PURPA Solar Shakeup. There has been a shakeup at the PURPA development leader, Cypress Creek Renewables. It’s been one of the unlikeliest stories in solar (PURPA in general has) taking advantage of a decades old law never meant to spur gigawatts of solar development. I look forward to getting to know the new team at Cypress Creek and seeing what is in store for them going forward.
Commercialization Is Not Bankable. There is a flaw with how non solar media treats the opinions of people from inside the industry. From experts that say that Sunedison can buy solar assets at negative IRRs (because their stock increases for more than the acquisition price) or that tax credits can spur commercialization. Solar financing pros will tell you that tax equity investors hate risk above all. Decarbonization will happen through the mass deployment of commercialized products that have been commercialized through risk adjusted equity investments.
Veto Solar Rules, Not Support. The governor of New Hampshire is shutting down growth of solar in NH once again. The goal is for the veto proof margin to hold in the override this year.
Late To The Game, Again. Solar fees just in time to stop the start of the solar market in New York? Any fee added to the solar customers would stop the market right as it gets off the ground and hurt the positive intentions of the fee.
New Reliability Study. PVEL is out with its 2019 Module Reliability Study. For more on this topic, listen to my interview with PVEL CEO Jenya Meydbray.
Aggregation Note. As GTM adds a login to their news site, which is still free, I wanted to share some thoughts on the fact that most sites now have either a paywall or a login. The login is meant to track your reading and appeal to advertisers, which I know is not something everyone likes. On the other hand, content creators have to get paid somehow. I will continue to post content from various sources, as long as they are okay with it, even if there is a paywall. You may find a story interesting enough to subscribe and if not then at least you know that the story exists.
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Yann
Follow Me. If you are on Twitter, follow me @yannbrandt and for more updates from the business side, we are ramping up our Instagram posts @QuickMountPV with Made in the USA manufacturing (Behind the scenes), tech Q&A’s and inside views on supply chain/trade fights etc.
Arizona Drama. An ACC commissioner is out and joining a branch of the government in an administrative role. On his way out, Tobin makes strong comments about the role of the staff at the ACC, which is similar to most other PUCs around the Country or any office in government. Good luck getting to the official without the support of the staff.
The Role of One. Most trends happen when one person does something over and over again, that something gains the attention of others and grows. Greta Thunberg is a good example, starting her climate protests on Fridays by herself before being the center of attention at all the climate conferences. (Catch her interview with Julia Pyper from Austria)
Watch Your Supply Chain. We continue to struggle with trade policy by tweet and everyone is going to get affected by this. Most solar parts are made offshore or at least contain offshore commodities that are now impacted by tariffs. China and Mexico are linked quite closely as many offshore manufacturers have locations in both. Make sure you lock in your supply chain relationships now, especially with companies that have domestic assembly capability.
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Yann
Jobs Success. Looks like the job board is a hit with the readers. If you keep the postings coming, we will keep posting them. Have a great weekend!
Presidential Climate Rankings. A report card for presidential candidates’ climate plans is out and not all are created equal. The report is also quite transparent on how people fared. The democratic leader, Joe Biden, is ranked at the bottom of the list with a D+ but we still expect to see more details on the plan. Many talking heads are saying that climate change is an issue that touches people’s hearts and minds but will not affect their voting, Biden in the lead is exhibit A. Inslee barely making the first debate is exhibit B.
What Biden Should Do. Biden’s team is floating VP names early in the process for various political reasons. What the former VP should do is announce his team for clean energy policy right now and it should include names that you and I would find familiar. Announce Inslee as the EPA Administrator or David Crane as Secretary of Energy, that would make this an interesting conversation.
Solar And Coal Have A Baby. A small modular reactor is born! The fantasy is highlighted by the NEI CEO in the Bloomberg interview and it’s as crazy and unrealistic as solar partnering with coal. Also, the sun not shining and wind not blowing isn’t the best argument anymore.
DOE PR Agents. Exporting US molecules of freedom is the most insane sentence I’ve read.
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Yann
Solar Jobs. Launching a new feature in SolarWakeup you will find below. I’ll be looking at job boards to bring you some interesting opportunities in the sector. Connecting job seekers and hiring companies has been one of the best parts of this newsletter and I want to grow that further. If you have interesting jobs, send me the link. This will be a free feature for now but will transition to premium as we gain traction and show how valuable this network is for everyone.
The Solar Race, Visualized. Wood Mackenzie is out with a visualization of the cumulative capacity installed by Country. You can check it out for yourself here and let’s check back in a few years to see how the forecast came to life.
Win, Win, Win? Xcel is going all in on transitioning to 100% clean energy including the shutting of operating coal plants, years ahead of schedule. From a climate and PR perspective this is exactly what Americans are asking for. A win for clean air. At the same time the utility gets to add early retirement costs to the rate base while also increasing it for new generation. A win for the shareholders. The consumers may see a win over time as the transition continues if the regulators mix the renewables added through 3rd party and internal investments. With lower volatility on the renewable mix, I see it as a win as well, one that should be emulated across the Country.
Looking At Cities. Michael Bloomberg and Rocky Mountain Institute are partnering to show cities on how to act for a clean energy future. This is going to cross assumed political spectrums where the cities range from Florida, Idaho to Ohio. At the same time you can look at Santa Monica announcing a major commitment alongside Austin, cities in two States that could not be farther apart on the spectrum.
The British Are Landing. The US business unit of Lightsource BP has signed a 100MW PPA with the Alabama Municipal Electric Authority. Lightsource BP is now led by Kevin Smith, the former CEO of SolarReserve, whose talking points once included why PV can’t compete with concentrating solar. Welcome to PV, Alabama!
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Yann