This is your SolarWakeup for January 14th, 2022
Opinion
News
1 PV-Magazine:
Thousands of Californians protest NEM 3.0 in solar jobs rally
2 Axios:
Congress to take a look at crypto's carbon footprint
3 Los Angeles Times:
Newsletter - Here’s how California plans to spend $37 billion fighting climate change
4 Utility Dive:
SOO Green transmission project faces PJM obstacles - Are grid operators hindering the energy transition?
5 Bloomberg:
Saudi Arabia Seeks $170 Billion of Mining Investment By 2030
6 PV-Tech:
Renewable PPA prices in Europe up 8% due to ongoing energy crisis
Opinions:
7 Canary Media:
Nuclear startup Oklo gets thumbs-down from regulators. What does this mean for next-gen nuclear?
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 13th, 2022
Word Of The Day, Regressive. In another relentless cross-country attack on solar, the word of the day is regressive, i.e. rooftop solar is a regressive tax on consumers based on the unfounded notion that solar shifts costs to non-solar customers when exactly the opposite is true. Both Florida and California are seeing attacks on net metering that have the most traction that we’ve seen in years even though any consumer would find it hard to imagine a future where homes can’t build solar. While this would hurt the growth of the market, the reality is that it would harm the grid most of all and the rate base because consumers will self-sustain with storage and not participate in the energy system at all.
News
1 Bloomberg:
Musk, Movie Stars Join Fight to Protect California Solar Subsidy
2 E&E News:
Fla. eyes rooftop solar clampdown
3 Solar Power World:
White House announces new clean energy plans, including Dept. of Agriculture support of solar in rural communities
4 Canary Media:
California’s Gov. Newsom says ‘changes need to be made’ to the state’s polarizing net-metering proposal
5 Utility Dive:
Midwest power plants face shutdown after EPA proposes denying requests to keep using unlined coal ash ponds
6 Axios:
Global race intensifies for EV raw materials
7 PV-Tech:
Global Infrastructure Partners invests US$500m in BrightNight to fund project development
8 RMI:
Local Governments Are Stepping Up Grid Decarbonization in 2022
9 PV-Magazine:
Lightsource bp closes financing on 135 MW solar project in Arkansas and 345 MW solar project in Louisiana
Opinions:
10 GreenBiz:
How corporate renewable energy purchasing is changing in 2022
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 12th, 2022
Opinion
News
1 Bloomberg:
California Governor Wants Changes to Plan to Cut Solar Subsidies
2 GreenBiz:
How to address legacy fossil fuel sites for a clean energy future
3 PV-Magazine:
Grid expert slams NEM 3.0 as “proposed dystopia” in ROTH Capital webinar, offers ten reasons why
4 Yahoo:
Democrats Say It’s Time To ‘Cut A Deal’ And Salvage Build Back Better
5 Utility Dive:
PNM prepares for spring launch of $9M transportation program, anticipates EVs to double in 2 years
6 Solar Power World:
International Code Council to help refine SolarAPP+’s permitting specs
7 Energy Storage News:
LG Energy Solution IPO to fuel manufacturing capacity expansion on three continents
Opinions:
8 Reuters:
Germany must cut energy use by 20-25% to hit 2030 goals
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 11th, 2022
Opinion
News
1 Utility Dive:
North Carolina sets goal to sell 50% zero-emission vehicles by 2030
2 New York Times:
Manchin’s Choice on Build Back Better
3 Axios:
U.S. greenhouse gas emissions jumped in 2021
4 PV-Tech:
New TÜV Nord analysis asserts n-type performance benefits over p-type modules
5 Energy Storage News:
Goldman Sachs invests US$250 million in long-duration energy storage provider Hydrostor
6 Canary Media:
GE snaps up Opus One and its operating system for a fast-changing grid
7 PV-Magazine:
Washington renewable energy advocates support community solar incentive bill
Opinions:
8 RMI:
Financing 1.5°C - Five Trends to Watch in Climate-Aligned Finance in 2022
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 10th, 2022
Opinion
News
1 Utility Dive:
Idaho Power to accelerate coal retirements, add 3.8 GW clean energy
2 Energy Storage News:
FlexGen putting 40MW of battery storage at substation sites for North Carolina electric cooperatives
3 Canary Media:
Here’s where things stand with climate legislation in Congress
4 Axios:
Poll - Investors feel growing pressure to move away from fossil fuels
5 Bloomberg:
Blackstone Invests $3 Billion in Invenergy for Clean Energy
6 PV-Tech:
Luxcara secures financing for 171MWp subsidy-free PV project in Germany
7 PV-Magazine:
New Mexico Community Solar Act receives public comment
Opinions:
8 Vox:
Electric cars aren’t just vehicles. They’re big batteries.
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 7th, 2022
Opinion
News
1 Bloomberg:
The Future of Power and Transport Markets Is Decentralization
2 PV-Magazine:
Palmetto maps roughly 75% of U.S. rooftops
3 The Hill:
Challenge to Biden Keystone XL revocation dismissed as moot
4 Axios:
Excess deaths tied to urban air pollution
5 Reuters:
Shell-backed U.S. solar developer raises $775 million in equity
6 Energy Storage News:
New York doubles 2030 energy storage deployment target to 6GW
7 Canary Media:
US government squandered hundreds of millions on ‘clean coal’ pipe dream
Opinions:
8 GreenBiz:
The politics that will shape our clean energy future
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 6th, 2022
Opinion
News
1 New York Times:
Why the Coming Months Will Be Critical for Biden’s Climate Plan
2 Axios:
GM's electric onslaught - Pickups, SUVs and delivery vans
3 Utility Dive:
Texas power plants 'ready for winter' following weatherization assessment, ERCOT says
4 Reuters:
Virginia's governor-elect taps Trump EPA chief for key role
5 PV-Tech:
Build Back Better remains deadlocked as Manchin insists negotiations at a standstill
6 Energy Storage News:
US$20bn Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations opened by US Department of Energy
Opinions:
7 Canary Media:
Grid energy storage surged in 2021, as we predicted
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 5th, 2022
Opinion
News
1 Politico:
Manchin on Biden's spending bill - 'No negotiation going on'
2 Utility Dive:
Data centers, EVs drive PJM's long-term load growth forecast, but it expects some utilities to see declines
3 PV-Magazine:
Rystad - Residential solar soars past C&I in 2021
4 Bloomberg:
Europe Sleepwalked Into an Energy Crisis That Could Last Years
5 Solar Power World:
California legislator introduces bill requiring large counties to use instant online solar permitting
6 Axios:
Ford to double electric F-150 production
7 Energy Storage News:
Decommissioned Audi EV batteries used in 4.5MWh stationary energy storage system in Germany
Opinions:
8 RMI:
Washington State Could Lead the Nation on Building Electrification Codes
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 4th, 2022
Opinion
News
1 Axios:
U.S. oil producers plan to boost output despite rising costs
2 Canary Media:
Tesla delivered almost 1 million EVs in 2021, a historic milestone
3 New York Times:
Europe Plans to Say Nuclear Power and Natural Gas Are Green Investments
4 Utility Dive:
MISO proposal to let utilities profit from upgrades for HVDC lines sparks debate at FERC
5 Forbes:
Standard Industries’ GAF Energy Debuts New Solar Roof Aimed At The Masses
6 Solar Industry:
Massachusetts Advances Dozens of Solar Projects on Hold for Nearly Two Years
7 E&E News:
DOE unveils $1B loan for hydrogen plant. But is it ‘clean’?
8 PV-Magazine:
Enphase celebrates the new year by entering the EV charging market
Opinions:
9 Yale Climate:
New D.C. solar farm is response to Pope Francis’s call to care for Earth
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for January 3rd, 2022
Happy New Year! I hope you have a great start of the year and ready for what is shaping up to be an enormous step forward in the energy transition. Solar is big business and getting things done right is more important than ever, we’re no longer the next big thing. Energy storage is creating the glue that allows all of the interconnection points to transition or becoming more resilient in the grid transformation.
What We’re Looking At
Manchin and BBB. Manchin pulled the plug on build back better but there is likely to be a version that he finds acceptable in the coming weeks, what’s in it? That’s to be determined.
Big Resi Solar. Resi solar isn’t just the cute family business anymore, look for more consolidation and vertical integration. A solar installer making their own mounts and extruding their own rail? Already happening and they should all be doing it.
State Solar Fights. NEM 3.0 isn’t abnormal, get re-engaged with your state solar policy units and get involved.
The Electrification. That is the real transition, look for oil companies to look more like electric utilities by the end of this year.
Bankability And Digitization of Storage. Energy storage is hardware installed with software and that software needs to be bankable enough for your investment dollars. You may not know it but that’s exactly what you should focus on when you order your 2023 and 2024 energy storage assets this year.
SolarWakeup Partnerships. We’re setting up a few things all to make your life simpler and more profitable, while I will still be sourcing the stories and writing as much as possible, the SolarWakeup team will lead the front end as I focus on my day job. More to come on this front!
News
1 New York Times:
Coming Soon to This Coal County - Solar, in a Big Way
2 Bloomberg:
SunPower in Advanced Talks on Sale of Commercial Business
3 US News:
TVA Fights Proposed Solar Cooperative in West Tennessee
4 CNBC:
Tesla asks employees to fight policy proposal that would make rooftop solar more expensive in California
5 Utility Dive:
'Anecdotal evidence' points to price gouging during winter storm Uri, NERC official says
6 Axios:
Study - 10 biggest climate disasters of 2021 cost $170 billion
7 Reuters:
Germany to pull the plug on three of its last six nuclear plants
8 PV-Magazine:
CPIA pushes back against U.S. ban on solar imports from Xinjiang
9 Politico:
A Georgia solar factory shows the promise — and peril — of Biden's new industrial policy
Opinions:
10 GreenBiz:
How to make the US clean energy transition equitable
Have a great day!
Yann
