This is your SolarWakeup for March 17th, 2022
Last Chance! March Madness Bracket Time. You’re favorite time of the year, the SolarWakeup bracket challenge. Winner gets to write the column for a day! Head to ESPN Fantasy and search for SolarWakeup 2022, password is sunny. Or you can click this link! If any readers want to elevate the stakes by offering winner prizes, let me know. Your bracket must be submitted by tip-off today around noon Eastern.
News
1 Axios:
Russia oil shock could turn into "biggest supply crisis in decades"
2 RMI:
Which Gas Will Europe Import Now? The Choice Matters to the Climate
3 PV-Magazine:
Upgrading transmission lines could enable 27GW more renewable power per year
4 Utility Dive:
As Duke and Dominion ramp up their net zero goals, the supply chain comes into view
5 PV-Tech:
Trade body urges France to triple solar capacity by 2025 via ‘emergency plan’
6 Energy Storage News:
UK’s Gore Street acquires portfolio of Texas battery projects
7 Canary Media:
Microsoft heads up $34M investment in software platform to cut cargo ship emissions
Opinions:
8 Bloomberg:
Bitcoin Is Red Hot. Can It Ever Be Green? - QuickTake
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 16th, 2022
March Madness Bracket Time. You’re favorite time of the year, the SolarWakeup bracket challenge. Winner gets to write the column for a day! Head to ESPN Fantasy and search for SolarWakeup 2022, password is sunny. Or you can click this link! If any readers want to elevate the stakes by offering winner prizes, let me know.
News
1 Politico:
Here comes the sun - Senate agrees on permanent daylight saving time
2 Utility Dive:
A 'conservative' approach to Texas grid operations is raising costs for consumers - ERCOT market monitor
3 Bloomberg:
Crypto Mania in Texas Risks New Costs and Strains on Shaky Grid
4 New York Times:
The Next Level in Sustainability
5 Axios:
Why it's so hard to quit Russian energy
6 PV-Tech:
Renewables growth should be top priority for policymakers – RWE CEO
7 Energy Storage News:
South African grid operator’s big storage push rolls on
8 Energy News Network:
Rooftop solar companies enter fray over North Carolina net metering proposal
9 PV-Magazine:
Enphase Energy acquires SolarLeadFactory, a solar sales generation specialist
10 GreenBiz:
The next tool in the climate toolbox - Your parked EV
Opinions:
11 Washington Post:
Manchin's ludicrous attack on electric vehicles bodes badly for our future
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 15th, 2022
March Madness Bracket Time. You’re favorite time of the year, the SolarWakeup bracket challenge. Winner gets to write the column for a day! Head to ESPN Fantasy and search for SolarWakeup 2022, password is sunny. Or you can click this link! If any readers want to elevate the stakes by offering winner prizes, let me know.
News
1 Canary Media:
FERC Order 2222 - Experts offer cheers and jeers for first round of filings
2 Axios:
House Democrats press Biden to revive climate talks
3 New York Times:
How an Electric Truck Factory Became a Lightning Rod in Georgia
4 Utility Dive:
Washington legislators again mandate 100% electric new car sales by 2030
5 PV-Tech:
Global solar LCOE could fall 40 – 55% by 2030, bp report says
6 Solar Power World:
Raptor Maps publishes 2022 global solar inspection report
7 Energy Storage News:
Michigan should set 1GW by 2025 energy storage target, roadmap recommends
8 PV-Magazine:
Humans have installed 1 terawatt of solar capacity, generated over 1 petawatt of solar electricity in 2021
Opinions:
9 The Hill:
Beyond sanctions - President Biden should declare a national energy emergency
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 14th, 2022
Opinion
News
1 PV-Magazine:
California’s solar market is now a battery market
2 Bloomberg:
Biden Urged to Invoke Cold-War Powers to Blunt Energy Price Hike
3 New York Times:
Frustrated With Utilities, Some Californians Are Leaving the Grid
4 Canary Media:
Chart - How much oil does the US actually import from Russia?
5 Utility Dive:
California prepares for $10.5M port renovations for offshore wind development
6 Axios:
Power restored to Chernobyl nuclear plant, Ukraine energy minister says
7 Solar Power World:
Balance of systems manufacturer Shoals opens Tennessee factory
8 Energy Storage News:
Energy Dome scores first licensing agreement for CO2 battery
Opinions:
9 Mother Jones:
Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine May Become a Defining Moment in US Dependence on Fossil Fuels
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 11th, 2022
Opinion
News
1 New York Times:
As War Rages, a Struggle to Balance Energy Crunch and Climate Crisis
2 Politico:
Senate gives final OK to $1.5T government funding bill
3 Utility Dive:
Total ISO-NE capacity revenue falls 25% to $1B in latest auction
4 Bloomberg:
Seeing the Future of Energy Through a Coal Company’s Solar Strategy
5 Axios:
The good news on soaring energy prices
6 Reuters:
Exclusive-Norway's Equinor halts trading Russian oil - CEO
7 Solar Power World:
Commerce gives itself more time to consider solar anticircumvention petition
8 PV-Magazine:
Without federal support, US would only reach 39% of carbon-free energy sector by 2035, said Wood Mackenzie
Opinions:
9 Energy Storage News:
How other states can replicate California and Texas’ storage successes
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 10th, 2022
Opinion
News
1 Mercury News:
Working with Walton - What it’s like to broadcast a game alongside the popular, polarizing Pac-12 TV analyst
2 Axios:
The EU's big energy moves show a new order is quickly emerging
3 Bloomberg:
KKR in Talks to Invest in French Renewable Energy Firm Albioma
4 Vox:
California wants to use electric cars to back up the power grid
5 Solar Power World:
Market report estimates 11-GW decrease in near-term solar installations
6 Energy Storage News:
The three things the US needs to catch up with Europe’s battery gigafactory charge
7 Canary Media:
Goldman Sachs and Shell bet $75M that chain stores can boost grid resiliency
8 PV-Magazine:
In 2021 renewable energy use reached an all-time high, but so did CO2 emissions
Opinions:
9 Utility Dive:
Republicans use EV hearing to knock Biden's clean energy policy as US bans oil and gas imports from Russia
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 9th, 2022
Opinion
News
1 Washington Post:
The largest remaining tall-grass prairie in Texas is getting solar panels. Environmentalists can’t stop it.
2 Utility Dive:
Florida passes net metering bill that will gut rooftop solar, advocates say, as they call for a veto
3 Bloomberg:
Energy Crunch Spurs ‘Insane’ Rush for Industrial Rooftop Solar
4 Axios:
Biden on Russian oil import ban
5 Reuters:
EU rolls out plan to cut Russia gas dependency this year
6 PV-Tech:
Sonnedix acquires Sun Power Energy, taking on 1GW Poland pipeline
7 Solar Power World:
PG&E wants to use GM electric vehicles as on-demand power sources for customer homes
8 PV-Magazine:
Plans announced for a US lithium-ferro-phosphate battery gigafactory network
9 Energy Storage News:
UK’s Gore Street makes first investment into German battery storage
Opinions:
10 Canary Media:
GM and PG&E to test how EVs can power homes during blackouts
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 8th, 2022
The Global Oil Impact. An inflationary conundrum would be the delicate way to describe the current situation on oil. First, it makes all the sense in the world to cut Russian oil exports off. The Country is a gas station at this moment with no ability to generate income outside of energy. That was the increase in pricing that you saw on Sunday afternoon with the rest of us as oil popped to $140/barrel and has settled back down to the $120s. Whether you’re buying wheat and barley (stock up on your beer) or steel and lithium, costs are rising for inflationary and macro reasons.
Next Move, Politically Speaking. US politicians are likely to give Biden no choice on a Russian oil import ban, both for political reasons (he will be blamed for higher gas prices/domestic production will have to increase/force a deal on domestic energy independence) as well as diplomatic reasons (Russia is unlikely to sustain a global import ban for long). You are hearing the White House speak up and blame the oil sector for not producing on the leases they currently hold while Manchin is saying let’s make a deal that increases production and delivers the clean energy package that is wanted. Meanwhile, Europe is contemplating its decisions years ago to give this leverage to Putin including the addition of the gas pipeline Nord Stream 2, which could trigger an energy realignment of the fuel sources that are needed to be more self dependent or dependent on friends like the US LNG exports.
What To Look For. Inflation will increase the cost of electricity and is likely to adjust the proformas for asset owners but with a commensurate increase in installation costs for materials and labor. The Ukrainian farms and surrounding areas account for a third of the global wheat and barley supply which is now significantly disrupted and prices in the live markets are adjusting to this. With the input cost of oil, any transportation costs will increase. Unless you drive electric, you’ve already felt the impact at the pump of filling up your car. So will your suppliers, vendors and employees. The optimistic view is that this should trigger an energy deal in DC including tax credits driving this market forward with enhanced urgency.
News
1 Politico:
Zelenskyy adviser - Global ban on Russian oil would end Putin's attacks
2 Scientific American:
Amid War, Biden Reluctant to Unleash Clean Energy Rhetoric
3 Energy Storage News:
CAISO - 1GW dispatch during July wildfire a ‘fabulous moment’ for battery storage amidst 12-fold growth
4 Axios:
Europeans throw cold water on possibility of Russian energy ban
5 Utility Dive:
California clean energy advocates urge regulators to 'go big' with offshore wind goals
6 Bloomberg:
SoftBank Energy Unit Gets Up to $600 Million, Led By Ares Funds
7 Canary Media:
Goldman Sachs and Shell bet $75M that chain stores can boost grid resiliency
8 PV Magazine:
IREC releases training courses for residential solar plan
Opinions:
9 Reuters:
Europe energy crisis a 'big wake up call' -Total Energies CEO
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 7th, 2022
Opinion
News
1 Canary Media:
Chart - Outpacing even China, the US takes the lead in grid battery investment
2 Reuters:
Oil price surges to highest since 2008 on delays in Iranian talks
3 Bloomberg:
War in Ukraine Overshadows Energy Transition as Oil CEOs Gather
4 Axios:
UN report - Climate change is so severe we're running out of time to adapt
5 E&E News:
Interior advances large solar project on Nev. tribal land
6 Utility Dive:
Inflation, production backlogs hit electric transit bus manufacturer Proterra
7 PV-Tech:
60GW green hydrogen hub planned for Texas
8 Energy Storage News:
China targets 30GW of battery storage by 2025 as BESS output grows 150%
9 PV-Magazine:
SolaREIT closes $100 million securitization
Opinions:
10 CNBC:
County by county, solar panels face pushback
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for March 4th, 2022
Opinion
News
1 Bloomberg:
U.S. Clean Energy Draws Record $105 Billion in Private Investment
2 The Hill:
Fire breaks out at major nuclear plant in Ukraine amid fighting
3 Washington Post:
In Virginia, abandoned coal mines are transformed into solar farms
4 Axios:
Pelosi says she supports banning oil imports from Russia
5 Reuters:
Explainer - Why $100 oil could hurt the energy transition more than it helps
6 Solar Power World:
Solar developer New Energy Equity acquired by ALLETE
7 Energy Storage News:
Biden’s State of the Union address reinforces clean energy message
8 PV-Magazine:
Lawrence Berkeley report outlines shifts in demographics
Opinions:
9 Canary Media:
How to divest your 401(k) from fossil fuels
Have a great day!
Yann
