More Tomorrow. Meanwhile this.
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Yann
Solar Market Webinar. At 10am eastern you can join me and Phil Shen from Roth Capital to talk about the solar market. This is also a great opportunity to subscribe to Phil’s mailing list, with his great coverage of the public companies in the industry.
DC Is Buzzing. Senator Manchin is throwing the doors open on the infrastructure debate, in concert with the White House perhaps? Meanwhile the White House climate team is both real and working.
Product Showcase, Virtual Edition. This is a free virtual product showcase for solar installers across the Country hosted by CALSSA. This two day event is the best thing since standing in a room with 10,000 of your solar friends. Check that out here.
Startup Jobs In Solar. Nevados is a tracker startup that is looking for a Supply Chain Manager and their CEO is doing great work. This company is going to do big things in a huge market. Check out the listing or let me know for an intro.
More news coming shortly, will recap that tomorrow.
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Granholm Talks Grid. “Clearly the grid, its reliability and its capacity are a huge focus.” That’s the Secretary of Energy talking to the Washington Post about the things that need to happen to adapt to the new normal of stresses on the grid by climate as well as the transition to renewables currently happening. The secretary also teases the inclusion of smart grid and infrastructure investments in an upcoming bill being prepared by the White House.
Carbon Pricing Meets Oil. The American Petroleum Institute is preparing to endorse a carbon pricing policy. As the trade group for oil and gas industries, the move is likely to create a dialogue but unlikely to yield actual legislation. Count me in as skeptical.
Holding The Power Bag. One of the oldest electric cooperatives serving dozens of local distributors and 1.5million of consumers received a rather large bill from ERCOT. Instead of passing that bill along, Brazos decided to file for bankruptcy instead. Assuming the reporting is directionally correct, Brazos expects to have debts in the $5-$8billion range which it will seek to restructure. This means that ERCOT could have a financial shortfall given that they are in between a buyer and seller, assuming that they have or intend to pay the seller. All eyes on Texas legislators to see how they handle this.
A Book On Jobs. A solar executive and development professional, Eric Pasi, has written a book on one of the most important topics in the industry, jobs. Not on how we create or grow them but a guide to success in this incredible wealth opportunity that is the green recovery. Check it out at https://www.cleanwavebook.com/
Solar Market Webinar. On Wednesday at 10am you can join me and Phil Shen from Roth Capital to talk about the solar market. This is also a great opportunity to subscribe to Phil’s mailing list, with his great coverage of the public companies in the industry.
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Texas Reform Needed? When it comes to ERCOT, it’s been an educational time for many of us. In less than a year’s time, ERCOT experienced huge price spikes from a heating event, outages from a hurricane and now the freezing of an unprotected infrastructure system. It also highlights that the stress tests for the Country’s grid are not tested for today’s needs and variables. Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve shifted our consumption farther to the grid edge, added electric vehicles and adopted electrification. ERCOT, specifically, is going to figure out if the market worked as designed or if it needs to adapt given a more drastic edge case. I can’t help but think that when it comes to our energy system, we are embarking on a road trip with our tank on empty, hoping that the gauge is broken.
Yellow Electrification. This has been an obvious announcement a long time coming. My son rides on a traditional blue bird yellow school bus and I hate that it’s not electric. Predictable routes with no range anxiety, central congregation spot, low speeds and lots of stops, all of which are perfect for an electrified school bus fleet. Like in solar, EV school bus fleets are the best counterparties for 3rd party ownership of those fleets because the capital can be cheap and not encumber the school district. We may not be there on costs quite yet, but this is happening in a big way.
Keeping The Lights On. One of the pictures I got last week, regarding homes in Texas staying on with solar, came from Sunrun. Their CFO was on Bloomberg talking about the ability for DERs to keep the lights on and how the demand in Texas is currently through the roof (or on the roof) for solar plus storage. Sunrun and every other solar company in Texas are hiring thousands of workers to keep up with demand because at a certain point, consumers realize that peace of mind and saving money are actually in alignment. High rises in cities sway with the wind, to absorb the force pushed on itself. In areas affected by earthquakes, high rises can have dampers (spring like devices) installed to absorb the higher forces. When it comes to the grid and its resiliency, DERs and storage will create that balance.
Small Area, Big Market. DC may not be big or a State but when it comes to being a market, it’s a big one for one local solar installer. New Columbia Solar has been leading the charge there and they keep adding capital to their firepower. A great outcome for a great team.
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Yann