Have a great weekend! Hats off to Powerhouse for a great fundraising event last night!
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann
Quick rundown on this sunny Thursday!
Big Money. Goldman Sachs has put together the capital needed to deploy $4billion levered, unclear if that includes tax equity which would increase it to over $6billion.
Sunny Deliciousness. If you don’t know Wawa then ignore this post and review your life choices. The rest of you, you can stop wondering how awesome it would be to have solar on those huge tilted roofs at Wawa.
Covering The Lead. NOAA got into the middle of an Alabamian political storm but the real story is that when climate science gets covered, solar tax credits cover the headline.
Speaking Of ITC. Following up on the oped by SEIA CEO, Abby Hopper, in GTM yesterday, SEIA exec Sean Gallagher is giving you some behind the scenes views on the politics of climate change. When it comes to the reality of the ITC having a chance to pass it comes down to Congressional leaders seeing the ITC as a path to fight climate change.
Module Money. The all-black module manufacturer, Solaria, raised $40million to double capacity. I’m impressed with the company being able to do that but given the team, Solaria has put together, I am not surprised.
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann
LA Solar Wins. After some hiccups with union representatives, the Eland solar project developed by 8minute Solar is moving forward to the City Council. There was an unsigned labor agreement with the IBEW union in Kern County which has now been rectified. The giant solar plus storage project will deliver dispatchable (time to add this word to spell checks) solar energy to LADWP. Consider this the new norm!
Rivian’s Cash Haul. Building a car company is hard work and expensive too. Especially if the CEO isn’t a marketing engine that never needs to spend a dime on marketing. Rivian has raised another $350million to make the future come to reality and has been driving the prototype vehicles across the Americas. I really hope these cars hit the road and are as awesome as they appear to be!
Recapping Big News. In case you missed it, and because it’s exciting to repeat, the company I work for Quick Mount PV has been acquired. For the past 13 years, being founded in 2006, Quick Mount PV has been leading the charge to make the best mounts possible for installers and selling them through the distribution channel. Through the acquisition by Esdec, alongside the acquisitions of Ironridge and EcoFasten, we are forming the largest racking and mounting group of companies in the US. Why? As a group, each company operating independently, we can provide you better products, better service and more certainty in your supply chain. This also highlights the maturity of the marketplace, where a warranty has to mean something and the products you sell to homeowners making an investment need to match up with the promises you make.
Think Progress. I’ve been meaning to comment about the end of the Think Progress website. Having accessed it almost daily to look for interesting solar related news, I am saddened to see the site go dormant. It highlights a broader issue in solar. The collective ‘we’ need to create an ecosystem where solar publications are able to operate sustainably. If they websites/publications can’t make money then they won’t cover the space. Believe me, if I was publishing UtilityWakeup instead, I’d be doing it full time and living in waterfront accommodations. Solar websites can’t run on advertising alone and that’s why we need their side projects to flourish whether those are events, research or marketing services.
Environmental Fundraising. Axios had a great article yesterday about the upside of the Trump White House for environmental organizations. Sierra Club raised $130million in 2017, up 30%. NRDC got to $178million. Makes me wonder why the solar groups can’t get fundraising off the ground to those levels. I keep dreaming about the day where Vote Solar has a $100million budget.
Tweet of the Day. Sunrun’s Lynn Jurich had a great comeback to the Forbes list of most innovative leaders given that 99 men and 1 woman made the list.
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann
Big (Personal) Professional News. As you know, I started working at Quick Mount PV a little over a year ago. Our team has done extraordinary work over the past year and alongside amazing customers and partners, we grew at an unbelievable pace. Yesterday we announced that we joined the Esdec group of companies, with Quick Mount PV being acquired alongside Ironridge. Together, we join previously acquired EcoFasten to form the largest group of mounting and racking companies in the US. Personally, I look forward to working with some of the best folks in this sector. The residential market is growing well above estimates and our group of companies will surely lead the way!
What It Means. All three “Esdec Companies” will continue to operate independently, serving their existing customers with unique product lines through their current sales channels. Installers, along with their distributors, will continue to be able to buy the products they love with the additional upside of knowing that these companies are ready to grow with them. In an era where trade and regulatory uncertainty drive the news cycle, a stronger supply relationship will provide business certainty installers need in their rapid growth. If you have questions about this please let me know or reach out to your reps, we’re all here to answer your questions.
Louisiana Shenanigans. When a flawed study makes its way to a PSC that doesn’t regulate monopolies in a fair way, bad things can happen. Louisiana has all the signs of a situation that makes solar have to compete on an uneven playing field where incumbent monopolies have an advantage. If you are in the LA market, make sure to make your voice heard.
A Climate Call From SEIA. The solar ITC is the best tax credit taxpayers can buy. Being a percentage-based credit, in a market that has been declining unit costs for over a decade, the value of the credit for the taxpayer has gone up exponentially. This is very important looking forward, where the energy economy is looking for a giant increase in solar capacity on homes, on buildings and in the fields. Abby Hopper, CEO of SEIA, is right to connect the dots between the value of the ITC and climate change, showing that solar is here to play its role and the importance of the extension. Take some time this week to contact your member of Congress and let them know this is important to you.
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann