Solar and storage venture capital and finance roundup
Plus a bunch of investments in carbon capture.
Ikea invests more in solar by the day
The Swedish furniture giant has announced it will be turning one of its Australian superstores into its first 100% renewably-powered solar + storage retail project. Australia is also home to the company’s first expansion of its retail solar offering, Solstråle.
Morning Brief: Making sure Black communities have access to solar power
Also in the brief: Project development galore from EDF, Pine Gate, Silver Creek, Idemitsu, and Origis Energy.
Job Moves: Amazon, DOE, Alphabet, Pattern Energy, SolarEdge, Recurrent, Brookfield, Southern Power, RMI
Executive moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities and energy VC
Morning Brief: NERA anti-net metering petition update, renewables top nuclear and coal again
“Reports indicate that the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, the Heartland Institute and NERA all have ties to the Koch brothers, who have funded climate denial and pro-fossil fuel campaigns for roughly three decades.”
Funding for solar inspection by drone, long-duration energy storage, and software for utilities
A roundup of recent funding in renewable energy and cleantech: Quidnet, DroneBase, Eos Energy, Urjanet, and Clir Renewables.
Morning Brief: Oil-rich Norway finds carbon capture too expensive, House’s $1.5T infrastructure bill packed with pro-solar provisions
Also in the brief: largest operational battery in the U.S., more futile carbon capture and more landfill solar
PV module prices are falling faster than all predictions
New research from Wood Mackenzie shows that overall system costs for installations using mono PERC modules are set to fall by as much as 20% by 2025.
Southeast states to add nearly 15 GW of solar by 2023
South Carolina is set to surpass North Carolina in solar watts per customer. Georgia and Florida will exceed the Southeast average, while utilities in Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi will continue to lag. Overall the states will reach 5% solar generation by 2023.
House’s $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill packed with pro-solar, pro-storage provisions
In addition to making the stand-alone energy storage investment tax credit (ITC) eligible and extending a 30% solar ITC through 2025, the House bill creates a direct pay mechanism that can be used in lieu of the ITC.
