Trump Tariff Impacts. In Germany, a company must file for insolvency at a much earlier date than the comparable situation in the US. While the German division of Schletter has been in self-administration for a little over a month, it appears that Schletter US has closed its doors, at least temporarily. Several employees and sources close to the situation advised that they were told to stay away from work. Emails and phones have been disconnected or go unanswered. Schletter has been a racking provider for as long as I’ve been in solar but with a large staff, 201 and commodity tariffs, it may have been too much for the parent company to continue funding. We’ve reached out to Schletter representatives without success and will update you once we hear from them. Overall, this appears to represent a broader need for consolidation in the racking market. While selling widgets is a profitable venture, there may be too many to choose from and too many with a market share that is too small causing margin pressure for large companies like Schletter.
MA Wants Storage, Needs To Act. MA may have the best market setup for energy storage after California with the start of the SMART program. That being said, the regulators and interconnecting utilities still have a lot of work ahead for them if they actually want storage to be built. If they do this correctly, storage will be built on every single solar project and I’d be happy to finance every storage installation in MA and elsewhere. (If you need me call me) Especially when it comes to DC-coupled energy storage, the interconnection is already in place, requiring a new filing makes no technical sense and only serves to dissuade developers from adding storage. So if MA wants more storage, then align rules with goals.
$1.9Billion For Solar Infrastructure. (Just kidding) From here on out, when I see a request for infrastructure improvements like a $1.9billion gas plant, I am going to point out the interconnection improvements to the network, like building a new substation, solar has to take on. I understand that energy is central to our economy and it must be reliable but it must also be clean and cost effective in the long term. Investing into infrastructure for 50 years going forward at consumer expense is not the most effective way to use rate base capital.
Bloomberg Donates Yesterday’s Earnings. Hopkins alum and notable environmental leader, Michael Bloomberg, is making up the $4.5mm shortfall that is left behind after the US departure from the Paris agreement. The money goes to the UN Climate Change Secretariat.
Certain Companies’ Power Plants. Axios’s Amy Harder has the inside the White House look at how Trump views the energy markets. Sometimes what you expect to hear is exactly what Amy is reporting in this article. Certain power plants by certain companies. When solar is generated on my roof, at least you won’t expect the government to shine light on the modules to generate more electricity. Libertarians rejoice.
- SolarWakeup: Source – As Parent Company Struggles, Schletter Eyes Closing U.S. Operations
- Greentech Media: Massachusetts Is Staring Down a Duck Curve of Its Own. Storage Could Help
- NJ Spotlight: PSE&G Wants BPU To ok $1.9B Plan To Upgrade Gas Pipelines
- Huffington Post: Michael Bloomberg Contributes $4.5 Million For Paris Climate Deal After Trump Bails
- Axios: Trump’s electricity solution in search of a problem
- GreenBiz: It won’t be easy, but Hawaii should speed up its transition to clean energy
- SolarWakeup: Could Decade-Old Florida Report Finally Be Relevant? Let’s Hope So
- PV-Tech: Economics not tenders driving Spain’s solar resurgence
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann