Author Archives: Frank Andorka

The Energy Show: Utility Power Plant Economics

The Energy Show: By Barry Cinnamon

We have all seen those big power plants outside cities that provide power — historically from coal, oil and nuclear and now more recently, natural gas. These utility power plants have served us well for over a century. But technology is passing them by. These old central generation power plants are obsolete. They are more expensive than power generated by wind, solar and energy storage. Even some of the newest gas peaker plants under construction are destined to be obsolete within a decade. New power generating technologies – solar, wind, battery storage, distributed energy resources, virtual power plants, etc. — are steadily improving in terms of cost, duration and reliability.

Unfortunately, commercial and residential electricity customers are saddled with the costs of existing power plants, even ones that have been installed recently. Utilities pass their costs of power generation, transmission and distribution directly to ratepayers. Moreover, utilities are guaranteed a 10% profit based on their net assets. Although they do indeed care about reliability and safety, utilities actually make more money when they own a lot of assets (higher profits) and charge high prices for power (higher revenues).

These new clean, inexpensive power generation and storage technologies are turning the utility industry upside down. Commercial and residential customers can essentially purchase their own power plants for less money than utility-provided power. Listen up to this week’s Energy Show as we review the deteriorating economics of utility-based power plants, as well as the implications these new technologies are having on consumers throughout the United States.

Developer Launches Community Solar Subscriber Management Software

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

As community solar continues to grow – and it is one of the fastest-growing segments of the solar industry – it’s becoming increasingly necessary to figure out how to manage subscriber accounts. But the question is this: Where can community solar array owners find the software necessary to do just that?

Well, one developer out of Denver is looking to answer the question.

Pivot Energy today announced it has launched SunCentral, a white-labeled community solar customer management cloud platform. The service was designed to improve the customer experience for community solar subscribers, and optimize the customer management process for project owners, operators, and developers.

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“We saw a critical need in the marketplace for a community solar customer management software that is customer focused, offers a variety of flexible solutions, and is priced right,” said Pivot CEO, Rick Hunter. “When we realized that it did not exist, we built it. As project developers ourselves, we understand the cost model of the community solar businesses, and are able to offer our platform at a cost that our clients can afford, while also bridging the gap between highly technical and customer friendly platforms.”

SunCentral provides project owners, operators, and utilities a unique platform to manage community solar subscriptions, while also allowing subscribers to easily access information. Some of the features include seamless bill payments, energy production monitoring, access to contracts, photos of solar projects, downloadable financial reports, ability to view capacity and availability in multiple projects, data sharing directly with utilities, and more. Pivot will sell the platform to other owner/operators as either a stand-alone cloud application, or an application combined with fully-staffed customer management services.

“We are seeing the community solar market maturing and companies becoming more sophisticated very quickly,” noted Hunter. “Our software provides flexibility that helps our customers simplify every step of the process – whether they have several offtakers or hundreds, it connects them transparently to each project.”

Community solar is the fastest growing segment of the solar industry, with recent research indicating that the community solar market will add as much as 3 GW nationally in the next few years, up from 1.2 GW currently. For instance, in Colorado, a single MW can power up to 164 homes, with 3 GW powering up to 500,000 homes.

With a soft launch having occurred in September, SunCentral is already serving operators and customers in Colorado, with expansion to other markets in progress. The platform is expected to gain significant market share in 2019.

Could 100% RPS Become The New Standard In Up To Six States?

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Managing Editor Yann Brandt has done a masterful job since the midterm elections of highlighting the victories clean energy advocates won around the country, and he has rightly suggested that the momentum for clean energy is becoming more overwhelming every day (except in places like Arizona, which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever).

But an article from the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank, suggest the news might be even better than even Yann and I think it was.

In the article, writer Christy Goldfuss highlights six new governors who campaigned strongly on dealing with climate change and won election. That’s not even the most exciting part, however. What’s most exciting to me is that three of those governors have pledged to work toward a 100% clean energy transition between 2030 and 2050 in their states. Currently, only two states (California and Hawaii) have 100% goals – but if the governors Goldfuss highlights stick to their pledges, that may not be the case for long.

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J.B. Pritzker, who won election in Illinois, comes into a good situation already. With the Future Energy Jobs Act already on the books and strong actions by the state’s energy agency already to carve out a solar future, a 100% goal is certainly within reach. And with a new Democratic legislature in place, expect Pritzker to succeed in his goals. Here’s hoping, anyway.

Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan’s newly minted governor elect, spent her campaign talking about setting up an Office of Climate Change to examine the effects of climate change on her state (something we need in my home state of Ohio, too) and has committed to a 100% clean energy transition as well. With utilities that have moved in the direction of shedding their coal generation by 2040, the state appears to be on the path to clean energy as well.

Finally, Tony Evers, who unseated longstanding Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, has pledged to join the U.S. Climate Alliance, which is a group of states committed to upholding as many tenets of the Paris Climate Accords as possible. He, too, has committed to transitioning the state to 100% clean energy. From my perspective, he has the most uphill battle of any of the new governors. But given Wisconsin’s progressive past, I’m confident he’ll make it work.

There’s other good climate-related news in the article, too, but this post is getting too long. Go read Goldfuss’ piece. You’ll be glad you did.

More:

6 New Governors Who Will Lead the Way on Climate Action

Consolidation Comes To Energy Storage Market As NantEnergy Buys Sharp Properties

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

For those of us who love the solar industry, storage is the next frontier. If we can figure out how to marry solar + storage, then the rest of the market opens up and mass adoption arrives in a big green wave.

But much like the solar module manufacturing segment of the industry, there are too many battery manufacturers out there in the market. To allow companies to make money and thrive – meaning keeping innovation and breakthrough ideas alive – consolidation is a critical part of that equation.

So when a company like NantEnergy, which currently focuses on zinc-air batteries, purchases the lithium-ion technology arm of Sharp Electronics, some of us sign with relief and suggest that this kind of consolidation will actually move the industry forward rather than make it take a step back.

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What makes me even more sanguine about this purchase is that NantEnergy appears to be keeping the entire staff of Sharp’s Energy System and Services Group on board, including its founder Carl Mansfield, who will join NantEnergy as a vice president. In other words, they have decided not to pretend they have all the answers and recognize that there is intelligence and innovation to be found in places other than within their insular four walls.

Mansfield himself recognizes the importance of this approach, too. He’s quoted in the release as saying this:

“The SmartStorage team continually aims to make energy storage accessible, affordable and simple for our customers, guaranteeing that performance will be delivered,” Carl Mansfield said. “NantEnergy’s proven technologies will enable us to offer new SmartStorage products and expanded capabilities in the future. I have ultimate confidence in the direction and promise of SmartStorage and NantEnergy, and I look forward to working with a leadership team that shares my passion for growing and innovating in the energy storage market.”

I have great hopes for this consolidation not only to work, but to thrive because NantEnergy isn’t trying to put its own stamp on what had already been a successful business venture. Here’s hoping they give Mansfield the autonomy necessary to continue growing this side of the business so all of us in the solar industry, including NantEnergy, can benefit from his expertise.