The Digital Energy Era. Over the past few years the capital has been coming to the software side of solar and when the funding rounds reached marks over $10million, the question had to be asked, how could any software company in our industry ever be worth multiples of that. In the past year we’ve seen acquisitions and valuations that explain that rationale, companies like Geli, SofDesk and Energy Toolbase were acquired in part of entirely. This also comes when valuations of hardware companies like Shoals, Enphase and Array Technologies is well over 100x current earnings creating entire eBOS categories. The most indicative of what is yet to come is Generac acquiring Enbala because the energy transition is not as simple as coal to solar crossing the gas bridge. A renewable grid is a complicated slinky that is managed on supply and demand sides of the energy market with energy storage acting as the dampering traffic cop. Consumers of electricity will also be a dampening agent, learning to adjust behaviors, mostly without realizing it, through programs led by companies like cPower and OhmConnect. Tomorrow, I will tell you my biggest learning thus far in energy storage and why this storyline of digitization is one we all need to embrace.
A Utility Survey. UtilityDive has the results of this years utility survey with highlights on how to get more renewables. It also gives some views on how the industry should be regulated, whether states or FERC should be leading on that.
Newsom’s Time To Shine. California’s solar installers, representing tens of thousands of jobs in and out of the State are asking Governor Newsom to make his views known. More than 20,000 have signed a petition calling for strong policies that will enable distributed solar and storage to be a valuable asset to help manage the grid which continues to be hamstrung by power shutoffs, wildfires and heat related demand outages. CALSSA is on track to install 1million solar plus storage homes matching the million solar rooftop challenge from a decade ago.
The Corporate Voice. 5 years ago, SolarWakeup podcast recorded an episode with a Google energy director just before the company announced it was going 100% renewables. The 3 phase plan would seek to match renewable energy purchasing/generation with their geographic AND time shaped consumption. I.e. they wanted to have solar and wind where and when they were using it. This is a complicated challenge that has to be met by cost reduction in energy storage, market expansion and policy efforts. We have seen the ability for corporations to be a powerful voice in politics, through their PR prowess as well as their fundraising capabilities.
Claim Your Prize. Baylor has defeated Gonzaga and this year’s March Madness bracket comes to an end. “No Idea What Im Doing” has won the SolarWakeup bracket and while I share your sentiment I’d like to recognize you and invite you to write the column one day. Hit reply and announce yourself.
Opinion
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann
Same But Not. Some years I do better than others with the April Fools joke and I think after last year, I may never get a good reaction again. You didn’t quite fall for the batterywakeup joke but some of you still think I am a Florida PSC Commissioner, a job I am somewhat shocked I haven’t been offered yet. It’s not that this page shouldn’t be called batterywakeup or evwakeup or energywakeup, I just like it being SolarWakeup. Thanks for playing along in another annual edition of the April Fools charade, I’ll try again next year.
Infra Bill, Day After. It’s better than I thought and more important than we can imagine. I really want to see the political machinery in action to see it become law.
Expanding Storage. I want you to tell me what inning energy storage is in for your business and what it will take for it to get into the primetime. More importantly I want to understand what you consider the most important choice when planning your project. I’ve enjoyed the storage conversations with the solar community and want to keep hearing from you.
Weekend. Have a great weekend, there’s a good chance that Monday is a no newsletter holiday depending on how few pieces are written over the weekend. Enjoy the holidays, celebrate if you do, find some eggs with your kids and wish Joe Manchin an enlightened weekend thinking about infrastructure!
Free Series for Solar EPCs. I’ve teamed up with EagleView to host their Solar Business PowerSeries. Each month, we’re talking with experts on topics like LEAN and TQM, streamlining the solar permit process, deploying technology in solar, and more. This month, I’m talking with Jake Wachman from SunPower Corporation about how his company uses technology and automation to drive growth. If you’re a small- or mid-sized EPC who’s looking to improve your operations in 2021, sign up to join us live on April 8th. Registered users also gain access to the first two episodes on-demand.
Opinion
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann
The Jobs Plan. Joe Biden went to Pittsburg last night to pitch his vision for the infrastructure bill, dubbed the American Jobs Plan. You can see what’s included in the $2trillion spending bill here, or read the White House official bullet point fact sheet. This plan separates physical infrastructure from social infrastructure, a clear indicator that the White House hopes to get bipartisan support. Given that the spending is partially paid for with a proposed increase of the corporate tax rate to 28%, don’t expect smooth sailings.
A 10 Year ITC. For our industries, there is an unprecedented vision for EV charging infrastructure, likely to get charging companies excited about the future. More importantly, it proposes a 10-year extension of the ITC, expands the ITC for stand-alone energy storage, and likely brings it back to the 30% rate. All of this will be confirmed by the House version of the bill yet to be filed by leadership. A decade-long certainty for our industry will create a certain maturity overnight, no longer planning year by year and planning for the cliffs that leave us breathless during every extension fight.
The DC Fight Ahead. This is a bill without a roadmap, how and when it gets passed is TBD, but everyone knows it’s a good thing to build new and improved physical infrastructure. The GOP isn’t about to give Biden an easy win and they are surely not about to give back half of the corporate tax cut that they passed in 2017. Manchin stands out as the middle man, likely having orchestrated the split between physical and social infrastructure legislation leaving some room for the possibility that this gets passed on a 50/50 vote through reconciliation. McConnell is digging his heels in on the point that this type of spending can’t move forward without ways to pay for it and not allowing for it to be deficit spending which is exactly what every member of the republican party will likely say. There will be pressure on them, however, from their local communities that this is money well spent which will drive new economic growth and therefore pay for itself. It’s the climate bill for Biden’s legacy and I can see the inside game moving already, especially with 2 trillion reasons for businesses to get excited about the work coming up.
Big Wakeup Update. As many of you know, my new day job has me at FlexGen, the leading energy storage integrator in the Country. It’s early days but things are on a rocket ship for battery storage development and execution. I’ve been writing the ‘solar’wakeup for almost nine years and I think given that I am more of a solar+ guy these days, I thought we should brand the next nine years more appropriately. So I bring you to the big news, introducing batterywakeup.com, the most influential newsletter in all of the clean energy. It’s a great day for all of us and I’m excited about all the new stuff coming at us.
Free Series for Solar EPCs. I’ve teamed up with EagleView to host their Solar Business PowerSeries. Each month, we’re talking with experts on topics like LEAN and TQM, streamlining the solar permit process, deploying technology in solar, and more. This month, I’m talking with Jake Wachman from SunPower Corporation about how his company uses technology and automation to drive growth. If you’re a small- or mid-sized EPC who’s looking to improve your operations in 2021, sign up to join us live on April 8th. Registered users also gain access to the first two episodes on-demand.
Opinion
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann
Infra Day. Biden is set to unveil the 2 trillion dollar infrastructure plan today. Expect to get some exciting solar and storage headlines. More tomorrow!
Free Series for Solar EPCs. I’ve teamed up with EagleView to host their Solar Business PowerSeries. Each month, we’re talking with experts on topics like LEAN and TQM, streamlining the solar permit process, deploying technology in solar, and more. This month, I’m talking with Jake Wachman from SunPower Corporation about how his company uses technology and automation to drive growth. If you’re a small- or mid-sized EPC who’s looking to improve your operations in 2021, sign up to join us live on April 8th. Registered users also gain access to the first two episodes on-demand.
Opinion
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann