Insanity. You know what they say about the definition of insanity. Now you can say the same about SolarWorld. Apparently the Qataris have lost their appetite for giving Asbeck money to run a solar company. The newly founded SolarWorld Industries Gmbh has filed for insolvency after less than a year since acquiring some of the SolarWorld AG assets. This does not affect the SolarWorld USA entity except for the brand value which is testing the limit to zero.
Zombie Lie, Take 72,431. Just when we get this amazing data from CAISO and how net metering helped reduce costs to the California ratepayers, a UC Berkeley professor comes out with some “why am I paying for solar” blog post. I don’t this for a fact but I am sure that some digging would reveal the foundation of the professor’s motive that caused this blog post to come out. Thanks to the reporters at the Mercury News for listening to my response and reviewing the CAISO data point for a follow up piece. Frank gives you his take on yesterday’s top story.
Did You Listen? An engaging interview guest makes any interview easy, sometimes trying to get 30 minutes of content is difficult but sometimes its hard to keep 30 minutes to under an hour. That was my conversation with Ryan Popple, the CEO of Proterra. Most cars drive less than 40 miles per day which means the energy impact from EVs is less than a third of a mass transit without accounting for the scale of the energy density. If every bus were electrified, we’d all be better off and Proterra would be a big winner. Listen to my conversation with Ryan, here.
Big Storage, Big Money. What if I put out a press release saying that I was investing $8billion into energy storage over the next 17 years, think Reuters would pick it up? No, because it’s not news. Solar did north of $20billion last year and there aren’t enough projects for real capital providers out there. EDF could do $8billion, likely will do $8billion but if they don’t someone else will.
Do You Geothermal? Sometimes your friends leave solar and that’s sad. But sometimes they go and do cool things like join a Google X spinout and change the geothermal world. Congrats to the team at Dandelion for a big capital raise. Maybe geothermal wakeup is next?
Using PACE? It’s never been easier and more accessible. With States jumping on the PACE bandwagon, check your area and get a CleanQuote to see the latest pricing for PACE right from solarwakeup.com, just click on the link below.
Close To Last Call. Only 20 seats left for SolarWakeup Live! SF. Come spend the afternoon hearing our podcast get taped live and get yourself onto the podcast by asking questions to the guests. We’ll be in Pier 17, in a wonderful intimate space. Tickets here, WAKEUP20 for 20% off.
- Deutsche Welle: Germany’s Solarworld files for bankruptcy again
- SolarWakeup: Zombie Lie Returns – Time To Kill It Again
- SolarWakeup: Proterra CEO Predicts EV Adoption Timeline
- Reuters: EDF to invest 8 billion euros in power storage business
- EDF: Meet the women of the clean energy and sustainability workforce
- Utility Dive: Utah governor signs pair of solar bills
- Washington Post: Why Saudi Arabia is trying to launch an utterly massive new solar project
- Fast Company: Electric Vehicles Are Now The Equivalent Of Driving An 80 MPG Car
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann