Utility Reform Megathread. Much has been written about the issues that caused the PG&E blackouts, a culmination of decades of issues surrounding the utility, the regulations and environment. While some of us are inside the bubble that hopes for solar to be the savior in this story, and we will be, David Roberts goes on a Twitter megathread to give you insights on how he came to his conclusions. While David is a writer on the topic, he doesn’t work in the sector and would have come to the end of the story without bias regardless of where it led. So as you try and frame your argument to legislators and outsiders, here’s a good glimpse with deep dives into how we could go about solving this problem that was created by barely regulated monopolies.
Midwest Goes Solar. Alliant Energy in Wisconsin wants to add 1GW of solar in the next few years. Let’s hold our breath for consumer choice to do the same. What do you think about rate based solar? Is all solar good solar and we should applaud it or does utility owned solar at the cost of a solar market make it less good solar?
Stifling DG Solar. Speaking of solar markets lacking DG capacity, what is going on in Georgia? Some insiders make their case in their article.
Au Revoir Paris. A few years after declaring that he would, Trump is officially starting the process to leave the Paris climate accords. It’s a charade and would kill the economy, republicans are having a hard time finding their argument.
Bonjour Pattern. CPPIB is acquiring Pattern Energy for several billion dollars. This reminds me that when it comes to doing big deals in renewables, large investors are having a hard time finding the scale needed to invest big dollars. This deal also makes me think what could have been, what should have been…
Do As I say. Amy Harder of Axios writes an honest overview of her personal climate footprint. I’m no saint when it comes to living green either so it’s a good time to reflect on the one or two things we could all do to improve.
- Vox: The radical reform necessary to prepare California’s power system for the 21st century
- Greentech Media: Alliant Energy Joins Midwestern Utility Peers With Big Solar Plan
- PV-Magazine: Utility barriers to rooftop solar in Georgia
- Washington Post: Trump makes it official – U.S. will withdraw from the Paris climate accord
- Yahoo! Finance: Canada Pension Giant to Buy Pattern Energy for $2.6 Billion
- Axios: Climate-change confessions of an energy reporter
- Utility Dive: Security and distributed resources: An attacker ‘will eventually get in’
- New York Times: 5 Lessons We Learned From the California Wildfires
Opinion
Best, Yann