Emissions Are Declining. Some good news are coming out of 2019, emissions in the US are anticipated to be down 2% largely due to the electricity sector, good job everyone!

Visual Change To Generation. In 2019, coal consumption in the US is down 18% to the levels of 1975. If you want to see how this change is happening, look at the graph from the UK below. You can see how king coal was everything for nearly an entire century but that is changing. In Texas the trend is similar, wind basically equalled the generation of coal and will overcome it this year.

Need For More. Now that the generation portfolio is changing to a better blend, we have to make sure that solar is in a position to take on the additional load caused by electric cars. Estimates are coming out but that will surely be understated. With every major OEM going electric, what will they do to work together with homeowners and power suppliers.

What This Decade Means. This decade has already been labels the Solar+ decade by the solar DC trade group. In order to achieve this we must put our differences aside and realize that as an industry we have to be uniform in our message. Homeowners that have or want solar need to get involved and it’s our job to activate them!

• Bloomberg: U.S. Emissions Fall After Utilities Ditch Coal in Favor of Gas
• Utility Dive: PJM – Electric vehicles could boost load 1.5 GW by 2035
• PV-Magazine: The world will add 142 GW of new solar this year
• Axios: Democrats prep climate legislation in case of 2020 breakthrough
• Solar Power World: SEIA vows solar will lead power generation in this decade
• PV-Tech: SunPower appoints new CFO to Maxeon spin-off’s leadership team
• Grist: New York’s ambitious climate and environmental justice laws are in effect. Here’s what’s next.
• GreenBiz: Volkswagen boosts EV production target to 1.5 million by 2025

Opinion

• Greentech Media: How Germany’s Energy Transition Could Get Its Mojo Back

Best, Yann

• Greentech Media: Local Solar Installers Embrace Big New Opportunity – Home Battery Add-Ons
• PV-Magazine: 2,000 gigawatts of solar power needed for 100% renewables
• GreenBiz: New year, new energy – Cleantech innovations vie for the spotlight at CES
• PV-Tech: First Solar to pay US$350 million to settle 2012 class action case
• Rocky Mountain Institute: Think Distributed Solar-Plus-Storage isn’t Cost Effective? Think Again.
• Utility Dive: Making the case for billion-dollar investments in grid modernization by answering three key questions
• Bloomberg: Germany’s RWE Fires Up a Solar Farm in Texas Oil Country

Opinion

• Axios: BP aims to create energy tech unicorns

Best, Yann

Welcome To 2020. I am flying back to San Francisco today after a week back in Florida. More content and coverage coming as soon as the routine kicks back off. Reminder that you can always email me by clicking reply any morning with news and information about your solar work. 

• New York Times: N.A.A.C.P. Tells Local Chapters – Don’t Let Energy Industry Manipulate You
• Axios: Australian PM defends his response to fires
• Vox: Google and Amazon are now in the oil business
• Greentech Media: Iberdrola Completes Europe’s Largest Solar Plant (and Yes, It’s Subsidy-Free)
• Utility Dive: Judge tells Michigan regulators to send DTE back to drawing board on its long-term resource plan
• PV-Magazine: Delmarva Power’s demand charges beaten by Delaware man
• Grist: Amazon threatened to fire employees for speaking out on climate, workers say
• GreenBiz: City sustainability leadership deepens, banks build new environmental roles

Opinion

• The State: Will solar ruling cause SC power bills to rise? It sure looks that way, utility says

Best, Yann

The Mandates. I don’t like the word mandate but that is what the new home solar legislation in California is. The reality of the policy is that solar installed during new home construction is exponentially more cost effective than a one-off retrofit at a later date. Look for this policy to go farther in 2020 and beyond. The market will drive this as well once home builders realize that this generates instant value for the home buyer.

Where Is EVs Trade Org? EVs are coming fast and consumers want them but the market isn’t ready for changes. The OEMs don’t appear to be coordinating a policy path in DC and in the States, the closest I’ve seen comes from the charging companies. The opposition to EVs will come from labor, mechanics, and oil majors amongst others. There are trillions of dollars in play that will shift industries. This comes before the adaptation of self-driving cars which will decimate insurance premiums in due time.

Community Solar In 2020. Community solar programs are a huge success and are oversubscribed anywhere they are enacted. It also bridge the best of all of solar where distributed installers match homeowners with large scale developers and tech companies. This should be a big year for the market. 

• Vox: California now requires solar panels on all new homes. That’s not necessarily a good thing.
• Axios: Electric vehicles face an uncertain policy landscape in 2020
• PV-Tech: New Jersey approves 45 community solar projects
• Greentech Media: 5 Tangible Advances for Long-Duration Energy Storage in 2019
• Grist: How do fossil fuel companies have so much power?
• Utility Dive: JEA rejects multibillion-dollar buyout offers from Duke, NextEra and 7 others
• Bloomberg: Chinese Solar Company to Spend $947 Million Building Two Plants
• PV-Magazine: Why don’t early-stage VCs invest in solar any more?

Opinion

• GreenBiz: 7 companies making their mark with commercial microgrids

Best, Yann