This is your SolarWakeup for June 1st
Storage Is Hot and Complicated. The NXT deal to acquire Prevalon made quite the splash this weekend and by my text messages, a lot of you have questions about what it means. I don’t think that my thoughts would be adequately outlined in this short format but I may be open to hosting a short conference call if folks are interested on this topic and the overall status of the storage market. It’s quite similar to the early solar days, think LDK/SPI (if this rings any bells for some of you).
News
1 Bloomberg:
Solar Company Nextpower Hits All-Time High on AI Battery Deal
2 New York Times:
Why Green Investors Are Backing Republican Candidates
3 Axios:
AI is turning energy into the hottest business in America
4 Mother Jones:
Our Power Grid Is in Better Shape This Summer, Thanks to Solar and Batteries
5 PV-Tech:
Module test failures continue to increase in Kiwa PVEL’s 2026 Module Reliability Scorecard
6 Energy Storage News:
German regulator’s grid fee decision ‘restores investor confidence’ in energy storage market
7 Canary Media:
The tax credit cliff has hit EV sales hard
Opinions:
8 PV-Magazine:
Distributed solar’s biggest enemy is process, not technology
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 28th
Opinion
News
1 Utility Dive:
Data center firm DigitalBridge in $1.1B deal to buy ArcLight
2 Axios:
Tech giants back new data center climate initiative
3 Bloomberg:
Jefferies Says Investors Boost ‘Nuclear Exposure’
4 Reuters:
Aluminium price spike from Mideast war fans costs for US solar industry
5 PV-Tech:
PowerBridge expands energy portfolio with Enphase patent acquisition
6 Energy Storage News:
California Energy Commission approves 3.2GWh BESS project through Newsom’s accelerated permitting scheme
7 Canary Media:
New York state gives up on its most ambitious climate targets
8 PV-Magazine:
Environment America’s updated renewable energy dashboard reveals growth of clean technologies in the U.S.
Opinions:
9 Hawaii Public Radio:
Hawaiʻi solar energy projects at risk after tax credit is signed into law
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 27th
The Tifosi Is Electric (i.e. Mad). Ferrari dropped an all electric speedster, and Ferrari World is mad about it. Anyone know whose cells they are using?
News
1 Politico:
Rep. Chip Roy loses runoff for Texas attorney general to a MAGA challenger
2 Utility Dive:
New Mexico regulators approve SPS’ $9B, gas-heavy resource plan
3 Bloomberg:
Repsol Moves Up Ranking of Europe’s Top Renewable Fuel Makers
4 Reuters:
SoftBank hires banks for US IPOs of SB Energy and AI robotics spinoff Roze, sources say
5 Axios:
Fusion energy poised for simpler U.S. review
6 PV-Tech:
Australia awards 7.8GW of renewable energy under Capacity Investment Scheme Tender 7
7 Solar Power World:
Renewable energy sees double-digit growth in Trump’s second term
8 Energy Storage News:
CATL supplying 1.5GWh for Grenergy’s long-term tolled Spanish BESS projects
9 Canary Media:
This AI tool helps community solar developers connect to the grid sooner
Opinions:
10 PV-Magazine:
State-level permitting cuts solar siting conflict, new database shows
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 26th
Opinion
News
1 Utility Dive:
US summer generating capacity increases by 75 GW since 2025
2 Bloomberg:
China’s Solar Installations Fall for Fourth Straight Month
3 Energy Storage News:
BloombergNEF ups BESS forecast as renewables add resilience from fossil fuel price shocks
4 Axios:
Oil prices sink on signs of U.S.-Iran deal
5 Reuters:
Energy tycoon Riquelme confirms challenge for Real Madrid presidency
6 Canary Media:
Another first for renewables
7 PV-Magazine:
‘Buy the dip’ on T1 Energy’s Fuzzy Panda domestic doubt, Roth says
Opinions:
8 PV-Tech:
Giant NextEra-Dominion merger should be met with ‘caution’ to avoid rate increases, groups warn
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 20th
Opinion
News
2 Reuters:
NERC says strong resource additions boost US summer grid readiness, risks remain
3 New York Times:
The New 'Gold Rush' of Geothermal Energy
4 Utility Dive:
New cybersecurity industry coalition aims to lead US critical infrastructure
5 Bloomberg:
Heat Strains US Power Grids That Need Off-Season Repairs
6 PV-Tech:
SNEC and Intersolar Munich 2026
7 Energy Storage News:
AC and DC augmentation in BESS
8 Canary Media:
How big can solar go? These 3 projects show us the gigascale future
Opinions:
9 PV-Magazine:
U.S. solar faces massive gap between stated capacity and real factory output
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 19th
Opinion
News
1 Reuters:
Data center rush worsens shortages of power, grid workers
2 Bloomberg:
East Coast Power Surges as Heat Spurs Emergency Grid Alert
3 Utility Dive:
Pennsylvania releases ‘first-of-its-kind’ large-load model tariff
4 Axios:
NextEra, Dominion announce merger to create U.S. power behemoth
5 Energy Storage News:
Non-lithium players Eos and ESS lean on future of US LDES deployment in Q1 2026 financials
6 Canary Media:
X-energy gets federal environmental approval for Texas nuclear reactors
7 PV-magazine:
Intelligent solar siting neutralizes local opposition at near-zero cost
Opinions:
8 New York Times:
The Quest for an Elusive Clean Fuel Is Moving Underground
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 18th
Opinion
News
1 Bloomberg:
NextEra Said to Discuss Deal Valuing Dominion at $66 Billion
2 Utility Dive:
Commercial electricity use will likely surpass residential in 2027
3 Financial Times:
The dawn of 24/7 solar power
4 Axios:
Affordability is reshaping consumers' car choices, survey finds
5 Solar Builder:
Eos Energy forms new LDES development company
6 PV-Tech:
India installs record 15.3GW of solar in Q1 2026 amid policy deadline rush
7 Solar Power World:
Gotion links with US electronics manufacturer for domestic battery production
8 Energy Storage News:
System-level BESS manufacturing defects cause ‘hidden risk’ for developers, Intertek CEA says
9 PV-Magazine:
Massachusetts distributed solar potential reaches 92 GW as electrification demand rises
Opinions:
10 Canary Media:
Soaring gas prices have drivers turning to EVs — except in the US
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 15th
13GWh, Running How Well? There’s a lot of storage being built. I’m curious to how that storage is being commissioned and how fragmented the BMS and EMS systems are across those 13GWh given the need for safety and availability across those assets. Also, how much frustration is created for the asset management teams with having multiple platforms and if they’re missing any ingredients to running those assets. We’re still early in the storage world but the capacity is growing quickly.
News
1 Axios:
The energy squeeze behind the Iran war and AI boom
2 New York Times:
Here’s What It Costs to Keep a Coal Plant Open
3 Energy Storage News:
Nearly 13GWh of grid-scale BESS deployed globally in April
4 Utility Dive:
Crux gets $500M debt facility for clean energy investments
5 Bloomberg:
PE Firm Lightrock Raises $500 Million for New Clean Energy Fund
6 Reuters:
US set to drop criminal fraud case against India’s Gautam Adani, sources say, as deal reached in civil case
7 PV-Tech:
MN8 Energy bags US$300 million to extend credit facility
8 Solar Power World:
Canadian Solar to boost Texas panel factory to 10-GW capacity
9 PV-Magazine:
NERC inverter-based resource registration initiative enters final stretch for asset owners
Opinions:
10 Canary Media:
The Indiana community caught between coal and the data center boom
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 14th
Opinion
News
1 Politico:
Iran war is fueling China’s clean energy surge ahead of Trump-Xi talks
2 PV-Magazine:
Solar risks
3 Bloomberg:
Ford Soars Most in Six Years on Possible Hyperscaler Tie-Ups
4 Utilty Dive:
US annual electricity consumption to grow 55% by 2050
5 Axios:
The energy stakes of the Trump-Xi summit
6 Reuters:
Solar to surpass coal in Texas power generation in 2026, EIA says
7 PV-Tech:
US manufacturers files AD/CVD case against Toyo Solar and Origin Solar in Ethiopia
8 Energy Storage News:
Fluence doubles order intake, expects to book first big data centre deal this quarter
Opinions:
9 Canary Media:
Amazon bets on what could be a game-changing heat pump
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 13th
The Car Battery. Seems to me that every car company now has a battery division and for some reason, which blows my mind, we still think that the battery hardware can have points of differentiation. Let’s be clear, the only differentiation is whether you make the battery poorly, once you meet the threshold, there is no value proposition in the battery box. I.e. tell me the difference in your Dell and HP computer towers…
News
1 Bloomberg:
US Solar Makers Allege China Tariff Evasion Through Ethiopia
2 New York Times:
Tom Steyer Thinks California Is Ready for a Different Climate Message
3 Utility Dive:
Fluence Energy signs master supply agreements with two ‘major’
4 Reuters:
Fervo Energy raises $1.89 billion in US IPO
5 Yahoo:
California homeowners say solar is still worth it after NEM 3.0, but one add-on is critical
6 PV-Tech:
SEIA appoints former Republican governor as new CEO
7 Energy Storage News:
Ford officially launches US stationary energy storage subsidiary, deliveries to begin in 2027
8 PV-Magazine:
Integrated policy tools to solve the renewable energy siting crisis
Opinions:
9 Solar Power World:
Op-ed
Have a great day!
Yann
