This is your SolarWakeup for September 22nd, 2021
Opinion
News
1 New York Times:
California is sued over its rule on solar power installers.
2 BBC:
Record backlog of cargo ships at California ports
3 Axios:
China vows end to building coal-fired power plants abroad
4 Bloomberg:
China Appeals WTO Ruling Over Trump Era’s Solar-Panel Tariffs
5 Reuters:
India's Adani Group to invest $20 bln in renewables in 10 years
6 PV-Tech:
New York governor calls for expansion of NY-Sun scheme to support at least 10GW of solar
7 RMI:
RMI Reality Check - Appalachia Poised to Become Clean Energy Country
8 Energy Storage News:
New Mexico’s largest solar-plus-storage plant in utility coal retirement plan acquired by DE Shaw
9 PV-Magazine:
How long do residential energy storage batteries last?
Opinions:
10 Utility Dive:
US can meet Paris climate commitments but will need to rely heavily on electric utilities - report
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 21st, 2021
Opinion
News
1 New York Times:
This Powerful Democrat Linked to Fossil Fuels Will Craft the U.S. Climate Plan
2 Axios:
First look - Real estate firms invest $140 million in climate tech
3 Reuters:
Special Report-BP gambles big on fast transition from oil to renewables
4 Solar Power World:
Private firm acquires Swinerton Renewable Energy and SOLV
5 GeekWire:
Amazon, Microsoft, Breakthrough Energy share climate news as ‘Climate Week’ kicks off
6 Reuters:
Vineyard Wind secures $2.3 bln loan, allowing construction to start
7 PV-Tech:
Dominion Energy Virginia proposes 15 new projects and PPAs with a combined capacity of 1GW
8 RMI:
Bringing Reliable, Renewable Energy to the People
9 Energy Storage News:
LS Power repurposing former New Jersey coal plant site into offshore wind integration hub
10 PV-Magazine:
IREC guide aims to help states deploy solar hosting capacity maps
Opinions:
11 Utility Dive:
Advancing the energy transition requires an honest discussion of costs, outages and land, analysts say
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 20th, 2021
Platform Money Comes For Energy Transition. The energy transition is kicking off this year and its focus is on delivering the infrastructure that enables a more resilient grid. Like our capital raise at FlexGen, investors are seeing that long term infrastructure enables by ClimateTech solutions means bringing exceptional talent and bankable solutions together for the capital that is looking to own the projects that create the change. Canary’s Julian Spector covers the latest funding and why the focus has arrived, including the 10x level up that these investors are pushing through.
Grid Resilience Isn’t About Either Or. One of the loudest undertones in energy policy inside renewables is the ‘fight’ between distributed and central generation players. I’ve long said that the rising tide is when everyone in the industry wins but the same is also true for the consumer. A grid without transmission isn’t feasible but during climate events, the power lines tend to be the weakest link. During hurricanes, snow or ice storms and floods, the centralized generation loses attachment to those that need energy and that’s when distributed generation with storage can add significant value. This is also true in a grid where we shape demand and generation in a coordinated effort. We need both to power through the energy transition.
21st Century Power Market. Spending most of my time looking at energy storage markets and projects, I am often reminded that the power markets have had very little evolution since their inception. FERC orders 2222 and 841 should be the impetus for markets to create more dynamic and faster price signals for the technology available in the 21st century.
The Sequoias Get Foil Wrapped. Wildfires are burning so consistently that they are barely getting covered anymore. Now with the KNP Complex fire at the edge of the Sequoia National Park, rangers are wrapping these national treasures with foil fire blankets so that they hopefully survive the fire. This is another reminder that our work can’t go fast enough.
News
1 Canary Media:
Investors are pouring money into grid storage startups
2 New York Times:
Why Louisiana’s Electric Grid Failed in Hurricane Ida
3 Utility Dive:
New York authorizes National Grid to serve retail, bid into wholesale market with upstate battery project
4 Bloomberg:
Winter Is Coming and Europe Is Running Scarily Low on Gas
5 Axios:
Huge wildfire reaches edge of Sequoia National Park
6 Reuters:
Analysis - Europe's power firms locked out of record price bonanza
7 PV-Tech:
BP, ADNOC and Masdar team up in multi-billion dollar investment deal for clean and low carbon energy
8 Solar Power World:
Delaware updates community solar rules to eliminate barriers
9 PV-Magazine:
Ohio approves more than 530 MW of solar additions
Opinions:
10 Slate:
The Missing Link in Biden’s Revolutionary Solar Energy Plan
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 17th, 2021
Opinion
News
1 Energy Storage News:
Vistra says ‘extraordinary leadership’ enabling Illinois’ transition away from coal
2 Fox Local:
Activists, customers protest SMUD ahead of vote for new solar rates
3 Utility Dive:
'We're obviously in the middle of a dramatic transformation,' FERC's Glick says amid market reform talks
4 Axios:
Ford adds jobs to meet soaring demand for electric F-150 Lightning
5 Reuters:
China's JinkoSolar says some panels being held at U.S. border
6 PV-Tech:
Silfab Solar secures investment to support US module manufacturing expansion
7 PV-Magazine:
Sunpower agrees to be Toll Brothers’ exclusive California solar provider
Opinions:
8 GreenBiz:
Clearloop brings solar to rural minority communities
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 16th, 2021
Opinion
News
1 PV-Tech:
FTC Solar replaces CEO amid ‘tough operational environment’
2 Reuters:
Chevron would rather pay dividends than invest in wind and solar -CEO
3 Solar Power World:
Solar prices are up across all markets due to supply chain constraints, threat of new tariffs
4 Business Journals:
Wilsonville battery maker ESS looking at early October to complete SPAC IPO
5 Bloomberg:
Sunrun CEO Steps In Amid Blackouts, Trade Woes and Rising Prices
6 New York Times:
Climate Change Calls for Backup Power, and One Company Cashes In
7 Energy Storage News:
Illinois gets 100% clean energy policy, including ‘Coal to Solar and Storage’ funding
8 PV-Magazine:
Tracking the Sun report offers insight into distributed solar trends
Opinions:
9 Axios:
The precarious White House climate posture
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 15th, 2021
Opinion
News
1 Energy Storage News:
Wood Mackenzie - US battery storage deployments worth US$5 billion forecast in record setting year
2 Reuters:
Biden says in Colorado that extreme weather will cost U.S. over $100 billion this year
3 Bloomberg:
U.S. Solar Gets More Expensive in Threat to Climate Change Fight
4 Axios:
New coal-fired power projects dwindle worldwide
5 PV-Tech:
Illinois climate bill to support nearly 10GW of solar PV by 2030
6 RMI:
Don’t Take Existing Energy Transition Funding for Granted
7 PV-Magazine:
SMUD proposal would cut net metering credits, impose interconnection fees
Opinions:
8 Utility Dive:
FERC wants state help on transmission policy. It should also ask about wholesale market reforms.
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 14th, 2021
The House Legislation. Draft legislation for the budget reconciliation bill was unveiled showing some details of the clean energy related tax credit. Some highlights include a 10 year extension at 30% for the ITC including stand alone storage as long as prevailing wage levels were paid. There is an adder if local content is used that can increase the tax credit. Projects under 1MW appear to be exempt from the requirements and look at a solid 30% for the next decade. All of this comes under the shadow of the Senate, where Manchin and Synema are taking center stage on what this actually looks like. With the tax increases also included as a pay for for the cost of the bill, expect many things to move if and before this is signed by the President.
Gas Price Rising. Gas prices rose again in August, trending the line up and to the right in the US but also in Europe. With cost competitiveness of gas power plants declining, the argument for the energy transition gets stronger and beyond the climate impact alone.
b>Illinois Gets It Done. The Illinois legislature has passed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act which is sent to and expected to be signed by the Governor. The legislation is expected to add 4GW of wind, 4GW of utility scale solar and 5.8GW of rooftop and community solar. This comes after years of trying to expand the work done under the previous FEJA legislation that kicked off that local market.
The Auctions Like +Storage. Auctions, often used outside of the US, have been a good indicator of changes in the forward looking landscape. In Germany and the UK, generation plus storage is gaining major traction and adding significant pipeline. It is also expanding the growth of ancillary services for frequency regulation and other revenue stacking opportunities.
Gulf Coast Post Ida Coverage. See some of the post Ida coverage from the Gulf Coast. SPI may already have slipped your mind but remember the local community continues to rebuild. Solar and storage played a major role, where deployed, in keeping access to some utilities for those communities.
News
1 PV-Tech:
10-year solar ITC extension, standalone storage credit and PTC revival included in draft budget bill
2 Reuters:
High gas prices demand creative climate thinking
3 Solar Power World:
Illinois’s renewable energy overhaul bill passes Senate and moves to Governor’s desk
4 Energy Storage News:
Wins for solar-plus-storage in tender ‘prove energy storage is integral to greener Germany’
5 Utility Dive:
New York directs utilities to submit transmission proposals as decarbonization deadline looms
6 Axios:
Ad wars intensify as Democrats' green energy plans take shape
7 PV-Magazine:
The world’s largest solar power plants
8 CBS Local:
Regulators question Entergy's transmission upgrades after 'catastrophic' failure
9 New York Times:
New Orleans Built a Power Plant to Prepare for Storms. It Sat Dark for 2 Days.
Opinions:
10 NOLA.com:
Rooftop solar systems survived Hurricane Ida; in blackout, some powered neighbors, too
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 13th, 2021
Opinion
News
1 Politico:
Manchin suggests he may support a $1T-$1.5T spending agenda
2 CNBC:
Billionaire presidential candidate Tom Steyer launching climate investment fund
3 Solar Power World:
Total U.S. energy storage installs rise in Q2, but residential dips because of supply shortages
4 Bloomberg:
Working as a Solar Panel Installer
5 Vox:
What’s the worst that could happen?
6 Energy Storage News:
LG Energy Solution acquires former market leader NEC Energy Solutions
7 PV-Tech:
Heliene to set up 400MW mono PERC module production line in Minnesota
Opinions:
8 PV-Magazine:
Solar in uncommon spaces
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 10th, 2021
Let’s Recap. The big news this week comes from Biden’s plan to get 45% solar by 2050, which means adding an average of 65GW per year over that time. That is going to require many gears to line up in sync with each other including issues like trade and training.
And Aligned Policy. With such a large goal in mind, it would behoove the administration to work with States including California where regulators and legislators are threatening to take a giant leap in the wrong direction by favoring incumbent 20th century generation over a more resilient grid.
The Right Direction. An excellent piece from WSJ at the top today highlights the things that will enable a more resilient grid. I may be biased but Kelcy Pegler, CEO of FlexGen, puts it best, “We’ve exhausted all reasonable excuses for not making our grid more intelligent.” Plus check out FlexGen’s new logo and job opportunities on the Linkedin page.
Tesla’s Vertical Integration. In the past two weeks, Tesla has announced a few different grid related strategies that show signs of complete vertical integration beyond being a hardware supplier. First was the filing to become an energy retailer in Texas, interesting for the fact that non-stationary power (in potential energy form) exists in the driveway of every Tesla car owner. I’ve always been curious as to why Tesla referred to its battery business as stationary power but for the reason that the opposite also exists. Second, Tesla appears to be building an energy trading arm which could either be a monetizing effort for the first fact or even go beyond to building out a fleet of stationary power and building the IPP. I clearly play checkers against Elon’s chess moves but I wouldn’t be shocked to see Tesla customers being a segment of this total integrated effort to monetize the energy transition.
Have a great weekend!
News
1 Wall Street Journal:
Battery Makers Tied to Power Grid Attract Big Investors
2 Utility Dive:
DOE study calls for ramping up solar installation to 60 GW per year by 2025, but getting there could prove challenging, analyst says
3 Reuters:
U.S. Democrats unveil details of $150 bln clean electricity plan in budget bill
4 Energy Storage News:
US grid-scale battery storage developer Key Capture Energy acquired by SK E&S
5 Politico:
Biden taps D.C. utility regulator Phillips for FERC
6 Los Angeles Times:
California records its hottest summer ever as climate change roils cities
7 Solar Builder:
347 organizations make last push to preserve the power of net metering in California
8 PV-Tech:
LONGi, Jinko and JA Solar launch module standardisation drive
9 Solar Power World:
Report finds new solar projects — not grid operators — are paying for upgrades to transmission network
Opinions:
10 PV-Magazine:
Making the right buy
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 9th, 2021
Opinion
News
1 New York Times:
From 4% to 45% - Energy Department Lays Out Ambitious Blueprint for Solar Power
2 Reuters:
Tesla plans energy trading team as company expands battery projects
3 PV-Magazine:
Letter signed by 750 companies calls on Congress for long-term solar policy certainty
4 Axios:
Green groups get specific on reconciliation climate ask
5 Bloomberg:
Walmart Breaks Green-Bond Record With $2 Billion Debut Sale
6 PV-Tech:
Chile’s power auction to support 2GW of renewables and storage projects
7 Energy Storage News:
SimpliPhi Power acquired by power equipment manufacturer Briggs & Stratton
8 Solar Power World:
iSun acquires SunCommon to expand regional solar installation presence
Opinions:
9 Washington Post:
Inside the Ohio factory that could make or break Biden’s big solar energy push
Have a great day!
Yann
