WFH Reimbursement. With companies having their employees working from home, some going permanently remote, the load profile is shifting for the grid. It also begs the question of how companies will provide stipends to their employees. You could imagine a stipend for a separate bedroom, high speed internet or energy consumption. Which company will strike the first deal to put free solar on employees’ homes with the company picking up the monthly bill?
GM To Investors, Is Pepsi Okay? GM is contemplating the spin-off of its electric vehicle business. This would be very good for that division, able to focus and deliver better products but it would be a disaster for the old GM. The old company shareholders would be left knowing that their business has a decade left before most of its market share evaporates, with exception for a few niche market segments. There is no way that this happens and the CEO should have enough conviction to say so.
The New First Solar. Last week I wrote about the new SunPower, shedding its manufacturing to focus on sales and install of residential and C&I markets. First Solar is doing the same but looks to be focused on being a module manufacturer, centered on the implementation of the series 6 module. It already sold its O&M business and is now looking to sell its development arm. Interestingly it cites headwinds in tax equity, given that the company was a major opponent of the tax equity extension a few years ago. Development platform deals appear to be heating up, rumor has several other firms also being acquired.
Venturing Into Solar Investing. Investing in solar related startups is going to get better. As we get digital and the energy production gets smarter, teams of bright minds will be able to change the way things are done. This inevitably gets faster and better through pivots and iteration. Solar investing, into corporates, is very limited though there are now more folks that appreciate the space that have made good money doing that. I toyed with the idea of a Wakeup fund to seed companies a few years ago but neither the pipeline nor the investor base was there then. Not sure how this plays out but I’d love to see a solar angel fund circling the startup universe.
The Veep Week. We are likely going to hear Biden’s pick this week on his vice presidential nominee. The noise around energy being a counterpoint is getting louder so we will cover that angle when it comes up.
A Price Challenge. The SolarWakeup Buyer’s Group is presenting a price challenge. Take your favorite and most commonly used products and if they are on the price sheet for the buyer’s group, we’ll respond with your transparent cost for it. No frills, no negotiations, just the best price we could bring to the market using bigger volume. In the past week we’ve had outreach from every major manufacturer that appreciates the transparency and we look forward to adding more products to the portfolio. Of course you can always sign up and see for yourself.
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Storage Wars. Q Cells is acquiring Geli, the software that helps manage your storage assets. Geli has been around for many years and has been focused on the C&I market which Q Cells is seeing possible upsides in. The reality is that storage is the undervalued, under compensated and correctly hyped part of the solar market.
Situational ALertness. Trump reinstated a 10% tariff on certain Canadian aluminum. This can include US made aluminum that has to go to Canada for painting or manufacturing.
Solar For You, A Phone Call For Solar. Recent SolarWakeup Podcast guest, TJ Kanczuzewksi from Inovateus, is building a solar farm at the University of Illinois for Sol Systems. Here’s my ask, the Chancellor of the University should dial the lobbyists and the speaker’s office to get the Illinois legislation passed. Surely Illinois believes that going solar should be something everyone in Illinois should have access to.
SolarAPP For Faster Solar. There’s the launch of SolarAPP coming up in a few months. Contact the staff at RMI if you have an AHJ that may be interested in being part of the pilot. Instant permits will cut the time from contract to install in half.
Installer Checks. SunPower’s Q2 success has a lot to do with the resilience of contractors. I spoke with the CEO of Freedom Solar in Austin, Bret Biggart, about his exclusive relationship with SunPower in Texas. Freedom is rebounding through and after COVID and sees record leads coming through, even expanding into Colorado. Storage is still a small segment of their market, given the geography, but consumers continue to grow their appetite for solar.
$50K For Policy Chat. Yesterday, a team of solar pros in Clean Energy for Biden held a fundraiser for the campaign with US Senator Heinrich of New Mexico and two former FERC commissioners. For an hour the discussion covered DERs, FERC orders, transmission and regulatory independence. The idea that a US Senator was able to talk nuanced policy gave me hope while raising nearly $50k would have been unthought of a few years ago. Stay tuned for an upcoming event with former Governor and now Congressman Charlie Crist, we’ll talk solar there as well.
Buyer’s Group. Are you getting the Buyer’s Group emails? If not and you would like to, hit reply. Did you know that the largest buyer of toilet paper in America is Costco? You most likely did and that’s why so many of us pay to be part of the club. That was the inspiration behind SolarWakeup Buyer’s Group, go here for more info.
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The New SunPower. By all accounts from management, SunPower and Maxeon will be two separate companies this quarter. That means that the new SunPower will no longer have the burden of manufacturing and focus on being a large installation business. You can read all the details in their slides but a note on a data point that was spoken on the call, which is why you should always read the transcripts. In July, SunPower reached a new milestone of 1,000 appointments and exceeded that number every week since then. That means that demand for solar, at least from SunPower’s perspective, is stronger than ever.
Owning The Infra. ChargePoint expanded its series H with another $127million in the bank. This is going to fuel the companies efforts on expansion and allow it to grow policy and marketing efforts. If this seems like a lot of money, think about how much money went into building a gas station on 50% of America’s corners.
1980 Oil Revisited. Oil production is down to May 1980 levels, a historic reminder that Trump probably doesn’t want to compare to. Unlike 1980, when Reagan took the solar thermal off the White House, the PV on the White House still stands that President Obama installed. Here’s where the ChargePoint story and oil production intersects. Electrification of cars means that oil and electricity is competing for the first time in a big way so it makes sense that Chevron is investing in ChargePoint and BP says its going to invest $5billion per year in renewables.
First Real Auto OEM Deal. Daimler getting in deep with CATL is a bigger headline than most realize. CATL is widely touted by battery experts as several generations ahead of the lithium batteries you tend to think of today. While Tesla has built what I would consider an almost perfect car, scientists look down on the battery architecture in the car and if Daimler executes on the collaboration it could be real competition. That being said, every car will be electric so it’s a bigger pie for everyone.
Come On Illinois. Illinois has the opportunity to keep the traction in clean energy moving forward. Especially in an era where utilities in the State are getting caught breaking the rules, we need to move beyond politics to get this passed.
Costco For Solar. Did you know that the largest buyer of toilet paper in America is Costco? You most likely did and that’s why so many of us pay to be part of the club. That was the inspiration behind SolarWakeup Buyer’s Group, go here for more info.
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Midweek Recap. The SolarWakeup Buyer’s Group is launched and we doubled in size yesterday alone. You too can join the group and save. More info here as well as online portal for easy registration.
Uber For Solar. Palmetto closed their series b with $29 million in new venture money. I talked with their CEO and President just a few months ago (here). The software company enables more residential solar to be built and helps those that want to get into the industry.
Ideology Meets Reality. Biden wants 100% by 2035 and some are getting stuck on the definition of 100%. I want to hear how we get to 100% even if it means 80% and how it would happen politically. What rules have to be changed and what markets open up for this industry to create opportunities for jobs and growth?
PG&E Has No Shame. PG&E, freshly out of bankruptcy and still a convicted felon, is offering incentives for energy storage installations. Except that the program, SGIP, is legislative and CALSSA, solar advocates and partners were the driving force to get the bill passed in spite and not because of PG&E. They may administer some of the funds but today is a good day to remember your need to renew or increase your funding for CALSSA.
Seeing Green. Solar stocks are hot, no denying that. It’s also great to see that solar pros that took a bet on their companies by getting paid in shares, options and stock grants are seeing a real return for their hard work. We have genuine 8 figure value creation in this industry now. Enphase reported yesterday, positive results but down for the quarter as expected with a positive guide for Q3 as well as being sold out of their energy storage system for Q3. SunPower and Vivint Solar report today after the market closes.
Not So Green. BP cut its dividend in half, that won’t be good for the investors that trust on that quarterly payment.
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