This is your SolarWakeup for September 15th, 2022
Market Dynamics. Unrepresented in market forecasts and the dynamics of the supply chain is the impact that a stand alone energy storage tax credit would have on the solar market. If you own a solar farm, there was little thought to adding storage to it due to the technical limitation of dc-coupling and having to make it work with the existing interconnect so you could charge the batteries with the solar generation without screwing up your PPA. With a stand alone storage ITC, it’s very likely that many if not all asset owners will think about adding batteries to their site either to augment their PPA or to just trade that asset merchant until someone wants to acquire that capacity. Likewise, solar developments in the pipeline had a 1x per day cycle in the storage forecast, less perhaps. The PPA you had for that as available plus PPA becomes a preforma that thinks about running it 2-3 cycles per day in addition to shifting the solar generation.
Where The Money Is Going. Pipeline are through the roof, forecast are already underestimating installations and now capital is pushing hard into recycling. The WSJ ran this reporting just days ago and some more firms are working on repurposing and repowering end of life battery cells. My point is that money is going into both ends of the project life, installing it and decommissioning the asset. Now the question to answer at SPI is what are you doing with the project while its running so that it makes you more money than you expect?
News
1 PV-Magazine:
U.S. installed a record 2.6 GWh of grid-scale energy storage in Q2
2 Wall Street Journal:
Battery Recycling Race Heats Up After Inflation Reduction Act
3 Utility Dive:
EV sales are booming, but can battery production keep pace? Several factors could hamper growth, say experts
4 Reuters:
EU Parliament backs higher targets on renewables and energy savings
5 Bloomberg:
France Caps Electricity, Gas Price Hikes at 15% for 2023
6 PV-Tech:
US solar industry players celebrate Inflation Reduction Act at White House
7 Energy Storage News:
New Fluence CEO to focus on profitable growth and higher margin projects
8 Canary Media:
In Utah, thousands of homes feed the grid stored solar power
Opinions:
9 Renew Economy:
Fast transition to renewables will save the world $18 trillion, says Oxford study
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 14th, 2022
Opinion
News
1 Washington Post:
This is your victory,’ Biden celebrates Inflation Reduction Act
2 Utility Dive:
Real-time pricing, new rates and enabling technologies target demand flexibility to ease California outages
3 Bloomberg:
JPMorgan Sees Oil Prices Climbing as Alternatives Fall Short
4 Reuters:
Germany, EU race to fix energy crisis
5 PV-Tech:
US residential solar owner and operator Spruce Power acquired
6 Energy Storage News:
California residential and C&I batteries in the fight to keep lights on
7 Canary Media:
Terawatt Infrastructure snags $1B for EV charging buildout
8 PV-Magazine:
Carbon intensity of energy in the U.S. is falling, but progress varies widely by state
Opinions:
9 New York Times:
Putin’s New Cold War
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 13th, 2022
Opinion
News
1 Utility Dive:
Inflation Reduction Act could raise prices on clean energy, warns Bank of America
2 Politico:
Podesta-led White House team tagged to execute climate law
3 Bloomberg:
Billionaire Climate Activist May Target More Major Polluters With Green Campaigns
4 Axios:
In photos - A summer of drought and fire
5 Reuters:
Mexico eyes possible energy dispute fix, welcomes new U.S. 'tone'
6 Solar Power World:
Who qualifies for direct pay for the solar ITC?
7 Energy Storage News:
Greece gets state aid approval from EU for 900MW energy storage pipeline
8 PV-Magazine:
Grid experts call for a national initiative to facilitate a high-DER grid
Opinions:
9 Canary Media:
Mixing solar power and agriculture - A blueberry farm does a test run
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 12th, 2022
It’s All About The Jobs. I got this link from the Secretary of Energy, who posted the article about global cleantech job growth over the weekend. The demand is at an all time high for our services, as energy prices rise across the Country, and therefore the need for talent is as well. I’ll highlight the need for job seekers to network at SPI and think about where the puck is going, I always find the best talent through introductions from folks that I have worked with and are willing to vouch for someone. The same is true for recruiters, building those relationships before the need arises. Speaking of jobs, come work for me at FlexGen, a new posting for Business Development Director is out in time for SPI.
News
1 Quartz:
More people now work in clean energy than in fossil fuels
2 Utility Dive:
Retail electricity prices continue rapid rise; US homes could pay more than 15 cents/kWh next year - EIA
3 Axios:
Biden's big climate bill isn't a venture capital fund
4 Reuters:
Tropical storm threatens to fan California wildfires, but will cool off state
5 PV-Tech:
Maxeon Solar Technologies parts ways with CEO as it eyes ‘next phase of growth’
6 Solar Power World:
Residential solar batteries helped California’s grid with peak power during heatwave
7 Energy Storage New:
New York’s state government backs long-duration energy storage projects
9 PV-Magazine:
Solar in the U.S. is forecast to triple in five years
Opinions:
10 Bloomberg:
California's Green Dreams Mean Adding More EVs to a Rickety Grid
Have a great day!
Yann
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
