Who killed coal? Can we finally bury the lead on this story? Coal is dying and solar has very little and Obama has even less to do with it. The only way to bring coal back (and this is a stretch) is to ban natural gas. Clean Coal super project, Kemper, being built by Southern Company is not economical to operate unless you run it with…natural gas. Thomas Fanning, who gives his annual “I love solar” speech at the BNEF Summit in NYC, told investors on an earnings call last week. Clean Coal is a myth, coal doesn’t work financially, and this may go into the history books as the project that buried the industry all together.
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The RPS is making a comeback. When we spoke to Senator Wiener of CA and Assemblyman Brooks two weeks ago on EnergyWakeup, we saw a trend. That RPS bills would make a comeback but I definitely didn’t expect it to happen so quickly. Minnesota is now looking at a 50% RPS bill. Let’s be honest about what this is and that is ratepayer protection. Legislators have done their math on energy costs and when it comes to keeping fuel cost subsidies out of the consumer’s electric bill, they know that renewables without fuel costs are the way to go.
Corporate PPAs for the win. The corporate RPS is also coming in fast but let’s give it some more time. The reason is that the corporate PPAs outside of virtual net metering and community solar States is a financial transaction in the form of electric contracts and hedges. Some corporations already do this but many don’t, especially smaller ones so it will take time for the industry to find the best way to do this. I prefer the PJM and ERCOT markets over regulatory rulemaking in community solar States. The reason is simple, I can’t control a utility regulator 10 years from now to keep the rules the same or to not change the value of the solar credit given to the offtaker.
- Desmog Blog: Southern Company Says Its Delayed Kemper Power Plant Not Viable as Coal Plant
- New York Times: Coal Industry Casts Itself as a Clean Energy Player
- PV-Magazine: Minnesota lawmakers propose 50% renewables by 2030
- GreenBiz: Corporate clean energy deals are a bigger priority than ever
- PV-Tech: Kentucky anti-net metering bill would ‘kill’ residential solar
- Recharge News: Shell eyes role for renewables alongside African oil & gas
- Midwest Energy News: Clean energy advocates ask Iowa regulators to reconsider solar ruling
- Forbes: Managing Wind And Solar Intermittency In Current And Future Systems
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann