Tag Archives: Daily Rundown

This is your SolarWakeup for July 6th, 2021

Boil The Ocean. In case you missed it, two separate events caused the ocean to catch on fire this weekend. Boil the ocean is an idiom meaning an impossible task, let the energy transition happen a bit faster. Gulf of Mexico, Caspian Sea. 

Can It Be Done? There is some skepticism that the grid can decarbonize in the executive suite at NRG. I think there should be some faith that it can be done and that some of the cultural beliefs of the future from the David Crane days return to the HQ.

Cypress Creek Gets A Buyer. Call it a turnaround completed, Sweden’s EQT is acquiring Cypress Creek Renewables from HPS and Temasek.

Grid Readiness. This is the story of the summer. Every weather event that causes stress on the grid will be viewed from the prism of ‘is the grid ready to handle this’.

Summer Break. SolarWakeup will be off for a week taking our summer break. We’ll have one more edition tomorrow and then return on Monday the 19th.

 Opinion

Best, Yann

 

This is your SolarWakeup for July 2nd, 2021

 Opinion

Best, Yann

 

This is your SolarWakeup for July 1st, 2021

Infra By Reconciliation. Yesterday we got our first view into what the White House wants in the second infrastructure bill which is (if it happens) going to pass by reconciliation and will require the vote of every Senate democrat. Highlight that you care about is a 100% clean energy standard and our requested package of renewable energy tax credits. Manchin has been less than committed to a CES though based on the press releases in my inbox yesterday, environmentalists don’t love the definition of CES that’s floating around which may mean that Manchin has been appeased by the broadening of the definition, i.e. clean coal may be considered a CES acceptable generator. First, you need Manchin’s vote to pass anything so maybe activists will be happy with losing while being ideological and second, clean coal isn’t a thing. Based on the uproar about the CES, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a red herring. A large swath of the Country already has states with 100% RPS standards and how would a federal government get a CES to be enforced anyways with energy largely regulated at the state level? I’ve always viewed a national RPS to be symbolic at best, focus FERC on strengthening PURPA contracts, speeding up interconnections and expanding pricing signals for storage on both sides of the meter.

Storage Versus Generation. There’s a new market view brewing in my head. I am getting increasingly uncomfortable with the storage replaces X generation. Storage is an enabler of choice, when to produce, when to dispatch and how to dispatch. For generators with land and interconnection, the addition of storage means additional revenue opportunity with a very quick development cycle. When that revenue opportunity crosses over the IRR hurdle, you’ll see an expansion of the build rate happen.

Radical Either Way. David Roberts writes that there is no moderate way to manage policy for the climate crisis. The view is that inaction is the more radical approach than an aggressive attack to counter emissions.

 Opinion

Best, Yann

 

This is your SolarWakeup for June 30, 2021

 Opinion

Best, Yann