What It Takes, To Win. I had the incredible pleasure of spending the day with more than 200 solar professionals and the world class leaders from CALSSA in Sacramento yesterday. The annual ‘Solar In The Capitol’ lobby day allows groups of 6 to meet with legislators, including the members that represent the companies and individuals. Legislators thanked us for coming and helping them as they push for solar policy, the in person lobbying is irreplaceable and there should have been a thousand of us. I can’t thank Bernadette Del Chiaro and her team enough. There would be no solar industry in California without them and CALSSA and now I had the pleasure to see their work up close and personal. If you are not a member, join by clicking here.
Taking The Case To WTO. In a move that surprises nobody, China is taking the US to the WTO to review the tariffs imposed during the 201 case. It is important to note at this point that Suniva is no longer operational and SolarWorld USA is under contract to be acquired by SunPower. Don’t expect much to happen but its a process.
Free Markets. Subisidies. Sitting with republicans to talk about solar often starts with a comment about subsidies and that the free market should choose the technologies. That is complete and utter bullshit and now Rick Perry breaks down why the free markets in energy are really not free markets. Quite the contrary, energy markets are advantaged to the incumbent monopolies against competition and new technologies.
Storage Is Inevitable. In our lobby day, we spoke up for SB 700, the CA bill that would extend the SGIP program for 5 years. After the PG&E announcement to build over 1.5GWh of storage and the solar industry’s move to include storage in more systems, the future of energy storage is unstoppable.
- New York Times: California Today – A Move to Mandate 100% Carbon-Free Electricity
- SolarWakeup: China To The United States – Two Can Play At That Game, Files WTO Complaint About Tariffs
- Vox: Rick Perry tells the truth about energy subsidies, contradicting his boss
- Utility Dive: PG&E’s landmark energy storage projects snagged by pushback
- CBS: Solar Energy Becoming Increasingly Popular In Florida As Homeowners Save Money On Power Bill
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Battery firm Axion files for bankruptcy
- SolarWakeup: German Company To Build Cutting-Edge Solar Module Recycling Plant
- The Southern Illinoisan: Northern Illinois residents sign petitions to oppose solar farms
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann