This is your SolarWakeup for February 5th, 2023

Local Trackers. The 45X credits are making a real impact to the supply chain in trackers, importantly partnering innovating tracker manufacturers with existing steel companies and allowing them to expand. This is allowing an even landscape between large incumbents and new entrants with innovative tech to benefit at the same level without massive capex disadvantages. Trackers have been on a 20 year innovation curve and it seems like it’s just beginning to gain hold.

The Oil Conundrum. How does a president that signed the largest clean energy infrastructure investment bill in history square the reality with the electorate that the United States is producing more oil than ever before. It seems that in this political era, you can’t do both things because you’re supposed to be all in on one side and against the other.

Pricing Reliability. I can tell you how many days I lost power during each hurricane but I can’t tell you how many days it’s been since I’ve last lost power. The point is that utilities obsess about reliability because that’s what causes the biggest headache for regulators, politicians and executives. We all know that the grid is changing with new forms of generations and new type of consumer and aging infrastructure but apparently now market operators are catching up and looking to send signals for additional reliability. Much more to be done but a start is a start…

Opinion

Best, Yann