This is your SolarWakeup for February 23rd, 2023
Too Early To Grade. The need to grade the IRA before the rules are barely written, unwritten and factories still under construction are missing the point. Solar and storage will be 81% of the grid additions this year. With energy demand scheduled to double in the next 25 years, that trend will continue which means the supply chain needs to keep up with hopes of that coming shoreside increasing, the IRA’s impact will have decades to show its impact. The transferring of tax credit is already clearly a winner, billions have already transacted. The 45x credits for domestic manufacturing is massive, primarily for trackers and inverters so far, even with the resi solar market having a moment of headwind. That’s just where we are today, so everyone knock it off with the grading on a generational policy.
News
1 New York Times:
Here’s Where Biden’s Climate Law Is Working, and Where It’s Falling Short
2 Energy Storage News:
‘UK project size sweet spot somewhere between 200-500MW’
3 Reuters:
Rush for data centers creates US solar hotspots
4 PV-Magazine:
Nearly 800 MW of solar bound for the Texas grid
5 Renewable Energy World:
NERC warns of bulk EV charging’s grid impact
6 Canary Media:
Smart tech could help fix the biggest barrier to building clean energy
7 Utility Dive:
Repowering will represent nearly half of all new wind capacity in 2024
Opinions:
8 Heatmap:
Why Clean Energy Projects Are Stalling Out on Native Lands
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for February 22nd, 2023
Opinion
News
1 Utility Dive:
Solar, battery storage will be 81% of new electricity generation capacity this year - EIA
2 Reuters:
Record US renewable energy investment not enough to meet climate goals -report
3 Axios:
Coal's influence on energy generation is fading fast
4 Solar Builder:
PG&E rate hikes improve home solar ROI under NEM 3
5 PV-Magazine:
Georgia utility “adamantly opposed” to community solar
6 PV-Tech:
SolarEdge Q4 inverter shipments drop by 76% quarterly
7 Solar Power World:
Shoals to move eBOS manufacturing operations to new massive factory just across the street
8 Energy Storage News:
BESS wins highest percentage among clean energy technologies in UK Capacity Market auction
9 Bloomberg:
California’s Solar Subsidy Cut Fuels Sunrun Battery Sales Surge
Opinions:
10 Canary Media:
US climate goals - EVs are on track, but clean power is lagging
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for February 21st, 2023
Opinion
News
1 Utility Dive:
California PUC approves plan to add 56 GW of clean energy resources by 2035
2 Bloomberg:
SunPower’s Former CEO Werner Returns as Executive Chairman
3 Reuters:
Brazil miner Vale eyes more battery systems in its operations
4 PV-Tech:
Colombia awards 4.4GW of solar PV in renewables auction
5 Energy Storage news:
EU’s Battery Passport ‘will give energy storage investors more clarity on bankability’ of projects
6 Canary Media:
EVs are one step closer to becoming roaming grid batteries
7 PV-magazine:
Raising consumer confidence critical to energy transition, finds EY report
Opinions:
8 Renew Economy:
Four reasons rooftop solar will grow to dominate Australia’s electricity market
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for February 20th, 2023
Opinion
News
1 Bloomberg:
Europe Is Poised for a Surge in Battery Investments
2 PV-Magazine:
Utility-scale solar had a record year in 2023. It’s set to double in 2024
3 New York Times:
Republican Attacks on Biden’s Climate Law Raise Concerns Ahead of Election
4 Axios:
Exclusive - New early-stage climate tech fund of funds closes $152 million
5 Renewable Energy World:
DOE urges industry to hit 20 GW of community solar by end of 2025
6 Solar Power World:
USITC’s midterm report on Sec. 201 solar tariffs heads to President
7 Energy Storage News:
Brookfield’s X-ELIO and NIC invest in German battery storage firm Eco Stor
8 Canary Media:
How US protectionism is holding back the country’s offshore wind plans
Opinions:
9 Utility Dive:
FERC OKs cold weather reliability standards, and 5 other takeaways from Thursday’s open meeting
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for February 19th, 2023
Across The Pond. Happy Monday from across the pond as I’m visiting London for the Energy Storage Summit on behalf of FlexGen as we launch our energy storage data and performance analytics platform for every storage project built. How do you know how your storage project is going when the data is just sitting there?
News
1 Utility Dive:
GETs could facilitate 6.6 GW of clean energy in five PJM states, saving $1B a year - RMI
2 CleanTechnica:
Solar & Battery Storage to Make Up 81% of New U.S. Electric-Generating Capacity in 2024
3 Bloomberg:
Solar Installer SunPower Slips as Cash Infusion Dilutes Shares
4 PV-Tech:
Texas breaks daily solar generation record with peak of 16.7GW
5 Solar Power World:
SolarCycle to make solar glass using recycled solar panels in new US plant
6 Energy Storage News:
Greece - Second round winners in BESS auction revealed
7 Canary Media:
Sage Geosystems raises $17M for geothermal energy storage
8 PV-Magazine:
California introduces bill to reevaluate rooftop solar net metering
Opinions:
9 Renewable Energy World:
The biggest clean energy surprises in 2023 and what they mean for 2024
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for February 16th, 2023
Opinion
News
1 Utility Dive:
GETs could facilitate 6.6 GW of clean energy in five PJM states, saving $1B a year - RMI
2 CleanTechnica:
Solar & Battery Storage to Make Up 81% of New U.S. Electric-Generating Capacity in 2024
3 Bloomberg:
Solar Installer SunPower Slips as Cash Infusion Dilutes Shares
4 PV-Tech:
The Netherlands rejects bill to phase out net metering scheme
5 Solar Power World:
SolarCycle to make solar glass using recycled solar panels in new US plant
6 Energy Storage News:
Greece - Second round winners in BESS auction revealed
7 Canary Media:
Sage Geosystems raises $17M for geothermal energy storage
8 PV-Magazine:
California introduces bill to reevaluate rooftop solar net metering
Opinions:
9 Renewable Energy World:
The biggest clean energy surprises in 2023 and what they mean for 2024
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for February 15th, 2023
Opinion
News
1 Bloomberg:
Unpredictable Power Surges Threaten US Grid — And Your Home
2 Houston Chronicle:
Texas sets record for grid-scale solar power, ranks third in residential rooftop solar
3 Utility Dive:
Utilities, EV charging companies must collaborate to avoid bulk power system disruptions - NERC
4 Reuters:
Gina McCarthy - ‘We can solve America’s health crisis, if we fix our climate crisis’
5 PV-Tech:
Rooftop solar generation meets 1.5% of US electricity demand in 2022
6 Renewable Energy World:
Ampion now has 1 GW of community solar under management
7 Solar Power World:
California assemblymember introduces bill to repeal NEM 3.0
8 Energy Storage News:
California utility SDG&E brings online 180MWh of community-resiliency microgrids
9 PV-Magazine:
Puerto Rico distributed solar climbs to 680 MW, residential storage to 1.6 GWh
Opinions:
10 Canary Media:
New York could rewrite its relationship to fossil gas with this bill
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for February 13th, 2023
Opinion
News
1 PV-Magazine:
Qcells partners to recover 95% of solar panel value with recycler
2 Mint:
Qcells partners to recover 95% of solar panel value with recycler
3 Utility Dive:
Shell rebrands climate tech company Studio X as Onward, eyes net-zero economy
4 Bloomberg:
Barclays Team Handed Guidelines to Ratchet Up Transition Finance
5 Axios:
Climate change reversing gains in air quality across the U.S.
6 PV-Tech:
Utility-scale PV in the US is poised for liftoff
7 Renewable Energy World:
Biden admin. seeks ‘record-setting’ 100% clean electricity purchase
8 Energy Storage News:
EDF to optimise UK solar-plus-storage project
Opinions:
9 New York Times:
The Planet Needs Solar Power. Can We Build It Without Harming Nature?
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for February 12th, 2023
The Downside Of Politics. There are facts related to our infrastructure that we all know. Energy consumption is rising, the grid is aging, power plants are retiring, renewables are the cheapest form and largest new addition, and the energy transition is the greatest economic opportunity of this generation. My point is that no matter what, we’re going to need solar panels, wind turbines and batteries to keep the lights on for Americans. The question is whether the politics and related shortsightedness of elections let us build a domestic supply chain the serve this opportunity. What I’m getting at is that the tax reform act of circa 2018 has extenders that need to be paid for next year so the agenda is to spread rumors about the IRA. The problem is that the IRA is both working and popular, especially where the factories are being built.
News
1 Reuters:
US seeks solar energy developers for Nevada nuclear bomb test site
2 The Ringer:
Can Solar Power and Battery Tech Save the World From Climate Change?
3 Utility Dive:
PJM set to hold capacity auction in June after receiving mixed FERC decisions
4 New York Times:
Grading Biden’s Signature Law
5 Axios:
Exclusive - Biden admin plans major carbon-free electricity buy
6 PV-Tech:
EU adopts Net Zero Industry Act, launches measures to support solar manufacturing
7 Renewable Energy World:
Phillips named FERC chair after year of acting role
8 Energy Storage News:
Romania relaunches call for investment in battery storage for solar photovoltaic facilities
9 PV-Magazine:
Publicly traded solar installer Sunworks files for bankruptcy
Opinions:
10 Canary Media:
Access to slow EV chargers could speed up EV adoption among renters
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for February 9th, 2023
Too Successful? The IRA is driving so many investments in the local infrastructure that estimates on the tax benefits that will be used were too low. To call them a cost however is quite flawed as they represent a percentage of the capital investments made for infrastructure and desired behavior by private industry. If we wanted to track costs, then the government could have said, we’ll be spending a billion dollars on this or that but instead they built a market using tax incentives. Not for nothing, that’s also how we built the US oil and gas markets (now the largest around the globe) and how we funded fire departments or incentivize charitable giving. Let’s stop calling tax credits a cost, it’s called success.
News
1 New York Times:
Why the Cost of Biden’s Climate Law Keeps Going Up
2 PV-Magazine:
The solar rebound effect in residential PV
3 Utility Dive:
Green investor Brookfield scores $10B for latest energy transition fund
4 Bloomberg:
Duke Energy Turns to Big Tech to Help Beef Up Power Grid
5 Axios:
Record January caps Earth's first 12-month period above 1.5°C
6 Reuters:
US solar dominates new build as developers widen search
7 PV-Tech:
European Commission acknowledges solar manufacturing crisis, delays implementing measures
8 Solar Power World:
CBP reminds solar importers they must install product in 180 days or pay duties
9 Energy Storage News:
The challenges for European lithium-ion gigafactories and the role ESS demand will play
Opinions:
10 Solar Builder:
Solving solar workforce challenges - Insights from the experts
Have a great day!
Yann
