Tariffs Squeeze Utility-Scale Solar In Third Quarter Of 2018

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Ah. There it is.

After escaping several quarters largely unscathed by the insane Trump tariffs on solar, the Solar Energy Industries Association and Woods Mackenzie report that the third quarter of 2018 saw the 30% tariffs take a bite out of the utility-scale sector.

Though not unexpected, the slowdown hurt solar’s overall growth numbers and has Woods Mackenzie analysts predicting that 2018 will finish flat with year on year growth.

If most of us are being honest, we consider the solar industry a bit lucky that it hadn’t already felt the bite of the tariffs, though as we’ve reported, a massive slowdown in the Chinese market created a glut of solar modules that helped offset some of the damage for a while. But given the wailing and gnashing of teeth that occurred last year as the tariffs were under consideration, surviving two quarters without damage being felt seems like something of a small victory at least.

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For the first time since 2015, quarterly additions of utility-scale solar photovoltaics (PV) fell below 1 gigawatt (GW), highlighting the impact of the tariffs and the uncertainty surrounding them in late 2017 and early 2018. As a result, the U.S. solar market was down 15 percent year-over-year in the third quarter of the year, but the report notes that a strong project pipeline lies ahead.

“Developers originally planning to bring projects online in Q3 2018 were forced to push out completion dates to Q4 2018 or Q1 2019 due to uncertainty around tariffs,” said Colin Smith, Senior Analyst at Wood Mackenzie. “We did, however, see utility PV procurement outpace installations fourfold in Q3, showing that despite the tariffs causing project delays, there is substantial growth ahead for the U.S. utility PV sector.”

Even with the tariffs, the report forecasts 3.5 GW of utility PV for Q4 2018, and projects that the fourth quarter will be the largest quarter for utility PV installations since Q4 2016, as Wood Mackenzie expects many of the delayed projects to come online by the end of the year.

SEIA Welcomes Puerto Rico Into Affiliate Fold As Island Continues To Rebuild From Hurricane

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Lots of stories have been written in the past year about how solar energy has helped Puerto Rico come back from Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island’s electrical grid.

Whether it’s companies like sonnen or Sunnova installing solar electrical systems for island residents or solar-powered community centers becoming the hub for neighborhoods still waiting for power to come back on, solar power has taken on a central role in the slow comeback of the island to some sense of normalcy.

Often, this comeback has been slowed by inaction by their fellow citizens on the mainland and, in some cases, the plight of the island’s citizens has been completely forgotten as other tragedies and natural disasters seized the headlines. But the Solar Energy Industries Association hasn’t forgotten, and now it’s made it official – it will be working with the on-island solar energy group to make sure solar stays in the island’s energy spotlight.

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The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the national trade association of the U.S. solar industry, has announced that the Solar & Energy Storage Association of Puerto Rico (SESA-PR) is now an official SEIA affiliate.

“This partnership was a natural outgrowth following the solar industry’s response to last year’s devastating hurricanes,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA’s president and CEO. “By working together under one umbrella, we will be better able to coordinate resources and promote the vibrant growth of Puerto Rico’s solar market.”

“We formed SESA-PR to unite the solar industry’s disaster response efforts following Hurricanes Irma and Maria,” said SESA-PR’s Founder and President, PJ Wilson. “With SEIA’s national resources and our on-the-ground efforts, the Puerto Rico solar and storage markets are poised for rapid growth. SESA-PR works to ensure there’s effective public policy, jobs training and financing mechanisms in place to facilitate the ramp-up needed for rooftop, commercial, and utility scale solar installations.”

Today, according to the EIA, Puerto Rico is home to 278 megawatts (MW) of operating or soon-to-be operating solar capacity, approximately 1 percent of the island’s electric generation.

Puerto Rico lawmakers are currently considering a bill that would commit Puerto Rico to getting 100 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2050. The Puerto Rico Department of Housing is also requesting $400 million from the federal government to aid the growth of residential and small commercial solar systems with battery storage.

Q&A With Abigail Ross Hopper Of SEIA On Energy Storage And The ITC

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

The investment tax credit (ITC) has been one of the most successful methods for supporting solar development at the federal level for nearly the past decade. Under its provisions, solar consumers can take a 30% tax credit on their tax returns if they install solar electricity (though under a 2015 extension, the amount of the credit starts to go down starting in 2020.

As energy storage has become more of a factor in people’s decisions to go solar, however, there’s been a growing movement that would add energy storage projects into the ITC as a method of encouraging the growth of this ever more important market.

To that end, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), alongside a broad coalition of energy trade and advocacy organizations, sent a letter to Congress asking it to to modify the tax code to include energy storage as an eligible technology for the ITC.

SolarWakeup reached out to Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of SEIA to find out more.

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SolarWakeup (SWup): Why now?

Abigail Ross Hopper (ARH): Why not now? It is important for our grid, has strong bipartisan Congressional support and represents a big opportunity for clean energy, particularly solar. We know there is going to be tax legislation moving in the lame-duck session, and we think this is the perfect time to get this fix done.

SWUp: Is there a bill to do this already in the works?

ARH: The bill we’re urging Congress enact is the Energy Storage Tax Incentive and Deployment Act of 2017 (S. 1868/HR 4649).

SWup: What fix are you looking for specifically?

ARH: We are urging Congress to fix the investment tax credit in Sections 48 and 25D of the tax code to include energy storage as an eligible technology.

SWup: What do you think the chances of passage are?

ARH: We know from our visits with members from the top 100 solar districts that there is broad bipartisan support for applying the ITC to storage, and we believe it has a very good chance of still being included in legislation this year.

SWup: What impact do you think this would have on the solar industry going forward?

ARH: Many of our companies are storage companies too. This is a common-sense bill that will encourage investment, jobs and accelerated deployment of solar plus storage projects across the country. It’s a no-brainer.

SWup: Are you seeing situations where not having ITC eligibility is inhibiting deals from getting done?

ARH: Yes. For example, for utility-connected storage (Sec. 48) or community solar (Sec. 25D), where the storage technology is in front of the meter, the current requirement that 75% of the electricity comes from storage serves as a disincentive for investment in solar + storage. Eliminating this would make tax equity easier to obtain.

This would also allow retrofits to qualify, and currently they only do under very specific conditions.

SEIA’s Closing Argument To Nevada: Yes On Question 6

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

By the time you read this, polls will have already opened on the East Coast. It’s your opportunity to shape the country in which you live, so get out today and vote like your life depends on it.

In several states – Arizona and Nevada leap immediately to mind – clean energy is on the ballot. In both states, constitutional amendments are on the ballot that would raise the renewable portfolio standards (RPS) to 50% by 2030. Both amendments have been hard fought contests, with progressive billionaire Tom Steyer fighting hard against entrenched utility interests (especially in Arizona) to put the issue before the voters.

And one day before the vote, the Solar Energy Industries Association and Vote Solar (in the personages of Abigail Ross Hopper and Adam Browning) penned an op-ed urging Nevada voters to support Question 6, which is how the amendment appears on the ballot.

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The op-ed starts out with a strong clarion call, appealing to voters on both sides of the aisle:

Nevada families will head to the polls tomorrow and cast their ballots in a host of hotly contested races. But whether you’re a Republican, Democrat or Independent, there are two things all voters agree on: They want clean air and they want prosperity.

Clean air and prosperity. That’s a winning combination of issues. Instead of framing it as strictly a solar issue – on which there is still a divide between those who understand solar and those who have yet to learn about it – SEIA and Vote Solar decided instead to frame the issue as being a pocketbook and overall health issue. And that messaging, I must say, is brilliant.

I’ve been critical in the past of SEIA for what I saw as its difficulty in finding its political voice, particularly at the state level. But the more I see of the new, aggressive tone of the asssociation – and its increased willingness to fight for issues at the state level – the more impressed I’ve become.

More:

Yes on Question 6 Means Less Pollution, More Jobs