A Big Market, Gets Bigger. This is the + decade. Solar+, that is. At the core is that the energy transition is happening, in real-time, in front of our eyes. There are still drivers that determine how big, how fast and how beneficial but now SEIA has a forecast for that. SEIA expects that over 324GW of solar will be installed this decade. That’s a lot and the reality is that we will build all of that and much more. We can be happy with that number but never satisfied and thus we need to continue to push the envelope and against any force that is attempting to slow the growth.

Not All Love. I’ve highlighted some of the early work on NEM 3.0 in California and now the utility joint proposal has been published, let’s just say that not everyone is on board with more solar.

Trust The Process. The filing caused market pressure on solar stocks yesterday. On day 1 of the process, we don’t know how it is going to play out and if we are passive in this then it will not be good for solar. This is not just a DG versus central discussion either, this is about controlling the benefit of the generation away from the market and consumers. But if we recognize that political involvement means more value to solar and clean energy companies, involvement that is both people power and dollars for advocacy, then the process should result in a fair outcome because that is what the people want.

Not For Spectators. A lobbyist told me in my very early years in solar that politics is not a spectator sport and it’s full contact, no light days on the Capitol. Ask  yourself this, no matter your company, what are you doing to participate in the process?

Bracketology. The most important SolarWakeup day of the year is here, time to join this year’s March Madness bracket. As always, the winning bracket gets to write the column for a day. So head to ESPN Fantasy and look for the ‘SolarWakeup 2021’ group and use password solar to join. Feel free to invite your friends and colleagues to join the fun.

A Product Showcase. In two weeks, join CALSSA and the dozens of manufacturers in a product showcase. This is a free event if you register in advance, you can do that here. Absent in person events and a desire to stay in front of a computer all day, CALSSA brings you the best way to learn about the latest and greatest.

• PV-Magazine: U.S. solar industry comes ‘roaring back,’ breaks multiple records in 2020
• PV-Tech: Solar campaigners hit back at California utilities’ net metering proposals
• Barrons: Solar Stocks Sink on Proposed California Rule Changes. Why Utilities in Other States May Wage Similar Battles.
• GreenBiz: Who wants to be a climate-tech billionaire?
• Utility Dive: Taking Charge – Commissioner Clements on FERC’s ‘make or break’ role amid the energy transition
• Axios: SEC inches closer to new climate disclosure regulations
• Reuters: Invest $131 trillion in clean energy by 2050 to hit climate goals, agency says 

Opinion

• RMI: Financing the Transition from Coal to Clean Energy

Best, Yann

Bracketology. The most important SolarWakeup day of the year is here, time to join this year’s March Madness bracket. As always, the winning bracket gets to write the column for a day. So head to ESPN Fantasy and look for the ‘SolarWakeup 2021’ group and use password solar to join. Feel free to invite your friends and colleagues to join the fun.

Farewell GTM. Emma Foehringer Merchant and Julian Spector post their last GTM articles. The end is really here.

Kerry Documents Inside Baseball. GM is hiring EV lobbyists and John Kerry is asking Wall Street to leverage their PR teams to advance climate talking points. Inside baseball is coming to the ClimateTech markets.

A Product Showcase. In two weeks, join CALSSA and the dozens of manufacturers in a product showcase. This is a free event if you register in advance, you can do that here. Absent in person events and a desire to stay in front of a computer all day, CALSSA brings you the best way to learn about the latest and greatest. 

• Greentech Media: Greentech Media Chronicled Clean Energy Before It Was Cool
• Greentech Media: Greentech Media’s Last Ride on the Solar Coaster
• Politico: Kerry to Wall Street: Put your money behind your climate PR
• Axios: GM adds slew of outside lobbyists amid electric vehicle push
• PV-Magazine: Maryland advances supercharged climate action bill
• Energy Storage News: ‘Europe to be world’s biggest lithium-ion battery cell maker after China by 2025’
• PV-Tech: Australia adds record 7GW of renewables in 2020 as rooftop PV deployment soars
• Utility Dive: APS comes out against legislation barring Arizona regulators from mandating decarbonization

Opinion

• RMI: ERCOT Isn’t the Only Thing That Needs Fixing

Best, Yann

Bracketology. The most important SolarWakeup day of the year is here, time to join this year’s March Madness bracket. As always, the winning bracket gets to write the column for a day. So head to ESPN Fantasy and look for the ‘SolarWakeup 2021’ group and use password solar to join. Feel free to invite your friends and colleagues to join the fun.

Farewell GTM. Jeff St. John has been writing for GTM since 2008 and he takes the pen to bid farewell. Like many of you, my journey in solar and now storage has run alongside that of GTM. With each step in my career hoping for a new mention on the news site and it was no different in my latest career move. GTM has been the leading insider platform for the better part of the decade and will be missed. I can’t wait to see where the current journalists land and who steps into the void left in the market.

All Eyes On ClimateTech. Energy Impact Partners has a ClimateTech index which has been outperforming the broader tech market. ClimateTech is a broad category in the index but let’s look at the next iteration which will create the next trillion dollar company. ClimateTech is the nexus where hardware and software meet to solve really important climate problems. That nexus allows for the scalability to manage enormous problems and turn them into opportunities.

Do More Infra. The headlines around an infrastructure bill are good on all sides of the argument. Utilities are asking for it, unions and contractors are for it, engineers and generators are begging for it and polling says that voters of both parties love it. So how does it actually get done? Bipartisan support has become a DC problem too hard to solve because there is no attack ad in a win-win policy.  

The State By State. The weakness in the infrastructure exposed Texas to over $130billion in lost economic output during the winter storm. Some areas of Mississippi are still without water. Every State is now grappling with how their infrastructure compares and what the priority list looks like. Even if the national infrastructure plan passes, States are still the individual markets that enable their goals or slow them down.

A Product Showcase. In two weeks, join CALSSA and the dozens of manufacturers in a product showcase. This is a free event if you register in advance, you can do that here. Absent in person events and a desire to stay in front of a computer all day, CALSSA brings you the best way to learn about the latest and greatest. 

• Greentech Media: Greentech Media Bids Farewell
• Utility Dive: Dominion, Berkshire Hathaway push better transmission siting as Biden turns focus to infrastructure
• Axios: New index shows climate tech companies are outperforming the Nasdaq
• Vox: Why every state is vulnerable to a Texas-style power crisis
• PV-Magazine: 10 energy bills to watch in the 2021 state legislative session
• Solar Power World: REsurety adds hourly power price, generation data to renewable mapping software
• Grist: The Battle of Thacker Pass
• Reuters: Malala Yousafzai says educate girls to fight climate change

Opinion

• GreenBiz: Has offshore wind’s moment finally arrived?

Best, Yann

Today’s Takeaway. As you head into the weekend and read today’s top stories, I want you to think about the fundamental shift in our industry. For the past 15 years we have been focused on signing long term off take agreements in order to build solar generation, this has been one of the hardest and determining factors in development. Given solar produces energy when the sun shines, this is the bedrock of making the financial model work. Over the next 10 years, our industry will shift into a more complex but financially advantaged position where energy is part of the system and trading that energy drives the financial model. Read between the lines of what BP is saying and Google is planning for, it’s clear as day what this looks like in 5 years.

A Product Showcase. In two weeks, join CALSSA and the dozens of manufacturers in a product showcase. This is a free event if you register in advance, you can do that here. Absent in person events and a desire to stay in front of a computer all day, CALSSA brings you the best way to learn about the latest and greatest. 

• Axios: What to expect from Biden’s climate and energy team
• Reuters: Exclusive – BP bets on energy trading to fund strategy shift after bumper year
• Greentech Media: Inside Google’s Bid to Get Granular on Renewable Energy Credits
• Utility Dive: Senate Democrats plan to reintroduce energy tax reform bill, focus on long-term incentives
• Solar Power World: LG Energy Solution will invest $4.5 billion to boost American battery manufacturing
• Bloomberg: California’s Solar Industry Is Getting Sunburned
• PV-Magazine: Huge potential for ‘low-impact’ solar on Long Island, N.Y., roadmap says

Opinion

• Los Angeles Times: Here’s what clean energy companies want from President Biden

Best, Yann