2020 Solar Market. The past 10 weeks has put me on an emotional roller coaster as it pertains to the solar market. It was March 17th when shelter in place was announced in California and I texted an installer, next week you will have zero sales, what are you going to do? That was when I posted the first survey to see how many weeks solar would be at zero sales. Thankfully we never got to zero and now some installers are back above the sales numbers from early March. Non-residential installers also showed that this would be a blip and the survey for May will show the start of a split in solar. Those that are rebounding and those that couldn’t handle it. I’ll be covering the May results on a call tomorrow at 10am EST. RSVP for that call here free of charge.
May Survey. Did you fill out your response for May? Today is the last day. You can see the full results of previous surveys here
Not All Rebounds Are Same. PetersenDean has filed for bankruptcy protection according to PV-Magazine reporting and is only quoting roofing projects right now. It appears that the company will blame COVID for the woes but I expect more about this story to come out. There are many installers in far less profitable markets that are rebounding nicely and adapting to the virtual environment.
Get The Scale. First it was the cost of solar, then it was a lack of scale. Now pension funds not only see the returns they want, they also see the massive scale that makes deploying real dollars feasible including with great currency diversification for truly big funds. Danish fund, CIP, is targeting $15billion in investments.
What To Make Of BP? The company is writing down the value of some assets by a total of over $17billion dollars and is increasing the carbon cost for its investment planning to $100 per ton in 2030. That means that fossil projects will have to overcome significant additionality for projects that are not that far away in the world of a BP. The inverse is also true, renewable energy projects will become significantly better investments with such a carbon price included and you could see the company leveraging its development, land rights and offshore infrastructure for such projects.
Solar Plus Storage. Not for nothing but Vectren, the utility company HQed in Indiana is including 1GW of solar and storage in their IRP. I’m sure that Mike Pence will be lauding their foresight any minute now.
Presented by Adani Green Energy. Adani is a fully integrated renewables company, from solar cell and module manufacturing to ownership and operation. The company has a top global operating and contracted pipeline of over 14 GW. Adani is the recipient of the largest solar award ever of 8 GW, which includes a single site project of 2 GW - tied for the world's largest. No one knows mega-scale projects like Adani.
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Yann
Solar Conference Call. My next call with Phil Shen from Roth Capital will cover market updates and current events and takes place on June 18th at 10am EST. You can RSVP for that call here free of charge.
May Survey. Did you fill out your response for May? You can see the full results of previous surveys here
SPI Planning Announced. Yesterday I asked the question about SPI and later in the day we got our answer. SPI will take place in Las Vegas in an outdoor exhibit at the Las Vegas Convention Center in October. SETS lists the precautions that will be put in place to make it a safe event for all to enjoy. Will you attend?
FERC Responses. Yesterday was the deadline for the docket that covers net metering. In reality the docket is an attempt to federalize basically all State level energy and rate regulations which has raised concerns from well known conservative State regulators as well as NARUC which tweeted out its comments to the docket. We shall see how this plays out.
Words Are Not Enough. GreenBiz’s Joel Makower makes a great point that I want to expand about. We’ve seen, over the past few weeks, comments from most companies are within a mold to attempt to be public but not actually make any news. Part of that comes from companies that wish they had actually done something before recent events made it clear that they are falling short. Some of you are thinking back and perhaps regretting past actions or looking around your board room and see a lack of diversity. Especially on past actions, there is no hiding from it, you have to decide how to manage your image because reporters are looking at how CEOs and executives have behaved because actions speak louder than words. Now that you have published a comment, write the comment that answers this question in 6 months. What have you done as a company since spring 2020 to bring about more diversity and equality in solar?
Presented by Adani Green Energy. Adani is a fully integrated renewables company, from solar cell and module manufacturing to ownership and operation. The company has a top global operating and contracted pipeline of over 14 GW. Adani is the recipient of the largest solar award ever of 8 GW, which includes a single site project of 2 GW - tied for the world's largest. No one knows mega-scale projects like Adani.
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Yann
Drives And Podcasts. I have made it across the Country. If you were to do the drive as well, I recommend finding a different route than I-10 for 2,500 miles. I did see one big solar farm and a nuclear power plant but that ends the highlights. Thanks for the many listening recommendations and some of you asked for a list of those which I’ll put together on a list for you.
Market Updates. The next Roth conference call to cover the updates in the market will take place on June 18th at 10am EST. You can RSVP for that call here.
May Survey. Did you fill out your response for May? You can see the full results of previous surveys here
2020. No doubt that this year, at the start of the solar decade, is an expert level solar coaster. With another cliff of ITC at the end of the year, the pandemic is throwing major chaos into the gears that keep the market wheels moving. While the fundamentals are strong again, the solar industry is likely going to have major issues inside the policy shops. SPI is the single biggest funding source for SEIA and even if it isn’t canceled, it will be much smaller than anticipated and put a hole in the budget for this year and next. Much more discussion on this topic and how to make sure solar is well positioned going into the election and budget season.
Save Solar. FERC is still planning on reviewing the awful petition by NERA to dismantle net metering. You can sign up to send your letter in support of solar here.
Presented by Adani Green Energy. Adani is a fully integrated renewables company, from solar cell and module manufacturing to ownership and operation. The company has a top global operating and contracted pipeline of over 14 GW. Adani is the recipient of the largest solar award ever of 8 GW, which includes a single site project of 2 GW - tied for the world's largest. No one knows mega-scale projects like Adani.
Opinion
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann
Weekend. Thank you for the great feedback on what to listen to on my drive cross-country. Always a great reminder of the community that SolarWakeup has become. Tomorrow will take me through most of Texas! Here is your Friday rundown.
Q1 Reports. Solar did well in Q1 which was obviously hampered by coronavirus during March. Look for more detail in the story and check out the survey for your personal experiences.
Going Upstream. An upstream deal between software and manufacturer that helps installer and homeowner is the type of dealmaking that enables larger markets and bigger margins for installers.
PG&E Board. Without much notice for most California ratepayers, the utility alumni club is convening for high priced reunions on the newly formed PG&E board. Dynegy, National Grid and Sempra to name a few resume fillers.
Next Week, Lookout. CPUC has approved two items that will hit your inbox next week. First is allowing PG&E to use diesel generators. Second, more importantly, is a new change to the resource adequacy market that is drawing universal ire.
May Survey. Did you fill out your response for May? You can see the full results of previous surveys here
Presented by Adani Green Energy. Adani is a fully integrated renewables company, from solar cell and module manufacturing to ownership and operation. The company has a top global operating and contracted pipeline of over 14 GW. Adani is the recipient of the largest solar award ever of 8 GW, which includes a single site project of 2 GW - tied for the world's largest. No one knows mega-scale projects like Adani.
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann