India's Solar Push Is A Drain On The Economy -- July 23, 2026

Locator: 51231INDIA.

Tag: India Solar Energy  

Anecdote: 

We live in a suburb of Dallas-Ft Worth, Texas. Our granddaughter has a very nice friend. Her mom is Indian, having immigrated to the US when she was 18 years old. She came alone and had no one in the US to help her when she arrived. She got a college degree in Michigan and found a job in tech. She works from home ever since Covid. She may or may not receive child support and alimony from her husband. 

About two years ago, she moved from an apartment to a McMansion in the same area as the apartment she moved out of. The McMansion has a swimming pool. A year later she bought a new car (ICE and previously owned). Right now she is spending a couple of weeks with her daughter at her lakeside home in Michigan.  

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Indian Solar Energy 

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Spectrum Cable Update

Spectrum cable is "out" (down, not working) in our area and has been "out" several hours. 

The company has alerted us that they will update us every three hours! I'm working off my cellular data which is much slower than my computer. So, bear with me. 

ERCOT capacity is well above demand, so it's not that. Unless, it's a regional thing. 

Update: Spectrum has now gone nine hours with no solution. Spectrum is still down. Updates are given every three hours. The next update is scheduled for 4:00 a.m. CT. Was it a cooling problem that caused this or did some foreign country hack into Spectrum?

Update, 3:50 a.m. CT: Spectrum has now gone twelve hours with no solution. Spectrum is still down. Updates are given every three hours. The next update is scheduled for 6:00 a.m. CT.  Maybe things are getting better. The updates had been provided every three hours. The next update is only two hours from now. 

One wonders if Spectrum will reimburse us 1/30 of the lost connection? LOL.

Renewable Energy -- July 5, 2026

Locator: 51116RENEWABLES.

The cost of renewables:

Solar Energy And Electricity Costs -- November 24, 2025

Locator: 49793SOLAR.

Link here. 

Electricity rates by state, link here, composite, all sectors (residential, commercial, industrial, transportation):

Most expensive (Hawaii is not included for obvious reasons): 

• California: 29.31 cents
• Connecticut: 26.83 cents 

Least expensive:

• Wyoming: 9.91 cents
• Idaho: 9.86 cents 
• Louisiana: 9.61 cents
• North Dakota: 8.42 cents

Despite subsidies, link here:

So, taxpayers high prices for electricity in California as usage of solar energy increases, and those same taxpayers pay to subsidize solar energy.

Narrative, California:

California's electricity costs have risen significantly over time, with rates increasing at a much faster pace than general inflation in recent years. 

Average residential rates grew by 47% between 2019 and 2023, and some customers experienced annual increases as high as 23%. 

These hikes are driven by factors like necessary grid upgrades and wildfire mitigation, and have outpaced general inflation since around 2020. 

Historical cost changes 2019-2023: 

• the average residential electricity rate increased by 47%, far outpacing inflation. 2001-2020: 
• the average commercial retail price of electricity increased by approximately 3.5% per year. 2018-2022: 
• one customer's electricity costs increased by 37% in just five years. 2020-2023: 
• California's electricity price inflation averaged 15.3% during this period, which was 271% higher than the general inflation rate. 

Not one mention of cost of electricity based on source: coal, natural gas, solar, wind. 

Oh-Oh -- Another Solar Energy Company Files For Bankruptcy -- Charles Kennedy -- The House Of Cards, Falling Faster Than Anyone Could Have Imagined -- June 9, 2025

Locator: 48728SOLAR.

From Charles Kennedy over at oilprice. Mosaic, home page. Wiki. A "national" company but headquartered in Oakland, California.

Look at this:

US residential solar financing has taken a sharp dive, with Mosaic, a top lender underwriting over $15?billion in home energy loans, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday.

Founded in 2010, Mosaic enabled rooftop solar, battery storage, and efficiency upgrades for over 500,000 homeowners, but was struck hard by rising interest rates, uncertainties around federal Sections 25D and 48E tax credits, and tighter capital conditions.

The company secured $45?million in debtor-in-possession financing, including $15?million in fresh capital, enabling Mosaic to continue operations and fulfill ongoing loan and construction commitments. Court filings also show motions to maintain payroll, vendor contracts, and complete installations caught mid-project, according to PV magazine.

Mosaic’s filing extends a troubling trend in solar finance. This week Sunnova, another major rooftop provider, also filed for Chapter 11, listing assets and liabilities between $10?billion and $50?billion, and laying off 55% of its workforce (~718 employees).

Both firms cited weakened demand, rising rates, rollback of subsidies in key markets like California, and policy uncertainty—including threats to solar tax credits.

Industry analysts warn that Mosaic’s collapse may slow new rooftop solar installations in 2025, undermining the 1.1?GWdc of residential PV added in Q1, already down 13% year-on-year.

Projects funded through other third-party models, like power-purchase agreements, may outlast bank-loan structures, but the disruption jeopardizes momentum for residential solar growth. 

The Big Beautiful Bill:

For energy markets, the broader takeaway is not optimistic because it is impossible to decouple solar demand from financing and regulation. As Washington debates tax-credit extensions, installers and financiers are vulnerable. The coming weeks are pivotal, with Congress potentially taking a firm stance on whether the residential solar boom remains intact or buckles under financial strain.

From earlier today:

Sunnova files for bankruptcy: link here. Add it to the list. Wiki.

• founded in Houston, 2012;
• solar panel installations, battery storage and repair serves to homeowners and businesses;
• nationwide footprint;
  
• share prices plunged  below $1 in March, 2025.
• traded for as much as $54 back in late January, 2021, but was down to $11 last summer and falling fast.

The Renewable Energy Story Is Driven By Ideology -- June 6, 2025

Locator: 48701RENEWABLEENERGY.

In response to the original post: link to this story.

A Japanese company has halted construction on a $1.6 billion factory in South Carolina to help make batteries for electric BMWs, citing “policy and market uncertainty.”

While Automotive Energy Supply Corp. didn't specify what those problems are, South Carolina's Republican governor said the company is dealing with the potential loss of federal tax breaks for electric vehicle buyers and incentives for EV businesses as well as tariff uncertainties from President Donald Trump's administration.

The South Carolina plant is supposed to sell battery cells to BMW, which is building its own battery assembly site near its giant auto plant in Greer. BMW said the construction pause by AESC doesn’t change its plans to open its plant in 2026.

AESC has already rolled back its South Carolina plans. They announced a second factory on the Florence site, but then said earlier this year that their first plant should be able to handle BMW's demand. That prompted South Carolina officials to withdraw $111 million in help they planned to provide.

I think there's more to the story. None of which has to do with Trump but Trump will get all the blame. 

For more on the BMW story, see this link.

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A Musical Interlude

Link here.

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Original Post

See this post.

So, two energy truisms:

• the AI story is an energy story;
• the renewable energy story is driven by ideology.

China took advantage of #2 and played America for thirty years.

From Barron's today: link here.

The “Big, Beautiful” Republican tax and spending bill is giving clean-energy companies fits. It ends tax credits early for things such as solar panels and battery factories, takes away support for electric vehicles, and will make wind turbines even harder to install.

But one section of the bill appears to be causing the most headaches of all—a new set of provisions that takes away tax credits if a project relies on China for any part of its clean-energy-supply chain. That could include components as small as wires or specialized screws, according to people in the industry and tax lawyers. The anti-China rules are “unworkable,” said Jim Murphy, CEO of leading renewable developer Invenergy, at a conference held by the American Council on Renewable Energy in New York this week. “They really close the door on any ability to do any broad deployment.” Invenergy is privately held, but other major renewable developers like NextEra Energy and AES are publicly traded.

China dominates the supply chain for almost all clean-energy products, from base molecules, such as rare earth minerals and polysilicon, to the finished products. That’s been a concern for lawmakers of both parties, with Republicans raising particularly loud alarms. Just this week, Republican Senators Rick Scott and Marsha Blackburn demanded an investigation into an anonymously sourced report that some Chinese solar components had been found to contain communications devices.

Those kinds of worries are why Republicans in the House of Representatives included language in the tax bill to deny credits for any equipment with connections to a “Foreign Entity of Concern,” which includes China. Those rules are now being debated in the Senate, and could change in the weeks ahead. Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, said that the provisions on China are “void of any understanding of just how these supply chains work,” though it’s not clear if he’ll force any changes.

On its face, the ban on Chinese material would seem to help U.S. clean-energy deployers and manufacturers. The U.S. has been trying to catch up to China in clean energy. The Inflation Reduction Act set aside $370 billion to support that effort. Renewable projects like solar farms can qualify for credits worth 30% or more of the value of the installation, and there are valuable subsidies for products made in domestic factories.

It’s starting to work. Today, U.S. factories make enough solar panels to fulfill much of the country’s demand for them. But there’s a very big hitch. The subcomponents of those panels are still made almost exclusively in China, which has spent more than a decade building up its supply chain. The same thing goes for the cells in batteries that go into electric vehicles and power-storage devices. On its latest earnings call, Tesla said it still relies on Chinese battery cells, though it’s trying to shift some manufacturing to the U.S. “We are in the process of commissioning equipment for the local manufacturing of LFP [lithium iron phosphate] battery cells in the U.S.,” Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja said.

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Amphibious Landings

Today: there were very few stories in mainstream media today regarding D-Day, June 6, 1944. 

When I was looking something up regarding D-Day, AI replied that the landings on the beaches of Normandy, France, was one of the largest amphibious assaults in history.

I was surprised ot see "one of the biggest." So I asked AI what was the largest amphibious assault in history. This time, AI, the same "source of AI," got it right, saying that the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, was the largest amphibious assault in history.

Quick! What was the second largest amphibious assault in history? The Battle of Okinawa.

What was the third? The Gallipoli Campaign.

Number four? The Invasion of the Philippines.

What was Operation Chromite? Number 5. The Inchon Landing, Korea.

Will the Taiwan Invasion be among the top 5?

Ivanpah -- Update -- May 4, 2025

Locator: 48586SOLAR.

This was reported back on February 5, 2025, but for some reason was in the news again this past week. Perhaps it was the Andy Hall article published in AS two days ago. Ivanpah really was an environmental disaster. Remember when CLR was fined for one dead migratory bird found in a waste oil pit? And I think they could have made it a criminal offense, but I've long since forgotten. Don't even get me started.

Beyond technical hurdles, Ivanpah also faced significant environmental concerns. While solar energy is generally considered clean, the plant’s intense light reflection created an unexpected hazard for wildlife. The glare from the mirrors attracted insects, which in turn drew birds into the concentrated solar beams, leading to thousands of avian fatalities annually.

Conservationists labeled Ivanpah a death trap for birds, with reports estimating that up to 6,000 birds per year were fatally scorched by the facility’s powerful solar flux.

However, the final blow to Ivanpah wasn’t its engineering or environmental impact—it was the rapid evolution of the solar market.

The rise of photovoltaic solar panels, which are cheaper to install and maintain, made Ivanpah’s solar thermal technology economically uncompetitive. Additionally, advancements in energy storage allowed photovoltaic systems to generate power even at night, eliminating one of Ivanpah’s key advantages.

As a result, Ivanpah is scheduled to shut down in 2026, marking the end of an ambitious but ultimately unsustainable project. Plans are already underway to develop new solar initiatives in the area, including the construction of a solar park to replace the facility.

Ivanpah to close two of three units well ahead of schedule.

For more on Ivanpah, search for "Ivanpah" on the blog. IYKYK.

This was from February 5, 2025:

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Solar

Ivanpah: not on my bingo card today. Scheduled to close in 2039 -- about fifteen years from now-- two of three solar farms are to be closed immediately and the operator is looking to close the third of three units. 

And this has nothing to do with any executive order by Trump. 

Even the Sierra Club didn't like this project. Abject failure. Solar farms are expected to last forever -- after all, they're cheap and the fuel source is free. Oil wells last longer than this. My hunch: the depreciation / tax credits expired. Time to initiate a new farm with new depreciation, tax credits, tax incentives, subsidies from US taxpayers. .

• click here for all blog posts in which Ivanpah was discussed over the past eleven years.
• this was from many years ago, about the time I was becoming quite bored with the whole subject:
• It appears we now have a poster child for solar farms: Ivanpah. See these links: 
• Ivanpah, the tortoises -- October 10, 2010
• Ivanpah -- February 13, 2014
• Ivanpah -- February 14, 2014 
• Ivanpah -- October 10, 2014
• Ivanpah -- November 11, 2014
• Ivanpah -- November 17, 2014
• Ivanpah -- November 24, 2014
• Ivanpah -- December 29, 2014
• Ivanpah -- October 19, 2015
• Ivanpah -- March 19, 2016 
• Ivanpah -- forbearance agreements are confidential -- March 30, 2016 
• Ivanpah -- feels the burn -- May 22, 2016 
• Ivanpah -- CFC fries 6,000 birds yearly -- September 2, 2016

Trump's Tariffs Are StartingTo Bite -- And Bite Hard -- April 29, 2029

Locator: 48555SOLAR.

By the way, before we get started, the elite universities are putting up a good front confronting Trump on the anti-semitism issue, but two things:

• a task force "from" Harvard -- a scathing report has just been released ("everyone" knew it was bad, but now we see how bad it was / it is);
  
• behind closed doors, the adage is, "don't ever try to take on an American president, any president"

It's been one hundred days.

And we move on.

Later

April 30, 2025: Equior, link at Reuters. Should have stayed in its lane, stayed with its core competency (oil).

Original Post

Link here.

First Solar, the country’s largest solar manufacturer, said that tariffs will significantly reduce revenue and earnings this year, sending the stock down 10% in after-hours trading.

First Solar missed Wall Street’s consensus expectation for the first quarter, reporting earnings of $1.95 a share versus the projection of $2.49 a share.

The company also revised guidance sharply lower. It said that tariffs could reduce its 2025 revenue from a range of $5.3 billion to $5.8 billion to a range of $4.5 billion to $5.5 billion. It reduced its earnings per share expectations from a range of $17 to $20 to a range of $12.50 to $17.50.

First Solar has several factories in the U.S., but also produces some of its solar film in India, Malaysia, and Vietnam, all of which are subject to new tariffs.

It plans to redirect its Indian supply to the domestic market in India, said CEO Mark Widmar. It may have to idle the factories in Malaysia and Vietnam.

Solar -- Texas -- Major Installation Hits Milestone -- April 11, 2025

Locator: 48458SOLAR.

Question not being asked: why this location? Yes, once electricity enters the grid it can go anywhere, but generally, it seems, projects provide electricity for local / regional consumption. LDC? ERCOT debacle some years ago? But solar not much good in the middle of winter. Permian expansion? Bottom line: ERCOT is an island. Electricity produced here, stays here. 

Everything's bigger in Texas: Electrek reports on a "vast 600 MW Texas solar farm." Link here. To put that in perspective, a typical nuclear reactor generates around 1,000 MW (1 gigawatt) of electricity. 

• developer: Vesper Energy
• project: Hornet Solar
• milestone: one million panels installed
  
• location: Swisher County, TX (never heard of it before)
• output: 600 MW, enough to power 160,000 typical homes
  
• Vesper's total investment in state of Texas: $45 billion -- that's with a "B"
• Vesper: for solar, currently ranked #2 in the US with 37 GW installed
• again, Vesper's total installed based: 37 GW; Hornet Solar, huge, will add 1.6% to Vesper's total solar output in US
  
• Vesper: for solar, will install 51 additional GW over the next five years
• will move Vesper into #1 when additional projects come on line
  
• tax revenue: will generate > $100 million in new tax revenue to Swisher County
• Swisher County: at the base of the Texas panhandle where the panhandle connects to the rest of Texas; five counties south of Oklahoma; we're talking remote.
• county population: 7,000
• county seat: Tulia, population 5,000
• I can't even imagine what 7,000 folks will do with $100 million annually, although the July, 1999, drug bust could provide some interesting commentary
• footprint: 1.36 modules covering more than six square miles
• a typical North Dakota township is six-mile square, or 36 square miles
• a typical North Dakota section contains 640 acres, and is one-square mile
• Hornet Solar: six "North Dakota" sections of land

Excited: when one steps back and looks at this objectively -- this is simply amazing! Huge project. All this electricity for this one state! One really gets the feeling that the US is on the cusp for a huge energy breakout. Except perhaps for Spain, western Europe has no land for such huge solar projects. Likewise, wind -- Europe doesn't have the space. But then Europe doesn't need more electricity; demand is falling. 

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Masters

After the first round, the cut looks like it will be +1 or less. Perhaps one under will be the cut. 

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Inflation Watch

Are you paying upwards of $6.99 for a Hallmark greeting card at your local supermarket?

Here, north Texas. $2.99 for two classy cards. Too bad first class stamps are up to 75 cents or thereabouts. I've lost track; using forever stamps bought some time ago.

Tell Me Again The Down Side Of Global Warming -- February 5, 2025

Locator: 48484SOLAR.

From NPR, link here:

North Texas: it approached 80°F today, but it will cool significantly to the high 60s tomorrow, but then we're going to be in the high 80s over the weekend, and possibly even hitting 90°F -- although I doubt it -- more likely 88°F will be the high. I'm lovin' it.

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Solar

Ivanpah: not on my bingo card today. Scheduled to close in 2039 -- about fifteen years from now-- two of three solar farms are to be closed immediately and the operator is looking to close the third of three units. 

And this has nothing to do with any executive order by Trump. 

Even the Sierra Club didn't like this project. Abject failure. Solar farms are expected to last forever -- after all, they're cheap and the fuel source is free. Oil wells last longer than this. My hunch: the depreciation / tax credits expired. Time to initiate a new farm with new depreciation, tax credits, tax incentives, subsidies from US taxpayers. .

• click here for all blog posts in which Ivanpah was discussed over the past eleven years.
• this was from many years ago, about the time I was becoming quite bored with the whole subject:
• It appears we now have a poster child for solar farms: Ivanpah. See these links: 
• Ivanpah, the tortoises -- October 10, 2010
• Ivanpah -- February 13, 2014
• Ivanpah -- February 14, 2014 
• Ivanpah -- October 10, 2014
• Ivanpah -- November 11, 2014
• Ivanpah -- November 17, 2014
• Ivanpah -- November 24, 2014
• Ivanpah -- December 29, 2014
• Ivanpah -- October 19, 2015
• Ivanpah -- March 19, 2016 
• Ivanpah -- forbearance agreements are confidential -- March 30, 2016 
• Ivanpah -- feels the burn -- May 22, 2016 
• Ivanpah -- CFC fries 6,000 birds yearly -- September 2, 2016
• Ivanpah -- to shut down 15 years early -- February 5, 2025.
  

Global Climate Change Economy Teeters -- January 30, 2025

Locator: 48443GREEN.

Global climate change economy teeters: Bloomberg link here.  

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For The Archives

Link here.

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For The Archives

Link here.

I flew with the 525 TFS, Bitburg Air Base, Germany, from 1984 - 1986, and again, from 1989 - 1993, also Bitburg AB, Germany. My primary a/c was the F-15. 

 In the photo below, the F-15 is the second a/c from the POV of the aircrew member pictured.

The 525 TFS mascot: an English bulldog, or "the bulldog."

Link here.

Solar On Edge -- Now It's Europe -- August 27, 2024

Locator: 48464SOLAR.

Link here.

SunPower -- August 20, 2024

Locator: 48481SOLAR.

Link here. 

I really don't care about this any more, but it's a great graph, and great for the archives.

The Renewable Energy Narrative Continues; SunPower Files For Bankruptcy -- Add Another Log To The Fire -- August 6, 2024

Locator: 48345SOLAR.

The sun didn't come up for a lot of these companies this morning. My hunch: most of these failed CEOs are now lobbyists for the industry.

We're seeing it in both solar and EVs: when the "subsidies" go away, EVs and solar energy fail.

Link here.

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Put Another Log On The Fire

 Link here.

Does anyone remember this list?

This is the new list. I assume there are further updates or companies I missed. The bankruptcy updates are incomplete; I ran out of time updating all the companies that went bankrupt. I'll probably come back to complete the list later.

• Tonopah Solar Energy LLC / Solar Reserve ($737 million) -- added July 30, 2020; 
• Evergreen Solar ( Lost $25 million) -- bankrupt
• SpectraWatt ( Lost $500,000)
• Solyndra ( Lost $535 million) -- bankrupt
  
• Beacon Power ( Lost $43 million) -- bankrupt
• Nevada Geothermal ( Lost $98.5 million)
• SunPower ( Lost $1.2 billion) -- files for bankruptcy -- August 6, 2024; is this the second time?
  
• First Solar ( Lost $1.46 billion)
• Babcock and Brown ( Lost $178 million)
• EnerDel’s subsidiary Ener1 ( Lost $118.5 million) -- filed for bankruptcy -- January 26, 2012
• Amonix ( Lost $5.9 million) -- filed for bankruptcy -- July 21, 2012
• Fisker Automotive ( Lost $529 million) -- file for bankruptcy -- June 18, 2024
  
• Abound Solar ( Lost $400 million)
• A123 Systems ( Lost $279 million) -- filed for bankruptcy -- October 16, 2012
  
• Willard and Kelsey Solar Group ( Lost $700,981)
• Johnson Controls ( Lost $299 million)
• Brightsource ( Lost $1.6 billion)
• ECOtality ( Lost $126.2 million) -- filed for bankruptcy -- September 16, 2013
  
• Raser Technologies ( Lost $33 million)
• Energy Conversion Devices ( Lost $13.3 million)
• Mountain Plaza, Inc. ( Lost $2 million)
• Olsen’s Crop Service and Olsen’s Mills Acquisition Company ( Lost $10 million)
• Range Fuels ( Lost $80 million) -- filed for bankruptcy -- December 2011
  
• Thompson River Power ( Lost $6.5 million) -- filed for bankruptcy -- July 17, 2012
• Stirling Energy Systems ( Lost $7 million) -- filed for bankruptcy -- September 29, 2011
  
• Azure Dynamics ( Lost $5.4 million) -- bankrupt
• GreenVolts ( Lost $500,000) -- filed for bankruptcy -- August 8, 2023
  
• Vestas ( Lost $50 million) -- wind -- still "viable" as of 2024
  
• LG Chem’s subsidiary Compact Power ( Lost $151 million)
• Nordic Windpower ( Lost $16 million) -- filed for bankruptcy -- October 2012
• Navistar ( Lost $39 million) -- narrowly avoided bankruptcy when bought
  
• Satcon ( Lost $3 million) -- filed for bankruptcy -- October 17, 2012
• Konarka Technologies Inc. ( Lost $20 million)
• Mascoma Corp. ( Lost $100 million)

Here we go: the complete list. I believe this is for one the past 18 months -- calendar year 2023 and through 2024 so far.

The solar industry experienced exponential growth over the last decade as costs fell and favorable policies helped drive mass adoption.

However, 2023 has brought immense challenges, with higher interest rates, tighter financing, and adverse policy shifts in key states contributing to over 100 solar bankruptcies based on our industry data, a number unseen before in our almost 20 years in the solar sector.

California was particularly hard hit due to new net metering rules under NEM 3.0 that radically reduced system economics. These adverse state policy impacts exacerbated financing shifts, triggering plummeting demand and an 80% decrease in rooftop solar installation volume.

The California Solar & Storage Association reports that the fallout includes thousands of stalled projects, over 17,000 industry layoffs, and a wave of high-profile bankruptcies. While stronger players demonstrate some resilience, impacted homeowners and solar employees face prolonged uncertainty. The outright collapse of many once fast-growing solar firms provides a sobering case study on the potential unintended consequences of incentive transitions.

Solar Trust of America, LLC: link here.

California Regulators, Community Solar, And Public Utilities -- Whoo-Hoo! May 31, 2024

Locator: 48014SOLAR. 

Before we get started: Jim Cramer mentioned Katie Ledecky on his show tonight. Katie Ledecky is an ambassador for Gap Stores.

Now back to this:

ERCOT --Wind Will Be The Limiting Factor Later This Evening -- May 26, 2024

Locator: 47182ERCOT.

Link here. 

Generally speaking, as the sun goes down in Texas, the wind picks up, providing the extra "kick" needed to meet demand going into the evening. Tonight, it looks like wind could be a limiting factor. Texas electricity demand won't exceed supply but cost will be exorbitant as the spread narrows in the early evening.

Major Advances In Battery Technology And Improving Financials Make Renewable Energy A No-Brainer -- May 5, 2024

Locator: 47069RENEWABLES.

Link here.

INFLATION WATCH -- Solar Energy = Waste -- Electricity -- April 11, 2024

Locator: 46977ELECTRICITY.

This post begins a deep dive into the electricity grid.

Before we get started, three previous posts that were quite remarkable:

• the Obama legacy;
• why folks like renewable energy;
• electric rates surge in New Hampshire.

This post, today, below, is not ready for prime time. But I think folks can connect the dots.

For some reason, the issue of "US solar energy" is trending over at twitter.

It may have begun with this, which is being reported everywhere. Easy to find links, this is one:

Look at those percents in growth: 4.7%; 21%; 25%.

But wow, talk about misinformation. The solar crowd is crowing about the huge increase in US solar-generated electricity capacity / generation, as seen here -- one of the few sites that posts this information.

Here's the reality, from the EIA itself. Consumption is important, not production. US solar-energy-generated electricity consumption: 14% x 13% = 0.0182 = 1.8%.

Bottom line:

• solar crowd is crowing about capacity / generation; what's important is consumption.

And what makes that so important is TwainsMoustach observation. Link here.

Ben makes this observation:

Everything Everywhere All At Once -- Shell Sells Solar By The Seashore -- March 3, 2024

Locator: 46667SOLAR.

Link here. 

This one has been in the queue a long time. I didn't know if it was worth posting. 

It probably isn't worth posting ... except a reminder ...

The story:

Solar Energy -- Heat -- July 30, 2023

Locator: 45249SOLAR.

Amazing maps. Link here. Sunshine duration in hours per year:

Wind? We will see the same thing with regard to wind, but the metrics will have to figured a bit differently.

Say what? Link here.

But it's gonna get cooler. Link here.

Wind, Solar "Saved" Texas Yesterday But At What Cost! Today Will Be Closer And Way More Expensive -- June 20, 2023

Locator: 44978ERCOT.

Yesterday: the grid held. Folks already forget that yesterday was a holiday. Today, no holiday and it's going to be worse.

Today: 

• it's going to be much closer and it's going to be four times as expensive --
• yesterday, at peak: rates of $500 / MW forecast
• today, at peak, rates of $2,500 / MW forecast 
• Texans voting for "free energy" -- wind and solar -- truly duped

 

 

Pet peeve, and almost criminal, certainly poor, if not unethical journalism:

• local weather forecasters crowing that the grid held, but failing to show "us" the cost for that "miracle," and one completely dependent on wind and sun.