Mops And Buckets For Climate Change. Building a wall around Manhattan drew the ire of Trump on Twitter, get your buckets ready New York.

Tech Helps The Fight. We’re entering an era where action has a technological and financial capability of success. Here’s Jeff Bezos showing off the new electric rickshaw that Amazon will use in India.

The Trade Deal. Phase one of the trade agreement with China was signed last week, amongst which was promising outlook for the silicon sector. As details come out, there will be plenty of opportunity to assess how this could help the solar space. It does leave in place all other tariffs on solar related items like inverters, aluminum and other commodities.

Looking Ahead. A few weeks ago, SEIA elected a new board Chair. In a quiet contest between Swinerton CEO, George Hershman and Nexamp CEO Zaid Ashai, the board elected Hershman. The Swinerton CEO has been a leading voice in tariff fights which leads the expectation that SEIA will continue to focus a large amount of time and resource on the topic. It has yet to be seen or heard how SEIA plans to move forward after the ITC loss including the discussion on the next step-down at the end of the year. I continue to wish and hope for SEIA to do public outreach to groups that could view this election as a double down on utility scale solar, away from DG and the regulatory policies that enable that segment. 

• Greentech Media: Polysilicon Industry Awaits Certainty on US-China Trade Deal
• Times and Democrat: Lawmakers call for Santee Cooper to go 100% clean
• PV-Tech: Microsoft, Pepsi and Visa make moves in week of corporate renewable pledges
• PV-Magazine: Your guide to solar market growth in the global ‘gigawatt club’
• GreenBiz: Clean Energy Deal Tracker – Don’t say Amazon isn’t doing anything — international PPAs on the rise
• Rocky Mountain Institute: The Promise and Challenges of BlackRock’s Climate Commitment
• Bloomberg: Total, Marubeni to Invest in 800-Megawatt Qatar Solar Plant

Opinion

• Axios: How Michael Bloomberg would decarbonize transportation

Best, Yann

Social Media Action For Reefs. Former Miami Dolphins player, Jarvis Landry, caught me by surprise when his post included a call to action on climate change as it pertains to reefs. A new level of action for climate that solar should think about.

Two Investments, One Deck. Union Square Ventures is a well known, successful, early stage venture capital firm. This is a firm that did part of the series A for Twitter in 2007. Two new investments and 60 slides on why they are looking at climate tech as part of their thesis.

Forget Carbon Neutral. Microsoft is challenging its team to get to carbon negative by 2030, a leap from the carbon neutral goals set just a few years ago. Making this possible for its millions of customers would be a great next step. Here is their post outlining this.

We Knew. “Yeah, we knew. Everybody knew,” he said. “And somehow we all ignored it.” Those are the words of Shell CEO Ben van Beurden. 

• Time: The Reason Fossil Fuel Companies Are Finally Reckoning With Climate Change
• Energy Transition: Making Emissions Visible
• Greentech Media: Germany Seals $45B Coal Phaseout Deal
• Axios: “Phase one” trade deal could spur Chinese purchases of U.S. energy
• Reuters: U.S. presidential hopeful Bloomberg unveils plan to cut wildfire losses in half
• Utility Dive: PepsiCo to get all its US electricity from renewable sources
• Solar Power World: New guide outlines ways to include low-income customers in utility solar programs

Opinion

• Rocky Mountain Institute: The Hidden Costs of EV Charging Infrastructure

Best, Yann

Back with Friday rundown tomorrow. 

• Axios: Wind and solar dominate new U.S. power
• Vox: The best case for and against a fracking ban
• PV-Magazine: Residential solar power purchasing tipping points found
• PV-Tech: Sonnedix lines up finance to continue PV spree in post-hurricane Puerto Rico
• Greentech Media: Solar Industry Asks Trump to Allow More Cell Imports to Spur Domestic PV Manufacturing
• Utility Dive: Early utility regulator retirement gives Wisconsin opportunity to move on third party solar impasse
• MIT: Climate change means the US must start building big things again

Opinion

• EDF: California’s new long-term gas plan is a win for customers and the environment

Best, Yann

BlackRock’s Fink Speaks Climate. BlackRock’s CEO wrote his annual letter that outlines some philosophical points about business and climate change. By not stating the actual metrics, Fink is giving some space to company CEOs to outline their own view of this world. Company executives spend an outsized amount of their time doing what they think keeps them employed and well paid by investors. They rarely spend time doing what they think is right when they know investors will fire them for doing it. Fink coming out and saying that their investments will have a guide involving sustainability creates a new operating agreement. Looking at the largest BlackRock holdings, Exxon, Chevron and NextEra show up on the top of the list that are energy related.

A Trillion At A Time. The EU is going to investment at least $1Trillion euros to avoid a climate crash. What’s the best way to spend that and what does it mean for the industry?

Looking Inside A Mind. Dan Shugar of NEXTracker is one of the more interesting people in solar doing one of the more uninteresting things. Trackers were largely written off 15 years ago when cost would be able to catch up but with high-efficiency and bifacial modules getting traction, NEXTracker was able to build a billion dollar business and be acquired by Flex. This turned an unsexy idea into a great company and Dan does a good job opening up in this interview. Or maybe I have a soft spot for building aluminum hardware businesses in solar?

Coal Goes, What Follows? Coal is leaving stage left and now it looks like things are not going well in the world of natural gas. Too much supply and low market prices are seemingly hurting the financials of gas companies. There is still a lack of impact on gas generation, as that market expands in DG segments, but these tea leaves look to be indicating the start of a possible trend.

Oceanfront Property. Twitter is loving the words of the APS CEO, saying that the Arizona utility will not directly or indirectly fund regulator’s political races. I’m sorry to say that Arizona still does not have oceanfront property even if Mr. Guldner is trying to sell it. 

• New York Times: BlackRock C.E.O. Larry Fink – Climate Crisis Will Reshape Finance
• Reuters: EU sets out trillion euro plan to avert ‘climate crash’
• PV-Magazine: Dan Shugar, NEXTracker CEO, riffs on tracker innovation, bifacial panels and getting acquired by Flex
• Axios: Largest U.S. natural gas producer plans $1.8 billion write-down in Q4
• Arizona Central: APS won’t spend money on political campaigns for Arizona Corporation Commission, company CEO says
• GreenBiz: It’s time for Silicon Valley to start buying electric commuter buses
• Greentech Media: WoodMac – Volkswagen Will Be World’s Biggest Electric Car Maker by 2030
• PV-Tech: Analysts report 2.13GW annual small-scale solar surge in bushfire-ridden Australia

Opinion

• Utility Dive: Will deep decarbonization include nuclear? Possibly, with many caveats

Best, Yann