This is your SolarWakeup for August 7th, 2014
I am humored by the latest in flashbacks presented in the solar/utility discussion. As the regulatory discussion reaches new markets where the utilities have significant unregulated activities, I wonder how the regulated entity will be able to position themselves as needing anti-solar regulation while benefitting from the same policies in the other States. I don't think it is doable but then again there is a big gap in the behemoth utility management teams that will make the attempt anyways.
News
1 GTM:
SolarWorld Fires Shot at SEIA Over China Trade Case
3 Bloomberg:
Sungevity Eschews Solar Lease as Loans Become More Common
4 Motley Fool:
SolarCity Is Eyeing a New Solar Energy Market
5 PV-Magazine:
US, Chinese EPC companies continue to dominate global PV
6 SolarCurator:
Time, motion, and solar installation labor efficiency
7 GTM:
The Narrative That Residential PACE Is ‘Dead’ Is Now Pretty Much Dead Itself
8 AZ Central:
Reject APS rooftop solar proposal, but for right reason
Opinions:
9 HuffPost:
Now Is America's Moment to Assert Itself as a Solar Superpower
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 6th, 2014
Vivint Solar appears to be setting up for an IPO. Interesting that Blackstone sees the value to split solar off from the home security business. A move I understand but not sure I agree with. Short term, maybe, but long term there are too many interconnectivity potentials in the home to separate a combined force. Just look at the utility boards across the Country, home security is everywhere. Congrats to the Vivint team however, though I have yet to meet one of you.
News
1 Reuters:
SolarCity competitor Vivint Solar files for IPO
2 RE World:
Areva Posts Loss, Announces Close of Solar Business
3 GTM:
Before Calling Solar ‘Exciting,’ APS Said Its Benefits Were ‘Unproven’
4 Bloomberg:
China Said to Consider Policies to Raise Solar Installations
5 Roll Call:
Solar to Lose Tax Credit Training Wheels
6 GTM:
Utility-Scale Solar Is Back From the Dead
8 Newson6:
Homeowners Rush To Go Solar Ahead Of OK's Solar Surcharge
Opinions:
9 AZ Central:
West Valley's future with solar energy
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 5th, 2014
In the politics of solar the hierarchy of importance goes like this in my mind. The State Governors and then the Public Utilities Commissioners. In every case the Governor is elected, in some cases the commissioners, and in some the Governor selects the commissioners. In States, like Florida, the commissioners are picked by the Governor, making the Florida gubernatorial election that much more important. It's important to be involved, politics are not a spectator sport...it's full contact.
News
2 Salt Lake Tribune:
What’s rooftop solar power worth? Not much, utility says
3 PV-Tech:
Taiwan government to intervene in US trade row
4 Energy Collective:
Capacity Factor Impacts on New Renewable Power?
5 GTM:
SCE Selects Vendors for 1.3GW of New Solar Projects
6 Solar Server:
3 GW of US utility-scale solar PV projects at risk
7 Solar Industry:
Solar Supporters In CA Rally Around Rooftop Permit Bill
8 CleanTechnica:
South Carolina Solar Is Rising
Opinions:
9 Mohave Daily:
Arizona could become ‘solar capital of the world’
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 4th, 2014
I always seem to roll my eyes when an article comes out along the lines of "solar beats/matches coal/nat gas etc." In every case the comparison takes into account the upfront cost or LCOE calculation. I'd like the next person to show me a fixed price PPA for a natural gas power plant, or a contract that has no assumption for future cost of fuel increases. Also, when are we going to value water? Water is going to be more valuable than natural gas, or it may already be...
News
1 PV-Tech:
Solar crucial to avoid water-related conflict
2 GTM:
As Securitization Grows, Is the Solar Ready for Wall Street’s Scrutiny?
3 Motley Fool:
How Solar Energy Is Taking Over the U.S.
4 Boston Globe:
DPU chief crafts bill that aids son’s firm
5 PV Magazine:
Long-awaited French energy bill puts renewables center stage
6 Solar Industry:
Germany’s PV Experience Represents Lessons For Solar Adoption
7 RE World:
SunPower Planning New 700-MW Factory as Demand Swells
8 VentureBeat:
How Tesla’s ‘Gigafactory’ could change everything — not just EVs
Opinions:
9 Sun-Sentinel:
Solar energy column missed the mark
Have a great day!
Yann
These are the top 10 most read solar articles by your peers this week!
News
1 AZ Central:
APS wants to put free solar panels on 3,000 homes
2 GTM:
SolarCity Quietly Moving to Loans and Customer-Owned Solar
3 Boston Globe:
Solar energy bill hanging in the balance
4 Mass Live:
Massachusetts House lifts cap on solar projects
5 GTM:
APS Enters the Solar Business
6 NY Times:
Solar Industry Is Rebalanced by U.S. Pressure on China
7 Forbes:
SolarWorld Wins, Americans Lose, As Commerce Fixes Tariffs
8 Forbes:
Six Reasons Solar Needs To Stop Whining About Chinese Tariffs
9 CS Monitor:
How many solar panels would it take to power Earth?
10 RE World:
Panel Prices Expected to Rise in the US Due to New Tariffs
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 August 1st, 2014
EIA drops some chartastic data on us today. Non-hydro energy production is overtaking hydro. A testament to the renewable energy production increase and the hurdles that the southwest has had with recent droughts. Moreover, many EIA datasets do not include distributed generation. Just wait to see how this replicates in hydro dominated markets around the world....
News
1 EIA:
Nonhydro renewables now routinely surpass hydropower generation
2 Mass Live:
Massachusetts House lifts cap on solar projects
3 GTM:
Proof That a $10 Minimum Bill Is Better Than a Fixed Charge
4 Solar Industry:
N.Y. Creates Database Of 10K Solar Projects
5 CleanTechnica:
Solar May Become Cheaper Than Wind In 5 Years
6 Bloomberg:
Brazil Development Bank to Allow Solar Imports Until 2020
7 RenewEconomy:
US solar giant quits Australia due to policy uncertainty
8 Forbes:
Arizona Utility To Pay Consumers For Rooftop Space For Solar
Opinions:
9 Red, Green, and Blue:
Xcel Has More Faces Than Eve
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 31st, 2014
Lots of coverage of the APS proposal to own 20MW of residential solar rooftops. Let us be clear about one thing. APS wants to own solar, put it into the ratebase (make customers pay for it) and then turn around and say that solar has no demand value. Thus requiring more power plants to be built. Utility owned generation, UOG, is the newest ploy by billion dollar corporations to get rid of the solar industry.
News
1 GTM:
APS Enters the Rooftop Solar Business
2 PV-Tech:
Con Edison chooses storage over billion-dollar substation project
3 CleanTechnica:
Renewables Pushing Utilities & Grid Operators To Invest In FACTS
4 KCET:
L.A. Using Only a Fraction of its Rooftop Solar Potential
5 Bloomberg:
China Solar Exports Increased 18% in First Half of 2014
6 RE World:
MA SREC Clearinghouse Auction Underway — What You Need to Know
7 Quartz:
How solar energy storage could make Tesla much more than an automaker
8 Forbes:
Six Reasons Solar Needs To Stop Whining About Chinese Tariffs
Opinions:
9 PR Watch:
Utility Trade Group Funds ALEC Attack on Americans Using Solar
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 30th, 2014
APS wants to put "free" solar panels on homes in Arizona. Also, they are not funding Corporate Commission candidates. Those two sentences remind me of some oceanfront property in Arizona that I would like to sell. Utility owned generation of distributed solar is the ultimate customer squeeze. No value for the homeowner, no value for their neighbors and a cost that will continue all the way to their grandchildren.
News
1 AZ Central:
APS wants to put free solar panels on 3,000 homes
2 Boston Globe:
Solar energy bill hanging in the balance
3 CS Monitor:
How many solar panels would it take to power Earth?
4 Solar Industry:
Fees For Solar Fire Up Advocates And Utilities In UT And MA
5 GTM:
NY Utility Proposes Community Solar, Microgrids-as-a-Service
6 CNN Money:
Direct Energy Enters Residential Solar Through Acquisition
7 Renew Economy:
Networks to defend grid by adding fees to solar
8 RE World:
New Jersey Moves Forward with Distributed Energy Resource Plan
Opinions:
9 Rachel Alexander:
Arizona Public Utility Attempting to Buy Elections
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 29th, 2014
Of course the blowback of the recent trade case is starting to come. I join all of those voices that call for the end of the tariffs. But the realist in me doesn't see a negotiated alternative outcome. SolarWorld (Owned by Qatar) had a decent quarter and can now get perpetual tariffs added to competitors that do it better and cheaper. Why would they want to change that? Why would they want another alternative strategy? Maybe if the market stops supporting SolarWorld product, they would come to the table.
News
1 PV-Tech:
Industry reaction to latest volley in US-China trade spat
2 RE World:
Solar Prices Expected to Rise in the US Due to New Tariffs
3 Breaking Energy:
Renewable Energy’s Stake in the Export-Import Bank Fight
4 Burlington Times:
NJ solar bailout working, for now
5 NY Times:
China Condemns U.S. In Solar Trade Battle
6 Bloomberg:
China Solar Projects Poised to Fuel Panel Price Rebound
7 GTM:
SolarCity Quietly Moving to Loans and Customer-Owned Solar
8 Mother Jones:
Inside the Huge Solar Farm That Powers Apple's iCloud
Opinions:
9 Des Moines Register:
Branstad's nix of solar grant disappointing
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 28th, 2014
To begin, I am back from a fantastic vacation which was made better with the help of Glenna Wiseman, who graciously stepped in for me last week. I hope you found her commentary as great as I did. You can always find her online at identity3.com, @GlennaWiseman or @Women4Solar!
News
1 SolarWakeup:
Making Electricity and Solar Usage Visible To The Naked Eye
2 PV-Magazine:
Commerce imposes preliminary anti-dumping tariffs of 26-165%
3 NY Times:
Solar Industry Is Rebalanced by U.S. Pressure on China
4 New Times:
The Alliance for Solar Choice Vows to Fight Florida Power Utilities
5 GTM:
SolarCity’s New $201M Securitized Solar Portfolio Keeps the Capital Flowing
6 Des Moines Register:
Branstad's solar grant decision stifles innovation
7 Salt Lake Tribune:
Is a fee for solar energy users a 'sun tax' or fair play?
8 WI State Journal:
Wisconsin utility companies take aim against solar power
Opinions:
9 Forbes:
SolarWorld Wins, Americans Lose, As Commerce Fixes Tariffs
Have a great day!
Yann
