What did you think? Bryan and I want to hear from you.What did you think after listening to the episode of EnergyWakeup ? As we clean up some of the technical items, we want to know what you want to hear us discuss next.
Elon is going to see Trump. The President-Elect has invited tech leaders to visit with him. Invited guests include Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, and Larry Page. It was not clear earlier if Musk would accept but reports say that he will be in attendance. This is likely a way to bring the tech leaders into the ‘circle’ and push out potential criticism. Remember our lesson from last week when Gore and DiCaprio went to get some coffee at Trump Tower.
Obama gets a new office. I’ve actually been in the WWF building in DC where Obama is leasing office space for when he returns to civilian life early next year. Since we are in the business of reading into things that could be nothing (see above), let’s make a SolarWakeup prediction. Bill Gates, alongside other billionaires and democratic philanthropists, announce a massing clean energy fund over the weekend. Yesterday Obama signs a lease at WWF and has been saying that venture capital is of interest to him. Maybe a new Partner is coming to Breakthrough Energy Ventures? I sure hope so.
Coming to America. Besides being a great movie, the money is also coming. An Australian firm is taking a bite out of the US solar market and buying 135MW from SunPower after having bought 90MW earlier. For SunPower, this is a departure from the utilization of 8point3, the yieldco that was created with First Solar.
A power plant map. The University of Texas has a map that shows the potential LCOE of different power plants across America. A few points to take away. It is nearly impossible to build an economically viable coal plant in America. Nuclear power plants needs to reduce their costs in order to be more viable, which we know thanks to the subsidies they have gotten from NY and IL. One solution would be the carbon tax, which would definitely help nuclear go further. But the renewables map expands so drastically in a carbon tax scenario that it is likely not to happen.
- Business Insider: Elon Musk might attend Trump’s tech summit – here’s what he should talk about
- Washington Post: Obama to open post-presidency office in World Wildlife Fund headquarters
- Recharge News: Australia’s New Energy Solar swoops for SunPower projects
- Vox: This interactive map shows why renewables and natural gas are taking over the US
- PV-Magazine: PG&E to transition to net metering 2.0 by the end of the year
- EDF: Will Shareholders Get Money’s Worth As Oil Giants Link Executive Pay to Climate Results?
- Bloomberg: China Files WTO Complaint Against EU, U.S. Tariff Methods
- Solar Industry: Connecticut Green Bank Turns Five, Touts Progress
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann