Volume 2, Issue 8
November 21, 2016 – November 28, 2016
Jason Mulderrig | Anushka Dasgupta | Devorah Saffern

Throwbacks:
Renewable Energy Grows in an Unlikely Place: The Sunny Mideast                                                                                                                                                                                                 http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/03/business/energy-environment/renewable-energy-grows-in-an-unlikely-place-the-sunny-mideast.html?ref=energy-environment 
November 3, 2016 | Beth Gardiner                                                                                                                  In parts of the Middle East – particularly in Jordan, the UAE, and Iran – a small but noticeable movement to solar power is taking place. Solar power development is starting to take place in earnest in the Middle East for a few reasons. First, the cost for solar energy panels has dropped significantly in the past few years, and has reached a point where Middle Eastern countries can look favorably on solar energy production from an economic standpoint. Second, solar energy can provide a means for energy independence for Middle Eastern countries who do not produce all of their oil needs. Third, the electricity produced by solar can replace electricity produced by oil, which can allow oil to be sold as export instead of kept in the country for electricity production. However, obstacles do remain to these initiatives in other parts of the Middle East, such as massive subsidization of electricity from fossil fuels, and government interference with investment and utility control. -JPM

FERC Proposes to Open Up Wholesale Markets for Energy Storage and Aggregation                                                                                                                                                                                             https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/ferc-proposes-to-open-up-wholesale-markets-for-energy-storage
November 18, 2016 | Julian Spector                                                                                                                    The FERC proposed a rule earlier this month to require each regional transmission organization and independent system operator to create clear rules for how energy storage systems can participate in wholesale markets. If passed, these rules could expand the potential and scope of the energy storage industry since the rules that have been defined for energy storage today only exist in a few regions today, such as California. The rules could also ease and accelerate the installation process of energy storage systems to the grid. These proposals now enter a 60 day revision period before deliberations about the proposal commence once more. -JPM