Opinion
Best, Yann
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann
Election Day Changeup, A Deep Dive. It’s election day, so let’s skip the solar talk. We’ll get back to the regularly scheduled programming tomorrow. As you know, I am back to living in my home state of Florida. I’ve lived here for the better part of 30 years, run for office here, lobbied in Tallahassee and generally been close to the politics. Florida was not always great at elections, but now the State and it’s 67 supervisors of elections do a good job managing early voting (thank you Governor Crist) and getting the total early tabulations out very quickly. This means that at when polls close (most at 7pm, except for the central time zone counties in the Panhandle), the early voting results are released online. Some results will be available well before 8pm eastern. Florida is the gateway to the White House, it creates or eliminates paths to 270 for both parties. Suffice it to say, anything can happen here and while you can’t call the general election based on Florida’s results it will give you major indication. This is what I am looking at on election night, you can join my group therapy by following me on twitter @yannbrandt
Sumter County, America’s Village. In 2000, Tim Russert famously said, “Florida, Florida, Florida.” For me, it’s “Seniors, seniors, seniors” this year. No better place to watch this retired, golf cart demographic vote than in Sumter County. You have to be 55 to live in the Villages and the most sacred thing besides the golf cart is your golf game. Politics and Trump has caused foursomes to split up and end friendships. 83 thousand have already voted, almost 10% more than in all of 2016. So, early tonight, you will get the Sumter data dump and see if the seniors, largely white, are sticking by Trump. Trump won this County by 39% in 2016 and Rick Scott by a few points more. If Trump comes in under 63% with higher turnout, it’s going to be a long night for Trump. The shy Biden voter may make an appearance in the vote tally.
Duval, Not Just Jaguars. It’s been 40 years since a democratic contender for President has won this County which includes Jacksonville. Today, that changes, Clinton missed out on this by just 1.4%. It’s expected that Biden takes it by a point but insiders think that the electorate is quietly changing, like the addition of Jinko’s module plant which sits here, and could expand the lead to north of 3%. Duval has 664k registered voters and the early vote is already at 92% of 2016.
Seminole, The Orlando Expansion. To the Northeast of Orlando sits Seminole County, a growing suburb of the region. It was a nearly 50/50 County in 2016, just 3500 votes separate Clinton from Trump. A State Senate race has my attention here, a 4 term, popular state house member is running for the state senate seat and polling has him down by 8 points. If that’s true, it could be an early I-4 indicator of the Puerto Rican vote.
Pinellas, Follow The Governor. St Petersburg is the gulf front town turning into a city across the bay from Tampa. It is represented by former Governor Crist, a real solar champion, who won that race by a few points last election. His latest polling has him up by 17 points, so let’s give that a haircut because it sounds too good. Trump won this County by 1.1% so you can imagine the possibility of a major take back of votes in this growing area.
Broward, Because It’s My Home. Broward has registered more early votes than the total turnout in 2016. This is the most democratic County in Florida and a big turnout is a great sign, especially with the soft polling Biden has seen with the Cuban vote in Miami. Broward voters also include 347k NPAs (no party affiliation) that could signal a major independent shift towards Biden. There’s a reason that Obama, Biden and Harris have been camping out in town, they know winning Broward by more than 350k votes could be the ballgame.
We Ain’t Got Mountains. The reason we’re all skeptical about Florida polling is that Florida has no mountains, cliffs or even hills, therefore landslides don’t exist. We’re looking for a point off the senior vote, an extra point from NPAs and bigger turnout from dems. That happens, Biden wins Florida. Rick Scott won by 10,000 votes and he’s the junior Senator. The Sunshine State is here for your entertainment and tomorrow, we shall not disappoint. In the meantime, I’m here for you because if it’s 7am eastern, it’s time for SolarWakeup. Go Vote and conquer!
Opinion
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann
Tomorrow. Like many of you, it’s been a stressful and anxious time. Tomorrow is not the end but a marker in time when you get to have you say if you haven’t voted yet. Whether or not there is a result before we talk on Wednesday, make sure you have a plan to vote or help someone that hasn’t yet. No-one knows what is going to happen and every vote matters. iwillvote.com to access resources for you.
Let’s Talk 100 Days. I’ll have some notes tomorrow about ideas for first 100 days. Many of you chimed in, but I’d love to get more ideas from the readers. The question is: What would you pitch/ask for if you had 5 minutes with Biden/Schumer/Pelosi to advance solar/clean energy?
Because He Got Caught. FirstEnergy fired its CEO and a few executives for bribing the Ohio House Speaker to get a nuclear bailout/RPS kill bill. Let me correct that statement, FirstEnergy fired its chief executive because he got caught, not because the bribe actually happened.
Mary Nichols For Many Things. Mary Nichols would be a phenomenal EPA administrator, she would also be a great secretary of transportation. Regardless of title, I very much hope to see Mary Nichols leading a very relevant agency in DC.
PG&E Flashbacks. A utility watchdog wants the utility fined for shutting off power without adequate notice but the bigger story came from PG&E directly. They are letting its shareholders know that it could be held liable for a recent fire.
Educational Materials. I’m being asked by my kids’ teachers to talk about solar and I’m asking you to help. I need a ‘what is solar’ presentation for 3rd and 5th grades that won’t bore the kids while also making my kids think that their dad is the coolest (focus is on the latter). Who’s got what I’m looking for?
Q1 Supply Challenge. While 2020 definitely had its challenges, solar not only bounced back but has been increasing backlog since April. Manufacturers, based on new expectations, lowered their forecasts and inventory levels are very low. Make sure you control your product flow, look at what you need and when you need it. If you need a check on supply and where the market is for pricing, reach out to SolarWakeup’s Buyer Group. Not only are we lowering your costs, but we’re giving you big insights. You can get some price discovery or other products on our members page.
Opinion
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann
What’s Your Plan? This is where we are, in one way or another you or the company you work for has been building something great for years, maybe even more than 10 years. Solar is both big and valuable, valuable thanks to newly found profits and future growth promise. The same European private equity firm that acquired my former business is acquiring Panelclaw according to PV-Magazine. It couldn’t have happened to a better group of people, if you know the leaders of Panelclaw, you know that they’ve been busting their rear end with the highest level of character while making and inventing some great products. What is your plan for the next phase of your business? You should be thinking about that right now, knowing how you feel about various paths is key to managing the 2020 solar decade.
Weekend Roundup. Here are your quick tips for the weekend reading. Two things to keep your eyes on that hasn’t been published in publications yet. Arizona is set to enact a sweeping clean energy standard including 50% by 2032 with focus on storage as well. Flex LTD, the parent of Nextracker, reported earnings yesterday and most of the questions in the analyst call were solar related, a new topic for the company’s analysts. Enphase and SolarEdge also use Flex for contract manufacturing.
What Will Biden Do? Go to my LinkedIn and tell me what you would pitch if given 5 minutes.
Give Me A Fracking Break. Fracking is 26,000 jobs in Pennsylvania. Don’t underestimate fracking’s PR capabilities. Solar in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia is the way to get long forgotten workers back to work without threatening their health. Axios needs to do better.
Solar From Home. Work from home workers are greening their homes with greater interest than ever before. This isn’t a temporary phenomenon.
The Buyer’s Group Grows. We’re into our second month at the Buyer’s Group and we’ve added another top supplier to the product portfolio. REC modules are now available at an amazing pre-negotiated rate for buyer’s group members. Both Alpha and N-Peak products are on the list. You can get some price discovery for REC or other products on our members page.
Opinion
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann