This is your SolarWakeup for July 28th, 2023
Weekend Rundown. A few things to get you into your weekend, back to regularly scheduled commentary next week.
News
1 New York Times:
A Bottleneck on the Grid Threatens Clean Energy. New Rules Aim to Help.
2 Axios:
Biden announces first-ever heat wave "hazard alert" for workers
3 PV-Magazine:
First Solar announces fifth U.S. manufacturing facility
4 Reuters:
Enphase Energy sees revenue below estimates on weak U.S. demand, shares fall
5 PV-Tech:
SunPower reports net loss of US$30 million in Q2 2023 preliminary results
6 Utility Dive:
Barrasso ties possible transmission reforms to ‘premature’ power plant retirements
7 Solar Builder:
In for the long haul - Charting the rise of long duration energy storage
8 Energy Storage News:
Grid services revenues could be key to unlocking solar and storage for low-income communities
Opinions:
9 Bloomberg:
No Clean Energy Source Is Marginal in the Quest for Net Zero
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 27th, 2023
Opinion
News
1 Utility Dive:
‘A tripling of electrical output’ - Tesla’s Musk urges power sector to anticipate higher demand
2 Bloomberg:
European Gas Prices Slump as Storage, Renewables Offset Risks
3 Reuters:
Energy-hungry Europe to brighten profit at US solar equipment makers
4 Energy Storage News:
US Department of Energy adds US$30 million funding for long-duration and storage R&D
5 Canary Media:
Major automakers take on Tesla with US-wide EV charging network
6 PV-Magazine:
California utility announces launch of distributed energy management system
7 PV-Tech:
Too big to succeed - different approaches to delivering large-scale solar
Opinions:
8 Vox:
Biden’s $250 billion lure to clean up the dirty legacy of fossil fuels
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 26th, 2023
Opinion
News
1 Utility Dive:
EVs will bring ‘unprecedented’ power demand, but their flexibility can improve grid reliability, utilities say
2 PV-Tech:
DOE releases US$20 million funding for solar lifecycle and recycling development
3 Bloomberg:
Why the Texas Power Grid Is Facing Another Crisis
4 San Antonio Express News:
Without wind and solar power, ERCOT CEO says, this summer's grid story could be much different
5 Axios:
Study - Key Atlantic Ocean circulation could shut down by mid-century
6 Reuters:
Investment firm Low Carbon secures $513 million for renewables projects
7 Energy Storage News:
California’s SDG&E eyes up ITC for 200MW BESS portfolio
8 PV-Magazine:
Utility-scale solar and storage project updates across the U.S.
Opinions:
9 Canary Media:
Maine to go all in on offshore wind
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 25th, 2023
Opinion
News
1 Reuters:
Canada's Heliene plans new US solar panel and cell factory
2 PV-Magazine:
2 GW Meyer Burger solar cell factory in Colorado, hints of more coming
3 Bloomberg:
Chevron Considers Lithium Production in Latest EV Bet by Big Oil
4 Wall Street Journal:
China Dominates Solar. Does the U.S. Stand a Chance?
5 PV-Tech:
Japanese corporation Itochu to invest US$2 billion in renewables in North America
6 Politico:
Biden’s clean energy goals have a union problem
7 Energy Storage News:
Community energy storage developer NineDot gets US$25 million financing from NYSERDA
8 Canary Media:
A dispatch from the dawn of the green hydrogen era
Opinions:
9 Axios:
How Trump could slow the U.S. EV transition
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 24th, 2023
Opinion
News
1 Utility Dive:
Investor interest in energy storage back on track after slow first quarter
2 Axios:
Relentless U.S. heat wave is likely to extend into August
3 Reuters:
California has enough power during heat wave after Thursday emergency
4 PV-Tech:
Utility-scale solar to overtake coal in North Carolina’s electricity generation
5 Energy Storage News:
Spain could eliminate economic curtailment of renewables’ with 15GW of long-duration energy storage
6 PV-Magazine:
Array Technologies to secure domestically made steel from new mill in Texas
Opinions:
7 Bloomberg:
John Kerry's China Trip Was Not a Total Climate Loss
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 21th, 2023
Opinion
News
1 Utility Dive:
House panel discusses grid threats
2 Bloomberg:
Making Solar Panels Is 'Horrible' Business. The US Still Wants It.
3 Axios:
The 15 hottest days, in the world's hottest month
4 Reuters:
Biden's tough sell in Pennsylvania - green energy to union workers
5 PV-Tech:
Tesla solar deployment drops 38% in Q2 2023 to 66MW
6 Solar Power World:
Over 100 advocacy groups push for solar above all government-owned canals
7 PV-Magazine:
New York Green Bank provides $25 million credit debt facility for energy storage
Opinions:
8 New York Times:
Why Heat Waves Are Deepening China’s Addiction to Coal
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 20th, 2023
It’s Getting Hot In Here. I’ve written about it the heat for what seems like months at this point. I’ve also been living in it as have many of you. Look at the headlines from today, Miami, Arizona and Texas all making the news because of the consistent heat. Step into the ocean near where I live and you find the water to be in the high 90s, bringing too much reality to the saying that the ocean is like a hot tub. I can only imagine what my utility is seeing on the demand side, 40 straight days over 100 degree heat index and reduced cooling efficiencies at the power plants.
But What To Do. The problem is that we’re not going to solve this years grid problem by next year at the rate that we’re going. Building a solar farm or storage project means at least a year in good times and likely a late 2024 or 2025 endeavor at this point given where the interconnection queue is.
News
2 Energy Storage News:
NYISO studies ‘unique characteristics’ of energy storage as a transmission asset
3 Utility Dive:
US utility-scale solar outlook improves on easing supply chain limits
4 Bloomberg:
EU Lawmakers Ease Concerns on Power Market Intervention
5 Axios:
U.S.-China climate talks are back on track — with obstacles
6 Canary MEdia:
Big companies seek new paths to deep grid decarbonization
7 Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Nevada leads nation in solar industry jobs, report says
Opinions:
8 Reuters:
Abu Dhabi's Masdar eyeing acquisition targets in US, Europe expansion
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 19th, 2023
It’s Getting Hot In Here. I’ve written about it the heat for what seems like months at this point. I’ve also been living in it as have many of you. Look at the headlines from today, Miami, Arizona and Texas all making the news because of the consistent heat. Step into the ocean near where I live and you find the water to be in the high 90s, bringing too much reality to the saying that the ocean is like a hot tub. I can only imagine what my utility is seeing on the demand side, 40 straight days over 100 degree heat index and reduced cooling efficiencies at the power plants.
But What To Do. The problem is that we’re not going to solve this years grid problem by next year at the rate that we’re going. Building a solar farm or storage project means at least a year in good times and likely a late 2024 or 2025 endeavor at this point given where the interconnection queue is.
News
1 Axios:
Miami's worst heat wave breaks records on land and sea
2 Bloomberg:
Extreme Heat Drives Texas Power Demand to Another Record
3 Reuters:
Arizona power demand breaks records during heatwave
4 New York Times:
So far, Europe’s electricity systems are coping with the heat.
5 Utility Dive:
Battery storage systems could face rapid asset degradation, especially with arbitrage - Fitch
6 CNBC:
Solar and wind are set to produce a third of global electricity in 7 years. How to invest behind it
7 PV-Tech:
“It’s going to be a big ask” - IRA’s domestic content adders leave the PV industry with questions
8 Energy Storage News:
NYISO studies ‘unique characteristics’ of energy storage as a transmission asset
9 PV-Magazine:
Solar power purchase agreement pricing is finally cooling
Opinions:
10 Canary Media:
Are EV chargers a cybersecurity risk?
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 18th, 2023
Opinion
News
1 PV Magazine:
Massachusetts greenlights 800 MWh battery energy storage facilities
2 Canary Media:
Another major utility is accelerating its transition to renewables
3 Energy Storage News:
Facing unprecedented growth in electrical demand, Ontario turns to renewables, storage and nuclear
4 PV Tech:
The importance of data around extreme weather and variability in solar PV
5 Reuters:
Texas power use hits record high as heatwave lingers
6 Axios:
What this summer's weather reveals about climate change
7 Utility Dive:
Transmission development pace ‘severely’ limits renewable energy, carbon reduction potential - report
8 Bloomberg:
Schwarzenegger Came to Washington to Talk Climate Change With McCarthy, White House
9 Electrek:
Tesla launches ‘Charge on Solar’ to charge your cars with sunshine
10 Wall Street Journal:
Can Solar Energy Save the Crumbling Electric Grid During Heatwaves?
Opinions:
11 New York Times:
America Can’t Build a Green Economy Without China
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 17th, 2023
That’s Not Their Job. Possibility does not imply responsibility. One deal that consumers, government and utilities made in return for favorable regulatory proceedings like monopolies and franchise agreements was the responsibility to serve. That means that when you want to turn on the lights or hospitals run an X-ray machine, it works. Climate is making it more complex for grids to operate and an evolving generating portfolio means that complexity includes the dimension of time. But needing to count on your car to provide power to your house in the event of backup is insanity. While it sounds cool, you could have also plugged an extension cord into your combustion engine truck or run a generator as a backup. However, none of these scenarios create monetary value for the user which is what is supposed to happen if the grid ‘needs’ you to provide your own power. Grid operators could look at the EV increases on the grid and rightfully say, we will dispatch your vehicle and pay you X dollars to do so, if they ‘need’ those resources to keep the lights on. Of course they could simply say, if you reduce your homes load, we’ll pay you those same dollars but they do neither.
News
1 New York Times:
A New Job for Electric Vehicles - Powering Homes During Blackouts
2 Utility Dive:
US grid congestion costs jumped 56% to $20.8B in 2022 - report
3 Reuters:
US, China aim to revive climate cooperation as tensions simmer
4 Bloomberg:
How China’s Renewables Boom Is Fueling Its Coal Expansion
5 Axios:
Dangerous heat wave spreads across southern U.S.
6 Solar Power World:
Pegasus Solar debuts solar roof mount with pre-installed sealant
7 Energy Storage News:
Norway’s FREYR Battery gets €100 million EU grant for Giga Arctic factory
8 Canary Media:
Chart - The US is now exporting more LNG than ever before
9 PV-Magazine:
State climate policies that can make a difference
Opinions:
10 PV-Tech:
CEO Alliance calls for faster and simplified permitting procedures
Have a great day!
Yann
