Another indicator of solar going mainstream SolarCity is offering another $70.2 million in asset-backed notes. Late last year, SolarCity executed on a solar financing milestone and offered a private placement of $54.4 million of an “aggregate principal amount of Solar Asset Backed Notes, Series 2013-1.” That was one of the first times securitization was employed… Keep reading →
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said he will deposit his salary in a shady bank targeted by western sanctions. The bank deals a lot with the Kremlin and Russian energy businesses, including Gazprom. “Little has been known about Bank Rossiya, which has risen to become the country’s 15th largest bank by assets last year from 54th… Keep reading →
When it comes to protecting the environment and fighting climate change, California has always been a first mover. Now the state is boldly acting to unleash a new market that saves energy, cuts pollution, and drastically increases clean energy investment for California’s residents. Last week, California approved a $10 million reserve that will revive the Property… Keep reading →
Quick Take: CNBC is out with a loooooonnnnnngggg article about the “dirty clean energy battle.” In it, NRG Energy CEO David Crane calls utilities “shockingly stupid.” Now you could certainly call utility CEOs (as a group) conservative or slow-to-react or even timid. But they’re not stupid. Crane and others like him often complain bitterly about… Keep reading →
The energy industry – oil & gas sector in particular – is bracing itself for a massive wave of retirements over the short to medium term, which has been dubbed “The Great Shift Change.” As the industry prepares for this turnover, companies are looking to the next generation of candidates with skills ranging from finance,… Keep reading →
These days, a $40 million dollar equity financing deal might not seem groundbreaking in America’s power markets. But for the keen analyst of distributed solar energy, that same investment may just herald a shift toward the future of project financing. Count our team among the latter after John Hancock Life Insurance announced it would partner… Keep reading →
A Solar Foundation report shows U.S. solar industry jobs increased by 19.9 percent, 10 times faster than overall job growth. On January 27, 2014, the Solar Foundation (TSF), a non-profit research organization, released the 2013 National Solar Jobs Census, its fourth annual report on U.S. solar industry employment and projected growth. The report shows the… Keep reading →
The changing utility business model in the face of distributed generation market acceptance is a major theme so far in 2014, and Google’s Nest acquisition is a clear signpost on this transitional landscape. It’s becoming increasingly clear that to lead the way in the new power generation and delivery space, utilities need to decide whether… Keep reading →
The energy industry – oil & gas sector in particular – is bracing itself for a massive wave of retirements over the short to medium term, which has been dubbed “The Great Shift Change.” As the industry prepares for this turnover, companies are looking to the next generation of candidates with skills ranging from finance,… Keep reading →
Conservative republicans are not known for favoring renewable energy, but some of them are speaking out against plans to charge customers for putting solar panels on their houses. Utilities argue that as more people generate their own electricity – often with solar – utilities have less money to maintain power grid reliability. This issue is… Keep reading →
