the year. Remember, SolarWakeup will publish your content (for free) and connect you to the right people (investors) for your business needs. If we help each other, we all win! Let’s go!

News

1 Greentech Media:

A Setback for SolarWorld and a Trade Case Win for Chinese Solar Manufacturers

2 Breaking Energy:

Utilities Should Avoid Over-Investing When Integrating Renewable Energy Into Their Grid

3 CNBC:

The Big Apple takes a bite out of solar energy

4 PV-Magazine:

India ups solar investment pledge to $100bn by 2022

5 CleanTechnica:

Renewables Over 13% of US Electricity Production Jan–Oct 2014

6 Biz Journals:

Solar industry welcomes order that leaves N.C. solar regs intact

7 Greentech Media:

The Sol-Wind IPO - Can a Renewable YieldCo Win MLP Benefits?

8 NPR:

Utilities Fight For Revenue Lost To Solar Power

Opinions:

9 NY Times:

Playing Dumb on Climate Change

Have a great day!
Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for January 2nd, 2015

Welcome to 2015! Time to dust off the old and kickstart the new year. On Monday, the homepage of SolarWakeup will have an all new look and an easier access to the news stories. What is your solar resolution for 2015? Let me know, I want to hear from you.

News

1 Seeking Alpha:

Will Chinese Solar Companies Be Able To Overcome The U.S. Tariffs?

2 CleanTechnica:

17.3 GW Of Approved FiT Solar PV Projects In Japan Being Canceled

3 RE World:

Goodbye to 2014 and 10 Things to Look Out for in 2015

4 NY Times:

Tracing the Roots of Pope Francis’s Climate Plans for 2015

5 Breaking Energy:

10 Renewable Energy Questions for 2015

6 Huffington Post:

States Work To Meet New Renewable Energy Standards

7 Greentech Media:

Grading Rob Day’s 2014 Cleantech Investing Predictions

8 Forbes:

What You Should Know

Opinions:

9 American Thinker:

Obama's Energiewende

Have a great day!
Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for December 31st, 2014

Welcome to the beginning of the last day of 2014. It’s been a pleasure spending a few minutes of our days together for the past year once again. Today’s top news are actually the top articles of 2014, they represent the collection of trends you found particularly interesting any given day. Expect the ITC to keep up the a trending topic in 2015 and the utility transition to prosumerism (Thank you RWE for the term). I wish each of you a happy and prosperous 2015, see you on the other side on Friday the 2nd!

News

1 SolarServer:

Obama Administration proposes increased energy R&D spending, big changes to solar tax credits

2 Forbes:

3 Utilities Most Likely To Fall In Death Spiral, According To Morningstar

3 Motley Fool:

SolarCity Is in for a Giant Solar Fight

4 News 12:

Solar panels collapse under heavy snow, ice at Bryant Elementary School in Teaneck

5 Washington Post:

Elon Musk’s five insights into solar energy

6 Grist:

The high cost of the solar middleman

7 Forbes:

Jimmy Fallon Makes the World's Best Argument Against Solar and Wind Energy

8 Motley Fool:

SolarCity Is Eyeing a New Solar Energy Market

Opinions:

9 CleanTechnica:

Solar Storage Scandal In California (In Depth)

Have a great day!
Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for December 30th, 2014

There is no shortage of irony in solar news. Transcanada, the company behind the desire to export an enormous amount of oil, bought a solar farm in Canada. Don’t get me wrong, solar farms with OPA contracts are great, but another oil conglomerate creating long term revenue through solar assets is ironic. Everyone sees it and is doing something about it but continues to see the business as usual scenario as the most hopeful outcome. Of course, NRG comes to mind as a US based contrarian to that statement.

News

1 EDF:

Amid Global Efforts, New York Plants Seeds for Energy Reform in 2014 That Will Bloom in 2015

2 Gigaom:

My 14 favorite energy stories of 2014

3 Solar Industry:

Utah's Solar Sector Showing Strong Gains

4 NY Times:

Why the US Will Power the World Economy in 2015

5 PV Magazine:

Motech to merge with Topcell forming 3 GW cell giant

6 Seeking Alpha:

Why Lower Oil Prices Are Positive For The Solar Industry

7 Huffington Post:

Transcanada Buys Ontario Solar Power Plant, Its 8th One In The Province

8 KTUU:

In rainy Southeast Alaska, a village experiments with solar power

Opinions:

9 CleanTechnica:

Tariffs-Smariffs, We Can Already Make the World’s Lowest Cost Solar Modules — Here In The US

Have a great day!
Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for December 29th, 2014

Looking back at what I wrote in 2014 to ponder on what will be in 2015. It wasn’t the most popular story but definitely my favorite, and also the one that seems to become the ‘most likely to be reality’ in a forward looking way: “Is Google About to Be Your Cleantech Utility”. The most popular SolarWakeup story was the breakdown of the Vivint Solar IPO. Most important aspect of the story was the news of the exlusive use of Enphase inverters which became a topic of conversation during the successful IPO. The top contributed original story came from Jonathan Silver titled “Wall Street and Main Steet Voted. Clean Energy Won.” Look to SolarWakeup for more original content in 2015, especially from contributors.

News

1 CNBC:

US-China trade war leave some solar firms reeling

2 PV Magazine:

AE looks at departure from inverter business

3 RenewEconomy:

How Pope Francis could tip the balance against fossil fuels

4 CleanTechnica:

Why Do Some US States Have Higher Rooftop Solar Installation Than Others?

5 Forbes:

Five U.S. Electricity Myths DeBunked

6 RE World:

Renewable Energy Review

7 Newsday:

Solar power is already growing rapidly in New York

8 Houston Chronicle:

Texas needs to incentivize solar power

Opinions:

9 Motley Fool:

Utilities a Growing Threat to Residential Solar Installers

Have a great day!
Yann

Solar Going Mainstream? 5 Projections for 2015

By Jason Kaminsky

By Jason Kaminsky Now that 2014 has come to an end and we’ve seen a preview of what 2015 has in store, we felt it was the right time to put together our projections for the year. We look forward to picking this back up in 2016 and seeing how many of these actually materialized over the course of the year. Utility rates will be restructured – impacting existing solar users: While states like Hawaii are proposing modifications to their NEM rate structures for new customers only, proposals in California and Arizona are establishing a precedent that rate design can impact … Read More →

This is your SolarWakeup for December 23th, 2014

As a reminder for what is ahead in 2015, we bring you just one case of solar fee attempts. We all get together to make sure solar is in a position to be part of the energy portfolio, a portfolio that is drastically over invested on natural gas. As we enter 2015, let’s have a discussion about the costs AND benefits about distributed energy. Now that’s a discussion I and most in solar would love to have.

News

1 Think Progress:

New Mexico’s Largest Utility Wants To Charge Solar Owners Up To $30 A Month

2 Solar Love:

Solar Is Most Worth It In These States

3 PV-Tech:

Solar steals the show in 100MW Ontario FiT extension

4 NY Times:

Natural Gas

5 RE World:

Renewable Energy Review

6 Seeking Alpha:

How The New Solar Tariffs Will Affect The Solar Industry

7 PV-Magazine:

Hemlock to close Tennessee polysilicon site

8 Energy Collective:

The Year Ahead

Opinions:

9 Grist:

This is the kind of climate bill Congress should pass (but won’t)

Have a great day!
Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for December 22th, 2014

A few months ago some utilities in Arizona asked for the ability to charge ratepayers for the installation of residential rooftop solar systems. Last week the oversight commission (ACC) said they support the program but not the ability to rate base it. It's a move that makes utilities place the risk on the shareholders of the companies which means that the program has to be "prudent" to the ratepayers before a return can be seen. At first sight this puts an important focus on low income communities with the ability to secure the credit risk in a way that private business may not have. Let's see if the utilities do it right, check back in a few months.

News

1 USA Today:

Solar players taking different paths to success

2 Duluth News Tribune:

Xcel gets 427 solar garden applications in Minnesota

3 AZ Central:

APS will move ahead with free solar

4 PV-Magazine:

Georgia regulators approve 515 MW of solar PPAs

5 Renew Economy:

Why oil price crash is good news for climate, and clean energy

6 PV Tech:

Japan’s new FiT rules draw criticism from Japan Renewable Energy Foundation

7 Utility Dive:

Solar in 2014

8 Republican-American:

More reasons to resist impulse to install solar panels

Opinions:

9 The Boston Globe:

Unleash Chinese solar panels to fight climate change

Have a great day!
Yann

Top 10 most read solar articles by your peers this week!

These are the top 10 most read solar articles by your peers this week! #1 NY Times: U.S. Imposes Steep Tariffs on Chinese Solar Panels #2 Breaking Energy: Where Does Solar Make Sense? New State Study Shows #3 Forbes: Trends In Solar: Capital Costs Drop, While Solar Cos Re-invent Themselves #4 Washington Post: SolarCity hires former Obama strategist to ignite a grass-roots #5 Bloomberg: Why Elon Musk's Batteries Scare the Hell Out of the Electric Company #6 Venture Beat: 8 surprising energy stats to remember from 2014 #7 24/7 Wall Street: 4 Top Solar Stocks to Buy for 2015 as Installations Remain Strong #8 Bloomberg: Solar Power Wins South Carolina on Agreement With Duke #9 Greentech Media: New Tariffs on Chinese Panel Makers Split the US Solar Industry #10 Solar Industry: New York Raises Net-Metering Caps As Part Of An Energy Initiative 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 weekend!

Yann

Older posts

Newer posts