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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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 … Read More
This is your SolarWakeup for December 19th, 2014
Last night, we held our employee holiday party. Which made me think about 2014 as the year in solar and how much of a junction it really was. Without a list or complete recap, it is clear that 2014 was a huge win in the US and around the world. Looking at growth rates, new capital entrants, additional markets, regulatory victories/attacks, and additional barriers that the industry really took in stride. Let’s look at 2014 in detail some more another time but rejoice in the amazing work the industry did this year!
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for December 18th, 2014
The reaction to the tariff expansion from the industry is as expected. If there is a winner that I can think of at first glance it is the NAFTA Countries. Surely some of the manufacturers will move assets to the region to use the agreements to add new capacity to the US marketplace. I think regardless of recent events, those that have been trying to be the provider of last resort will fail to become the provider of only resort.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for December 17th, 2014
Imagine that, the tariffs for solar modules are going up and the scope is expanding. So here we are, trying to drive the cost of solar down while expanding to new markets and we get a fake increase of costs. We have to reiterate that the lead advocate for the tariffs has some potentially skewed motives that we have covered in the past. I am disappointed but not surprised. The parties have shown a lack of capability to get things done. Reason aside, the best in the business figure out a way to execute, but only the best.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for December 16th, 2014
The team at Mercatus has some great insights. From their perspective they give us a glimpse at the competitive landscape of investing in solar assets. So it is great when they publish some of that information for all of us to see what happens in the back rooms of solar ownership. So with the rise of the famed yieldcos, REITs, hedge funds and pension funds looking at solar, will the new race to the bottom be on the ownership side? Everyone seems to be getting squeezed, but it’s all to the benefit of market expansion it appears.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for December 15th, 2014
The government appears to be averting a shutdown with the giant CRomnibus bill. Solar doesn’t appear to have received anything that it asked for based on talking to those that read these things but the bill made me think of just one more reason of why solar should get their tax credit extensions. The environment sounds like a big loser in this bill which is a shame considering that making sure the air and water my kids get to use is cleaner than what I had as a child. There’s got to come a time when legislators look out for those not lobbying but that’s not reality today.
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Yann