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Solar – it’s barely scratched surface of $2 trillion market
SunPower, the US solar giant, says module costs continue to fall sharply, battery storage will be economical “very shortly”, and it’s about to move into the energy management business. And it says, solar has “barely scratched” the $2 trillion global electricity market. No wonder the utilities have hit the panic button.24 -
Utilities want higher charges to shade business model from solar
Utilities release a new report that suggests non solar households are paying $30 a year to cross-subsidise rooftop solar. That’s less than one tenth of the cross-subsidy on air-conditioning. But air-con is good for the utilities business, rooftop solar is not. -
Rooftop solar eats away at network business models
Australian network operators say growing penetration of rooftop solar is cutting volumes, but its revenues are up because it can charge more to its customers. Can anyone see where this is headed? Network operators no longer have a licence to print money. Even market analysts have a sell recommendation. -
ARENA plans new mechanisms as funding cut, deferred
ARENA has suffered a 5 pct cut in funds, and had a further $370 million in funding deferred. However, the agency says the “reprofiling” may suit its investment plans, as it considers tariff support and contracts for difference to augment one off grants. And it is about to launch a new $400 million off-grid and remote renewables investment program. -
Muddle-headed wombats bury their heads on climate policy
The investment world might be taking greater notice of the global ‘carbon budget’ – issuing warnings about capital risk on investments with a clouded future – but as the world’s atmospheric CO2 levels sail past 400 parts per million, Australia’s politicians plough on regardless. -
Rooftop solar owners vs utilities – the battle begins
As utilities in Australia and the US act to protect their business models against the growing impact of rooftop solar and other technologies, new alliances are being formed to protect the rights of solar customers. The “democratisation” of electricity is putting centralised production in direct competition with their consumers.
