By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent In the future, there will be no wires to hold down the transmission of electricity – at least that’s what the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) believes is part of the future of grid modernization, according to a white paper it released last week. The paper , DER and the Non-Wires Solutions Opportunity, examined how utilities are investing in distributed electricity production instead of the traditional centralized model that has dominated grid development since the 19th century. [wds id=”3″] “Today, customers are increasingly seeking more control of their own energy, and with the rapidly falling … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent Ohio Advanced Energy Economy (Ohio AEE), a business coalition that supports a clean energy future in the state, unveiled its five point plan to move the state closer to having a clean-energy-based economy. Ohio AEE says its plans outline market-based policy considerations that would create thousands of jobs and bring billions of investment dollars into the state. [wds id=”3″] “Advanced energy supports more than 105,000 jobs in Ohio, but policy uncertainty over the last six years has artificially slowed the growth of this booming industry,” said Ray Fakhoury, legislative affairs director for Ohio Advanced Energy … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent In a deal that gives the owner of Florida Power & Light even more influence on electrical policy in the Sunshine State, NextEra Energy has entered into agreements to purchase two more Florida utilities for nearly $6.5 billion. NextEra announced plans to purchase Gulf Power from Southeast utility giant Southern Company, as well as Florida City Gas. It will also purchase ownership interests in two natural gas plants currently owned by Southern. [wds id=”3″] The transactions will give the owner of Florida’s largest utility more incentive to push a natural gas – rather than a … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent Three months after announcing it would completely eliminate coal from its portfolio, Detroit-based utility DTE Energy announced on Friday it, along with partner Consumers Energy, was accelerating plans to increase its clean-energy portfolio to reach a generation target of at least 50% by 2030. The utility’s announcement came on the same day President Donald J. Trump tweeted that the United States has 250 years of “clean coal” in its energy mix and touted the fact he ended the mythical “war on coal.” DTE Energy’s announcement is further proof that the era of coal is rapidly … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent Tigercomm, a marketing firm with numerous clients in clean energy, released an e-book titled How Clean Energy Companies Can Engage Customer Prospects Faster in an Attention-Scarce World, which it says is designed to help companies market themselves better. As clean energy becomes more commoditized, the e-book argues it’s more difficult for one company to stand out from every other company. And with a finite number of legitimate customers, that can be frustrating. “Across clean economy sectors, sales and marketing teams we talk to share a growing frustration: It’s gotten harder to get customer prospects to … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent Though North Carolina will bear the overwhelming brunt of Cypress Creek Renewables’ decision to cancel 1.5 GW of projects in the wake of the Trump Administration’s tariff imposition, it isn’t the only one. In all, 11 states will feel the sting of what company spokesman Jeff McKay called the “lost investment opportunity” that will result from its pullback. “We’re projecting that the tariff will cost into the billions of dollars in lost investments,” McKay told SolarWakeup. “It’s no secret that the solar industry’s record rate of growth will be harmed by the tariff. We aren’t … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent Look out, wind – solar is about to catch you. That’s the headline from Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis Global Power Industry Outlook, 2018, which posits that solar will surpass wind in global energy capacity starting in 2020, making it the fourth largest source of energy generation behind coal, gas and hydro. Less than a year ago, solar surpassed nuclear energy to reach fifth place. The report says increased battery energy storage capabilities, surges in merger and acquisition activities, and disruptive energy start-ups are the primary reasons the renewable energy sector is seeing this surge … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent Water wet. Pope Catholic. Businesses are trying to fight climate change. Go figure. According to Deloitte’s eighth annual Energy Resources Report, businesses and consumers are moving forward to create what it calls a “virtuous cycle” of sustainability, including moving to cleaner energy sources like solar. But the study also finds what instinct might tell you from watching American behavior over the past 30 years – businesses are leading the charge, and the people are following. [wds id=”3″] The survey questioned more than 1,500 residential consumers and 600 businesses on their energy use patterns and found … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: David Roberts, aka Dr. Vox, penned an article that essentially spent 1,000 words arguing for and against California’s “all three-story houses must have solar” ruling, only to end up with a shruggy emoji to say, “Who knows how it will go?” Since the article itself offers little in the way of serious argument (it’s a wordy listicle), I want to focus instead on the media blitz that has produced pieces like this. It will be interesting to see when it comes out – and it will – who is behind the slew of … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: The Center for America Progress (CAP) held its IDEAS conference yesterday, and the most interesting discussion with Amy Harder with Washington Governor Jay Inslee, progressive activist Tom Steyer and Senior Vice President of Climate, Environmental Justice & Community Revitalization, Hip Hop Caucus Mustafa Ali. Washington State has one of the most progressive solar policy structures in the United States, and Inslee says he believes that progress will continue in the form of the first carbon tax, which is on the ballot as an initiative in his state. Steyer said – again – that … Read More →