By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

[caption id="attachment_10364" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Harrisburg, Pennsylvania[/caption]

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Yesterday, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed legislation designed to open up more clean-energy investment in the state by creating a statewide Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program into law. PACE is a financing mechanism that enables low-cost, long-term funding for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation upgrades to commercial or industrial properties through property taxes. This allows businesses to invest in upgrades like renewable energy while paying no money upfront. In states where it's available, PACE has proven to be a popular program. As Wolf said in his statement announcing the signing:

This innovative financing mechanism will support the creation of new clean energy and energy efficiency projects throughout the commonwealth, while also enhancing property values and employment opportunities, while lowering the costs of doing business. The implementation of this economic development tool in Pennsylvania is yet another example of the bipartisan work that can come out of Harrisburg when we work together on common sense legislation.

According to Wolf, 33 states plus the District of Columbia authorize PACE financing for clean energy and energy efficiency projects; this includes a diverse group of states such as Alabama, California, Georgia, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Texas. Late last year, Wolf also signed Act 40 into law, which fixed a loophole in Pennsylvania law concerning Solar Renewable Energy Credits, or SRECs. Under old Pennsylvania law, Pennsylvania’s SREC producers could only sell their SRECs within the state, but states outside Pennsylvania could buy into the Pennsylvania market. This had caused a run on SRECs by out-of-state buyers and plunged the state's SREC market into chaos, effectively closing down the Pennsylvania market until further notice, since deals became nearly impossible to finance through normal channels. Act 40 closed that out-of-state market loophole, and SRECs in the state are slowly recovering some of their value. Between closing the SREC loophole and creating this new PACE program, the Keystone State may be on its way back to solar prominence.

Will Suniva Find A Buyer? SQN has taken over the company formerly and still, for now, known as Suniva. It will now seek strategic partners, i.e. sell the company, to someone interested in the intellectual property, equipment, and other assets. The obvious name that comes up is the manufacturer that recently announced a Georgia module plant for which it will need cells, which Suniva used to make in Georgia and ship to Asia to be assembled. We shall see.
Industry Wants Certainty On Climate. Amy Harder of Axios has the industry insight on a letter sent Trump stating that climate regulations would create American jobs. Solar also has some great American jobs, some manufacturers making many of the solar mounts and associated equipment in the US.
The New Utility Normal. No more coal, slowing down gas and more renewables. Next week, I will highlight what is happen in the IPP market because those that don’t operate in the monopoly utility market have a particular insight on what is going to happen next for the power plant owners and investors.
SunPower Continues Adapting. We had this first but here it is officially, a partnership between SunPower and Sonnen. I’m a fan of the solar plus storage play having lived in a hurricane zone for many years.
SolarWakeup Live! This Thursday in Chicago. Top solar folks and a marathon day of interviews with me. And if you have seen my interviews, you know that you are going to get information out of the conversation that helps your business. SolarWakeuplive.com is the place to get your tickets.

Have a great day!

News

 

Have a great day!
Yann

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

It appears Suniva may finally be ready to undergo the sale we've all been anticipating for more than a year. SQN Capital Management, the company's largest creditor and the one who once tried to get a $55 million payment from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce to make the trade case go away last May, announced that the bankruptcy court has finally awarded it full title to "the cutting edge technology, licenses, and manufacturing capacity" of the company. Which, most solar observers assume, means all that will soon be up for sale. It's the only logical outcome for Suniva, which last April filed the trade complaint that would shake the industry to its core and end in January with President Donald J. Trump imposing 30% tariffs on all imported solar modules. It is, of course, a bittersweet outcome and one that stands in stark contrast to what happened to its co-complainant, SolarWorld. I In its own Cinderella story, SolarWorld was recently purchased by SunPower, who has pledged to keep the Oregon factory open, keep the workers employed and perhaps even hire more. The executives are walking away with golden parachutes and a huge payout. It's a win-win all around. Not so with Suniva. There's been no announced plan to reopen any plants or restart manufacturing in either Atlanta or Saginaw, Michigan. Hundreds of people lost their jobs when Suniva shut down virtually overnight last year, and there hasn't been any plan that indicates they'll get their jobs back. As we've talked about before, the Suniva part of this power play has always been about getting SQN its money back come hell or high water. It appears the bankruptcy court has just given SQN what it needed to make that happen for themselves. SQN has been hinting for months that it had a couple of interested parties in what's left of Suniva if only it could get its hands on all the property from the court. Now they have it. Let the bidding begin.

Intersolar and ees North America, the premier solar and energy storage events, will award California Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. with the first-ever Intersolar Champion of Change Lifetime Achievement AWARD. Each year, Intersolar recognizes an individuals' commitment to supporting the development of renewable energy with the Champion of Change AWARD, hosted in partnership with the California Solar and Storage Association (CALSSA). The Lifetime Achievement AWARD honors pioneers in clean technology and their outstanding accomplishments in advancing the adoption of renewable energy. "California's solar industry owes a debt of gratitude to Governor Brown for his decades of support," said Bernadette del Chiaro, executive director of CALSSA. "It was his original vision and early acceptance of solar energy as a mainstream source of energy that set the wheels of industry in motion decades ago, and still generate change today. Governor Brown has never stopped pushing for progress and change. Somehow he understands better than most public leaders that progress begets progress and that change happens one solar roof, one solar school, one solar farm at a time." For nearly five decades, Gov. Brown has dedicated his efforts toward building an emission-free future by enforcing sustainable policies within the state of California while also contributing to national and international green initiatives. Under his leadership, California has solidified its position as a global leader in solar and clean energy, being home to one third of the country's solar workforce and the largest solar market within the U.S. Gov. Brown appeared at Intersolar North America as a keynote speaker in San Francisco, and promoted the economic and environmental benefits role solar and renewable energy technologies offer. Gov. Brown's commitment to solar dates back to the mid-1970s and early-1980s during his first term in office as the Governor of California, where he halted the expansion of nuclear power and promoted renewable energy. Now about to end his fourth term, Gov. Brown has been a policy trailblazer for the solar industry. In 2015, Gov. Brown signed a mandate for 50 percent renewables by 2030 inspiring many states like New York and New Jersey to follow suit. More recently, the governor formed the U.S. Climate Alliance with state governors across the country, in response to President Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, to further battle the effects of climate change and drive the United States' sustainability efforts. Expanding to the international level, Gov. Brown co-founded the Under2Coalition, a global commitment to combating climate change and represents more than 1.3 billion people in GDP, 17 percent of the global population. And this year, under the governor's leadership, California adopted the nation's first policy requiring all new residential construction in the state to have solar installed starting in 2020. "California has long led the United States, and the world, in solar energy innovation and adoption, due in no small part to the forward-thinking policies of Gov. Brown," said Florian Wessendorf and Daniel Strowitzki, managing directors of Intersolar North America. "We are thrilled we've been able to work closely with Gov. Brown and his administration over the years, and have found his comments on the industry and his actions and progressive policies inspiring. There is no one more deserving of Intersolar's first-ever Champion of Change Lifetime Achievement AWARD." By honoring individuals such as Gov. Brown, Intersolar and ees North America, as well as its partners, shine a light on those helping drive new energy technologies forward, and underscores the events' commitment to supporting the solar economy in California and beyond. For more than a decade, event organizers have worked closely with organizations such as CALSSA, NAATBatt and NorCal Solar to help advocate for programs and policies important to the solar and storage industries and have also offered financial support. Off-site networking events, such as CALSSA's annual Summerfest, serve as important fundraisers for the organizations. All proceeds from Summerfest go directly toward CALSSA. In 2017, CALSSA raised nearly $500,000 from all activities at Intersolar North America. Registration to Intersolar and ees North America's exhibition and conference is available online. Members of the press can now apply for a media pass here. Tickets for Summerfest, as well as other networking activities including a San Francisco Bay Sailing Tour, trip to solar installations in Wine Country, and a tour of notable solar projects in San Francisco are available for purchase. All attendees are able to attend the Opening Ceremony and Champion of Change AWARD Ceremony on Tuesday, July 10 at 8:30 a.m., which will feature keynote speakers Tony Seba, author and Silicon Valley entrepreneur, and Elaine Ulrich, Ph.D. Senior Advisor U.S. Department of Energy. Information on all AWARDs can be found here. Intersolar and ees North America, the premier solar and energy storage events, will award California Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. with the first-ever Intersolar Champion of Change Lifetime Achievement AWARD. Each year, Intersolar recognizes an individuals' commitment to supporting the development of renewable energy with the Champion of Change AWARD, hosted in partnership with the California Solar and Storage Association (CALSSA). The Lifetime Achievement AWARD honors pioneers in clean technology and their outstanding accomplishments in advancing the adoption of renewable energy. "California's solar industry owes a debt of gratitude to Governor Brown for his decades of support," said Bernadette del Chiaro, executive director of CALSSA. "It was his original vision and early acceptance of solar energy as a mainstream source of energy that set the wheels of industry in motion decades ago, and still generate change today. Governor Brown has never stopped pushing for progress and change. Somehow he understands better than most public leaders that progress begets progress and that change happens one solar roof, one solar school, one solar farm at a time." For nearly five decades, Gov. Brown has dedicated his efforts toward building an emission-free future by enforcing sustainable policies within the state of California while also contributing to national and international green initiatives. Under his leadership, California has solidified its position as a global leader in solar and clean energy, being home to one third of the country's solar workforce and the largest solar market within the U.S. Gov. Brown appeared at Intersolar North America as a keynote speaker in San Francisco, and promoted the economic and environmental benefits role solar and renewable energy technologies offer. Gov. Brown's commitment to solar dates back to the mid-1970s and early-1980s during his first term in office as the Governor of California, where he halted the expansion of nuclear power and promoted renewable energy. Now about to end his fourth term, Gov. Brown has been a policy trailblazer for the solar industry. In 2015, Gov. Brown signed a mandate for 50 percent renewables by 2030 inspiring many states like New York and New Jersey to follow suit. More recently, the governor formed the U.S. Climate Alliance with state governors across the country, in response to President Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, to further battle the effects of climate change and drive the United States' sustainability efforts. Expanding to the international level, Gov. Brown co-founded the Under2Coalition, a global commitment to combating climate change and represents more than 1.3 billion people in GDP, 17 percent of the global population. And this year, under the governor's leadership, California adopted the nation's first policy requiring all new residential construction in the state to have solar installed starting in 2020. "California has long led the United States, and the world, in solar energy innovation and adoption, due in no small part to the forward-thinking policies of Gov. Brown," said Florian Wessendorf and Daniel Strowitzki, managing directors of Intersolar North America. "We are thrilled we've been able to work closely with Gov. Brown and his administration over the years, and have found his comments on the industry and his actions and progressive policies inspiring. There is no one more deserving of Intersolar's first-ever Champion of Change Lifetime Achievement AWARD." By honoring individuals such as Gov. Brown, Intersolar and ees North America, as well as its partners, shine a light on those helping drive new energy technologies forward, and underscores the events' commitment to supporting the solar economy in California and beyond. For more than a decade, event organizers have worked closely with organizations such as CALSSA, NAATBatt and NorCal Solar to help advocate for programs and policies important to the solar and storage industries and have also offered financial support. Off-site networking events, such as CALSSA's annual Summerfest, serve as important fundraisers for the organizations. All proceeds from Summerfest go directly toward CALSSA. In 2017, CALSSA raised nearly $500,000 from all activities at Intersolar North America. Registration to Intersolar and ees North America's exhibition and conference is available online. Members of the press can now apply for a media pass here. Tickets for Summerfest, as well as other networking activities including a San Francisco Bay Sailing Tour, trip to solar installations in Wine Country, and a tour of notable solar projects in San Francisco are available for purchase. All attendees are able to attend the Opening Ceremony and Champion of Change AWARD Ceremony on Tuesday, July 10 at 8:30 a.m., which will feature keynote speakers Tony Seba, author and Silicon Valley entrepreneur, and Elaine Ulrich, Ph.D. Senior Advisor U.S. Department of Energy. Information on all AWARDs can be found here.