A funny thing happened this year that hasn’t happened for a very long time. I am not talking about Leicester City winning the Premier League or the Cleveland Cavaliers knocking off the heavily favored Golden State Warriors. I am not even talking about the U.S. Women’s...
Stagnant load stinks If you're a regulated utility in the United States, stagnant or declining load stinks. Policies like decoupling help a little, but like any other business, no utility really wants to face the economics of declining use of their product. If one...
You can’t go anywhere these days without hearing about the price of oil. While in past years that often meant oil prices were skyrocketing, today, oil is threatening to hit 20-year lows (in inflation adjusted dollars). Right now, oil demand is so low, and supply is so...
In 2015, our most popular blog posts tracked closely with our overarching goal of “powering intelligent energy decisions.” Whether it’s behind-the-meter solar forecasts, tools for engaging consumers about their energy options, or understanding the ins and outs of new...
For all the talk of utility death spirals, a single graph from GTM Research’s Shayle Kann, presented at the recent Solar Electric Power Association’s (SEPA) annual Utility Solar Conference (USC), should give U.S. utilities significant comfort that residential solar...
The Solar Electric Power Association’s (SEPA) annual Utility Solar Conference (USC) is the premier utility solar conference in the United States, and the in-depth discussions between utility and industry leaders can be counted on to portend where solar is heading. At...
As everyone recovers from their New Year’s Eve festivities, shakes off the cobwebs and gets back to work, it’s time for our annual look at trends and predictions for the coming year. Who knows if we’ll be right, but it’s always fun to prognosticate. Here are the three...
The double title really says it all about the relationship between the solar industry and utilities. Are utilities a force for good, or do they represent the “dark side” when it comes to solar? In reality, the solar industry needs utilities. Utility-scale solar relies...
The New Year is a natural time to take stock of what was and what is to come. This month, we’ll highlight the solar trends we anticipate emerging over the course of 2014. We start today with 2014 solar trends episode 1: The phantom meter. Of course, the battle over...