This is your SolarWakeup for November 25th, 2014
In an amazing twist of reality, it has come to light that a Wisconsin Utility regulator may have acted improperly and most likely unethically. Ellen Nowak, the deciding vote in a 2-1 ruling to place a fee on solar users, appeared on a panel with the CEO of WI Energy Corp. With possible ex-parte communications and other strange dealings, it is another sample of when regulators and companies get too close. Not all utilities act this way but this is a case gone awry…more to come (see the first story)
News
1 Bloomberg:
Wisconsin Utility Sought Solar Fees After Regulator Advised CEO
2 Nytimes:
Solar and Wind Energy Start to Win on Price vs. Conventional Fuels
4 RE World:
Renewable YieldCo Pricing Less Irrational, But Plenty of Opportunity Left
5 Greentechmedia:
Topaz, the Largest Solar Plant in the World, is Now Fully Operational
6 Reneweconomy:
Networks told they need to play fair with local energy, solar
7 Switchboard:
Three necessary steps for the Mexican energy reform to help boost clean power
8 Bizjournals:
Hawaii's largest solar energy market continues to suffer
Opinions:
9 Usatoday:
Solar power charging ahead in America
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for November 24th, 2014
It’s fun to watch solar at work. Last week at the Infocast conference you watch the panelists speaking kindly to each other but throwing hidden darts at the same time. Loans or leases, yieldcos or securitizations, david versus goliath (for the utility panel). Now Walmart goes out and gives a contract to SunEdison and SolarCity. That should be fun to watch.
News
1 Utilitydive:
Walmart inks solar contracts with SolarCity, SunEdison
2 Bloomberg:
U.S. Rejects Proposal for Solar Project in California Desert
3 PV magazine:
U.S. installs only 31 MW of utility-scale solar in October
4 Forbes:
Solar Ran A $40 Billion Surplus In 2013
5 Cleantechnica:
Keystone, Schmeystone
6 Solarlove:
US Could Generate 100 Times Its Electricity From Solar Power
7 Newsobserver:
Solar power backers
8 Fool:
Media Reports Another Solar Company Bailout, But They're Wrong
Opinions:
9 Huffingtonpost:
The Green Industrial Revolution
Have a great day!
Yann
These are the top 10 most read solar articles by your peers this week!
News
1 SolarWakeup:
A Behind the Scenes look at SolarWakeup
2 San Diego UT:
Here's who wants to sell you solar, and why
3 Solar Industry:
How To Make The Pitch That Owning Residential Solar Beats Leasing
4 Motley Fool:
How SolarCity and SunPower Plan to Dominate Solar
5 NY Times:
SunEdison and TerraForm Buy First Wind, Gaining a Toehold in Turbines
6 BRW:
Ten commandments of solar energy for business
7 ABC:
Huge Solar Plant Lags in Early Production
8 Breaking Energy:
Ivanpah's First Nine Months
9 Milwaukee JS:
Regulators agree to increase fixed charge on We Energies electric bills
10 GTM:
Celebrity Solar Installation of the Week Starring NBA Legend Bill Walton
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 November 21th, 2014
Let’s go back to the ITC conversation. A panel of tax equity investors at this week’s infocast conference surprisingly (some would say shockingly) said that the ITC move to 10% wouldn’t make it to the bank CEOs desk. They said that they would just have to do more flow to deploy more capital at the same returns. I am sorry but anyone that thinks that solar in the US will maintain the same pipeline with a 10% ITC isn’t thinking through the market constriction properly. My 2 cents…
News
1 Utilitydive:
Georgia is the nation's fastest growing solar market
2 Greentechmedia:
It Was $40 Billion Cheaper to Install Solar in 2013 Than in 2012
3 Fool:
How SolarCity and SunPower Plan to Dominate Solar
4 Breakingenergy:
‘The Number of Megawatts is Simply not Replaceable in the Short Term with Renewables’
5 RE World:
Green Benefits
6 Huffingtonpost:
Powering Cars With Sunshine
8 Cleantechnica:
US Ex-Im Bank Offers $1 Billion Renewable Energy Loan To India
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for November 20th, 2014
Believing is the key to accomplishing anything. Take solar’s #1 fan, Bill Walton, for example. There are few people in solar that believe in the opportunity and empowerment offered by our industry like Bill does. So it’s with pleasure that I share GTM’s take on his recent installation on his home. Let’s take that enthusiasm for everything we do like our 21-1 track record on State policy discussions and the pending ITC extension, more on that to come!
News
2 RE World:
A Look Inside Four Solar Labs Offers a Glimpse of What's New in PV R&D
3 Breaking Energy:
Ivanpah Solar’s First Nine Months
4 Clean Technica:
California’s Reserve Fund Won’t Lift The FHFA Boot From PACE’s Neck
5 PV Magazine:
Home-grown UK solar to be cheaper than gas
7 Solar Server:
Renewable energy commitment can improve the stock price of mining companies
8 Solar Industry:
How To Make The Pitch That Owning Residential Solar Beats Leasing
Opinions:
9 Renew Economy:
How Australian utilities will cope with solar and storage
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for November 19th, 2014
We've talked about it in the past. Solar policies are largely focused on State strategies while SEIA is focused on ITC extension and placed in service. While Wisconsin had a single regulator add a fee on solar, let's remember that solar is 21-1 on State issues. This doesn't happen by accident. These victories are put together by grassroots efforts and leadership offered by groups like TASC. Give them some props for work well done and continued help to move our industry forward.
News
1 GTM:
Wisconsin Regulators Vote to Raise Fixed Charges, Add Solar Fees
2 Nationaljournal:
Solar Energy Advocates Form New Coalition in Massachusetts
3 PV Magazine:
Investors investigating potential securities claims against Vivint Solar
4 Wunc:
Solar Business Is Booming In NC, But For How Long?
5 247wallst:
Is the Solar Industry Really Getting Well?
6 PVSolarReport:
Sungevity Brings Solar Leases to Kansas City, Missouri
7 Cleantechnica:
Negative Impacts of Rooftop Solar Will Fall on Utility Investors
8 PV Tech:
JinkoSolar nears yield-co IPO
Opinions:
9 Americanthinker:
Lower Oil Prices Slow Fracking, but Kill Solar
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for November 18th, 2014
The most common question I get about SolarWakeup is how I pick the articles and get the newsletter out every day. Now that the readership list is officially over 2,000 I thought we could give you a behind the scenes look. Catch it at the top in today’s news. Of course don’t miss the big news from SUNE/TERP with the First Wind acquisition. A function of the yieldco hunger for capital deployment, more to come.
News
1 SolarWakeup:
A Behind the Scenes look at SolarWakeup
2 NY Times:
SunEdison and TerraForm Buy First Wind, Gaining a Toehold in Turbines
3 Idaho Statesman:
PUC approves two solar projects on Idaho Power grid
4 MW Energy:
In Minnesota, community solar market starting to take off
5 BRW:
Ten commandments of solar energy for business
6 ABC:
Huge Solar Plant Lags in Early Production
7 San Diego UT:
Here's who wants to sell you solar, and why
8 EDF:
Clean, Distributed Energy Can Benefit Low-Income Families
Opinions:
9 Climate News:
Worldwide Effort on Clean Energy Is What's Needed, Not a Carbon Price
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for November 17th, 2014
It was bound to happen, unfortunately, at some point. A public service commission, Wisconsin in this case, voted 2-1 to charge a devastating fee on solar users. This means that a single person in Wisconsin has chosen, for the millions of Wisconsinites, that solar shouldn’t be on the same playing field as the power companies. Surely more on this to come, would love to see Elon Musk make a comment about it.
News
1 JS Online:
Regulators agree to increase fixed charge on We Energies electric bills
2 RE World:
Levelized Cost of Electricity Models
3 PV Magazine:
Philae sleeps, hope rests in the sun
4 Grist:
Big Energy has tried to turn people of color against solar power since forever
5 Biz Journals:
Non-industrial users have little clout on electricity prices
6 GTM:
Customers Complain That BP Solar Panels Are Catching Fire and Breaking
7 RenewEconomy:
Solar – the greatest market opportunity world has seen
8 Midland Reporter:
Solar poised to increase market share in Texas
Opinions:
9 CleanTechnica:
What The Joint Climate Policy Announcement From US & China Means
Have a great day!
Yann
These are the top 10 most read solar articles by your peers this week!
News
1 Forbes:
Jimmy Fallon Makes the World's Best Argument Against Solar and Wind
2 Fortune:
Vivint Solar CEO
3 Mother Jones:
Obama's Deal With China Is a Big Win for Solar, Nuclear, and Coal
4 BoldRide:
Amsterdam Gets World’s First Solar Bike Path
5 PV Solar Report:
Which States Have the Strongest Solar Policy?
6 Fox News:
World's largest solar plant applying for federal grant to pay off federal loan
7 Gigaom:
SunPower wants to be the Dell of solar
8 Bloomberg:
First Solar Slides on Decision to Avoid Forming Yieldco
9 KTVU:
Customers complain of dangerous problems from BP Solar panels
10 Guardian:
Drawing back the panel
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 November 13th, 2014
Obviously the big news of the day is the Climate Change compact betweet US and China. In my view the details are almost secondary to the headline, that two incredibly large polluters have made an agreement to do something about it. Is it binding? Probably not. Will it work? Who knows. But it signals that big government is working on climate issues that affect their populations and that is big news.
News
1 Motherjones:
Obama's Deal With China Is a Big Win for Solar, Nuclear, and Clean Coal
2 Grist:
5 more things to celebrate besides the big new climate deal
3 Solarlove:
Solar Panels + Energy Storage For German Market
4 Breakingenergy:
Infographic
5 PV Magazine:
Residential storage market to increase to 900 MW by 2
6 Bloomberg:
China Hunger for Clean Energy to Leave No Rooftop Behind
8 Greentechmedia:
Illinois
Opinions:
9 Forbes:
Jimmy Fallon Makes the World's Best Argument Against Solar and Wind Energy
Have a great day!
Yann
