By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

My Intersolar North America sojourn started yesterday, standing in the 90-degree heat looking at a new testing facility for bifacial solar modules. Run by Soltec but informed by input from some of the industry's leading manufacturers and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), The Bifacial Tracker Evaluation Center (BiTEC) will perform rigorous assessment of installation and control parameter influences on bifacial tracker performance compared to other PV applications. One of the key challenges holding back the widespread use of bifacial modules is a lack of real-world data on how they perform in the field, according to the NREL researcher on hand to explain the BiTEC test site yesterday. What the new evaluation center is designed to do is give researchers the real-world insights into bifacial modules electricity production, which will allow more information to flow on how they compare with traditional modules. And, as with other solar innovations, the more information we have, the more innovation can come. So congratulations to Soltec, JinkoSolar, REC Solar, Black and Veatch and the rest of the partners who had a part in putting together this innovative center. I look forward to seeing what data comes out of it and how it moves the industry forward. This is the kind of information that is rife at shows like Intersolar North America, and it's the kind of information I plan on bringing you over the next three days. Given the informative sessions and the new technology on the show floor, there is no end of information and news that I will be able to bring you. While I could give you an outline of exactly what I'll be writing about, I'd prefer to have it unfold for you as it will for me - it will be as if you're here attending the show with me. Personally, I can't wait to see what Intersolar North America has in store for us all - I hope you're ready to take the journey with me.

Soltage, a nationwide renewable-energy provider, today announced the completion of three solar projects for the Grossmont Union High School District, totaling 3.2 MW. The three systems together will produce nearly 5 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy per year. These projects were developed utilizing a combination of car-port and ground mounted solar arrays and worked within the dense construction footprint of Southern California to maximize the size of the solar arrays which serve the Granite Hills High School, Steele Canyon High School and the Helix Charter High School. Each of the solar arrays provides enough electricity to offset 95% of each school’s energy needs on an annual basis. “Soltage prides itself on meeting the needs of our education sector customers. We look to implement solar projects designed so that our educational clients can save significant capital on their power costs, and focus those dollars back on their primary job of educating the next generation,” said Jesse Grossman, Soltage CEO. “The Grossmont Union High School District has always looked to both be fiscally responsible while at the same time environmentally conscious,” said Dr. Tim Glover, the Superintendent for the Grossmont Union High School. “Solar is our way forward to the future,” said Lindsey Danner, Aquatics/Energy Manager for Grossmont Union High School District. “Not only is the executive team on board with these innovations, but our students are, too.” These solar systems, which are now operational, are projected to save the school district over $20 million in electricity costs over the 25 years of the PPA. Combined, the power produced by these solar systems removes the equivalent CO2 levels of more than 4 million pounds of coal burned or 418,711 gallons of gasoline. The projects were funded by Soltage as part of a recent investment into their capital vehicle raised with Basalt Infrastructure. Construction was performed on these solar projects by Baker Electric. Soltage, a nationwide renewable-energy provider, today announced the completion of three solar projects for the Grossmont Union High School District, totaling 3.2 MW. The three systems together will produce nearly 5 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy per year. These projects were developed utilizing a combination of car-port and ground mounted solar arrays and worked within the dense construction footprint of Southern California to maximize the size of the solar arrays which serve the Granite Hills High School, Steele Canyon High School and the Helix Charter High School. Each of the solar arrays provides enough electricity to offset 95% of each school’s energy needs on an annual basis. “Soltage prides itself on meeting the needs of our education sector customers. We look to implement solar projects designed so that our educational clients can save significant capital on their power costs, and focus those dollars back on their primary job of educating the next generation,” said Jesse Grossman, Soltage CEO. “The Grossmont Union High School District has always looked to both be fiscally responsible while at the same time environmentally conscious,” said Dr. Tim Glover, the Superintendent for the Grossmont Union High School. “Solar is our way forward to the future,” said Lindsey Danner, Aquatics/Energy Manager for Grossmont Union High School District. “Not only is the executive team on board with these innovations, but our students are, too.” These solar systems, which are now operational, are projected to save the school district over $20 million in electricity costs over the 25 years of the PPA. Combined, the power produced by these solar systems removes the equivalent CO2 levels of more than 4 million pounds of coal burned or 418,711 gallons of gasoline. The projects were funded by Soltage as part of a recent investment into their capital vehicle raised with Basalt Infrastructure. Construction was performed on these solar projects by Baker Electric.

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

The invaluable Ryan Randazzo at AZCentral.com revealed today that the executive director of the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC), which oversees public utilities in the state, has had to resign because his wife worked for the lobbying firm that represents - wait for it - the state's largest utility, Arizona Public Service. Although there is no evidence of direct influence, the scent of conflicted interests surrounding Executive Director Tom Vogt was so strong that he resigned ahead of an emergency meeting the commissioners had called to discuss whether he had in fact violated state law by not disclosing his wife's job. Vogt was a strange choice as executive director when he joined the commission in January 2017. As I wrote at the time for pv magazine, his resume was pretty thin:

Vogt’s resume is longer, but his energy experience is even thinner than Forese’s. After a five-year career as an investment banker, Vogt entered the Air Force as an intelligence officer and served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He then joined then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s staff as a daily intelligence briefer. Vogt served three years as an Arizona representative and led the state’s Department of Veterans’ Services before Monday’s appointment. His most notable legislative achievements focused on veterans’ issues and not on energy. He is also a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative policy shop whose anti-solar stances are legendary.

Given the information Randazzo uncovered, is it really any surprise that the solar industry in, mind you, a state with the highest insolation rates in the country is struggling? Vogt is not the first commissioner to have ties to APS, and APS has not been shy about spreading its money around in commissioner races in the past. It's nice to see some accountability finally being put in place for these conflicts, but Vogt isn't the only compromised member of the commission. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the long run. It should also be noted that Vogt's resignation comes shortly after Commissioner Andy Tobin put forth a proposal to raise Arizona's RPS to 80% by 2050 to counter a proposal by progressive billionaire Tom Steyer to raise the RPS to 50% by 2030. The difference between the two proposals is that Tobin's is significantly more friendly to APS than Steyer's plan, in that it considers nuclear power to be "clean energy." APS currently owns two nuclear plants in the state and is the only utility to do so. More: Solar neophytes join ACC as its new leaders Arizona Regulator Wants To Get Ahead Of The Voters (And That May Be OK)

Intersolar Happenings. If there was a doubt about attendance at ISNA, the schedule definitely doesn’t show a slowdown. Multiple events each evening and lots of people looking to figure out how to move their business forward with some dealmaking. I like the that the conference has been brought into Moscone, colocated with solar and storage into a single venue. If you are in town for the show, let me know how it goes for you.
Exciting Resi Times. All the noise doesn’t seem to really come down to the local installer level. Maybe it’s because you don’t find the time to devote worry to things you can’t control. I talk to a dozen installers a week, at minimum, and without fail your biggest concern is delivering installs to your customers faster and keeping more of your loan proceeds by lowering the dealer fees. I’d love to see more happening on the training side because installers need qualified labor to install solar, which is becoming one of the biggest constrictions to growth right now.
The Trump Trade War Starts. The mainstream media is all over the official start of the Trump trade war, and I’d love to see more solar in the news showing that this is the 4th or 5th level of consumer taxes in the solar industry. Module prices are dropping right now and developers are jumping at the opportunity to buy compliant inventory at lower costs. Reality remains that the uncertainty is paralyzing larger businesses that don’t buy product on a daily basis and need to get 6 months of certainty that allow for projects to be started, financed and built under a solid set of assumptions.
Lithium. EVs. China. VW’s announcement brings up the topic that I’ve warned about before, especially to legislators that read SolarWakeup. If the US wants to be in the game of manufacturing LiOn batteries, it needs to do so right now. The boat hasn’t left the harbor but it’s getting close. My operating assumption that this is likely a lost battle for the US but we will remain the global leader in executive platforms and dealmaking much like solar. The problem with that divergence is that the future probably mimics the trade fights unless the auto OEMs and utilities get together and make sure that politically that doesn’t happen.
Presented by Pfister Energy – Pfister Energy is a turnkey design-build renewable energy provider for commercial, industrial, utility, and community projects with an emphasis on energy efficiency and energy management. We possess 25 years of project experience with over 120 MW of solar installed on rooftops, carports and on unused land nationally. Clean energy is not limited to solar and as part of our smart building-integrated energy plan, we provide holistic solutions by stacking solar, LED lighting, wind, daylighting and other energy efficiency systems combined with storage.  Visit www.pfisterenergy.com for more information.

Have a great day!

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Have a great day!
Yann