Here Is Your Job Report. For the first time in 3 years, solar jobs great by over 5,000 jobs. The jobs continue to be driven by DG market expansion in markets throughout the southeast and all of the new markets that have been popping up. Diversity continues to be an issue in solar and I hope to be able to host some conversations on how we can do a better job being a growing market for everyone. For more info, click today’s top story.
PG&E Earnings. Not so good, losses of over $3billion for the last quarter. Imagine a market where the company doesn’t get a guaranteed return on its monopoly.
Enphase Earnings. After hours yesterday, Enphase delivered results that the market found enticing (the stock was up over 11% in after hours markets). This was driven based on strong margins and market share gains. More write ups to come from analysts.
Don’t Fall For It. SMUD, the Sacramento Utility, is using its PR department to spin some falsehoods about the new home solar requirement in California. They are pushing for a way for community solar to be used instead of rooftop solar which is clearly out of bounds from the legislative effort. Keep your eyes on this.
South Dakota. Solar in South Dakota is going to get a link and a mention on this platform. I love new markets joining our market.
NIPSCO RFP. Indiana can have cheap solar and storage too, check out these results from the recent RFP that shows how close the energy markets are to getting rid of natural gas altogether. Any bid that includes ‘plus fuel and O&M costs’ is going to have a tough time competing against guaranteed pricing.
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Yann
Hello Boston. I am en route to Solar Power Northeast to see what is new and exciting in the staples of the east coast markets. Some of my favorite solar friends are in this market and who doesn’t love complicated regulatory labyrinths? This week is going to bring us the Solar Jobs Census numbers so we will see where the market and States stack up. We also see earnings from Enphase and Solaredge today and tomorrow which will give us an indication of the residential solar market and how global supply chain is fairing right now.
Here We Go! Jeff Bezos is doing what I’ve been hoping for, he is creating a $10Billion (with a B) fund to fight climate change. Funding will go to scientists, activists and NGOs and grants will go out this summer. This has the opportunity to create a generational shift in this fight to transform the market we operate in and the fight against climate change. I hope this starts off with a bang and the people behind the scenes get some of the high octane gas that is $10Billion.
The Top 3. Here’s where I would start, knowing that $10B is a longer vision number meant to be global. First, State level advocacy groups in solar, efficiency and consumer protection. Don’t fund the State level fights, but fight groups that are already fighting in the dirt at State capitols. Second, let’s get funding into groups hoping to reshape the energy markets. This is research based advocacy that will allow for the markets to drive change in how we consume, generate and monetize energy. Third, let’s build the solar grassroots organization that supports all of the other advocacy we are working on. 10 million members and more! And one more for good luck, let’s build the SolarAPP that will make instant solar permitting feasible across the Country. Solar installers shouldn’t have to spend thousands of dollars and wait months to get a permit.
But Don’t Forget. Fighting climate change is fundamentally a policy fight. And politics is a different type of battle field and energy is filled with monopolies and oil majors that have trillions to lose. That’s why I would advise Jeff (we’re on a first name basis) to allocate $1B to the Energy Battle Super PAC. It’s not about using the funding as much as knowing that someone has that kind of support backing it, especially when matched with the 10million members.
Now someone please introduce me to Jeff!
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Yann
A CODEL Success. A congressional delegation is on its way to Puerto Rico to see what the State of Puerto Rico’s infrastructure is after years of natural disaster including earthquakes over the past few months. One of the major power plants on the island is offline and power lines are still struggling to keep up. Solar with storage is playing a big role to keep essential operations running but we still need to do more for the people.
Coronavirus’ Unknown State Or Impact. I try to ignore things I can’t control and epidemics tend to scare me even more than other things. It’s hard to understand how the tragedy is unfolding in China and how it will be solved with minimal loss of life. On the other hand, there is a potential and likely impact to the solar market due to delays and slower reopening of Chinese factories post Chinese New Year.
The BP Announcement. BP announced a series of climate related goals last week, the one making most headlines is net zero emissions by 2050. On the high end, this is a step in the right direction, it surely helps the cause of solving climate change. On the flip side, the question is what steps will BP take and what are the intermediary steps between now and then.
People Talking Climate. Americans want Government to do more to solve climate change and pollsters try to divide the Country by trying to get us to agree on the words used to define the change. Global warming, climate change, renewable energy, fossil fuels, pollution are all words in an incredibly complicated ecosystem. The politics is what gets us to move forward and that’s where the words matter but the people could care less about what you call it, they just want it solved. They want solar on every home, solar on every building and lower electric bills. At the end of the day, that’s something a pollster can’t get us to be divided on.
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Yann
Happy Solar Valentine’s Day. What in solar makes your heart flutter right now? For me it’s earnings season and it gives me an opportunity to reflect on the companies that are public and the decisions they are making.
New Home No Brainer. As the California new home mandate rolls out, the market will discover how easy and cheap it is to put solar on a home while building it. Wait to see how many other States look at this and say, of course we should do that. More importantly, builders are going to realize that they don’t need a mandate to make it their standard process.
Doubtful With A Chance? Senators from both parties sat down with advocates of the carbon tax/carbon dividend. This is one of those policies that would be great to see but I have no idea how it would ever get into law. But here we are on Valentine’s Day, taking an arrow to the heart.
Change One Legislator, Change The Future.Virginia is about to pass its most prominent energy policy ever. All because voters and organizers moved the State legislature over to the other party. As an industry, we should be selfish this election season. SEIA should send out surveys to every candidate in America just like the Realtor’s do and the NRA does. They should also include the Solar Pledge in the survey for the candidates that want to stand with us and in return we will stand with them.
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Yann