CPV RETAIL BLOG

June 20, 2024

Renewable Energy has come a long way from the 1970’s when solar panels and wind turbines were harnessing electric energy for folks wanting to live off of the land and off the grid. Long gone are the solar panels that President Carter installed on the White House in 1979 in response to the 70’s oil crisis.

TRENDS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY ADOPTION

Renewable Energy has come a long way from the 1970’s when solar panels and wind turbines were harnessing electric energy for folks wanting to live off of the land and off the grid. Long gone are the solar panels that President Carter installed on the White House in 1979 in response to the 70’s oil crisis.

Fast forward to 2024 and the world of renewables is in a very different place. We are seeing large scale investments in all types of renewable energy from the widely held view that we are facing a global decarbonization challenge and that many technologies and approaches are and need to be in play. According to Bloomberg nearly $1.8 B in 2023 was invested in the clean energy transition and those investments are continuing to grow to an anticipated $5.7B by 2030.

What is accounting for these changes in attitude and investment?

Technology is getting cheaper and is more efficient. In 1975 global solar pricing was over $125.00/ Watt in 2023 it is $0.26/ Watt.

  • Deployment and development is at a scale where economies of size matter for utility sized wind and solar farms. Wind turbine technology and size creates more opportunity to produce more energy on the same land.
  • On-site deployment for commercial and residential installations are now including no cost options where 3rd party developers and financiers can create long term PPA (Power Purchase Agreements) where business and homeowners no longer need to deploy their own capital and receive the benefit of clean cost-effective energy and hedge against peak demand charges from utilities.
  • On-site storage and new battery technologies have seen costs come down allowing the owner to use all of the energy produced on site. Smart building technology on site storage and two-way charging systems allow our cars and commercial fleets to be mobile storage options for clean power when not in demand without putting that power back on the grid creating more value for the owner.
  • Organizations are making ESG and sustainability commitments to reduce emissions and the climate impact related to their operational footprints. While largely voluntary companies, organizations are disclosing their impacts through CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) and SBTi (Science Based Targets Initiative) goals.
  • Mandatory carbon disclosure is emerging in a pending SEC ruling and CA SBs 253 and 261 and the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) and requiring that organizations disclose to investors and other stakeholders the climate risks associated with their operations and value chains.

While it can be difficult to navigate all the options from your organization, a good place to start is with a trusted supply side electricity partner who can discuss the regional options and pricing for renewable electricity in your state.

Our CPV Retail team is ready to help you reach your goals. Through our affiliation with Competitive Power Ventures (CPV), a well-established developer, owner, and operator of highly efficient, low-emitting electric and renewable generation projects across the US including the PJM territory CPV Retail is your go-to trusted advisor to explore all your options and find the right set of renewable energy solutions for your organization. Let’s explore those options together, contact us.

PJM Regulatory Review

PJM Regulatory Review

  • The US Senate has finally confirmed three new FERC Commissioners giving the esteemed body a full complement of 5 for the first time in a long while.

  • PJM’s “Deactivation Enhancement Senior Task Force” is working diligently to analyze and refine proposals in preparation for a final vote.

  • Four key states in PJM (Maryland, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and New Jersey) communicated unambiguously to the PJM Board about the importance of engagement with all the states on long-term transmission planning.

  • PJM has made available to the public a brochure that outlines PJM’s Regional Transmission Expansion Plan (RTEP) and its importance in meeting future grid requirements.

Market Drivers

Energy Market Update

  • Natural gas prices for the Jule NYMEX contract made another run back up to $3.15/MMBTU after a hot forecast was published only to attract more sellers. Heat is here and cash prices remain weak, but storage balances should start to tighten again.

  • Mountain Valley Pipeline finally was able to initiate service this week after almost 10 years and over $7 billion in construction costs. It remains to be seen what the overall impact will be and how local gas supplies will be reallocated based on economics.

  • Oil prices have rebounded quickly from the recent sell-off caused by bearish demand forecasts and look to be well-supported at $80/BBL. Showing confidence in the future of oil motivated Berkshire to add to its holding in Occidental Petroleum which is now up to almost 30%.

  • The heat wave along the eastern seaboard pushed PJM’s load forecast above 150 GW with many consecutive days above 140 GW.

  • The impact of Artificial Intelligence and Data Centers continues to be the topic du jour as large corporate buyers struggle to obtain enough de-carbonized power and the power demand growth forecasts continue to increase.

  • Global LNG demand remains robust as heat in Asia sparked a lot of spot buying and supplies tightened reducing deliveries into Europe thus supporting prices around $11/MMBTU.

  • PJM’s load forecast for this upcoming heat wave has demand reaching up to 150,000 MW for this Friday.

Forward Pricing

Renewable Energy