World’s largest residential virtual power plant coming from Alphabet-backed SIP and OhmConnect
Like Airbnb, but monetizing spare energy: “The first big step towards opening the door to a massively transactive grid.”
The unglamorous approach to impact investing in energy
In the fashionable world of “impact” investing, often the least sexy investment makes the most impact; nowhere is this truer than in the energy sector
Morning Brief: Energy transition SPAC spreadsheet, Ørsted goes big on solar, Tesla’s lack of diversity
Also in the brief: Tesla’s first-ever Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Impact report shows the Elon Musk-helmed EV pioneer’s U.S. leadership is 83% male, and 59% white. Joe Biden weighs the 25% China import tariff, Some Cadillac dealers choose not to invest in an EV future.
Michigan’s solar industry awaits order in Consumers Energy’s rate case
After Consumers Energy raised its net metering cap as a bargaining chip, some advocates see a Value of Solar study as a way to ensure that the rates that have allowed the state’s small-scale solar market to flourish remain in place.
Illinois regulators restore retail-rate net metering
The Illinois Commerce Commission says no to Ameren’s claim it had reached a 5% cap for retail-rate net metering in its service territory, siding with advocates who figured the real percentage was around 1.4%,
SPAC, the final frontier: QuantumScape raises $680M for advanced EV batteries, TJ Rodgers raises $200M in SPAC IPOs, plus EVs galore and Stem
Once sort of disreputable, the SPAC is now a “financial innovation” and a “funding mechanism for ambitious companies who are in the midst of a growth phase-change,” in the eyes of some investors. Here’s a roundup.
Morning Brief: Joe Biden weighs the 25% China import tariff, plus the chart of the day
Also in the brief: Loanpal closes largest residential solar securitization to date, and a model for solar-plus-storage assets.
Moody’s gives US utility issuers a transition risk wake-up call
The credit rating agency’s new CTA scores will inform Moody’s analysts, bankers and investors’ thinking about the risks and opportunities that will shape the revenues, costs and capital deployment in the U.S. power sector.
Venture capital funding in solar, storage and energy intelligence sees a year-end surge
At least a dozen energy transition startups are getting their start during the pandemic holiday season.
The first phase of Li-Cycle’s lithium-ion battery recycling hub is complete
The company’s second ‘Spoke’ facility has been completed in Rochester New York and is set to feed 5,000 tons of spent lithium-ion batteries per year to the company’s nearby processing facility, set to open in 2022.
