Below are the key takeaways from the week in solar, grid edge, and other energy news.
Solar News
15 Gigawatts
The capacity of U.S. solar installations in 2016. GTM Research and SEIA released the total installations figure this week. GTM's SVP of Research, Shayle Kann, gives us an insider's look at how the U.S. achieved record growth last year. (story)
Shayle then sat down with Stephen Lacey for The Interchange podcast and gives us a detailed primer on where the U.S. solar market is headed. (story)
PURPA
We have a lot to say about PURPA this week. First, PURPA was a key driver in the record utility-scale growth that the U.S. saw in 2016. Shayle Kann talks about PURPA's impact in this week's Interchange episode. You can read the transcript if you prefer not to listen to the podcast episode. (story)
We also reported on utility-developer battles over PURPA contract lengths and rates in certain U.S. states. (story)
And finally, we ask whether a federally-mandated elimination of PURPA is the biggest threat to the solar industry. (story)
$15 Million
The amount paid by Mitsui to acquire SunEdison's commercial solar team. Mitsui plans to use the acquisition to help build out a C&I energy platform offering. (story)
66 Employees
The number of employees that residential solar installer Sungevity laid off last month at its Oakland headquarters. The company has been twisting in the wind since it announced last month that a planned reverse merger with shell company Easterly Corporation fell through. (story)
1.3 Gigawatts to 1.6 Gigawatts
SunPower's guidance on 2017 deployments. Eric Wesoff scrutinizes the company's year-end 2016 earnings call this week. (story)
$2.8 billion to $2.9 billion
First Solar's 2017 revenue guidance. First Solar also announced better-than-expected Q4 2016 revenue and new module production on this week's earnings call. (story)
2 Watts per Square Foot
The solar capacity to real estate square footage ratio now required by the city of Lancaster, California for all new homes in the municipality, so that new homes can meet 100 percent of their energy needs from solar. (story)
$26.99 per Megawatt-Hour
The auction price last September for solar PV in the northern Mexican state of San Luis Potosí. This week, we look at how solar is winning renewables auctions across Mexico as bid prices continue to fall. (story)
Grid Edge News
5,000 Tesla Model 3s per Week
The forecasted production rate for Tesla's Model 3 by Q4 2017. Elon Musk gave shareholders an update on the Model 3 this week on the company's earnings call. (story)
$137 Billion
The value of a leaked list of infrastructure projects that are part of proposed stimulus plan by the Trump White House. The list includes a few energy projects. This week, Jeff St. John looks at how the next big burst of U.S. smart grid investment could emerge from today's volatile political climate. (story)
210 Megawatt-Hours per Year
The forecasted commercial and industrial storage capacity that will be installed per year by 2021 in the U.K. and Germany, according to new research. (story)
48-Volt, 10-Kilowatt-Hour Flow Battery
The specs for Redflow's zinc-bromine battery. The company is positioning its product to compete with lithium-ion solutions to provide backup power to Asia's telecom and communications market. (story)
25.5 Million Network Endpoints
The number of endpoints delivered in 2016 by Silver Spring Networks. Jeff St. John sat in on the company's year-end 2016 earnings call this week and reports back. (story)
$1.64 Billion
Landis+Gyr's forecasted revenue for the fiscal year ending in March 2017, up from $1.57 billion in 2015. (story)
$12 Million
The investment by ABB Technology Ventures this week in DERMS technology provider Enbala. (story)
Other Energy News
14 Times
The number of times that Scott Pruitt sued the EPA as the Oklahoma Attorney General. Therefore, the U.S Senate confirmed Pruitt to head the EPA last week. (story)
2 Dukes
Julian Spector tells the story of two Dukes -- Energy and University -- and their effort to build a CHP plant on the university's campus with resistance from local clean energy advocates. (story)
$326.1 Million
The cumulative investment in cleantech companies in Eric Wesoff's VC roundup. (story)
