On January 15, 2014, Macquarie Equities Research compared the hype around the demise of the centralized electric grid analogous to the exaggeration found in Sharknado, a movie depicting hurricane-propelled sharks terrorizing Los Angeles. Over the long term, the analysts argue renewables will have a meaningfully bigger impact on competitive power markets than on regulated T&D businesses.
On January 30, 2014, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) announced year-end statistics for 2013. The development pipeline ballooned to more than 17.2 GW of new capacity compared with just 1.1 GW added in all of 2013. This development pipeline includes more than 12 GW of capacity already under construction and 5.2 GW with signed PPAs that have not yet started construction.
In January 2014, North Carolina started collecting a $100 annual fee from all-electric vehicles registered in the state. North Carolina began billing these customers separately because they do not pay road use and maintenance taxes attached to gasoline sales.
In 2013, Xcel issued its first competitive bidding process for new generation capacity. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) accepted five proposals including 430 MW of natural gas capacity from Xcel and 100 MW of distributed solar from Geronimo Energy. The PUC deemed the case a “contested case hearing” and sought a report and recommendation from an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). Following an evidentiary hearing, the ALJ recommended the solar proposal as the most reasonable and prudent. The ALJ concluded solar offered the lowest cost on a per-MWh basis after accounting for additional attributes.
Congress allowed the production tax credit (PTC) for wind energy to expire on January 1, 2014. However, projects under construction at the end of 2013 may still qualify for the PTC. Therefore, we expect a significant number of new wind projects to come online in 2014 and 2015.
In their quarterly assessment released last week, GTM Research and the Solar Electric Industries Association (SEIA) report the United States installed 930 MW of solar PV in Q3 2013. This is the second-largest quarter in history and the largest quarter ever for residential PV installations. In addition, the national average for installation prices (across all system sizes) declined 4.2% last quarter from $3.13/W to $3.00/W.
SolarCity is getting into the commercial energy storage business by installing and financing behind-the-meter solar-battery systems and smart software in California, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.
Earth Day provides an occasion to draw attention to the interdependence of energy and water resources, also known as the energy-water nexus. Energy and water are inextricably linked.
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