By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Reuters is reporting that China has filed a World Trade Organization (WTO) complaint against the United States over the solar tariffs President Donald J. Trump imposed in February. Who could have seen THAT coming? (Everyone. Everyone saw this coming.) From Reuters writers Dan Stanway and Muyu Xu:

China’s commerce ministry said a U.S. decision to subsidize renewable energy firms and impose tariffs on imported products has seriously distorted the global market and harmed China’s interests, firing the latest shot in a broader trade conflict.

This is what happens when you start a trade war - the laws of unintended consequences kick in and suddenly you're fighting on 10 fronts simultaneously. I must admit it's a little rich that the Chinese are accusing the United States of subsidize its renewable energy firms. That must come as a huge surprise to SunEdison, Sungevity, Suniva and the like. But that irony aside, the latest battle of the solar tariffs - a battle that I'd like to remind everyone didn't have to be fought, especially on behalf of two firms that no longer exist - will be waged and decided in the international trade court. I'm taking odds right now that the Trump Administration responds to this decision by saying it won't be bound by WTO rulings because "Something, something, America First, furriners, bafflegab, argle bargle." In filing the complaint, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said this:

As the U.S. violations have severely distorted the global market for products like photovoltaics and seriously damaged China’s trade interests, China’s use of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism is a necessary measure to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests and maintain multilateral trade rules.

According to the ministry, though exports of solar modules have surged 21% this year, only a small fraction went to the United States, with the bulk going to India, a burgeoning solar market with the advantage of being much closer to China than the United States (which makes it cheaper to ship product to it). No one knows how this dispute will ultimately turn out, but it once again points out how ridiculous the U.S. decision to impose solar tariffs is. Keep this case on your radar; something tells me it won't be going away any time soon.

SEIA’s Hopper Makes Hires. Abby Hopper, CEO of SEIA, is adding two senior hires to the team. A VP of business development will join based in the Bay Area and Jon Smirnow will join as well. Smirnow is a name you’ll recognize given that he has been an executive at SEIA before and he was active during the 201 trade case. The new executives will be joined by a VP of federal affairs that has yet to be hired.
Local Policies, Local Outreach. Policy and solar advocates have been taking the solar to the local level. The Million Solar Strong Campaign took to Long Island City with State and local elected officials to grow solar in New York and add solar to 100,000 low income households by 2023. While this was specific to New York, you could be doing this right in your backyard. As an example, 200 solar pros including 12 from the Quick Mount PV team will be heading to Sacramento to lobby for solar policies including SB 700 and SB 100. Why do we send 12 employees to lobby for solar? First, we actually shut one of our manufacturing lines down for the day so that solar pros from all aspects of our business can be heard from. Second, if we don’t stand up for our jobs and market, then who will?
Utility Choice Creates New Formulas. The first iteration of customers leaving investor owned utilities was municipalities leaving to form munis. Then it was the start of the CCAs (community choice aggregators) and energy choice initiatives like in Nevada. The issue at hand is always what happens when a customer leaves and who pays for the infrastructure that was built to serve the customer.
Yea, But What If? Bloomberg has an interesting post that shows that installed cost of solar for public companies is declining in spite of the Trump tariffs. The message is that look how great the market is working. Let me be really clear, the market would be growing faster and more broadly if the tariffs didn’t exist including the AD/CVD charges. What if, that’s the question we need to show data for.
Congrats To Conergy Team. A quick word to the team of Conergy pros remaining in Asia. I spent a great two years with many of them and now they are joining Macquarie as their solar development and EPC platform. The Conergy team is top notch, based out of Singapore, and this is well deserved corporate development.

Have a great day!

News

 

Have a great day!
Yann

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has returned to full strength, adding two members to its executive team: one who saw the association through some tough trade times and one outsider to bring a new perspective to the association as it looks to navigate the near-term and long-term futures of the solar industry. John Smirnow will rejoin SEIA as general counsel and vice president of market strategy, and Tony Chen will serve in the newly created position of vice president of business development. The announcement comes weeks after SEIA dismissed its previous executive vice president and general counsel (and interim CEO) Tom Kimbis and SEIA’s Vice President of Federal Affairs Christopher Mansour. The additions seem to address Kimbis' departure. Sources tell SolarWakeup the search continues for Mansour's successor. Given that the association's focus is moving away from trade, it may come as a surprise to some in the industry that Smirnow has returned, given his previous experience with the organization was so closely tied to international trade At a previous point in his career, Smirnow was SEIA's vice president for international trade, where he oversaw the first and second trade battles surrounding SolarWorld and their crusade against Chinese module manufacturers. In the most recent SolarWorld battle, Smirnow represented large-scale utility clients as a well-respected trade lawyer. he returns to SEIA ready for the new challenges that lie ahead. “Abby’s strategic vision and her laser focus on supporting a thriving solar industry is what made this job so appealing to me,” Mr. Smirnow said. “No doubt our industry faces challenges, but I firmly believe that this leadership team can knock down barriers to market entry for our members and build an unparalleled energy industry trade association through strong strategic positioning.” Chen has more than a decade of experience in business development in the solar industry, including his tenure as vice president of sales and business development at Cool Earth Solar, and as a project development manager at SolarCity where he managed a $35 million sales pipeline. His vast experience with companies ranging from startups to Fortune 500 corporations will be critical as SEIA looks to expand its offerings and reach new audiences for engagement. “Whether through building on our traditional membership, capitalizing on our events, or developing new services and products for the solar industry, there are fantastic opportunities for growth,” Chen said. “I can’t wait to get started finding creative ways to help the industry itself and SEIA realize it’s enormous potential.”

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

The latest solar bills in Illinois - an emerging market thanks to the Future Energy Jobs Act - hopes to balance farmer concerns about land use with the development of large-scale ground-mounted utility and small commercial projects. Under the legislation signed into law by Governor Bruce Rauner on Friday, farming communities would have a uniform, set property tax assessment on newly built solar farms to ensure communities receive the income from the farms they have been promised. A separate bill also sets strict standards for the construction and deconstruction of solar farms built on agricultural land. Illinois decision to implement these laws comes amid increasing opposition to building solar farms on agricultural and rural land, centering on whether or not solar is the best use for the land and concerns over preserving green space in some communities. The property tax law sets property tax revenues at between $6,000 and $8,000 per megawatt, which should reassure rural property owners afraid that solar farms won't produce the same revenue for the town that the farmland does. With a projected capacity of more than 2,000 MW being installed by 2021, the amount of money generated by these solar farms could reach into the hundreds of millions of dollars for these communities. The legislation also stipulates that 70% of those property tax revenues must go to the schools. As for the farmland restoration legislation:

The farmland legislation (SB 2591) ensures that solar farms can coexist with agriculture in Illinois while providing long-term benefits to soil and water quality. SB 2591 requires that solar developers enter into an Agricultural Impact Mitigation Agreement (AIMA) with the Illinois Department of Agriculture prior to solar farm construction. The AIMA will set standards for solar construction and deconstruction and require financial assurances from developers that land will be restored to its prior use at the end of a solar farm's life.

Illinois is rapidly becoming a Midwest leader in solar energy, and it's legislation like this that is paving the way for solar development now and in the future. And as the issue of farmland use begins to bubble up in other states, expect them to follow Illinois lead to keep solar development moving forward. This legislation shows the way to meet the opposition and work with it in a productive manner.