By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened:And now in this corner, from the other end of the Section 201 tariff case, comes the news that Suniva is literally being sold for parts by its creditor SQN Capital Management.: Who could have seen this coming? (Everyone. Everyone saw this coming.) SQN Capital Management is the same outfit that famously offered to sell Suniva off to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce for a cool $55 million left on a Central Park bench at 3 a.m. Now they’ve gotten the OK to sell off the manufacturing equipment at a public auction, does anyone … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened:And so it ends. What was once the emblematic brand of the U.S. solar industry – SolarWorld – is gone, as Sunpower has announced it will snap up at least the company’s assets.: As much as SolarWorld the corporation deserves scorn for its destructive behavior over the past 12 months, there really isn’t any such thing as SolarWorld as a corporation. In reality, the company is made up of people – real, flesh-and-blood people – and if Sunpower’s purchase of the company saves their jobs, then we can’t be anything but happy here at … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened:Varun Sivaram, the Philip D. Reed Fellow for Science and Technology for the Council on Foreign Relations, builds several admirable straw men to flog, including these nuggets of what apparently passes for wisdom at The Brookings Institute and The Washington Post: Solar advocates are bad because they don’t advocate for nuclear energy and carbon capture (nope, I got nothing). Solar advocates only want deployment, not research into new technologies (perovskite researchers, you might want to give Varun a call). Solar advocates have argued for tariffs, raising costs and stifling inovation (to paraphrase comedian Lewis … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened:Reviews of Enphase’s Q1 2018 continue to be unusually positive, signaling that maybe its financial struggles may be receding in the rearview mirror. Roth Capital continued to cheerlead from the sidelines after switching the company’s stock to a “buy” in February. And the North Bay Business Journal breathlessly reported that Enphase may finally be on the brink of profitability. SolarWakeup’s View:  For me, this is a nice-time story. [wds id=”3″] Enphase was one of the first companies with whom I met when I first joined the solar industry in 2011. Their microinverter was creating … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court told Exxon it couldn’t hide evidence it knew about global climate change (and its role in producing it) for years before they admitted it. The ruling crushed Exxon’s hopes of keeping the information from the state’s attorney general, Maura Healey, who is currently investigating the company’s alleged history of climate perfidy. As Think Progress notes, “In January 2017, a Massachusetts Superior Court judge ruled Exxon must comply with Healey’s investigation and turn over 40 years of documents on climate change. Exxon appealed. SolarWakeup’s View:  When you’re getting sympathy cards … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: This is going to shock a lot of you, but utilities would like the solar industry to stop harping on net metering and move to what they call “rate design.” K Kaufmann, communications manager for the Smart Electric Power Association (the utilities’ arm of the solar discussion) (SEPA), lays out the case for why moving the conversation away from net metering will help utilities. Oddly, however, it doesn’t explain why there would be any advantage to the solar industry to move off net metering. SolarWakeup’s View:  Sometimes, the jokes write themselves. [wds id=”3″] … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: John Tynan, executive director of the Conservation Voters of South Carolina, penned an excellent op-ed for The State, expressing his … disappointment with the decision by the legislature to smother the solar industry in its crib by not removing South Carolina net metering caps. Some choice quotes: “H.4421 would have saved more than 3,000 solar jobs and ensured that the South Carolina solar industry will continue to thrive.” “It’s clear utilities will stop at nothing to continue to keep making profits. And when customers install solar panels, utilities lose revenue.” “… the utilities … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: The New Jersey legislature yesterday passed two bills – one in the House and one in the Senate – designed to jumpstart the state’s solar industry by: increasing the overall RPS to 50 percent by 2030 enabling a community solar program shutting down its problematic sREC program reducing the overall cost of the current solar Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) by lowering the Solar Alternative Compliance Payment. SolarWakeup’s View:  New Jersey has been quietly fuming as New York leapfrogged over it as a progressive state in the race for solar leadership. Well, yesterday, the … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: Blue Bird Corporation, whose iconic logo you’ve probably seen on a school bus near you, is diving bravely into the future by unveiling the electric versions of its Type C & D configuration school buses. According to CleanTechnica, Blue Bird is reportedly the only U.S. company offering electric buses in those configurations. You could see these buses delivering your kids to school as soon as this fall. SolarWakeup’s View:  Pretty soon, you may not hear the churning of diesel engines as school buses stop at the end of your driveway to pick up … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: Gallup’s annual Environment survey indicates that Americans want to develop more alternative energy sources instead of traditional fossil-fuel generation, to the tune of 73%. (Psst…Gallup….Lynn Jurich called and would like her conclusion back, please. Thank you.) In contrast, only 25% of the country is worried about the availability or affordability of energy in this country. And finally, more than half of Americans want to prioritize environmental conservation over fossil-fuel energy development (which may mean that, for now, the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve is safe from oil derricks). SolarWakeup’s View:  All I keep hearing … Read More →