BREAKING NEWS:
Jobs increasing in renewable energy.
Decreasing in fossil fuel sector.
(Yep, that was sarcasm.) The latest IRENA numbers show 8.1 million renewable energy jobs globally in 2015 vs. 7.7 million in 2014, with an estimate of 24 million by 2030. In contrast, low oil and gas prices have led to a 26% decrease in jobs over roughly the last two years in the US. Boy, I see why those "job creation" proponents are so anti-solar.
Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) 2.0:
Powerful and flawed
The RPS policies in the 29 states that account for 55% of all US electricity sales have been responsible for 60% of all solar installations since 2000. But they create problems: Without concern for time of peak generation, excess renewable kwh can be self-canabalizing and impair revenue, while contributing to (perceived) grid instability at very high penetrations. Arizona is exploring new RPS tied to time of day production, which could address these two challenges and open the door for more energy storage integration. Thanks to GTM for great data.
ENERGY STORAGE | ELECTRIC VEHICLES
$100M fund targets solar + storage: Will NOT focus on US or EU
Go where others are not. This can be good advice, and it's related to Sonnedix co-founder Franck Constant's new open fund concept: Mostly solar finance, but up to 20% of the capital to invest in storage, with a focus on "blue ocean" markets such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Korea, Taiwan, South Africa and Kenya. Read more from Energy Storage News.
EV chargers and utility behemoths:
To fund, or not to fund?
Utilities could unleash immense amounts of cheap capital to fund and own EV charging stations. They have tons of motivation, given that EVs are perhaps their only saving grace re: energy demand growth. But 800-pound gorillas tend to take up a lot of space. Hence, worries by EV charging leaders like ChargePoint that are concerned about unfair competition. Recent developments in PG&E's California territory may offer a hybrid in only allowing the utility to invest $130M. Check out Utility Dive's deep dive on this story.
PRODUCTIVITY | TIPS | TRIVIA
My boy Tim Ferriss has done it again:
NEW BOOK — Tools of Titans
As loyal "Two-Bullet Tuesday" readers, you'll know that we're big fans of the irreverent and insightful productivity and business guru, Tim Ferriss. (He was part of the inspiration for this newsletter.) If you listen to his podcast, the #1 most popular business podcast, you'll expect great gleanings in his new book, Tools of Titans, based on his interviews with leaders in business, martial arts, meditation, medicine, and general overachievement.
Quit wasting your time:
Seriously, do something that matters, would you?
