Do You Vote Solar? Last evening some of the biggest solar supporters came together to celebrate Vote Solar and the entire team of passionate solar advocates. There are few teams that have done so much, so quietly to advance our market. We had some fun talking about past victories that are the foundation of solar markets across the Country. So I raise my glass for a toast for Vote Solar and all solar advocates that do the policy work that allows installers to sell solar to homeowners and creates the market that creates my job. Without the policies that enable our market, most of us would be doing other work.
Reality Of Nuclear. Every few months there seems to be a nuclear should make a comeback for the sake of fighting climate change. This storyline seems a bit tired given that it’s been used for years. It is ingrained in so many higher education institutions and think tanks studying the issue. I understand the argument but the political reality is that nobody looking to fight climate change is leaning in on nuclear. I will hear from some of you that the portfolio has to include nuclear but I am here to tell you that the market has moved on. One small pet peeve, calling renewables ‘buoyed by subsidies’ while arguing for nuclear is laughable. Without early cost recovery and government subsidized insurance, water and waste, nuclear would be non-existent.
Has COP Lost The Luster? COP24 has started and if I wasn’t following the Solar Impulse team on social media, I wouldn’t know. First, it’s in Poland which hasn’t exactly been the leader in climate policy. Second, without the US leading the marketing of it in the US media, it seems to be lacking any coverage at all. As an aside, various forms of renewables shouldn’t put other forms down in order to gain an edge, there are plenty of antagonists to focus on.
Green New Deal et al. New leaders in Congress have surprised me with the pedestal that the green new deal has been placed on as one of the signature areas of focus going into the new Congress. Ocasio-Cortez, who is humanizing the role of member of Congress in a great way, has been actively pushing for co-sponsors and ignoring the ‘freshmen members stay quiet’ status quo. I look forward to speaking with co-sponsors of the bill and understand how the pivot from macro, big idea like green new deal can leverage the political power that solar has within the voting public.
- Axios: As climate change worsens, America faces nuclear closures
- CleanTechnica: COP24 Off To A Rocky Start As Previous Leaders Call For “Unequivocal Message”
- Think Progress: Ocasio-Cortez joins activists in raising concerns about naming Manchin to ranking energy position
- Solar Industry: More Solar To Bring Stanford University To 100% Clean Power
- Greentech Media: Rule Change Would Imperil UK Commercial Storage Market
- GreenBiz: 5 climate stories to watch for 2019
- SolarWakeup: Commercial Solar Starts To Thrive in Wisconsin
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann