Major Updates For This Month

Tom Pyle from the Institute for Energy Research (IER) wrote a great blog on The Hill about the high cost of private solar subsidies. Tom’s conclusion: “…our public utility policies don’t reflect the costs that net metering imposes. It’s time to reform net metering policies so that the general public no longer subsidizes those wealthy […]

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SolarCity, a Vocal Critic of the Utility Industry, Joins It

As SolarCity, the rooftop solar system provider, has rapidly expanded its reach over the last few years, its executives have pushed hard against the utility industry, criticizing it as a hidebound monopoly standing in the way of change.

Now, SolarCity officials are trying a different tactic: moving into that business themselves.

On Monday, company executives announced a program aimed at cities, remote communities, campuses and military bases under which they will design and operate small, independent power networks called microgrids. While the move will not turn the company into, say, Con Edison overnight, it represents a step in that direction.

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Solar Energy Faces a Rocky Road Ahead

The takeaway from the last 10 months in the solar industry should be that the long-term picture is bright, but there’ll be a lot of bumps along the way. Right now, the bumps will be in utility-scale solar and changing trends in the residential solar market. But by 2019 the market will be back to growth across the board.

Investors will want to stick to solar companies with solid balance sheets and technology differentiation. Long term, those are the companies that are going to win, even if it takes a few more years to sort out the industry’s winners and losers.

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The deep ties between Tesla and SolarCity’s boards of directors

SolarCity and Tesla Motors’ boards of directors are close. Critics say they are too close to be truly objective about Tesla’s $2.8 billion bid to buy SolarCity. A majority of SolarCity’s directors already have recused themselves from making decisions about the Tesla bid. So entangled are the ties between the two companies that SolarCity’s special […]

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