This is your SolarWakeup for December 10th, 2021
Opinion
News
1 Solar Builder:
Five critical questions to ask when California’s net metering 3.0 policy is announced next week
2 Utility Dive:
Major US utilities plan nationwide charging network, anticipating 22M EVs by 2030
3 Axios:
Major US utilities plan nationwide charging network, anticipating 22M EVs by 2030
4 CE Pro:
ADT Finalizes Sunpro Solar Acquisition - Debuts ADT Solar
5 PV-Tech:
Investor KKR targets utility-scale solar, energy storage acquisitions after new platform launch
6 Energy Storage News:
US battery storage developer Key Capture Energy’s takeover by SK E&S complete
7 PV-Magzine:
GE enters U.S. residential solar inverter market
Opinions:
8 Grist:
EV chargers are coming to a highway near you
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for December 9th, 2021
Opinion
News
1 Solar Power World:
President Biden orders 100% carbon-free electricity purchases across federal operations by 2030
2 Canary Media:
BP is buying Amply, a startup that helps bus and truck fleets go electric
3 Bloomberg:
U.S. Trade Agency Urges Biden to Extend Trump’s Solar Tariffs
4 Axios:
A new warning on oil investment
5 PV-Tech:
RWE to invest US$17bn in German renewables portfolio, looking to hire 200 new staff
6 Energy Storage News:
Equinor makes equity investment into UK battery storage developer Noriker Power
7 PV-Magazine:
KKR enters solar with launch of Stellar Renewable Power
Opinions:
8 RMI:
We Read a 130-Page Report on Climate Regulation So You Don’t Have To
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for December 8th, 2021
Opinion
News
1 Energy Storage News:
FlexGen wins 2.1GWh California battery integration deal to mitigate state’s grid disruptions
2 Utility Dive:
California nonprofits issue $2 billion in bonds to buy 30 years of renewable energy upfront
3 Axios:
Red and purple state growth of green car factories
4 PV-Magazine:
SolarAPP+ expands into energy storage permitting
5 Politico:
Germany’s new climate minister aims for green economic miracle
6 Solar Power World:
CPUC decision essentially requires PG&E, SCE and SDG&E to establish residential virtual power plants
7 Canary Media:
Grid operator MISO’s transmission plan would split its region in two
Opinions:
8 New York Times:
Seeking Space for Solar Farms, Cities Find Room at Their Airports
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for December 7th, 2021
Opinion
News
1 The Hill:
Schumer steps on the gas to move Biden agenda
2 Utility Dive:
Texas lowers electricity price cap to $5,000/MWh ahead of winter season
3 Reuters:
Extreme weather, project delays may challenge NY power grid in 2021-2030- operator
4 Axios:
A fraught and rocky energy transition pathway
5 PV-Tech:
India solar deployment slows as module prices bite
6 Solar Power World:
IREC announces new educational resource to improve solar permitting, inspection
7 Canary Media:
Energy storage is booming — and flexing its political muscle
8 PV-Magazine:
California Community Choice Financing Authority issues first municipal clean energy bonds
Opinions:
9 Los Angeles Times:
Editorial - Don’t slash incentives for California rooftop solar
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for December 6th, 2021
Can We Get Bigger Markets? FERC is signaling a desire for utilities and States to create larger power markets. Coordinated with studies that show that Colorado, as an example, would lower consumer costs if they entered a Western market expanding energy volumes. We saw similar efforts being fancied in the Southeast, but with less competition.
What Should The Price Signals Be? If you think a bigger market is helpful, I would argue that wider markets that operate faster would be even better. Creating value, i.e. price signals, i.e. ways for people to make money, would create behavior that enhance the grid resilience and flexibility. Imagine if behind the meter solar and storage could get capacity dollars and dynamic pricing for energy exports, that would create more capitalistic investment by homeowners. If industrial warehouse owners could generate income if the tenant leaves or uses less energy than the rooftop can generate, then more generation would get built where it’s needed. Everyone complains that solar is an ‘as available’ resource, but never wants to create the price signal that provides the upside to make it a shaped curve generation.
News
1 Utility Dive:
Despite authority to require RTOs, Glick says FERC will encourage bottom-up approach to creating power markets
2 Axios:
Hedging against extreme weather events
3 Energy Storage News:
All California communities in utility PG&E’s service area eligible for microgrid programme
4 Bloomberg:
Enel Takes On Shell in Bid to Sell Australia Green Electricity
5 Barrons:
A Well-Connected SPAC Tries to Solve a Tricky Solar Power Problem
6 Reuters:
U.S. House to consider bill to clamp down on products from China's Xinjiang
7 PV-Tech:
Koch Industries subsidiary buys US solar EPC DEPCOM
Opinions:
8 Canary Media:
Voltus launches $1.3B SPAC to help businesses reshape their power use and ease grid stress
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for December 3rd, 2021
No Denying The Transition. Whether is the EIA, BNEF or your local headline, the energy transition is showing its way to the top. Solar, wind and new sources like green hydrogen are getting build anywhere developers can get land, approvals and revenue streams. It’s not just the ESG/climate movement creating the demand, its capitalism and the access to revenue that is enabled by energy storage joining the party. I’ll give you an example, if a power plant (any type of fuel source) connects to the grid, it exports everything it produces when it produces. Solar and wind plants produce anytime the natural resource is available (i.e. its sunny) versus some peaker plants that run 20 hours per year, made only profitable by capacity contracts. This power plant already has a grid interconnection agreement, approvals and land which means adding storage is easy. Storage now allows the timing gap to occur between generation and export that is a proprietary energy arbitrage between fuel cost and energy value. When you control your marginal cost of production, controlling your value of export is the key to success.
So Many Use Cases. The exciting part of our work today is that a new market opportunity comes to fruition every day. In recent RFPs by utilities, generation without fuel cost matched with dispatch capability has been cheapest and the most reliable long term cost to consumers, i.e. no fuel cost volatility. Regulators in the Northeast are hearing arguments about reliability for the grid as well, especially in winter events. While we do little to value reliability, resilience and societal benefits in our grid investments, consumers are taking some of those matters in their own hands as well by buying solar and storage for their homes and businesses. What is the value of reliability? per kWh please…
Managing The Pace Of Change. In yesterday’s SolarWakeup, we saw a chart of EV market share and it’s incredible to see it as almost nonexistent still. If you’ve been to a charging station recently with your EV, you’ve recently waited in line for a charging port. Now for a repeat of something you’ve read here before, there’s a reason that Tesla’s energy storage business is called stationary power because the vehicles are the mobile version of it and this is where grid operators see value and incredible challenge. How do they forecast when vehicle owners would be willing to ‘charge’ the grid versus charge their car, i.e. how reliable is the EV owner as a power source. Now 10x the market share of EVs…
Looking At 24 x 7. With Amazon doing another 1GW of corporate procurement, let’s recall the next two steps that happen for corporates. First, all energy consumption will be offset with procurement and REC purchases. Second, all energy consumption will be offset by renewable energy procured within the same time segment, i.e. 2am consumption offset by 2am renewable generation. Lastly, the time match will be supplemented by geographical match. That’s how 24 x 7 will work for every major corporate.
News
1 Bloomberg:
Technology Drives a Power Transition
2 Solar Builder:
Clean Energy Group says batteries are lowest cost option for winter grid reliability in Massachusetts
3 Axios:
Your electric car could become a virtual power plant
4 PV-Magazine:
Amazon procures over 1 GW of U.S. solar projects
5 New York Times:
California regulators fine PG&E $125 million for 2019 fire
6 Energy Storage News:
8GW of battery storage pre-qualifies for UK’s T-4 Capacity Market auction
7 Canary Media:
Solar and green groups buy into Duke’s net-metering plan in North Carolina
Opinions:
8 PV-Tech:
What does the future hold for tracker manufacturers?
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for December 2nd, 2021
Opinion
News
1 Utility Dive:
US to add 200 GW of renewable capacity by 2026, but IEA warns 30 GW offshore target 'challenging'
2 Energy Storage News:
BloombergNEF - Average battery pack prices to drop below US$100/kWh by 2024 despite near-term spikes
3 GreenBiz:
BlackRock on the power of public-private finance
4 Axios:
Electric car prices could go up before they come down
5 Solar Builder:
BayWa r.e. acquires Beacon Solar, part of the largest roofing distributor in U.S.
6 Canary Media:
Helping Native communities attain ‘energy sovereignty’ with solar
7 PV-Magazine:
Dispute settlement allows Hawaii solar project to advance
Opinions:
8 Yale Climate:
Solar and crop production research shows ‘multi-solving’ climate benefits
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for December 1st, 2021
Opinion
News
1 Solar Builder:
Community solar is primed for energy storage
2 Solar Power World:
Koch Industries subsidiary buys utility-scale solar installer DEPCOM Power
3 Energy Storage News:
Wells Fargo makes first tax equity investment into US solar-plus-storage market
4 The Hill:
Democrats push tax credits to bolster clean energy
5 PV-Magazine:
Duke Energy and clean energy advocates come to terms on new net metering rates in North Carolina
6 PV-Tech:
kWh Analytics launches new solution aimed at providing additional revenue for solar assets
7 RMI:
Private Financial Institutions Are Stepping In to Decarbonize Steel
8 Canary Media:
How to turn trash into treasure - Put solar panels over landfills
Opinions:
9 Utility Dive:
'A long way to go' - How ConEd, Xcel and 4 other utilities are helping cities meet big EV goals
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for November 30th, 2021
Market Making For Renewables. As FERC orders 2222 and 841 make its way through rule making, we’ve already seen that energy storage and DERs are providing new revenue streams in the market. In many ways, storage lets asset owners commoditize the generation source and no longer exporting the energy when its made but when its most valuable. If we learned anything during the Texas winter storm is that ancillary services can be incredibly valuable and that hedges for renewables are actually must deliver contracts. From here I expect that we will see more folks opting for merchant over hedges and many more revenue streams for storage to come. Those revenue streams will accelerate renewables development that no longer needs the off take agreement to get the project to NTP.
Best Use Land Value. The Real Deal has land value in upstate New York going up at the best use case for solar development. Seems to me that all of those land owners are then moving to my neighborhood in Florida.
A Job That Never Opens. A few months ago Adam Browning from Vote Solar announced his departure which means we now have a job opening that has never existed in the 17 years that I’ve been in solar. You can apply to be the executive director of Vote Solar which is a great way to earn a living. So if this job is for you, you can read about it and apply here. If you apply and get the job, I expect a board nomination in return!
News
1 PV-Magazine:
Renewables deserve better approaches to resource adequacy - ACORE
2 Axios:
Cautious hope for CO2 capture after "false starts"
3 Utility Dive:
8 states, DC urge FERC to reject EEI, Eversource call to drop competition for transmission projects
4 New York Times:
Can New York Really Get to 100% Clean Energy by 2040?
5 The Hill:
Stacey Abrams nominated to board of solar energy firm
6 The Real Deal:
Manhattan luxury market logs best Thanksgiving week ever
Opinions:
7 RMI:
What We’re Learning about Corporate Climate Ambition
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for November 29th, 2021
Opinion
News
1 PV-Magazine:
ITC says that Section 201 tariffs should be extended
2 Bloomberg:
China Fund Manager Reaping 109% Is a Die-Hard Renewables Fan
3 Axios:
Department of Interior proposes raising cost of drilling on public lands
4 Energy Storage News:
Software and batteries can enable energy industry’s ‘Amazon Prime Plus moment’
5 Utility Dive:
North Carolina regulators give Duke 4 months to craft carbon reduction plan
6 PV-Tech:
DNV aims to boost cyber security in energy sector through Applied Risk acquisition
7 Solar Power World:
Florida legislature considers ending solar net metering
Opinions:
8 Canary Media:
What 24/7 carbon-free energy can achieve over the long term
Have a great day!
Yann
