Surfing the next investment wave
In October 2022, European gas prices went negative. While negative price events can be expected periodically, the occurrence was remarkable, as it was preceeded by record highs only months earlier as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Energy demand destruction, businesses and households reducing their gas consumption and unusually warm temperatures played a role, […]
Rising costs increase risk
The Invesco Solar ETF, an exchange-traded fund that tracks the MAC Global Solar Energy Index, underperformed relative to the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial in October. Roth Capital’s Jesse Pichel attributes this to fear over cost increases, and a surge in the broader markets.
Supply security through solar-wind hybrids
Energy supply stability dominates political and public discourse these days. Although there is broad consensus that we have to complete the transformation to a carbon-free energy supply within the next few decades, there is still some debate about how to get there. Solar and wind are thought too erratic to serve as a foundation for 100% supply security. And because electrochemical power storage systems are far too expensive and will never be powerful enough, anyway, many still dream of a future built on hydrogen or a breakthrough in nuclear fusion. But these scenarios are not without their insurmountable hurdles, according to Martin Schachinger and Volkmar Tetzlaff.
The green hydrogen prize
IHS Markit Senior Research Analyst Jason Sheridan looks at the potential pitfalls of an energy carrier that could generate almost $420 billion of investment in renewables this decade.
POE’s gloomy outlook
With global industries of all kinds assailed by stories of supply chain shortage, InfoLink analyst Derek Zhao considers what the rise of TOPCon will mean for supplies of polyolefin elastomer (POE) resin, which is preferred over more commonly used ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) as an encapsulant for the new, higher-efficiency PV cells.
Could your town host a gigafab?
With landmark legislation set to devote billions of dollars to develop a clean energy supply chain for the United States, developers will be busy poring over maps to decide where the first green jobs will land. CEA’s Mark Hagedorn looks at the qualities that make for the perfect gigafactory site.
Leveraging IRA leadership
The US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is a profound step in advancing climate leadership, despite coming from a deeply divided nation. Now is the time to show that the landmark policy could lead to progress and profits where the country is not divided, such as overseas engagement and climate leadership, argue David Williams and Daniel Kammen of the University of California, Berkeley.
Key takeaways from RE+ Anaheim
RE+ brought together a record 27,000 people at this year’s renewable energy conference and trade show. The event was marked with a feeling of invigoration, as new policies are launching what the industry is calling the “Solar + Decade.”
Meet the new boss
While the Italian solar industry was waiting nervously to learn the make-up of the new Italian government, Sergio Matalucci surveyed industry insiders to discover their hopes and fears.
A game of risk
The rising popularity of “baseload” power purchase agreements (PPAs) has posed questions to solar electricity suppliers in the German market. How can projects that do not generate at night, with wide seasonal output variation, effectively supply constant power to consumers? More importantly, who shoulders the price risk?
