Happy Earth Day. I failed to say Happy Earth Day yesterday, so you get that today. As a bonus, you get this great pic from Colin Murchie, who left solar for EVgo, but had this event with Secretary Pete and Gina McCarthy alongside Cathy Zoi.
Nationally Determined Contribution. The big news from yesterday is President Biden announcing a national target of 52% reduction of emissions compared to 2005. The NDC is the comparable target to other Countries having made a similar timeline pledge to save the planet.
Tax For Tax. Senator Wyden filed a new bill which is similar to the budget proposal from Biden that replaces fossil fuel tax credits for more credits on energy transition infrastructure. Wyden is the chair of the Senate finance committee, so the bill is not without importance.
More Normal Than Not. Congruent Ventures’ Abe Yokell was the first clean tech VC I met in 2007ish. They raised another $175mm fund for their climate tech focused investments but here’s the great thing. Inbounds for climate focused deals is coming from all VCs, a climate focus is a profit focus.
Solar Water Conservation. Water is important and apparently also a great piece of real estate for solar panels. I used to see this market as ridiculous and niche but apparently floating solar may create a secondary benefit that make more sense than meets the eye.
Pipeline For Storage. You’ve been reading this newsletter for almost 9 years and I have had many roles over that time. As you know I am now the CFO of the energy storage integrator, FlexGen. As you think about how storage may work for your projects or have already determined that you are adding storage, let me know how I can be helpful professionally. We’re not everything for everyone but when it comes to making storage come to reality, few companies are as capable as the team I’ve had the pleasure of joining recently.
Opinion
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann
More tomorrow. By the way, Xi Jinping is coming to the climate summit.
Leading Off. Dean Solon, from Shoals, comes in at the top with a great rundown of what it takes to be successful. Looking back, you could always see Shoals standing out from the rest of the pack.
Opinion
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann
Quick Hits, Fire Season. Washington State has fought 91 wildfires this week, not a great start.
Cyber And Regulatory Compliance. More to come on this topic but get ready to worry about how your assets, especially storage, comply with NERC standards and power market requirements. Software is at the core of everything we are about to do, hence ClimateTech.
Everyone Wants Roads. What will it take to get the infrastructure bill to be bipartisan? Biden is having the meetings to find the unicorn in today’s political arena.
Platforms To Applaud. Congrats to the team at DESRI for turning on a new asset and CleanCapital for bringing $300mm new dollars to their platform from Manulife. That capital will be used for solar and storage assets and expand their platform once again. Also, the company is led by some of the coolest folks in the market so if you don’t find an opportunity to work for me, work for them!
Engie Sells Storage Stake. The investment activity in energy storage continues, this time Engie bringing on a partner in their energy storage division.
Opinion
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann
Coal, Unions and Renewables. After my post from yesterday, we get big news from DC on the topic. The coal miners’ union is backing legislation that would create tax credits for the investment of manufacturing for renewable energy products like solar panels and wind turbines in Appalachian coal country. This would be a great feature that tackles the problem of climate change while creating jobs in the right place. One thing to note, the value of tax credits is directly correlated to the total market of tax liability. Now that the corporate tax rate has been nearly halved, so has the demand for tax credits. To make credits more valuable, backstop them with a refundability or direct pay mechanism.
Manchin Headlines. Senator Manchin is backing the bill, which is still short of the 50 votes held by the Democrats in the Senate.
Introducing FTCI. FTC Solar, the Austin based tracker company, has filed for its IPO. Some tidbits, that you can find in their S-1 that popped out to me. The company is planning on raising about $350mm, using about half of it for their balance sheet and some to buy back shares, i.e. create some liquidity for shareholders. Last year the company earned $187mm in revenue with a net loss of $15mm. If the IPO is successful at the range of pricing, expect the market cap to be about $1.6bb, 82mm shares at $19 per share. The folks at FLEX will be watching the valuation considering they have stated NEXTracker is north of a billion in revenue, imputing a value near $10bb for the global leader. Question is, which innovator is coming for this incredible market?
Same Action, Same Results. The CPUC is worried about the PG&E wildfire preparation work and is exercising a higher level of oversight. This is in anticipation of one of the worst fire seasons given that moisture levels is one of the lowest in history. Will the CPUC work to get DERs ready to help as wildfire shutoffs appear on the horizon?
Opinion
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann