This is your SolarWakeup for September 3rd, 2020

Duke’s IRP. Duke filed their IRP and gave regulators a menu of options to choose from but in many ways is telling the story that they want to tell. The way it reads to me is this, let us build more gas, stop our coal plants when we want and we’ll do some solar and storage along the way. Less gas and closed coal means big expensive options for consumers is the headline that the utility wants to see in the news. Good thing for consumers and the solar market is that solar advocates are becoming experts in IRP dockets. This is the opening salvo, watch this space for more updates along the way. I even heard rumors that advocates are doing a special website to cover this.

A Regulators View On CA. Former FERC commissioner, Cheryl LaFleur, breaks down the energy situation in California in 5 categories. This is a macro view of the problem without delving into some of the micro issues that have riled up energy twitter or when Trump talks about the topic. The counterpoint comes from Sunrun’s Lynn Jurich on the impact resi solar can have.

The Fallout. This is the decision we have to make in this decade. Solve the problems on our grid with more resilient infrastructure close to the demand or leave generation in place that has already reached the end of its useful life. Microgrids versus capacity contract extensions, that’s the argument in a nutshell.

Benefits Of Retail Energy. Here is what happens when you combine Peter Thiel, bitcoin, data center, heat wave, no wind and competitive power markets. A bitcoin mine back by Thiel in Texas had a clause in their retail energy contract that let it sell back their energy by powering down their consumption and reap the benefits from the trade. Funny story of the day.

The Savings Commence. Yesterday, an installer saved over $10,000 buying modules through the Buyer’s Group, it costs you money not taking a look and calculating your savings. If you’re curious about our price list, hit reply or take the price discovery.

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