Below are the key takeaways from the week in solar, grid edge, energy storage, and other energy news.
Solar News
73 Gigawatts
The GTM Research forecast for cumulative global solar installations by the end of 2016. This week, GTM Research explores five trends that will shape the global market through the end of the year. (story)
42 States
The number of U.S. states that enacted regulation related to distributed solar in Q2 2016. Fixed-charge increases were the most common, while demand-charge proposals were surprisingly rare. (story)
22%
The percentage of a solar-plus-storage system's cost provided as a credit under Germany's current incentive regime. GTM Research analysts expect the German solar-plus-storage market to grow elevenfold through 2021. (story)
19,328 Residential Solar Installations
The number of new residential installations in Germany that were coupled with government-supported storage in 2015, roughly 41 percent of new solar installations last year. Favorable tariffs are now positioning German storage developers for explosive growth in the market's C&I solar-plus-storage segment as well. (story)
$1.1 Billion
The value of the all-cash transaction to take Trina Solar off the New York Stock Exchange. Trina, which went public a decade ago, will merge with Fortune Solar Holdings and Red Viburnum. (story)
16.6% Efficiency
First Solar's lead-line module efficiency at the end of Q2 2016. Eric Wesoff details the company's revenue and guidance from this week's earnings call. (story)
50% Cost Reduction
Enphase Energy's targeted cost reduction over the next two years for its microinverter. A 50% reduction in cost would put the product on par with string inverters at 10 cents per watt. (story)
Grid Edge News
$2.6 Billion
The value of the Tesla-SolarCity all-stock acquisition approved this week by Tesla's independent board members. (story)
81.6 Megawatts
The demand response capacity awarded by California's three large investor-owned utilities late last week as part of the state's Demand Response Auction Mechanism. EnerNOC was a winner at the auction, coming away with 50 megawatts of commercial capacity. (story)
$18.4 Billion
The amount NextEra Energy will pay to acquire Energy Future Holdings, which has an 80 percent stake in Texas utility Oncor. NextEra beat out other interested parties, including Berkshire Hathaway, Edison International, Hunt Consolidated and Fidelity Investments. (story)
66 Pages
The number of pages in NARUC's draft manual on DER compensation, drafted last week at the association's annual convention. Julia Pyper highlights key findings from the 66-page manual. (story)
10- to 20-Year PPAs
The go-to model for corporate renewables procurement based on the assumption that wholesale energy costs will continue to rise. This week, Clare Magee of MP2 Energy argues that this PPA model for corporate energy procurement is outdated, and companies ought to look to near-term agreements that take into account how on-site and community renewables can provide value back to wholesale markets. (story)
Energy Storage News
$170 Million
The announced investment by battery manufacturer Samsung SDI and inverter manufacturer Sungrow in a joint venture to access new storage development opportunities. This week, Jason Deign asks whether this first-of-a-kind storage alliance will produce meaningful results for both companies. (story)
14X
The rate of growth in the U.S. C&I energy storage market from 2013 to 2015. Recently, residential energy storage developer Sonnen and utility-scale developer Greensmith launched C&I storage solutions to address the fast-growing segment. (story)
300 to 400 Megawatts
The estimated energy storage target that could become a mandate in Massachusetts. The recently passed bill is on Governor Charlie Baker's desk for executive approval. (story)
$2.5 Million
The latest round of funding for thermal energy storage startup Axiom Energy. The company will use the investment to bring its refrigeration battery solution to supermarket customers. (story)
$100 Million
The amount raised by flow battery start-up Imergy to commercialize a long-duration energy storage solution. Last week, Imergy became insolvent, laying off its staff and selling its assets. (story)
Other Energy
185 Companies
The number of cleantech startups evaluated in terms of their VC outcome in a new report from experts at the Council on Foreign Relations, Clean Energy Trust, and the MIT Sloan School of Management. This week, two of those experts join Stephen Lacey and Shayle Kann for a lively debate on the merits of the cleantech VC model. (story)
