Subscribe on iTunes! EnergyWakeup is now available on iTunes and Stitcher radio, so no matter what your podcast app of choice is we are available for you. This week is shaping up to have some great commentary.
Should we be worried? Q3 2016 was the biggest quarter for solar ever. It was always going to be because this was the safe placed in service quarter before ITC sunset. The issue is in the details because residential had the first quarter over quarter since 2014 and it doesn’t appear to be small. Interconnection data from CA looks less than appealing but a positive is that Q3 numbers from the big 3 didn’t show the slowdown in their numbers but we should keep our eyes on this.
We have a Secretary of Energy. Former Governor Perry will be the next Secretary of Energy as it is doubtful that the Senate would fail to confirm him. Perry is famous for thinking or rather forgetting the name of the Department of Energy, renaming it instead ‘Department of OOPS’. He has a college degree in animal science and will be overseeing the nuclear arsenal of the United States, weapons, waste and all that comes with it.
Not so fast Thomas Pyle. The Department of Energy has responded to the Trump transition team and they will not be giving individual names of staffers. The transition team had requested the names of staffers that worked on climate change issues. DOE will be sending otherwise public information in the request for transition planning, most interesting in the request was on how nuclear power plants could be saved.
Mr. Interior from Montana. I don’t know much about Ryan Zinke, the only congressman from Montana who will be the next Secretary of Interior. A couple of thoughts. This is much better than Harold Hamm, Sarah Palin or Mary Fallin. Zinke had a 20+ year career in the Navy Seals including Seal Team Six before entering politics. He stood up against the GOP platform when they wanted to advocate for moving land from Federal to State control.
- Greentech Media: In Its Largest Quarter, US Solar Market Saw Nearly 2MW of PV Installed per Hour in Q3 2016
- Vox: Rick Perry once wanted to abolish the Energy Department. Trump picked him to run it.
- PV-Magazine: DOE pushes back on Climate-Change ‘witch hunt’
- Washington Post: Trump taps Montana congressman Ryan Zinke as interior secretary
- EDF: Managing Methane – New Jersey’s Largest Utility Using Better Data for Better Decisions
- Rocky Mountain Institute: Making the Global Energy Transition a Success
- Utility Dive: North Carolina committee votes for review of energy policy, including PURPA
- PV-Tech: Arizona to finally decide value of solar
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann