This is your SolarWakeup for September 9th, 2022
Opinion
News
1 Axios:
BlackRock strikes back at ESG critics
2 Energy Storage News:
California’s fleet of battery storage working to avert energy crisis
3 Canary Media:
California is finally unlocking community solar for the masses
4 CNBC:
Biden’s climate change bill may produce your next job, and a half-million careers in all
5 Bloomberg:
Europe’s Summer of Record Solar Power Saved Billions of Euros
6 Solar Builder:
Inflation Reduction Act boosts U.S. solar market projections by 40 percent
7 New York Times:
How California Officials Are Trying to Keep the Lights On
8 PV-Magazine:
Solar inverter reactions to forest fires analyzed
Opinions:
9 Reuters:
India power demand growth rate seen nearly doubling in next five years
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 8th, 2022
Opinion
News
1 New York Times:
Clean Energy Projects Surge After Climate Bill Passage
2 Axios:
California's power grid holds up, so far, during record heat wave
3 Reuters:
Energy crisis an 'existential threat' to EU metal production -Eurometaux
4 Utility Dive:
MISO opens energy, operating reserve markets to storage with over 13 GW in interconnection queue
5 Bloomberg:
Public Backs Wind and Solar to Reduce UK Energy Bills - Poll
6 Energy Storage News:
US needs to ‘leapfrog’ to next gen technologies for energy storage
7 Vox:
The real reason a heat wave is pushing California’s power grid to its limits
8 PV-Tech:
Cypress Creek Renewables closes on US$216 million financing for Texas PV project
9 PV-Magazine:
Fully operational residential microgrid will help power exhibits at RE+
Opinions:
10 World Economic Forum:
Floating solar farms - what are they and can they help us reach net zero?
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 7th, 2022
It’s About Saving Economies. The gravity of the work we’ve been doing has always been an undertone to our pitch. Reading this week’s headlines you see how close to blackouts California is in the midst of a heat wave, grid operations are also stretched to the limits in ERCOT and MISO. Europe is also dealing with unstable fuel supply with ongoing aggression by Russia. Every solar panel and battery, matched with local resources like demand response needs to work in tandem so that not only is a capacity reserve on the generation side but also a more resilient and intelligent flexibility on the demand side of the grid.
Development And Supply. There is insatiable demand and unlimited capital for solar and storage projects. The issue that slows deployment is in approvals, interconnections, and availability for supply. One of the things that will come out at SPI is that procurement is not based on a single project or portfolio, instead focusing on filing out the entire business plan of development over multiple years.
Politics Still Misses The Point. Meanwhile the California legislature is trying to stop community solar, right when the grid and consumers are benefiting most from solar.
News
1 Barron’s:
European Natural Gas Prices Spike as Russia Keeps Pipeline Closed Indefinitely
2 Axios:
California warns power outages "very possible" as heat strains supply
3 Utility Dive:
California exempts energy storage from subdivision rule to accelerate deployment
4 Bloomberg:
World Spending on Cables Will Have to Rival Solar and Wind Power
5 Reuters:
California power grid threatened by record heat wave as wildfire risk rises
6 PV-Tech:
Reliance Industries buys 80% stake in US solar software company SenseHawk
7 Energy Storage News:
CATL, Narada among top performers in DNV’s 2022 ‘Battery Scorecard’
8 PV-Magazine:
Residential solar to add 340,000 workers in five years, says U.S. installer survey
Opinions:
9 Canary Media:
As the wealthy go electric, who will pay for aging gas infrastructure?
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 6th, 2022
Opinion
News
1 New York Times:
California swelters through a Labor Day heat wave, stretching its electricity resources.
2 New Jersey Monitor:
New PSEG boss takes over with an eye on wind and solar
3 Utility Dive:
California legislature aims for 90% clean electricity by 2035 as part of sweeping climate package
4 Bloomberg:
California Avoids Blackouts With Bigger Test Ahead as Heat Looms
5 Wall Street Journal:
Sheep Are the Solar Industry’s Lawn Mowers of Choice
6 Axios:
Historic heat wave intensifies in the West as grid concerns mount
7 Reuters:
Colombia miners should focus on renewable energy minerals, says Petro
8 PV-Tech:
Faster permitting could bring nearly 1TW of solar and wind to construction in three years
9 Energy Storage News:
Competition for battery cells between EV and energy storage sectors to ease from 2024, CEA says
10 PV-Magazine:
Sunnova to develop solar and storage “micro-utility” in California
Opinions:
11 Canary Media:
California faces big power challenges — even if Diablo Canyon stays open
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 2nd, 2022
Opinion
News
1 Utility Dive:
Coal advocates warn NERC is underestimating plant retirements by about 68 GW, threatening reliability
2 Reuters:
California lawmakers extend life of nuclear plant, approve slate of climate bills
3 PV-Magazine:
Despite supply challenges, solar panel shipments grew 32% last year
4 New York Times:
Amid Heat Wave, California Asks Electric Vehicle Owners to Limit Charging
5 CNBC:
Amazon took all U.S. solar rooftops offline last year after flurry of fires, electrical explosions
6 Axios:
Ocean heat reached all-time high in 2021, report finds
7 PV-Tech:
California lawmakers pass community solar bill as they look to exploit IRA incentives
8 Energy Storage News:
European energy majors Equinor, Uniper get involved in flow battery investment and pilot project
9 Canary Media:
Hawaii just got rid of coal power for good
Opinions:
10 Bloomberg:
Surging Copper Demand Will Complicate the Clean Energy Boom
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 1st, 2022
It’s September! It’s been 3 years since our last SPI/RE+ in Utah. I was still running a solar racking company which had just been acquired. This year, I join many of you at RE+, but as an exhibitor, showing off the amazing work we’re doing in energy storage at FlexGen and the industry is fresh off the biggest climate related policy victory in the history of, well ever. It is also going to be the 10 year anniversary of SolarWakeup and as subdued as that celebration may be, I thank the original 37 subscribers and the 4 of you that unsubscribed on day 1. We’ve done some fun stuff together in the past decade and we’ll do a lot more in the future. Big new things to come, in the industry and right here. Please do say hello if we see each other at RE+, it’ll be great to be together again.
News
1 New York Times:
Gov. Jay Inslee Is Taking a Well-Earned Climate Victory Lap
2 Axios:
U.S. solar factories prepare for liftoff
3 PV-Magazine:
Solar industry was held back in the first half of 2022, but now the floodgates are opened
4 Utility Dive:
DOE launches $10.5B Grid Resilience and Innovative Partnerships Program
5 Bloomberg:
Europe’s Energy Crisis Dampening Corporate Deals for Clean Power
6 Grist:
The electric vehicle boom could bring lithium mines back to North Carolina
7 Energy Storage News:
California zoning exemption granted to enable ‘even more rapid’ energy storage deployment
Opinions:
8 Canary Media:
When — and how — should you talk to your kids about climate change?
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 31st, 2022
Opinion
News
1 Reuters:
First Solar pledges big U.S. factory expansion thanks to climate law
2 Los Angeles Times:
SoCal’s worst heat wave of the year - What’s the timing, who will be hit hardest?
3 Bloomberg:
Negative Power Prices? Blame the US Grid for Stranding Renewable Energy
4 Utility Dive:
Inflation Reduction Act could shift EV battery composition - BofA Global
5 Energy Storage News:
US government launches US$335 million battery recycling programme
6 Canary Media:
Open-sourcing the grid emissions data needed for 24/7 clean energy
7 PV-Magazine:
SolarEdge investigated for alleged patent violation
8 PV-Tech:
How did the top six solar module companies fare in H1 2022?
Opinions:
9 Fitch:
New Production Tax Credit Will Spur Solar Generation - Development Costs May Rise
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 30th, 2022
Dropping Demand To Fix Supply. While experts see this winter in Europe to be challenging given the ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine and offensive energy aggressions with natural gas supply, they don’t expect Countries like Germany to fall short in supplying energy to its citizens. That doesn’t mean that it won’t be financially painful, we’ve seen that coverage across the headlines over the past few weeks. It will take time for Europe to find alternative gas supplies, more specifically gas logistics, to offset decreased Russian supply. The increase energy cost is one of the largest impacts to the inflationary pressures across the Continent and globe. That is where solar and storage steps in on all sides of the grid. It’s important to offset as much gas demand as possible with alternative fuels, not meaning to eliminate in the short term, but instead to save as much as possible to ensure no shortfalls and decrease the price pressures that families will feel.
News
1 Axios:
Europe's soaring energy costs push leaders to consider major steps
2 Bloomberg:
US Homes Add Rooftop Solar at a Record Clip to Cut Power Bills
3 Utility Dive:
FERC approves ISO-NE plan to bypass the grid operator and rely on state reviews for DER interconnections
4 PV-Magazine:
Solar on canals moves closer to reality
5 Solar Builder:
Enphase Energy acquires smart home IoT software provider GreenCom
6 Renew Economy:
“Workers want a plan
7 PV-Tech:
Australia will need 1.9TW of solar to reach net zero by 2050 – report
Opinions:
8 Canary Media:
EPA should crack down on fossil-fueled heating, climate groups argue
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 29th, 2022
Opinion
News
1 Bloomberg:
Texas Crypto-Mining Rush May Need as Much Power as Entire State of New York
2 Axios:
U.K. residents to see 80% increase in energy bills
3 New York Times:
California E.V. Mandate Finds a Receptive Auto Industry
4 Politico:
Russia, Ukraine trade claims of nuclear plant attacks
5 Utility Dive:
Texas opens efficiency and demand response docket as NGO pushes for tougher utility targets, lower rewards
6 PV-Tech:
Amp Energy secures US$155 million financing for community solar-plus-storage portfolio in the US
7 Energy Storage News:
Town in Long Island, New York considers 320MWh of BESS proposals – report
8 Canary Media:
Lunar Energy enters solar+battery field with $300M investment
9 PV-Magazine:
The growing demand for automation in demand response
Opinions:
10 RMI:
Why Purchased Power is Such a Big Deal to Better Understand US Utilities’ Climate Impact
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 26th, 2022
Opinion
News
1 World Economic Forum:
The power couple - Why solar and storage are key to reducing geopolitical risk and securing access to energy
2 New York Times:
Why Europe’s Electricity Prices Are Soaring
3 Utility Dive:
Inflation Reduction Act has ‘direct impact’ on California net energy metering modeling, utilities say
4 Energy Storage News:
Big names, small battery systems - US residential energy storage in focus
5 Bloomberg:
Surviving Energy Bills Forces Drastic Steps by UK Businesses
6 Reuters:
California to cover canal with solar panels in experiment to fight drought, climate change
7 PV-Tech:
California’s Senate passes Solar Access Act designed to speed up residential PV permitting
8 Canary Media:
How much money can you save under the new climate law?
Opinions:
9 PV-Magazine:
To PTC or ITC, that is the financial question
Have a great day!
Yann
