Hearing Number 1. Tomorrow you will see the first hearing in the 201 petition process. Complete with public comments and potentially some questions from the ITC commissioners, some parts of the story may become clearer. SEIA has organized hundreds of solar executives and workers to come to the hearing to show what this means to all of us. Times like these show the importance of taking a day to tell your story to politicians and regulators. Another opportunity is in California, organized by CalSEIA, to speak with over 20% of the legislators about solar and storage. I encourage you to invest your time to go to Sacramento, reach out to CalSEIA to do so.
The Eclipse Hype. We’ve seen the unease about solar energy during a solar eclipse in Germany a few years ago. With proper planning, the grid operators were able to handle the few hours without problems. Keep in mind that even though solar will be leaving the grid for a few hours, demand response and peak power pricing will ensure that the grid remains stable and operating.
You’ve Got To Read This. A story about nuclear power plants that have some interesting (plentiful) talking points. Keep in mind that these power plants are being built with ratepayer pre-payment and guaranteed return on the investment. In short, there really is no risk to the shareholder of the public company except if the company fails to execute (without regard to schedule or budget) and regulators revoke the ratebasing of the sunk costs. Legislators are talking about: 1. A production tax credit (don’t ask me for what), 2. Expansion of the loan guarantee program, 3. Inclusion of societal benefits to view benefits of new plants. The irony is thick in this one.
- Bloomberg: First Solar to Profit If Trump Slaps Tariffs on Panel Imports
- DOE: Total Eclipse of the Sun – How Will Changing Solar Power Output Impact the Grid?
- Post and Courier: After failure of South Carolina nuclear project, backers seek federal aid
- PV-Magazine: Massachusetts presents proposed final version of 1600 MW solar policy
- PV-Tech: French island tenders push down solar-plus-storage prices by 40%
- Reuters: Sierra Club sues U.S. Energy Department over power grid study
- Solar Server: Australia’s first utility scale solar plant performing above expectations
- Midwest Energy News: Iowa utility offers high ‘green’ pricing without adding renewables
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann