This is your SolarWakeup for April 26th, 2023
Spread The Message. This is an important time in messaging the importance of the IRA to our industry. If the IRA changes your outlook for the next decade, make sure that you’re telling your story to the media in your area. If you’re building out an expansion, hiring new team members or investing into local infrastructure, highlight that with a press release or just reaching out to local reporters. Your local politicians, no matter what party, see the benefit of the legislation but they need to feel it in their community as well.
The Lender You Can Depend On. In a market that is full of uncertainty, you can rely on Dividend Finance to bring you white glove service to help you reach your long-term goals. Apply Here
News
1 Bloomberg:
Red States to Reap the Biggest Rewards From Biden’s Climate Package
2 Utility Dive:
US energy storage needs national standards and regulations to thrive amid clean energy transition - GAO
3 Solar Power World:
New law ensures stable bill credits for Colorado community solar customers
4 Axios:
Major VCs link arms in new climate push
5 Reuters:
Enel says Oklahoma is top candidate for its US solar panel factory
6 Energy Storage News:
US BESS developer Spearmint Energy sceptical of ‘black box’ optimisation
7 PV-Magazine:
New York large-scale solar set to surge 8500%
Opinions:
8 Canary Media:
Google’s latest climate plan? Skip grid backlog, mimic community solar
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 25th, 2023
White House, Solar Champions. With the CRA looking like it will pass, industry advocates have been fighting hard to get the ultimate vote of confidence against more solar tariffs. That vote is rare and hard to get, given that this President has not had to veto much in his tenure at 1600 Penn. President Biden threatened to veto if the CRA, which would bring tariffs back in play, makes it to his desk. Thank your local solar advocate and make sure to pay your association dues.
News
1 Bloomberg:
Biden Threatens to Veto Bill to Lift Moratorium on Solar Tariffs
2 PV-Magazine:
Tracking the sun on uneven terrain
3 Energy Storage News:
Europe reached 4.5GW of battery storage installed in 2022; could hit 95GW by 2050
4 Utility Dive:
State regulators urge PJM to speed interconnection for new generation in face of power plant retirements
5 Axios:
Chile brings lithium under majority state ownership
6 PV-Tech:
EDPR and Google sign deal for 650MWp of distributed US solar
7 New York Times:
Governors Island to Be Site of $700 Million Climate Campus
8 Canary Media:
Span snags $96M to become a ‘Swiss Army knife’ for electric homes
Opinions:
9 Reuters:
Moving NY to clean energy is top 2023 challenge - NY Power Authority head
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 24th, 2023
The Lender You Can Depend On. In a market that is full of uncertainty, you can rely on Dividend Finance to bring you white glove service to help you reach your long-term goals. Apply Here
News
1 Utility Dive:
Solarcycle CEO, fresh off $31.5M in public and private funding, discusses solar recycling’s future
2 Reuters:
Biden EPA to issue power plant rules that lean on carbon capture
3 Bloomberg:
How The World Is Spending $1.1 Trillion On Climate Technology
4 New York Times:
Biden to Create White House Office of Environmental Justice
5 PV-Tech:
Germany adds 2.6GW of solar PV in Q1 2023
6 Energy Storage News:
UK battery energy storage market to grow to 24GW by 2030, says Rystad Energy
Opinions:
8 PV-Magazine:
U.S. warehouses can host enough solar to power nearly 20 million homes
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 21st, 2023
NEM 3.0 Driving New Grid Reality. As consumer financing products shift back towards the lease, you see platforms gaining new strengths. Sunnova announced a loan guarantee yesterday and Sunrun is going big in Texas with their CEO hosting partners at the AT&T Stadium. How do smaller or independent companies compete in a lease dominating market? Especially a market with more technologies coming into the package, you need a platform that enables the mid to long tail to go toe to toe with the large companies. SunPower may raise $450million but 450 smaller companies are going to do more than $2million a piece. With NEM 3.0 adding the basic necessity of storage, how will those thousands of smart and grid capable homes play in the nascent VPP market, especially when aggregated outside of the large platforms? Watch for the innovation, I sure am.
The Lender You Can Depend On. In a market that is full of uncertainty, you can rely on Dividend Finance to bring you white glove service to help you reach your long-term goals. Apply Here
News
1 Utility Dive:
Sunrun, others adapt as California’s new net metering rules spur booming interest in energy storage
2 Washington Post:
The flip side of Europe’s extreme heat
3 Energy Storage News:
‘Early days’ for standalone ITC with tax equity appetite and ‘domestic content’ unclear
4 Bloomberg:
Pagaya Technologies Weighs Takeover of Sunlight Financial
5 PV-Magazine:
Republican debt ceiling bill guts clean energy in Inflation Reduction Act
6 PV-Tech:
SMA Solar breaks ground to build 20GW inverter factory in Germany
7 Canary Media:
EV trucks and buses need costly grid updates. Should utilities pay?
Opinions:
8 Reuters:
Western Balkans see boom in solar energy but grids unprepared
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 20th, 2023
The Investment Ecosystem. It was my first solar conference that I heard a VC talk about investing in solar companies looking for a 10x return. This was 2007 and the VC was Abe Yokell, and I thought he must have misspoke because how could you turn 10million into 100million in solar (in 2007). Now it’s 2023 and the fund is Congruent Ventures which closed on fund III with $300million of fresh capital for existing investments. The top of the funnel matters for innovation, and the ability to create 10x returns exists. Look at Nextracker, which was acquired for an astounding $330million in 2015, but is now worth over 5billion.
The Details On Bulk Power Security. UL releases new standards, many companies expanding ISO to include security, and SEIA is co-hosting an important discussion on Secure Renewables. On June 7th, you can get smart on the topic in DC by joining me and many others at the conference, check out securerenewables.com to find out more. It’s not just the modules and power conversion but the importance of controls, software and monitoring that needs to meet the moment for the role the solar and storage industries want to play in the energy transition.
A CRA To Push Back On. Stay in the know on all things regarding the CRA, which could create a reversal of Biden’s two year delay of the Auxin case. Over 400 companies signed on to a letter to ask Congress to focus on the future while a House Committee moved the CRA forward.
The Lender You Can Depend On. In a market that is full of uncertainty, you can rely on Dividend Finance to bring you white glove service to help you reach your long-term goals. Apply Here
News
1 Canary Media:
Congruent raises new $300M climatetech fund despite market slowdown
2 PV-Tech:
UL Solutions publishes new solar and storage cyber security requirements
3 Utility Dive:
EPRI launches 3-year initiative to address grid constraints, develop tools to serve coming EV loads
4 Bloomberg:
Republicans Fight a Solar Boom That’s Made Texas King of Clean Energy
5 Axios:
Rapidly developing El Niño set to boost global warming
6 Reuters:
US House committee votes to repeal Biden solar panel policy
7 Energy Storage News:
US$150 billion in US clean energy investments announced since Inflation Reduction Act
Opinions:
8 PV-Magazine:
FEMA’s $13 billion for Puerto Rico’s grid could shift to solar if lawsuit succeeds
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 19th, 2023
The Lender You Can Depend On. In a market that is full of uncertainty, you can rely on Dividend Finance to bring you white glove service to help you reach your long-term goals. Apply Here
News
1 Utility Dive:
With looming EV load spikes, PG&E, Duke, other utilities adopt new rate design and cost recovery strategies
2 Axios:
Want a tax break on an electric car? You'll need to buy American
3 National Law Review:
New Mass. AG continues hard line against local bylaws that hinder battery energy storage systems
4 Canary Media:
A huge new clean energy transmission line gets the green light
5 PV-Tech:
400 solar companies petition US Congress to uphold AD/CVD waiver, warning of US$1 billion in retroactive duties
6 Energy Storage News:
Berkshire Hathaway-owned US utility Pacificorp targets 7.4GW energy storage by 2029
7 Bloomberg:
Taiwan’s Battery-Swapping Stations Now Double As Mini Power Plants
8 PV-Magazine:
UL and NREL set cybersecurity standards for distributed energy, inverters
Opinions:
9 Reuters:
Germany sees 'a chance' COP28 can reach fossil fuel phase-out deal similar to G7 - official
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 18th, 2023
The Lender You Can Depend On. In a market that is full of uncertainty, you can rely on Dividend Finance to bring you white glove service to help you reach your long-term goals. Apply Here
News
1 PV-Magazine:
Since IRA, $150 billion investment, 46 factories, 18,000 jobs in renewable energy
2 Utility Dive:
NERC opposes expanding physical security rules for critical substations following Duke, PSE, other attacks
3 Virginia Mercury:
Dominion’s renewable projects approved by regulators despite cost concerns
4 Reuters:
Britain looks to widen renewables support scheme
5 Energy Storage News:
European Union’s mandatory Battery Passport sustainability effort starts to take shape
6 Canary Media:
This NASA tech might just spur a major grid battery breakthrough
Opinions:
7 Bloomberg:
How to Find the Next Generation of Breakthrough Tech Startups
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 17th, 2023
The Lender You Can Depend On. In a market that is full of uncertainty, you can rely on Dividend Finance to bring you white glove service to help you reach your long-term goals. Apply Here
News
1 New York Times:
A key part of America’s plan to slash carbon emissions
2 Bloomberg:
Germany Retires Nuclear Plants in Hopes of Greener Pastures
3 Utility Dive:
Chinese supply chains for critical infrastructure threaten the US power grid
4 Axios:
What carbon removal can — and can't — achieve
5 Reuters:
G7 ministers set big new targets for solar and wind capacity
6 PV-Tech:
Bids for Germany’s 1.95GW ground-mounted solar systems receive overwhelming subscription
7 Energy Storage News:
Developer - fewer eyes on 9.9MW ‘distributed play’ segment of ERCOT storage market
8 PV-Magazine:
Solarcycle solar recycling specialist raises $30 million in new funding
Opinions:
9 Canary Media:
California is a rooftop solar giant. New rules could change that
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 14th, 2023
Not Solar Related. Coming home from a work trip on Wednesday, the pilot came over the intercom to let us know we’d be landing in Palm Beach instead of Fort Lauderdale. By now some of you may have seen some images of what a few days of rain have caused to some streets but driving through town yesterday, cars were littered everywhere. It was a lot of rain, but really didn’t seem like a lot and it surely wasn’t a hurricane. All good on the personal homefront but you don’t have to look far to find someone that has to rebuild their home or totaled their car, in the blink of an eye.
News
1 Axios:
Historic rainfall slams Florida, flooding Ft. Lauderdale Airport
2 Utility Dive:
Grid connections will remain a huge challenge for clean energy if FERC fails to meet this moment
3 New York Times:
California Wants to Cover Its Canals With Solar Panels
4 Reuters:
Rural utility group pushes for permitting reform in scramble to meet electrification demand
5 PV-Tech:
SunPower inks US$450 million deal to finance customer loan programme
6 Energy Storage News:
New York at risk of missing 6GW by 2030 target
7 Canary Media:
California is a rooftop solar giant. New rules could change that
8 PV-Magazine:
How many solar panels would have been needed to power the Death Star?
Opinions:
9 Bloomberg:
Former Chief of Texas Power Grid Calls State-Funded Plants ‘Dangerous’
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for April 13th, 2023
The Lender You Can Depend On. In a market that is full of uncertainty, you can rely on Dividend Finance to bring you white glove service to help you reach your long-term goals. Apply Here
News
1 Utility Dive:
‘Grid-friendly’ standards for EV supply equipment could help ensure power system reliability - NERC
2 Bloomberg:
Texas Grid Proposals Spur Calpine to Build New Gas Plants
3 Reuters:
Making clean power in US gets pricier on average but cheaper for big firms, Lazard finds
4 Solar Builder:
Solar-powered restaurant design part of new Chipotle sustainability campaign
5 Energy Storage News:
UK’s Gresham House sees ‘strong growth in earnings’ from high ancillary service prices
6 Canary Media:
Biden aims to supercharge EV adoption with new emissions standards
7 PV-Magazine:
Generac unveils commercial and industrial scale battery energy storage system
Opinions:
8 New York Times:
Why China Could Dominate the Next Big Advance in Batteries
Have a great day!
Yann
