Climate Week Thoughts. It’s climate week in NYC, an event I’ve never attended but it’s always full of news for those of us interested in the headlines. The arguments have changed a bit, early days centered around what’s possible, what technology is ready for primetime and how much subsidy would be available. Today, we’re arguing what date of impact we should target, i.e. shifting the EV requirement from 2030 to 2035 in the UK. Without much debate, I would say that progress has manifested a real transition to electrification. Now, the collective we, need to focus on making it all work within the grid and keep the grid operational. We’ll talk about how NERC feels about some of that next week.

• Axios: In a shift, fossil fuels take center stage at UN Climate Summit
• New York Times: Climate Forward Live Event -Discussing the Threats of a Rapidly Warming Planet
• Bloomberg: The US Wants a Piece of China’s Solar Business
• Utility Dive: NERC wants smaller renewables, batteries to register as bulk-power assets over reliability concerns
• Reuters: Exclusive – Tesla proposes building battery storage factory in India -sources
• PV-Tech: “More lines, more digitalisation, more climate resilience” – Grids must be priority for Europe’s net zero plans
• Renewable Energy World: Biden uses executive power to create a New Deal-style American Climate Corps
• Energy Storage News: Lithium supply chain much improved but transformers and other components a headache for BESS industry
• PV-Magazine: HVDC transmission serves mostly wind and hydro power, not solar

Opinion

• Canary Media: Four advocates share how to make electrification more equitable in cities

Best, Yann

• Reuters: Europe’s power industry warns ageing grids risk green goals
• PV-Tech: Utility says California needs US$370 billion for grids and generation to meet net zero
• Axios: Biden’s new “American Climate Corps” aims to enlist 20,000 young people
• Utility Dive: Rising electrification requires a dramatic shift to integrated planning of DER, bulk resources: Xcel VP
• Renewable Energy World: NEM 3.0 – What’s next for solar and storage in California?
• Energy Storage News: Texas utility CPS issues 500MW energy storage RFP
• Canary Media: Major steel users band together to place first big ​‘green steel’ order
• PV-Magazine: The top 10 states for residential solar
• Bloomberg: Sunak Was Told Diluting Green Policies Would Risk Net Zero

Opinion

• New York Times: Climate Experts Weigh In on Obstacles, Priorities and Hope

Best, Yann

• PV-Magazine: Silfab Solar announces U.S. cell manufacturing, new line of TOPCon panels
• Axios: Lowercarbon raises $550 million, blasts VC rivals for taking “blood money”
• Reuters: US Treasury – Financiers’ ‘net zero’ pledges must align with temperature limits
• PV-Tech: “A deeply precarious situation” – SolarPower Europe calls for reversal in falling European solar prices
• Energy Storage News: Kore Power, Nidec in multi-year agreement for up to 2.2GWh battery cells, racks and modules
• Renew Economy: Rooftop solar smashes records, sends coal and demand to new lows as it reshapes the grid
• Bloomberg: What Is COP28 and Why Is It Important?

Opinion

• Canary Media: What do EVs have to do with the autoworker strike? A lot, it turns out

Best, Yann

SPI Was Big, Really Big. Over 40,000 people ended up walking through the doors at RE+ and even more crowded the halls outside. You walked many steps, I’ve heard over 100,000 for some, less for those of us that booked our hotels earlier. Hats off to the organizers and everyone that made the trip to move our industries forward. Thank you to many of you that stopped by to say hello.

 One, Two Or More Trillions. Why was RE+ a record? It’s the money. The investments going into the businesses to grow them, the money being made at record levels and the capital flowing into the infrastructure that is shaping the growing need for electricity around the world. Trillions of dollars will be deployed into our ecosystems for the improvement of society and an overall energy transition that will both enhance how electricity is used and how clean the ultimate product is.

• Solar Power World: Solar contractors among first to respond to Lahaina wildfire recovery
• Bloomberg: Inside the Trillion-Dollar Climate Solutions Industry
• Utility Dive: Xcel to supply United Power with excess energy after co-op’s exit from Tri-State
• Axios: Climate Week NYC: Here’s what to watch
• Reuters: Germany likely to pass 50% mark for renewable power this year – minister
• Solar Builder: Record-setting RE+ 2023 shows how U.S. solar industry is going mainstream
• PV-Tech: SolarEdge unveils new C&I energy optimisation software at RE+
• Renewable Energy World: DOE launches $10M program to speed up large-scale renewables permitting
• Energy Storage News: Volvo Group and Connected Energy to develop second life BESS
• PV-Magazine: “The times of supply shortage are over,” solar giants bet big on U.S. manufacturing

Opinion

• Canary Media: The US is building power lines faster, but not fast enough

Best, Yann