This is your SolarWakeup for May 22nd, 2017

On my plane en route to San Diego, will dive a bit deeper into storage this week.

Swiss Have Spoken. A vote was taken in Switzerland on whether voters want to move the grid into a renewables future or build more nuclear power plants. Unlike the US, where nuclear is the most subsidized power source, the Swiss have voted to go towards solar, wind and hydro. I would presume that similar votes in the US would go the same route, people just prefer solar over other sources. As price of storage comes down, the opposition argument of ‘when the sun goes down’ will get quieter. In the meantime, keep laughing at ludicrous arguments that corporates should bail out nuclear power plants, ratepayers have been doing that long enough.

The DOE Study. DOE studies aren’t supposed to be predetermined, they are supposed to be based on science and data. That is why the industry is screaming foul about DOE’s current lack of interest in the information needed to complete the grid study correctly. Even Republican Senator Chuck Grassley is standing up and asking for the study to be done properly.

The Energy Storage Road Show is moving forward now scheduling the week of June 5th in Los Angeles!

So Much For Chinese Dumping. We often talk about Chinese dumping of modules, which I view with a grain of salt, plus I like cheap modules because they keep us all in business and lower costs for our customers. One of the things we overlook is just how big the Chinese market has been over the past few years, China is creating its own market so that manufacturers can get product out of inventory. So instead of complaining about China’s desire to make it up with volume, let’s thank them for creating the scale.

Opinion

Have a great day!

Yann