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A Solar Unicorn. Aurora Solar has raised $250million in their series C, with a self proclaimed unicorn status indicating a valuation over $1bb.
Inside McCarthy’s Mind. Gina McCarthy knows the executive branch well, having led the EPA under Obama and now the domestic climate leader for Biden. Who are the allies and the foes in the fight against climate change? Axios meets with McCarthy to get a better understanding.
A Trillion Dollar Opportunity. $5.2trillion to be exact. Building out infrastructure isn’t a function of cost but an opportunity for capital to make a return. From new transmission to residential solar plus storage, it’s an integrated system that will not only save or make money but also function better than the century old version we have now.
Offshore Gold Rush. The offshore wind market requires big balance sheets, at risk capital in the billions and patience. While the projects may not be built until the second half of this decade, the rush to build that NTP pipeline is clearly happening now.
AB 1139 Heads To Floor. The dubbed utility profit grab bill has massive ramifications for solar in California and across the Country. While the NEM 3.0 process is going through the CPUC process, AB 1139 has been moving through the committee process in the assembly. For those that aren’t tracking, this has the ability to affect not only the NEM 3.0 but also existing installations in NEM 1 and 2.
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7 To 10 Days. On the Sunday shows and heading into the weekend, the infrastructure bill made headlines again. Biden lowered the price tag of his proposal by $500mm, mostly by eliminating GOP priorities in the bill, in order to get GOP back to the table and negotiate in earnest. The White House, through Cedric Richmond, said there was no big rush on the pushing the bill into reconciliation which Senator Sanders threatened. On the other hand, Missouri’s Roy Blunt said that the bill would need to find agreement in the next 7 to 10 days. Wait and see who does what and who makes the next move, though it appears that a $400bb reauthorization for surface transportation has bipartisan support in the committee as of late last night.
A Federal RPS. The climate crisis certainly needs bold policies like a federal RPS, which if it comes in a ‘well-designed policy’ is supported by EEI, the utility trade association. Show me 60 votes in the Senate that would allow a federal reach into state regulations and I’ll bite into the feasibility of this. In reality, an EPA driven carbon and methane reduction from power plants is the only way to back into the result sought in the RPS.
Governmentwide Review. Biden unveiled an executive order which pushes Deese (National Economic Council) and McCarthy (domestic climate czar) to conduct a governmentwide review on how climate risk is being accounted for in financial transactions within government. This is likely the initial step to start slowing any funding, loans or other guarantees for projects that do not advance climate policy.
Elliott, The Utility Evaluator. A headline from last week but Elliott Management is pushing for Duke Energy to be split up. Elliott is famously involved in utility and IPP activism including when NRG’s green efforts were thwarted 5 years ago. This is often a value now versus value later project but Elliott can be quite effective in its work.
The Dry West. We are about to head into the Summer and the entire western US is very dry, moisture levels are record lows. Not only does this produce fire risk but also storm and heat wave situations. Hydroelectric capacity is likely to be limited as well which has pushed natural gas prices up and could create additional pricing peaks or blackouts during demand related peaking events.
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PPAs For C&I Deep Dive. On May 26th, 10am PST, Sustainable Capital Finance (SCF) will host the next webinar in its 2021 webinar series analyzing solar power purchase agreements (PPAs) for Non-Profits and Municipalities, including SCF’s 8-Step PPA process. Additionally, SCF will examine a series of project case studies illustrating common challenges specific to school, non-profit and municipal projects, and requisite solutions. This webinar is recommended for anyone looking to provide solar PPAs for schools, non-profits and municipalities, as well as solar developers & installers looking to increase their knowledge on SCF's PPA solutions. Click here to sign up for this exciting, free webinar!
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