This is your SolarWakeup for March 9th, 2023
The Lender You Can Depend On. In a market that is full of uncertainty, you can rely on Dividend Finance to bring you white glove service to help you reach your long-term goals. Apply Here
News
1 Reuters:
U.S. solar installations fell 16% in 2022, but market rebounding -report
2 Utility Dive:
New Jersey seeks up to 4 GW of offshore wind in latest solicitation
3 Bloomberg:
China Solar Firm Says US Should End Tariffs For Its Own Good
4 PV-Tech:
Origis Energy obtains US$750 million credit facility for US solar, storage pipeline
5 Energy Storage News:
Energy Vault posts US$146 million revenues in 2022, expects 2-3x that in 2023
6 Canary Media:
Google’s huge solar buys help fund efficiency fixes for low-income homes
7 PV-Magazine:
Bipartisan Michigan bill would unlock community solar market
Opinions:
8 New York Times:
Clean Energy Is Suddenly Less Polarizing Than You Think
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 8th, 2023
The Lender You Can Depend On. In a market that is full of uncertainty, you can rely on Dividend Finance to bring you white glove service to help you reach your long-term goals. Apply Here
News
1 Reuters:
CERAWEEK Biden climate law will stumble without permitting reform, industry warns
2 PV-Magazine:
Renewables merger and acquisition strategies are shifting
3 Bloomberg:
Battery Bonanza Is Being Sparked by Coal’s Exit in Australia
4 Energy Storage News:
Sweden battery storage market to grow 2-4x in 2023
5 Axios:
Kerry - China tensions hurting climate talks
6 Politico:
Anti-ESG comes for the insurance industry
7 Solar Builder:
VPP software provider Shifted Energy closes $4.3M funding round
8 PV-Tech:
Silicon wafer prices rise as supply tightens
Opinions:
9 Canary Media:
California’s plan to electrify trucking may be hard for small companies
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 7th, 2023
Palmetto Loads Up. The solar marketplace, Palmetto, is bringing in another $150million from TPG’s Rise Climate Fund. This is the same fund that invested heavily into Nextracker last year ahead of that company’s IPO.
News
1 Solar Builder:
TPG Rise Climate invests $150M in residential solar marketplace Palmetto
2 PV-Magazine:
Solar, wind, storage account for 82% of new U.S. capacity additions
3 Bloomberg:
Baker Hughes Plans for Multiple Years of Growth
4 Utility Dive:
New White House cyber strategy could drive utility costs higher, warns security expert
6 Axios:
Over 190 countries reach historic deal to protect oceans
7 PV-Tech:
RWE’s US renewables pipeline soars after completing Con Edison Clean Energy Businesses acquisition
8 Energy Storage News:
Volvo Penta launches battery storage sub-system solution
Opinions:
9 Canary Media:
There’s a push underway to help more US farms save big with clean energy
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 6th, 2023
The Lender You Can Depend On. In a market that is full of uncertainty, you can rely on Dividend Finance to bring you white glove service to help you reach your long-term goals. Apply Here
News
1 Energy Storage News:
Ameresco to get 2.1GWh BESS project for Southern California Edison to ‘substantial completion by summer’
2 Utility Dive:
FERC orders PJM to revise plan for DER aggregations; Enel ‘encouraged’ that single-node limit may be lifted
3 PV-Magazine:
Renewable energy institutional investment has gone “from niche to mainstream”
4 PV-Tech:
Array Technologies bounces back from 2021 as revenue jumps 50% in 2022
5 Axios:
Tornadoes reported in Texas and Louisiana as storms lash the South
6 Solar Power World:
8 tips for solar customers as California’s NEM 3.0 begins
7 New York Times:
The coal challenge
8 Canary Media:
Will the feds approve any of the new small modular nuclear reactors?
Opinions:
9 Bloomberg:
What Is a Heat Pump and Why Does Elon Musk Want to Put One in Your Home?
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 3rd, 2023
The Lender You Can Depend On. In a market that is full of uncertainty, you can rely on Dividend Finance to bring you white glove service to help you reach your long-term goals. Apply Here
News
1 NPR:
1A Remaking America - Can Solar Power Help Fix Drought-Ravaged Farmlands?
2 Canary Media:
Here’s the good and bad news on the US clean energy transition
3 Bloomberg:
Republicans Are Splitting Their Party Over Clean Energy
4 Utility Dive:
RWE completes $6.8B acquisition of Con Edison Clean Energy Businesses
5 Axios:
Solving oil's Goldilocks problem
6 Reuters:
Portugal's EDP to invest $27 billion to nearly double renewable capacity
7 PV-Tech:
Shoals Technologies sees revenue and EBITDA up 50%, announces interim CEO
8 Energy Storage News:
Energy storage everywhere at once - Inflation Reduction Act creates viable clean energy economics
9 PV-Magazine:
U.S. solar workforce needs to double in less than a decade
Opinions:
10 NYTimes:
The Promise and Peril of Biden’s Climate Policy
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 2nd, 2023
The Lender You Can Depend On. In a market that is full of uncertainty, you can rely on Dividend Finance to bring you white glove service to help you reach your long-term goals. Apply Here
News
1 Bloomberg:
Australia Prepares for a Power Grid Without Spinning Turbines
2 The Guardian:
Solar to soon offer grid more capacity than coal, consultancy says
3 Utility Dive:
NARUC examines how states can make power grids more flexible with performance-based mechanisms
4 Reuters:
Factbox - Tesla CEO Musk to unveil Part 3 of Master Plan at Investor Day
5 Energy Storage News:
Available Power and Hitachi Energy’s JV entity target 1GW deployments in Texas market
6 Canary Media:
Here’s the good and bad news on the US clean energy transition
7 PV-Magazine:
OYA Renewables closes financing for New York community solar pipeline
Opinions:
8 Grist:
US solar and wind surged in 2022
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 1st, 2023
Reserve Margins Shrinking. It’s not the physics that will make a market but the grid operators that take the physics, or in this case the fact that reserve capacity is shrinking, and create the pricing signals that will drive a market forward. For PJM, the vast expanse of the grid, addition of a lot of renewable energy like offshore wind, and retiring power plants, will require more flexibility in the grid in addition to the additional capacity that will need to be built. In the meantime, we know what the grid needs but grid needs are not enough to get project developments through an investment committee.
Tax Credits Drive Markets. Economic growth and investments in the US economy have long been directed through tax credits. While some consider this government aid, it’s really a driver to move private capital into direct investments for economic growth. Mortgage tax deductions and charitable donations are there to incentivize particular use of your personal dollars. MACRS bonus depreciation or manufacturing tax credits do the same, create a positive financial adder to the overall investment thesis that the economy is looking to expand beyond organic growth. If the tax credit doesn’t work, it costs zero. If it works, you get economic growth, so you have a win-win situation.
The Lender You Can Depend On. In a market that is full of uncertainty, you can rely on Dividend Finance to bring you white glove service to help you reach your long-term goals. Apply Here
News
1 Utility Dive:
PJM capacity prices fall 15% for most of grid operator’s footprint as total cost remains steady at $2.2B
2 Bloomberg:
GOP Governors Tout Green Bona Fides Amid Anti-ESG Backlash
3 New York Times:
Biden Is Betting on Government Aid to Change Corporate Behavior
4 Energy Storage News:
West Virginia governor Justice officially signs off on US$105 million for Form Energy’s iron-air battery plant
5 Renew Economy:
Rooftop solar set to eclipse coal as installations reach more than 20GW
6 Reuters:
Japan can achieve 90% clean power share by 2035, US study finds
7 PV-Magazine:
Where renewable energy policies are working in 2023
Opinions:
8 Solar Builder:
Report - Over $82M in solar revenue lost due to equipment anomalies in 2022
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for February 28th, 2023
It’s A Great Story. The job transition storyline is one of the best of this industry and now more than ever, there are great jobs to get for all types of folks in the solar, storage and clean tech space. People with different backgrounds and experiences coming together from afar to build towards a common goal. The opportunities now span the spectrum and include major abilities to advance and even make great money.
News
1 New York Times:
As Oil Companies Stay Lean, Workers Move to Renewable Energy
2 Energy Storage News:
Wider portfolio and management team key to securing investment in individual BESS projects
3 Utility Dive:
PJM launches fast-track capacity market reform process in face of shrinking reserve margins
4 PV-Magazine:
Court rules that inverter sizing guides grid connection
5 Canary Media:
More money for US battery recycling - DOE offers $375M loan to Li-Cycle
6 Axios:
America's growing hurricane wind problem
7 Reuters:
Vattenfall urges EU to make green power investments attractive
8 Bloomberg:
Payouts on Biggest US Power Grid Fall 15% in Auction
Opinions:
9 Inside Climate News:
Illinois Put a Stop to Local Governments’ Ability to Kill Solar and Wind Projects. Will Other Midwestern States Follow?
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for February 27th, 2023
The Grid Needs Help It Slows Down. Grids have transitions on both ends of the wire, demand and generation. They increasingly have to deal with more volatile weather events and consumer behaviors that have led to economies being slowed because access for new customers is limited, like data centers not finding ways to connect to the infrastructure. So why, on the other hand, do grids take so long to figure out how to get through queues and provide approvals to the upgrades and generation they so badly need? Why does it take energy storage years to get approved for connection? We not only need modernization in the infrastructure but the bureaucracy that runs the wires.
Your Day 2 Partner. Solar, wind, batteries. They all have a need that we rarely, if ever, talk about; the day 2 customer service hotline. Once the system is built, who are you calling on day 2? How do you fix the little problem or troubleshoot the issues that show up as you manage an asset you spent hundreds of millions of dollars on? Wait and see but my prediction is that we’re going to talk a lot about your day 2 partner, the hotline that helps you maximize the return on your investment.
The Operating System. Like about a thousand other energy storage professionals came together at the Energy Storage Summit. Energy storage has a ton of focus on the DC block (the box that houses the battery) and how you make money (the gird pricing signals) but not much in between. So, I appreciate Trina’s focus on highlighting, arguably the most important part of the system (the operating system), the EMS platform that runs the battery in conjunction with the controls. This operating system tells you what’s going on with your system and then makes sure the battery does what the grid and/or trader wants it to do. In short, the EMS is the most important thing asset owners need to keep the batteries working but also consider that you don’t buy your solar operating system from your module manufacturer either…
Cybersecurity You Need, And May Be Required To Upgrade For. Cybersecurity is the bulk power system topic (and DER topic) that is also going to eat up quite a bit of our 2023 dialogue. It’s a matter of time until you’ll be asked to upgrade to improve your asset’s security protocols and compliance with those regulations could cause issues that reduce your revenue stream. Expect the same to happen in residential virtual power plants as well, in order to participate, you’ll need to be in compliance.
The Lender You Can Depend On. In a market that is full of uncertainty, you can rely on Dividend Finance to bring you white glove service to help you reach your long-term goals. Apply Here
News
1 Bloomberg:
Germany Faces $1 Trillion Challenge to Plug Massive Power Gap
2 Energy Storage News:
Trina Storage developing battery storage EMS as ‘must-have’ aspect of strategy
3 Utility Dive:
Hackers are ‘increasingly bold,’ NERC warns, as Dragos report identifies new grid threats
4 Reuters:
DTE Energy beats profit estimates as winter storm boosts electricity demand
5 PV-Tech:
Senator Ossoff stresses US solar manufacturing is ‘national security issue’
6 Canary Media:
California ups renewables target again with new plan to add 85GW by 2035
7 PV-Magazine:
NREL Industry Growth Forum featuring cleantech startups from around the world
Opinions:
8 Axios:
Unpacking Biden's World Bank surprise
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for February 24th, 2023
The Lender You Can Depend On. In a market that is full of uncertainty, you can rely on Dividend Finance to bring you white glove service to help you reach your long-term goals. Apply Here
News
1 New York Times:
The U.S. Has Billions for Wind and Solar Projects. Good Luck Plugging Them In.
2 Axios:
1 million without power as winter storm grips U.S., Calif. blizzard alerts
3 Reuters:
Biden nominates former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga to head World Bank
4 PV-Magazine:
Solar industry seeing results from diversity program
5 Utility Dive:
Federal incentives help drive $52B of investments in 17 EV battery production facilities - BofA
6 PV-Tech:
Sunnova aims to add up to 125,000 customers in 2023, FY 2022 adjusted EBITDA up 38.6%
7 Energy Storage News:
1.29GW of battery storage wins contracts in UK’s T-4 Capacity Market auction
8 Canary Media:
This EV battery recycling plant in Ohio is planning a huge expansion
Opinions:
9 Bloomberg:
Solar Industry Facing Whiplash From Volatile Material Prices
Have a great day!
Yann
