A deal for Florida. Last year, voters in Florida overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment that reduced tax barriers for those that install solar. The Senate sponsor moved a clean bill while the House added industry oversight and consumer protection language to the bill. Some of the language was copied verbatim from Florida Power & Light. Now there is a deal that shows some of the issues Florida solar is dealing with. Vote Solar, SEIA and SACE have come out in favor of the deal but it seems that FlaSEIA is not happy. Somewhat protectionist, you can see some of the quotes from FlaSEIA President about overnight solar companies.
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No soup for you. As we imagined, ARPA-E and other innovation funding channels are being put on hold. More newsworthy is the delaying of funding allocations for projects that were already approved and put into the budget in FY16. ARPA-E and programs like SunShot do the work that private sector won’t and anyone that has received money from them will tell you that it is very tightly managed. I hope the Secretary Perry is able to come through with his statements to the SEIA board and do right by the industry.
Make sure you listen to the latest episodes of EnergyWakeup. I speak with Tony Clifford about being acquired by Gaz Metro and his work at SEIA. Google is now at 100% renewables, how do they do it and what is next? Sam Arons talks to SolarWakeup.
VC are you with me? I vividly remember Abe Yokell speaking at one of my first conferences in the 2008/2009 timeframe and the crazy notion that he wanted 10x returns on his money. Now he is out with a new fund, having raised $50million to pursue more cleantech. I applaud him for sticking to the industry with a bit of jealousy given that I would absolutely love to do the same. I speak with many of you about your ideas and visions for the market. While not all have the ability to get big, so many of them could be if they are nurtured and helped along their way. Solar will not have a photo app exit but it very well could yield the 10x returns that investors look for.
- Palm Beach Post: House, Senate move closer on implementation of solar Amendment 4
- Think Progress: The Energy Department is reportedly denying funds for already-approved grants
- PV-Tech: SEIA – Rick Perry isn’t targeting wind and solar
- Greentech Media: After a Near-Death Experience, Early-Stage Cleantech Investing Shows Signs of Life
- PV-Magazine: SDG&E signs contracts for 83.5 MW more battery storage
- Solar Industry: NRG Commissions Utility-Scale Solar Project For Cisco In California
- Utility Dive: The new all-of-the above: HECO looks to wind, solar and beyond for 100% renewables mandate
- Arizona Central: Utilities experiment with big batteries in Phoenix to tackle one of solar’s major problems
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann