Solar Power Investor

BayWa AG continues to add to it's smart energy platform through the acquisition of Kaiserwetter's , , and divisons.

Will be interesting to see how rolls out to their 9GW portfolio of renewable energy assets including , and .

BayWa Continues to Invest in Smart Energy Technology BayWa r.e. has bolstered its data services capabilities by acquiring software platforms and information science teams from German company Kaiserwetter. The renewables developer has acquired Kaiserwetter’s IoT, Asset Intelligence, and Data Science divisions and their ARISTOTELES and IRIS software p...

Highview Power just raised another $70M for its energy storage tech, at first seemed suspect until we saw the $300M project backlog and tier one investors lining up - Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Janus Continental Group and .

Excited to see what they do.

Highview Raises another $70M for battery tech with an impressive backlog Highview Power, a leader in long-duration energy storage solutions, has closed its Growth Capital round of financing with more than $70 million, bringing the total amount of funding and grants the company has procured to date to more than $145 million.

Solar Power Investor updated their address.

NovaSource Power Services merges with to create a powerhouse in North American Solar O&M market. What and other can learn from TSX: CVG

Any other roll-ups you all are watching right now?

NovaSource and SST merge, building a powerhouse in solar O&M Clairvest's Novasource acquired SST in a smart play to roll-up North American O&M, what private equity and solar companies can learn from the deal.

African Rainbow Energy acquires 40% of The SOLA Group in deal that will strengthen the company's balance sheet and drive growth in

https://solarpowerinvestor.com/areps-acquisition-of-sola-group-will-have-a-lasting-impact-on-south-africa/

AREP’s acquisition of SOLA group will have a lasting impact on South Africa African Rainbow Energy and Power (AREP) has acquired strategic position in the SOLA Group in a move that will give significant investment to finance additional growth. The firms joined forces in the end of 2020, with AREP obtaining a 40% stake of SOLA Energy and becoming the largest individual share...

getting into the space. Smart, and inevitable...

from Barron's, Avi Salzman good article. Solar Power Investor

https://www.barrons.com/articles/tesla-is-shaking-up-one-of-the-hottest-areas-in-solar-power-51611338105

Tesla Is Shaking Up One of the Hottest Areas in Solar Power Shares of companies that produce inverters—devices that allow power from solar panels to be connected to the grid—have fallen. Now, analysts are assessing the outlook.

Thought-provoking piece from Slate.com on bringing access to solar for low-income communities. The numbers seem to make sense...

The Biden Administration Should Spend $5 Billion to Bring Solar Energy to Low-Income Communities The government leverage its investments in solar and wind to advance economic security and energy justice for disadvantaged communities.

Solar Power Investor runs down the happening in the industry. Opportunity for investors and operators to grow, sell or innovate.

Consolidating the US Residential Solar Installer Market Tactical Advice for Companies, Strategics, and Financial Investors: Executive Summary The US residential solar installation industry is fragmented with over 6,000 solar installers in the US. Mega-mergers like Sunrun & Vivint are signaling a significant opportunity for financial and strategic inv...

Good article by The New York Times taking a close look at economics of solar installer industry.

Other installers out there seeing the same thing?

Home Solar Is Growing, but Big Installers Are Still Losing Money Some companies are having trouble surviving and making money installing panels because of intense competition and the high costs of doing business.

was one of the top-performing sectors of 2020 as investors gained confidence in the ability of cleantech to capture market value.

Globally, funded over 100 related companies in 2020. The US accounted for about 33% of these deals.

Backing by the most influential US VCs provides early-stage solar companies with a stamp of approval and a smoother road to future .

Early-stage solar companies should aim to raise capital from five firms in particular.

City Light Capital, Congruent Ventures, Evergy

The 5 most influential VC funds investing in solar in 2020 2020 was a strong year for solar and the renewables/sustainability landscape at large. New technologies, business models, and market dynamics pushed the industry to a height.

Highly interested in the future with Perovskite tech. Swift Solar and a number of others have raised significant capital based on the tech.

Courtesy of OurEden

The Next Generation of Solar Energy | Perovskite Solar Cells Perovskite solar cells are a remarkably cheap solar cell technology and have achieved remarkable growth since their inception a decade ago, sharply increasin...

Peck Company growing with the recent acquisition of iSun Energy and subsequent $10.5M direct offering. Anyone have additional thought on the Company's game plan?

https://solarpowerinvestor.com/peck-company-to-acquire-2m-ev-maker-isun-and-issues-a-10-5m-direct-offering/

Peck Company to Acquire $2M EV-maker iSun and Issues a $10.5M Direct Offering iSun with $2M near-term revenue commitments but significant IP and 30-40% project gross margin could make for an interesting combination. Details below.

stocks jump as Georgia election results lift hopes for a agenda in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

SunPower up 15%,
Enphase Energy up 10%,
Jinko Solar up 6%,
SunWorks up 14%

Solar stocks jump as Georgia election results lift hopes for a green energy agenda in Democrat-controlled Senate Solar stocks are up broadly as Georgia's election results put green policies at the forefront for the new administration.

The batteries that could make fossil fuels obsolete.

Interesting article from BBC News, we have been focused on pairing residential solar + storage, but looking at the impact of utility grade battery storage is important.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20201217-renewable-power-the-worlds-largest-battery

The batteries that could make fossil fuels obsolete The advent of "big battery" technology addresses a key challenge for green energy – the intermittency of wind and solar.

Good article from Bloomberg NEF discussing + as the new norm.

"The attach rates are going from 20% to as high as 40% or 50% depending on the region you’re in. And so we’re not too far away from thinking of solar and storage simultaneously."

https://about.bnef.com/blog/batteries-in-solar-installations-becoming-the-new-norm-qa/

Batteries in Solar Installations Becoming the New Norm: Q&A | BloombergNEF Pairing batteries with solar in residential applications is quickly becoming the norm in the U.S., particularly in California, SunPower Corp. CEO Tom Werner said.

Hannon Armstrong and Clearway Energy ink close to $1B deal, bringing , , to Hawaii, California, Texas and West Virginia.

These two working together is interesting to see, Clearway is one of the U.S.' largest developers with $13B in assets.

Hannon has been innovative in their financing structure and metrics including their as a feature to measure impact.

https://solarpowerinvestor.com/hannon-armstrong-and-clearway-ink-950m-solar-wind-and-storage-deal/

This one flew under the radar (in our humble opinion), but funds advised by Energy Infrastructure Partner acquired 49% of BayWa r.e. Solar Energy Systems PL, BayWa AG r.e. renewable energy GmbH for $640M.

This is a strong move as they continue to establish themselves as an independent power producer and force to be reckoned with.

Link to article in comments here:

https://solarpowerinvestor.com/baywa-sells-stake-to-energy-infrastructure-partners/

Suprise, Suprise, a Joe Biden Win would most likely be Boon for the Industry.

What do you see as the most positive steps a new administration could take to further the growth of solar energy?

our take on it here:

https://solarpowerinvestor.com/what-does-biden-win-mean-for-solar-energy/

nice job Swift Solar!

https://solarpowerinvestor.com/swift-solar-raises-8m-pv-perovskite-technology/

Swift Solar raises $8M from all-star cast for PV Perovskite Technology Swift Solar raises $8M from all-star cast for PV Perovskite Technology. With Perovskite being one of the most exciting advances in solar tech, a long list of some of the smartest tech and financial investors are participating

This is amazing,

"The researchers developed a “metal-organic framework” that consists of metal ions webbed together into three-dimensional structures. Special molecules loaded into the pores of these frameworks are able to absorb UV light and can change their shape when light or heat is applied."

Futurism

https://futurism.com/the-byte/researchers-solar-energy-storage

Researchers debut whole new type of solar energy storage "The material functions a bit like phase change materials, which are used to supply heat in hand warmers."

"The price of solar electricity has dropped 89% in 10 years"

Compelling article from Fast Company and Kristin touissant covering the effective cost of .

"Comparing the price of electricity from new power plants in 2009 and 2019, one graph shows how the price of solar photovoltaic power (from solar panels) plummets from $359 per megawatt hour to $40, the cheapest of any of the power options on the chart and an 89% decrease. "

Well done!

https://www.fastcompany.com/90583426/the-price-of-solar-electricity-has-dropped-89-in-10-years

Solar Power Investor