Happy New Year! Welcome to the 2020 decade. Hard to imagine what solar looks like in 10 years. But let’s try. What is your biggest prediction for the end of the year and the end of the decade? Hit reply to this email and send me your thoughts, the best ones make it on.

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• GreenBiz: 2019 was the year that…

Best, Yann

Was It The Skinny Package? Not that it matters much at this point but here is an additional level of information from the ITC showdown. Senate negotiators apparently walked into a White House looking to kill all tax extenders. This did not bode well for the Senate which promptly pulled out their skinny package, i.e. what the chairman wants. So when the biodiesel and wind credit goes through, you can imagine the senior senator from Iowa is somewhat content. Unfortunately for solar it appears that the power exerted on the legislative bodies wasn’t enough to get the skinny inclusion this time.

No Time For MOPR. FERC may be creating the biggest change in power markets in the history of the solar market. Through their minimum price mechanism, renewables that receive state support will have to clear at a higher price allowing generation like gas and  coal to clear below that level. This means that consumers will artificially pay more for the most cost effective generation available and still be on the hook for the societal costs of polluting generation. In short, this is a giant subsidy for generating plants that are no longer viable and something the Trump administration has been after for 3 years. Much more to come but some Twitter commentary says that capacity markets could close or states leave their markets altogether.

Your Coal For The Holidays. As we celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah, you get the coal subsidy with the return of the incandescent light bulbs which the administration is bringing back to life. Doubt the market will get on board with that…Happy Holidays!

Programming Note. Today will be the last SolarWakeup edition of the year and the decade. I appreciate everything that you do and your readership over the past 7 years. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! I will see you in the next decade as the Earth (and I) get one year older. 

• Utility Dive: FERC move to raise PJM capacity market bids shows ‘clear bias’ against new, clean generation – Glick
• PV-Magazine: Utility scale solar power as cheap as 70¢ per watt and still falling
• Bloomberg: Dutch Supreme Court Orders 25% Cut in CO2 Starting Next Year
• NJ Biz: BPU approves 45 participants for first-year community solar pilot
• Grist: Climate gets a prime spot in the sixth Democratic debate
• Greentech Media: Floating Wind, By Royal Appointment: UK Edges Closer to Dedicated Tenders
• Axios: Trump administration to roll back Bush-era light bulb standards

Opinion

• EDF: Decision by federal regulators underscores urgency of passing Illinois’ Clean Energy Jobs Act

Best, Yann

Have a great weekend! More insight on what happened with the ITC fight coming Monday.

• Florida Politics: Lori Berman looks to push schools toward solar energy
• Energy News Network: As solar takes off, Michigan advocates fear key program is running out of space
• PV-Magazine: Nebraska utility approves plan to up state’s solar profile 2,000%
• PV-Tech: Vivint Solar secures US$200 million loan to forestall ITC wind-down
• Greentech Media: How the White House Killed Clean Energy Tax Credits
• GreenBiz: A decade in review – the most underrated clean energy stories
• Utility Dive: Tax credit, net metering declines strike distributed solar, but falling costs, storage offer new hope
• Axios: Sierra Club head upset with congressional Democrats’ year-end deals

Opinion

• Los Angeles Times: PG&E and Southern California Edison can’t raise profit margins, regulators decide

Best, Yann

Thank You. I appreciate the outreach in the past 24 hours and feedback. Yesterday was by far the most new subscribers, forwards and opens of the SolarWakeup email. This industry has never been more passionate about our future and advocacy. More to come.

While I Have Your Attention. Please give a donation to the Solar Rights Alliance, $5, $20, or whatever you can. We need to build our grassroots and this funding helps. 

• Solar Power World: Berkeley Lab utility-scale solar report shows Florida led country in 2018 installations
• Energy News Network: Minnesota solar installers expect new standard to streamline interconnection
• PV-Magazine: Georgia Power has 5,000 residential solar net metering contracts and it’s first come, first served
• Greentech Media: SolarEdge and Enphase Now Control 80% of the US Residential Solar Inverter Market
• Rocky Mountain Institute: 1 in 5 Cars Need to Be Electric by 2030 – What Will it Take?
• Utility Dive: Xcel, 3 fellow Colorado utilities choose California’s imbalance market over Southwest Power Pool
• New York Times: PG&E Reaches Deal With Regulators but Faces More Hurdles

Opinion

• Axios: Imagining Bernie Sanders’ energy-related Cabinet officials

Best, Yann