This is your SolarWakeup for January 21st
Free Electricity? The pod bros from the All-in Podcast talked about energy policy this week and made an interesting point, completely insane but why not? They said that America could make all residential electricity free by increasing the cost of industrial energy by 50% so that C&I owners would build their own power plants. Here’s the link for the exchange if you’re intrigued by the concept and/or want to tell me how this would actually work (also how much utilities would support this…)
News
1 New York Times:
On Day 1, Mikie Sherrill Focuses on Utility Costs and Children’s Safety
2 Axios:
Data centers could power solar market, despite Trump criticism
3 Bloomberg:
US Power-Grid Plan Aims to Accelerate Data-Center Connections
4 PV-Tech:
Radial Power secures US$355 million financing for 214MW solar portfolio
5 Solar Power World:
Utility-scale contractor Sunstall launches robotic installation platform SunRobi
6 Energy Storage News:
ANZA Power secures US$300 million from I Squared for Australia-New Zealand portfolio
7 PV-Magazine:
Solar to surge 49% as EIA forecasts 70 GW of new capacity by 2027
Opinions:
8 Canary Media:
After Helene, rural North Carolina turns to solar and battery hubs
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 20th
Opinion
News
1 Axios:
Trump makes a political power play on data centers
2 PV-Tech:
Two-thirds of electricity demand growth in the US came from solar PV in 2025 – Ember
3 CNBC:
Automakers like Ford and GM are jumping into a whole new business where Tesla is a serious player
4 Bloomberg:
AI Needs a BYOG Model to Keep Power Bills Down
5 Canary Media:
Trump’s plan to make data centers pay for power plants has big flaws
6 PV-Magazine:
Amazon acquires 1.2 GW Sunstone solar project from bankrupt Pine Gate Renewables
7 Energy Storage News:
DNV forecasts tenfold increase in MENA region’s installed energy storage capacity by 2030
8 Reuters:
Why U.S. states hold the key to an affordable, stable energy future in 2026
Opinions:
9 New York Times:
Trump Is Obsessed With Oil, but Chinese Batteries Will Soon Run the World
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 16th
Opinion
News
1 Bloomberg:
Private Equity Firm NGP Makes $200 Million US Battery Bet as AI Stokes Power Demand
2 Axios:
The world's great climate collapse
3 Yale:
Photos Capture the Breathtaking Scale of China’s Wind and Solar Buildout
4 Reuters:
Canadian Solar wins US patent dispute against Maxeon Solar Technologies
5 PV-Tech:
EU’s delayed cybersecurity review could have big implications for solar
6 Canary Media:
PJM’s power-starved grid will finally get a big battery this year
7 PV-Magazine:
Maryland lawmakers introduce bill to deploy 4 GW of solar
Opinions:
8 Utility Dive:
America’s new power barons
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 15th
Opinion
News
1 Bloomberg:
New York Tells Data Centers They Must Pay More for Power
2 New York Times:
The View From Above Antarctica’s Fastest Melting Glacier
3 Axios:
U.S. emissions rise could preview bigger spikes
4 Reuters:
India grants extra time for solar projects hit by bird conservation
5 PV-Tech:
Aspen Power raises US$200 million for US solar pipeline
6 Energy Storage News:
Batteries ‘the only technology’ that can keep pace with AI data centre power fluctuations
7 PV-Magazine:
Global solar enters period of adjustment, as market conditions redefine rules of competition
Opinions:
8 Utility Dive:
Why winning the AI race requires systems intelligence, not just electric capacity
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 12th
Opinion
News
1 New York Times:
$100 Billion to Revive Venezuela’s Energy Industry? Oil Executives Are Not So Sure
2 Canary Media:
Chart - How the US electricity mix changed last year
3 PV-Tech:
Illinois signs clean energy bill, will drive investments for solar PV, battery storage and VPPs
4 Bloomberg:
Newsom Seeks $200 Million to Replace EV Tax Credits Cut by Trump
5 Axios:
Meta unveils nuclear deals with Vistra, TerraPower, Oklo
6 Utility Dive:
The week in 5 numbers
7 Reuters:
OpenAI, SoftBank invest $1 billion in SB Energy as Stargate buildout expands
8 Energy Storage News:
US V2G specialist Nuvve’s BESS pivot yields projects and partnerships in Japan, Europe and US
Opinions:
9 PV-Magazine:
Sodium-ion battery cells already near lithium-ion cost parity, set to get cheaper
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 9th
Opinion
News
1 New York Times:
Trump Pulls Out of Global Climate Treaty
2 Reuters:
China's market regulator summons top solar firms over monopoly concerns, state media reports
3 Bloomberg:
Clean Energy Stocks Extend Rally on AI Demand as Oil Falters
4 Utility Dive:
Utilities under pressure
5 Solar Builder:
Gov. Pritzker signs bill to expand solar, lower energy bills in Illinois
6 PV-Tech:
Canadian Solar seeks US$200 million to back US manufacturing
7 Energy Storage News:
Greenflash Infrastructure safe harbours over 10GWh of Li-ion energy storage in US
8 PV-Magazine:
Three massive grid-scale battery projects move ahead in Texas, California
Opinions:
9 Canary Media:
7 numbers that explain why the future of buildings is all-electric
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 8th
The Cost of Growth. The rise of capacity cost is palpable and I think it may get worse. It’s the incremental MW/GW that raises the cost of every other GW in the auction because everyone wants to be the most valuable last power in the stack so everyone gets a piece. As demand grows, everyone wins on the generator side and loses on the consumer side of the ledger.
News
1 Utility Dive:
Data centers were 40% of PJM capacity costs in last auction
2 Axios:
New branches of the AI power tree are starting to grow
3 PV-Magazine:
Big Tech turns to solar and storage to bypass grid bottlenecks
4 Canary Media:
PJM needs flexible data centers. Here’s a blueprint.
5 San Francisco Chronicle:
California bill would help renters lower electricity bills by easing rules for plug-in solar panels
6 PV-Tech:
HASI, Sunrun joint venture targets 300MW of residential renewable energy capacity
7 Solar Power World:
Pegasus acquires commercial solar racking manufacturer Aerocompact’s North American division
8 Energy Storage News:
Battery storage fire in Upstate New York involved unauthorised system, mayor says
Opinions:
9 Bloomberg:
Snow Cuts Germany’s Solar Generation, Lifting Power Prices
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 7th
Blackouts? Berlin’s energy infrastructure was attacked by arsonists, setting fire to a critical station that caused a blackout for tens of thousands in the area. We’ve seen other physical attempts to disrupt the grid in the US and certainly impacts from climate events. The big risk remains the digital attacks and of course the demand greater than supply exercise that we are certainly ignoring at some regulatory and legislative levels. One of the places that I see a passive approach (and it shouldn’t be) is the cyber related risk to energy storage systems that have a ton of internal communications as well as the coordination between the asset and the grid operators and traders that rely on millisecond response capabilities.
News
1 Bloomberg:
Blackout Reveals Germany’s Infrastructure Vulnerabilities
2 Utility Dive:
ERCOT’s large load queue jumped almost 300% last year
3 Axios:
Six energy trends for 2026
5 Renewable Energy World:
PJM capacity auction hits price cap again as region falls short of reliability target
6 Energy Storage News:
Australian battery storage projects attract international lenders in year-end financing spree
7 PV-Magazine:
T1 Energy completes $160 million sale of production tax credits
Opinions:
8 Canary Media:
Is the US headed toward an electricity crisis of its own making?
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 6th
Opinion
News
1 Bloomberg:
Data Centers Added $6.5 Billion to Big US Grid’s Power Cost
2 Utility Dive:
ISO-NE proposes capacity market overhaul with shift to ‘prompt’ auction
3 Solar Power World:
Almost overnight, the US became an oversupply market for ESS battery cells
4 Deutsche Welle:
Germany news
5 E&E News:
California gives SoCal solar farm the nod for sped-up permitting
6 PV-Tech:
India adds record 35GW+ solar PV in 2025
7 PV-Magazine:
2026 National Electrical Code changes
Opinions:
8 Energy Storage News:
Revenue trends, supply chains and emerging markets
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 5th
Welcome To 2026. Not a slow start to energy news in the new year but we’ll start you off with a recap of the publishers' read stories of last year. Plenty of time to see how the conflict in Venezuela impacts the oil markets and if the Google acquisition is a one-off or a sign of what else could be happening.
News
1 PV-Tech:
PV Tech’s top ten stories of the year in 2025
2 Canary Media:
The 13 clean energy stories we wish we wrote in 2025
3 Axios:
U.S. oil companies will rebuild Venezuela's industry, Trump says
4 Bloomberg:
Solar Panels and Heat Pumps to Be More Expensive in 2026
5 New York Times:
Cheap Solar Is Transforming Lives and Economies Across Africa
6 Reuters:
Five energy market trends to track in 2026, the year of the glut
7 Solar Builder:
New Jersey passes revised “smart solar permitting bill”
8 PV-Magazine:
Nofar USA wins bid to acquire solar assets of bankrupt Pine Gate Renewables
Opinions:
9 Utility Dive:
Prepaid leases, data center dollars key for DERs in 2026
Have a great day!
Yann
