Crossing 1GWh. GTM sees energy storage crossing 1GWh in 2018. Trivia for you. Name the year that solar crossed 1GW of installed capacity for the year….any guesses? It was 2011, just 7 years ago. Storage is going to find it’s path relatively quickly given the cost curve aided by scale provided by the EV sector and increasing need for more solar which needs to be made more flexible with storage. The question for you is what price per kWh on storage gets your projects into the solar + storage category? $400? $350? $300? Let me know
That’s A Huge Solar Spill. I didn’t have to wait long for my point above to prove correct. California, not counting distributed generation, was powered 49.95% with solar energy on March 4th. It’s the combination of mild weather that left A/C’s turned off and sunny skies for great production. What needs to happen next is a lot of storage on the existing solar plants, a bit of dispatch capability will go a long way.
Sunrun Goes To The Top. These rankings are a bit antiquated and a far cry from the ramp up at the height of the lease races a few years ago. I’m hopeful that future earnings will show return on cash with positive earnings instead of NPV created. I understand the complication of deploying capital in a publicly traded company but many investors don’t get it.
Monopoly In A Red State. A republican legislator in Florida’s capital once told me that the utility monopoly is the hardest issue to square for republican elected officials. Free markets and monopolies aren’t the match made in heaven especially when the free market can do it for cheaper when it comes to solar. This is playing out in South Carolina, where a conservative leaning solar advocacy group is making this pitch to State legislators.
Top Story. Your top story yesterday was about the PLR for retrofitting solar with energy storage. Here is our coverage. New podcast on storage coming today, an interview with the CEO of FlexGen.
- Reuters: U.S. energy storage market to nearly triple this year
- Greentech Media: California Sets 2 New Solar Records
- Bloomberg: Tesla Loses Top Spot in Residential Solar to Sunrun
- The State: Utility friendly politicians take aim at solar expansion in SC
- SolarWakeup: IRS Makes Case For More Storage To Be Added To Solar
- Washington Post: Zinke says Interior should be a partner with oil companies
- Council on Foreign Relations: The Risks of U.S. Steel and Aluminum Tariffs
- Rocky Mountain Institute: Perfect Timing for Renewables
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann