This Is Why We Do It. I have renewed my sense of activism this week after sitting in the ITC hearing room. This video shows why we must become more powerful and scary to legislators. Voting against solar should carry repercussions, it doesn’t matter what party you come from.
What Will Lion Capital Say. Suniva needs more money and on Friday they’ll be in front of the judge asking for it. With SQN steering the ship as 75% DIP lender, it will be interesting to see how Lion Capital reacts to the request for additional money since they hold 25% of the DIP. Lion Capital has about $60million invested in Canadian Solar which means they’re tied to the US market in a big way.
Carbon Regulations Are Inevitable. Utilities Know It. As the administration eliminates the clean power plan, you will find every investment deck and request for regulator approval continue to discuss carbon regulations. Nobody will invest in a 30 year asset with a 50 year interconnection if they know that the plant has to sustain 4 to 5 different Presidential administrations. You can shape regulatory oversight and laws but over time the arc of renewable energy will bend towards carbon free generation.
Notice Of Coal Rulemaking. In the meantime, FERC has issued its notice of proposed rulemaking with an effective date of December 11th of this year. ISOs and RTOs will have to file compliance in time for Christmas. So the whole idea of getting coal for Christmas may be what Rick Perry is shooting for. My hope is that the rule will cause ISOs to create pricing signals that actually drive value towards energy storage, but that is yet to be seen. Read the Notice Here
Will Energy Ever Be A Free Market? Funny how Rick Perry is no longer a free market guy, especially now that solar is competing in the Texas market, which lets the market drive pricing signals based on buyers and sellers. I think that someone should file with FERC and say that pricing for resiliency is a great idea, more frequency regulation, and grid stability would be a great value play for solar and storage.
The US Mandates All Cars To Be EVs. Over/under, when will the US Congress pass a law to ban the sale of internal combustion engine vehicles? I’ll go with never. You?
- Reuters: Suniva seeks additional bankruptcy loan as trade relief decision looms
- Vox: The GOP wants to repeal Obama’s climate plan. Like health care, it’s going to be a fiasco.
- CBS: While U.S. moves toward coal, China bets big on solar
- Forbes: FERC Proposal Supporting Coal And Nuclear Prompts Howls From Gas, Wind, Solar, Antinuclear
- Bloomberg: Killing Obama’s Power Plan Hasn’t Stopped the Renewable Boom Yet
- PV-Magazine: SolarWorld testifies on Chinese IP theft
- CT Mirror: With no plan for replacing Millstone, what are CT’s options?
- Greentech Media: Economics, Not Regulations, Are Waging a War on Coal
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann