Retirements And Growth. Last week, independent of each other, we got a report using underlying FERC data that shows nearly double the expected growth in the next five years. This is growth higher than we expected just last year. This is not inconsistent with what we’re hearing in ERCOT, data centers, electrification of the home/business and transportation. At the same time, NERC’s Long-Term Reliability Assessment (LTRA) is highlighting what NRECA calls a “grim picture” of the reliability for consumers. NREC highlights 83GW of planned retirements and 9 states that had capacity shortfalls causing rolling blackouts. They are placing MISO into a high risk for shortfalls [during normal peak] category with pretty much the rest of the Country in an elevated risk category. This is going to create some short term action that doesn’t make much sense for long term reliability or consumers but it’s clear what is needed. Maybe short term actions need to be taken, like California’s rush to add batteries, but also a view on long term policies that match where capital investment is going, i.e. energy transition and consumer pushing behavior.
Managing Installer Cash Flow. Interest rates are the highest in 22 years, increasing solar financing costs and softening consumer demand for loan products. Businesses are feeling the pain of strained cash flows, labor costs and profitability pressures. Palmetto, a B2B technology company accelerating the adoption of clean energy, has announced a new partnership offering for solar installers to help stabilize cash flows and grow faster in today’s market. Built on top of Palmetto’s Clean Energy Operating Platform, this is a comprehensive suite of tools and services enabling installers to streamline operations, optimize performance, and increase profitability. Visit https://www.palmetto.com/finance or contact capital@palmetto.com for more.
- Reuters: US Treasury unveils rules for clean energy manufacturing subsidy
- Utility Dive: Rising peak demand, 83 GW of planned retirements create blackout risks for most of US – NERC
- Solar Builder: Alliant Energy completes 99 MW Wautoma Solar project in Wisconsin
- New York Times: U.S. Climate Envoy Reflects on Recent Deal, and What Comes Next
- Axios: Silicon Valley vets raise $65M for Climactic’s inaugural venture fund
- PV-Tech: EU reaches provisional agreement on electricity market design reforms
- Energy Storage News: UK’s National Grid ESO opens new platform to allow batteries ‘more active role in balancing network’
- Canary Media: Clean energy factories, thermal storage get boost from new tax credits
- PV-Magazine: Unprecedented solar and storage growth on horizon with record installations and investments
Opinion
Best, Yann