This is your SolarWakeup for December 12th, 2024
Good Energy, A VlogCast. During the SEIA Board of Directors meeting last week I had the pleasure of spending some time with SEIA’s Chief Communications and Chief Content Officers on their amazing Good Energy podcast. We chatted about the solar market and how it’s changed over the years and where we go from here. Check it out on YouTube and drop a comment to help SEIA broaden their listener base.
News
1 Utility Dive:
Treasury finalizes ITC rules, providing clarity to solar, storage, other clean energy sectors
2 Reuters:
US solar industry downplays climate in strategy for Trump era
3 The Hill:
Biden doubles tariffs on Chinese solar panel components
4 Renewable Energy World:
Now with more domestic content! Enphase rolls out new microinverters with bonus tax credits in mind
5 Bloomberg:
Hacking Rooftop Solar Is a Way to Break Europe’s Power Grid
6 PV-Tech:
Australia awards 2.8GW of solar in first CIS tender round
7 Energy Storage News:
Lithium-ion battery pack prices fall 20% in 2024 amidst ‘fight for market share’
Opinions:
8 PV-Magazine:
California Public Utilities Commission kicks community solar deadline to 2026
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for December 11th, 2024
Good Energy, A VlogCast. During the SEIA Board of Directors meeting last week I had the pleasure of spending some time with SEIA’s Chief Communications and Chief Content Officers on their amazing Good Energy podcast. We chatted about the solar market and how it’s changed over the years and where we go from here. Check it out on YouTube and drop a comment to help SEIA broaden their listener base.
News
1 The Verge:
Google’s future data centers will be built next to solar and wind farms
2 Time:
Community Solar Is Filling an Important Gap in the Clean Energy Transition
3 Fortune:
Elon Musk and Google’s CEO want to cover the desert with solar panels. Will Donald Trump agree?
4 Utility Dive:
The AI paradox - energy-hungry technology could speed clean energy transition
5 New York Times:
Here’s How Much Cleaner Energy Could Save America, in Lives and Money
6 Reuters:
France is losing renewable investment due to slow permits, say Total and EDF CEOs
7 PV-Tech:
Recurrent Energy signs Spanish PPA with ‘major’ US tech firm
8 Renewable Energy World:
How utilities are working to meet AI data centers’ voracious appetite for electricity
9 Energy Storage News:
Georgia Power receives unanimous approval on 500MW BESS projects across the state
10 PV-Magazine:
Boston doctors prescribe solar energy
Opinions:
11 Bloomberg:
There's an Electric Way for Democrats to Rebrand Climate Action
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for December 10th, 2024
Opinion
News
1 Data For Progress:
Voters Are Interested in Rooftop Solar, but See Barriers to Personal Adoption
2 Reuters:
BP forms offshore wind joint venture in renewables retreat
3 CleanTechnica:
The Sunshine State Projected to Take Over as Top-Ranked Residential Solar State in 2028
4 Bloomberg:
How a Hedge Fund Is Using Compute Power to Invest in AI
5 Energy Storage News:
Australia
6 Canary Media:
Data centers are driving US power demand to hard-to-reach heights
7 PV-Magazine:
DOE seeks experts in renewables siting to advise 13 state collaboratives
Opinions:
8 Utility Dive:
Electrons vs. molecules
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for December 9th, 2024
Opinion
News
1 Utility Dive:
Five-year US load growth forecast surges 456%, to 128 GW
2 Bloomberg:
California Popularized Solar, But It's Behind Other States on Panels for Renters
3 Reuters:
India's Tata Power prefers domestic market over lucrative solar exports, CEO says
4 PV-Tech:
Maxeon posts US$179 million Q3 losses, plans to ‘re-create’ company
5 Solar Power World:
Dimension Energy completes 44-MW community solar project in California
7 PV-Magazine:
Largest solar and energy storage project in U.S. achieves regulatory approval
8 Renewable Energy World:
As data centers proliferate, conflict with local communities follows
Opinions:
9 New York Times:
Climate Activists Need to Radically Change Their Approach Under Trump
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for December 6th, 2024
Opinion
News
1 PV-Tech:
SolarEdge appoints new CEO, effective immediately
2 Reuters:
Meta buys credits from four big US solar projects
3 UTility Dive:
BlackRock, Temasek venture leads $35M funding round for ConnectDER
4 Solar Power World:
Treasury releases final rules on Sec. 48 ITC
5 Energy Storage News:
US DOE clean energy loan and grant activity soars after Trump election, data shows
6 Canary Media:
Xcel Energy says data centers won’t delay Minnesota clean energy target
7 PV-Magazine:
Ten reasons why small-scale, non-utility solar is important
Opinions:
8 Bloomberg:
Is This the Start of a Clean Energy Investment Supercycle?
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for December 5th, 2024
Opinion
News
1 PV-Tech:
Enphase launches residential power control product amid shifting inverter market
2 Bloomberg:
UK Nuclear Plants to Stay Online Longer in Clean-Power Boost
3 PV-Magazine:
A record third quarter for U.S. clean energy installations
4 Reuters:
Exclusive - Shell slows offshore wind spending, splits power business in CEO review
5 Utility Dive:
When TOU rates aren’t enough
6 Axios:
Meta joins the nuclear-powered AI fray
7 Energy Storage News:
German TSO Amprion launches tender for ‘decentralised grid booster’ projects
Opinions:
8 Renewable Energy World:
Duke Energy data access rules poised to help North Carolina communities meet climate goals
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for December 4th, 2024
DC Chronicles, Forecasted. I am joining the rest of the SEIA board today for our Q4 board meeting and part of the discussion is what the landscape is for our policy priorities as an industry going forward. I’m not one for political noise that creates a lack of stability in our business environment and tend to focus on the realm of likely when it comes to actual policy discussions. What are you thinking about and what do you think is going to happen? Do you have an out of the box thought on what could impact the solar industry? I’d love to hear from you.
The FTC Tracker. I’m a quarter into my tenure as CEO of FTC Solar and it’s time that I get the scoop from you about what you look for in your tracker procurement. I always learn so much from the SolarWakeup community that helps me build a better service and product in the company that I get to lead. With 1P products launched and the leading 2P portfolio in the market, how does tracker selection, installation methodology and customer service fit into your decision making?
News
1 Bloomberg:
Millions of Stockpiled Solar Panels in US Face New Tariff Bill
2 Axios:
Big climate questions arise at top UN court hearing
3 Reuters:
Biden pushes out over $100 billion in clean energy grants as term winds down
4 PV-Tech:
Avangrid, PGE sign 120MW PPA backed by Meta data centre
5 Energy Storage News:
Michigan PSC approves utility’s ‘cost-competitive’ BESS PPA with Jupiter Power
6 Canary Media:
Duke Energy to knock down coal plant and build its biggest battery yet
7 PV-Magazine:
A Virginia proposal would give the state a role in siting solar and storage over 20 MW
8 Renewable Energy World:
Data centers approved, solar farms rejected
Opinions:
9 Utility Dive:
A costly lesson in supply and demand - How to address PJM’s capacity shortages
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for December 3rd, 2024
Opinion
News
1 SF Gate:
California can't use all its solar power. That's a huge problem.
2 PV-Tech:
US Commerce sets initial antidumping duties for Southeast Asian solar cells
3 Deseret News:
Utility scale solar grew rapidly in 2024; more to come
4 Bloomberg:
Australian Grid Wants Ability to Tame a World-Beating Solar Boom
5 Utility Dive:
With Maryland’s electric grid ‘battered and getting worse,’ state offers $15M to boost resilience
6 Axios:
Why Trump's expected tax credit move could fragment EV market
7 Reuters:
Duke pauses assessment of US energy loan program ahead of Trump administration
8 Renewable Energy World:
Xcel Energy says data center growth won’t get in the way of 2040 clean energy target in Minnesota
9 PV-Magazine:
The launch of a new renewable energy investment bank
Opinions:
10 Canary Media:
What climate law tax credits will be in — and out — under Trump 2.0
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for December 2nd, 2024
Opinion
News
1 Wall Street Journal:
Trump Vowed to Kill Biden’s Climate Law. Republicans Say Not So Fast.
2 Bloomberg:
JPMorgan Rejects Transition-Finance Trend Gripping Wall Street
3 Reuters:
US sets tariffs for solar panels from Southeast Asian nations
4 Utility Dive:
Utility-scale US solar installations to surpass 32 GW for record high in 2024
5 Axios:
How Trump's new money team will change energy
6 PV-Tech:
More PPA deals in Europe, smaller sizes, says Pexapark
7 Renewable Energy World:
U.S. solar generation continues to make huge gains in 2024
8 Energy Storage News:
US legislators propose rewrite of 45X manufacturing tax credit to block ‘adversarial foreign government’-linked companies
9 PV-Magazine:
SolarEdge announces closure of its energy storage division
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for November 22nd, 2024
The Module Evolution. I have never been a module expert but have recently gone down a bit of a rabbit hole to understand what it takes to get our supply chain built up but also ensure its longevity. Seems like there’s some noise around the Topcon technologies and possible patent cases while there’s certainly some buzz around the heterojunction (HJT) technology. One of my colleagues chairs one of those factories and it’s quite impressive how this is coming along and how much further solar tech could go. My first SolarWorld ~200W quote was for $4/watt back in the day, wouldn’t have thought we’d be here today. What do I need to learn about modules?
News
1 PV-Tech:
Fraunhofer ISE study uncovers ‘critical degradation’ in TOPCon modules
2 New York Times:
The Clean Energy Boom in Republican Districts
3 Reuters:
Global climate funds set for first annual outflows, Morningstar says
4 Bloomberg:
Meet the World’s Most Controversial Climate Capitalist
5 PV-Magazine:
Enphase introduces portable off-grid battery
6 Solar Power World:
Public Power NY pushes leaders for 15 GW of new renewable energy
7 Energy Storage News:
Larger, 1MW/100MWh ‘Sand Battery’ set for commissioning in 2025
8 Canary Media:
The biggest grid storage project using old batteries is online in Texas
9 Utility Dive:
What do Trump’s picks to head Energy and Interior signal for renewables?
Opinions:
10 Renewable Energy World:
Interconnection is a $100 billion problem
Have a great day!
Yann
