SunPower Closes On SolarWorld. Count me in as pleasantly surprised that the acquisition has closed. Nonetheless SunPower is already in process of putting new equipment into the Hillsboro manufacturing plant in Oregon. The plant will be producing P-Series cells and modules to be able to sell American assembled panels. The interesting side stories are now the relationship between Senator Wyden and SunPower, who were on opposite sides of the 201 arguments and how SunPower proceeds with the first two phases of the AD/CVD charges against solar imports. More to come I guess.
Another Day, Another Trade Group. During SPI there was a launch of the Solar Rights Alliance which is targeting the solar consumers to engage them for the policy battles across the Country. In many ways this is the actual implementation of the Solar Pledge which this platform launched to extend the ITC. The power of the crowd is real and SRA will likely be seen and heard from more going forward. Vote Solar is also activating the solar consumer with one of the best supporter lists in the industry. Lastly, you have a new group that aligns solar and wind industries at the trade group level. The Wind Solar Alliance will put the renewable energy giants in bigger rooms by merging the voice on some issues, I’d expect PURPA and FERC issues to be front and center for the group.
Industrials Unite In Storage. ConEdison and Johnson Controls are getting involved in energy storage together. Great headline but I am missing the key differentiator here. JCI is competent with energy savings contracts and ConEdison has tax equity/asset ownership capabilities plus a viable trading capacity. However, absent an acquisition for a real differentiator and pipeline, this may not be as groundbreaking as it is made out to be. Maybe an acquisition is in the works?
NAFTA -> USMCA = Where’s Climate? The headline says it all. Will see how Congress feels about USMCA.
Developing New Jersey. New Jersey is a State with both rural and urban centers and farm lands where the land is both sacred and valuable. Developing solar in New Jersey has a level of complexity unmatched across the Country. This is why we invited Jim Spano from Spano Partners to join me on stage at SolarWakeup Live! Jersey City. Jim has been as successful as anyone in New Jersey and has his finger on the political pulse. Join us on November 6th and register at www.solarwakeuplive.com
- PV-Tech: SunPower completes purchase of SolarWorld Americas as P-Series module production to start in Q1 2019
- SolarWakeup: Wind, Solar Join Forces In New Wind Solar Alliance
- Solar Industry: Con Edison, Johnson Controls Form Battery Storage Joint Venture
- Huffington Post: Trump’s NAFTA Revision Ignores Climate Change, Bolsters Oil And Gas Industries
- Bloomberg: Saudi Fund, SoftBank Deny Their Solar Venture Is on Hold
- Greentech Media: FirstEnergy Can Safely Retire 4GW of Fossil Fuel Generation, per PJM
- CleanTechnica: German Government Wants To Invest €2 Billion In Battery Cell Production
- SolarWakeup: Puerto Rican Community Gets Solar Microgrid, Electricity Eight Months After Maria
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann