Prosumerism Consolidation. Before Innogy existed and E.ON split itself, RWE and E.ON were the German utilities trying to make sense of the new direction of the power economy. Germany led the way in solar before everyone else and eventually RWE and E.ON realized they had two distinct businesses. Power plants and consumer services. Both of them created a prosumer business, spun out from the parent company. Now, E.ON is acquiring innogy, the RWE prosumer business in a complicated transaction. For solar, especially in the US, it doesn’t mean much except for a bigger player on the block in E.On. Both entities have been investing heavily, more on that to come. Most notable units with the transaction is Belectric (owned by innogy) which appears to be heading to RWE once the transaction closes.
Vote Solar’s Michigan Report. Frank Andorka covered the report released by Vote Solar late last week. We’ve talked about the strategic shift in Vote Solar’s tactics to opine on issues that otherwise wouldn’t affect solar except now solar is a better choice for consumers. This report presents the data to make it so and hopefully the regulators will listen. These types of projects are not free nor cheap. Vote Solar needs your help to make markets like Michigan prosper so you can do business there. Join me and hundreds of solar friends at Equinox 2018 in San Francisco next week on the 22nd. Reminder: if you buy 10 tickets and send me the receipt, you get to write a paragraph here.
Storage Market(s). Make sure to catch my conversation about dc-coupled energy storage or read the write up from Frank. This was recorded at SolarWakeup Live! New York. A lot of hype about dc-coupled has got storage companies claiming big things but I spoke with one that has had it up and running for a year. If you are doing solar farms or C&I, you’ve got to be thinking about storage.
Oklahoma? My friends know that this is the State that I want to make the poster child of energy systems. So when I read about EV growth in Oklahoma and feedback from people that bought an EV, I get excited. OG&E and the other utilities have such a great opportunity to send us a postcard from the future.
SolarWakeup Live San Francisco. The second speaker to join us on the SolarWakeup Live! stage is Bernadette Del Chiaro, the Executive Director of California Solar and Storage Association. Everyone knows Bernadette and the work she’s done to bring CalSSA to where it is today. She is going to be a great conversation and will give us the insight on the legislative agenda ahead for the largest market in America. Get your tickets now, WAKEUP20 for 20% off.
March Madness Bracket. SolarWakeup is having the 1st annual March Madness bracket challenge and it’s free. Go to ESPN Tournament Challenge and search for SolarWakeup group. The password is GoSolar. The more folks we have, the more fun we will have. The winner gets to write the opening paragraph and promote their agenda, company or cause. Must have your bracket complete by Tip-off on the 18th.
- Bloomberg: EON to Acquire RWE’s Innogy, Transforming German Energy Industry
- SolarWakeup: For Michigan, It Should Be All About Renewable Energy Jobs
- EnergyWakeup: Is DC-Coupled Storage The Next Solar Boom Segment?
- The Oklahoman: Oklahoma is helping to convert a nation of drivers from gasoline to electric vehicles
- Quartz: California is taking a cooling off period after generating too much energy from the sun
- Vox: The power sector craves stability. Trump has brought it chaos.
- Washington Post: China says no to US trade war, but vows to defend interests
- France 24: France’s Macron pledges €700 million for solar projects in developing countries
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann