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Nevada Goes For 100. Late yesterday, the Nevada Senate voted unanimously to double the RPS to 50% by 2030 and 100% carbon free electricity by 2050. Vote Solar’s Jessica Scott sent this comment after the passing, “This bold but achievable clean energy commitment will support good jobs, healthier communities and a brighter energy future for our children. We urge Assembly lawmakers to follow the lead of their Senate colleagues to pass the bill and send it to the Governor.”
A Labor Union Endorsement. The Maine version of the Green New Deal got an endorsement from the State chapter of the AFL-CIO which represents 160 unions in the State. The move and commentary is a welcome addition to the fight on climate change which usually sees solar and unions on opposite ends of the legislative fight.
Electric Fleets Financed. Proterra, the amazing company that manufacturers electric buses in the Bay area, has put together a $200million financing package to lease some 1,000 buses. The goal is that the upfront cost is less than the tradition choice. Electric demand may have been flat over the past 10 years, I don’t think (Shell sounds like they agree) that this trend will continue with fleets going electric.
On Bill Financing. This could be a big mover for financing clean energy in Hawaii, I look forward to seeing the results.
Internal Cost Allocation. Microsoft is doubling its overhead allocation to divisions for their own carbon tax. At the same time they are looking for legislators to work on this as well.
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Yann
Enphase Registers SunPower’s ENPH Shares. Last year, Enphase acquired the micro inverter business and IP from SunPower for some cash and stock while also receiving a 5 year supply agreement. (This is all in the public filings) SunPower’s shares are now registered by Enphase which means that SunPower could sell the shares if they wish.
Winning The States Though. Axios’ Amy Harder is right that Trump and Perry have tried quite a few tricks to help out nuclear energy. I would also say that State’s have done quite a bit that the DC folks would be supportive of including last week in Ohio which follows New York, New Jersey, Illinois and more. Rick Perry did head down to Georgia with over $3billion in the form of Solyndra loan guarantee dollars for the nuclear plant at Vogtle, over 6x the amount that Solyndra received.
Warren Goes Full Transition. Senator Warren has no more patience for the energy transition and is out with a public lands policy plan. The MA Senator is often out front with policy proposals and this one would halt new leases for drilling of any type while looking to increase renewable energy generation on public lands tenfold.
Inverse Condemnation. The PG&E saga’s next step happened today with the release of Governor Newsom’s Wildfire strike force plan. The 59 page document highlights the risks and costs of wildfires while also saying that something needs to happen with the financial risk caused by the natural disasters, regardless who causes them. The report also says that PG&E needs to do better and withholds an outright endorsement of the inverse condemnation which would pass the risk to consumers and taxpayers instead of shareholders. First, this is largely a reality because a regulated monopoly is almost worthless to the ecosystem without a good credit rating which at this point requires indemnity from wildfire risk. Second, with the political reality that this is bound to happen, I ask again, what is solar going to extract from this bailout of massive proportion?
Subscribe To The Pod. Make sure to go to your Apple Podcast app and subscribe to the SolarWakeup podcast and listen to the latest episode. Three new episodes are releasing this week alone and more to come!
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Yann
New Pod, Thomas Byrne. Catch today’s episode with CleanCapital’s Thomas Byrne which we recorded at SolarWakeup Live. We talk about their business focus on small(er) solar and how they are scaling that.
Join The 100 Club. Governor Inslee is getting a little bump for his media strategy with the WA legislature sending the 100% RPS bill to his desk. It is largely expected that Inslee will be signing the bill since climate change is his main issue for his presidential campaign. Personally, I’ve been waiting for a candidate to get on the debate stage and talk climate change for every question. Jobs, national security, refugee crisis, foreign policy, they all lead to climate change. Inslee isn’t at 65,000 donors yet so if you want to hear him on stage, go ahead an donate $1 to his number up.
Illinois Lottery. Did you win? Now that the block grant awards are out, what happens to the projects that didn’t get their award? Will the legislature look to act on the pipeline that is ready to build?
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Yann
Apple Pushes Suppliers. Apple is moving its suppliers to add renewable energy for at least the amount of energy used to make the parts that go to Apple. This is a great type of leadership, by creating a prerequisite to get some of the business. Other big buyers should follow their lead here. I’d be interested in knowing if Apple helps the suppliers accomplish the goals through expertise or even outsourced purchasing.
Climate Politics Should Be Non-Compromising. There is some talk this week that the Green New Deal has accomplished its goals since some fringe republicans are coming out with their ‘climate’ plans. That is total nonsense, there is no sense in debating policy in public with other legislators or negotiating non existent bills. Also, the only person that should be negotiated with is Senator McConnell. Until then, make your case to the American public.
Run On Climate. Tom Friedman of the NY Times is saying that politicians should run on climate and I agree, but so do the polls. It’s been true for awhile that climate change, clean air and clean water does really well with voters, especially independents. Even more, the pivot from jobs to solar is easy. The pivot from corporate monopolies (utilities poll terribly) to solar is easy. If you’re going to run on something, run on solar.
Corporate Access To Lower Costs. More on the Apple comment from above. How can we make the access to solar easier and more standardized for other corporations? If a supplier is looking to have solar in order to make their company stand out, what is the cheapest way for them to accomplish that?
Question For You. Yesterday I wrote about the revenue put which made me ponder something. If your current debt is coming in at 1.3 DSCR and you can buy a product that gets you closer to a 1.1 ratio, what consideration would make you reject the higher debt level?
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Yann