This is your SolarWakeup for August 31st, 2020

Solar Market Survey.  Last day to Take The Survey Make sure that your situation is part of the poll. You can hear the results on the market update call tomorrow morning at 10am, register for that here.

NEM 3.0 In Your Inbox. The CPUC Is taking up net metering in a new docket. This isn’t a surprise but kicks off the yearlong fight over solar’s role in the California grid. Utilities are already pushing phone op-eds and arguments while the value of DG has never been great and more apparent in the State hammed by wildfires and grid issues. Stay tuned for more on this as the year moves on.

The C&I Riddle. In this week’s podcast I talk with the CEO of Catalyst Power, a returning guest to SolarWakeup. Catalyst is backed by BP Energy Partners and is taking their knowledge of retail energy for C&I customers and adding solar and on-site generation to their offering. By combining retail energy services with onsite generation, Catalyst says they can finance more projects more efficiently, hedging their risk while maximizing value to the building owner.

Maine Is For Solar. The infrastructure team at the Carlyle group is in for a 100MW+ project in Maine. Latitudes in Maine can reach the northernmost in the continental US and be north of Montreal. We are reaching a geographic saturation when it comes to where you can develop solar. Someone do the analysis for me on Alaska, what would a QF contract have to look to make that happen?

DG Value Stacking. This publication has written about the real reason we think net metering is the right way to make solar work for homeowners, it’s not the rate it’s the simplicity. In reality, if distributed solar and storage were able to capture and/or participate in value creation in dynamic markets, rooftop solar would actually generate far more than it does under net metering. For every cost the grid assumes for hosting dg solar, it generates twice the value that is neither counter or monetized. It took many years for solar to get to this cost standpoint but now that the cost is below other generation, a free market that prices all the layers is ideal for the industry.

Big EV Times Two. CPUC approves a half of a billion for EV infrastructure and Amazon order 1,800 electric vans from Mercedes. We’re done with pilot programs?

Do You Shop Green? You work in solar, and while we all have a different level of sustainability in our personal lives, do you reward the businesses you purchase goods and services from if they show green behavior? Do you pay more for sustainable practices voluntarily? I’m interested in your take in this.

Sell More Solar with CollectiveSun. My friends at CollectiveSun know Nonprofits. They know that Nonprofits are looking for three things when going solar: a simple and user friendly process, the ability to utilize tax benefits, and access to funding that doesn’t break the bank. CollectiveSun can help you give them all that and more. These days, more than ever, Nonprofits are looking to lower their operating expenses. CollectiveSun will help you generate more sales and will work with you to become the go-to solar installer for Nonprofits. Click here to learn more about working with CollectiveSun.

Opinion

Best, Yann