Storage going big time. These are welcome news as I start planning my research trip through California on the topic of energy storage. Navigant has come out with a new report saying that energy storage will be a $50billion market in 2026, which is less than 10 years away. Keep in mind that this is adjusted for the rapidly reducing hardware costs creating a 27GW market. The leading market in 2026 is expected to be Asia Pacific followed by Western Europe. The US is expected to be a $10billion market. I look forward to seeing how this lines up to what I hear from you. If you are a contractor or developer working on energy storage, please send me an email and let me know.
The FERC Gets New People. The NARUC President, a regulator from Pennsylvania, and a staffer from Senate Majority Leader McConnell’s office have been picked by the President to join the commission. NARUC applauded the selection but no word on the specific views on items related to PURPA, which is likely one of the leading topics of interest to the solar industry. According to Politico, the co-lead of Jones Day’s Global Energy practice is expected to be named next, potentially as chair.
The Energy Storage Road Show to speak with contractors and developers integrating batteries is on the calendar. San Diego area during the week of May 22nd, Los Angeles area the week of June 5th and Bay Area the week of June 19th. If your company is working on storage, hit reply and reach out directly.
Unfortunate news from TenK. News started trickling in yesterday that TenK Solar was winding down operations. A product with some innovation given the reflective racking solution. From GTM’s reporting it seems like a major problem was in the inverter and not the module part of the system. Solar hardware remains hard and creating profits through hardware innovation continues to elude most. I wish the employees all the best.
- Energy Storage News: Navigant – Distributed solar-plus-storage worth US$49 billion in less than 10 years
- Politico: Trump picks 2 for Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
- Greentech Media: Sources – TenKsolar Winding Down Operations After a Series of Field Failures
- PV-Magazine: SunPower’s losses continue during Q1
- Utility Dive: Virginia governor signs 11 energy bills, including solar, pumped hydro proposals
- CNN: Obama defends Paris climate accord as Trump mulls ditching it
- Grist: There’s an ongoing emergency at the largest nuclear waste storage site in the U.S.
- Reuters: Vivint Solar reports quarterly profit on lower costs
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann