We Want Solar. We’ve gotta stop being surprised when we see polls that show Americans wanting more solar. This isn’t just an environmental decision, it’s also one of control of cost and of self-reliance. A poll would likely show Americans preferring to disconnect from the grid but that’s a different topic. In a Q&A with Dan Rather last night, the first question came about science and climate change which makes me wonder where we fall short in spreading our message. A few years ago, a leading solar advocate told me that it doesn’t matter how much money solar has in its coffers, it would never win based on spending or campaign donations. Solar wins because of the people on the Capitol steps and marches in front of the PUC. I can’t help but think that all of these conversations we’ve had over the past few weeks about money vs values, that this advice is as true as ever and these polls are proof of that. Open the tent, it doesn’t have to be gold plated.

Solar Moves To EV Charging. GM is signing a deal with EVgo to get more fast charging done. EVgo is an interesting story with notable solar ties. EVgo was acquired from NRG, post David Crane, by Reuben Munger’s investment firm, Vision Ridge. Since then, in recent months, solar veterans Cathy Zoi (DOE, Silver Lake, SunEdison) and Julie Blunden (SunPower, SunEdison, CalCEF) have joined the company.

Do You DER? It seems that a gathering workshop on the FERC 841 order has attracted quite the attendees. Were you there? What was your takeaway?

Vehicle To Grid. Using your EV battery for distributed resources seems like a strange way to use an expensive battery in your car, causes all sorts of issues to the lease transaction and makes non-energy professionals have to trust a new market. Some companies are road testing this technology and I can see how this could work in the future. My guess is it happens in some fashion at some point.

MidWest Solar, Illinois. The Land of Obama is finally going solar (and other RE/EE). I am extremely bullish on early stage development in that region and see opportunities for all segments of this market. The politics could play well, as well as politics in Springfield could look at least. We will be announcing our dates and agenda for the Illinois event shortly, stay tuned.

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Have a great day!
Yann

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: Blue Bird Corporation, whose iconic logo you've probably seen on a school bus near you, is diving bravely into the future by unveiling the electric versions of its Type C & D configuration school buses.

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: Blue Bird Corporation, whose iconic logo you've probably seen on a school bus near you, is diving bravely into the future by unveiling the electric versions of its Type C & D configuration school buses.

• According to CleanTechnica, Blue Bird is reportedly the only U.S. company offering electric buses in those configurations.
• You could see these buses delivering your kids to school as soon as this fall.

SolarWakeup’s View:  Pretty soon, you may not hear the churning of diesel engines as school buses stop at the end of your driveway to pick up your precious baby for school - not if school-bus company Blue Bird has its way. The company announced the unveiling the latest version of its plug-in EVs in all of their yellow glory, adhering to the usual school bus dimensions, minus the snub nose of old. Powered by 160 kWh battery packs allow the new buses to go 120 miles on one charge, which should be more than enough for most school bus routes with which I am familiar. What makes these newest EVs so groundbreaking, however, goes beyond transporting children. Right now, EVs - particularly plug-in EVs - are still outside of most people's daily experience, so it's often hard for people to understand how important they are to the future of transportation in the United States. But now that they'll be transporting kids to school? EVERYONE will know what EVs are. And we all know that once parents discover how good they are for their children's environment, they will demand all the school buses be electric. Once that happens, you know they will proliferate everywhere. I've argued for several years that a move like this would be the final push EVs need to become entirely mainstream. That moment finally appears to be here. More: Blue Bird Now Taking Orders For Electric School Buses To Be Delivered In 2018 (CleanTechnica)

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: Gallup's annual Environment survey indicates that Americans want to develop more alternative energy sources instead of traditional fossil-fuel generation, to the tune of 73%. (Psst...Gallup....Lynn Jurich called and would like her conclusion back, please. Thank you.)

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: Gallup's annual Environment survey indicates that Americans want to develop more alternative energy sources instead of traditional fossil-fuel generation, to the tune of 73%. (Psst...Gallup....Lynn Jurich called and would like her conclusion back, please. Thank you.)

• In contrast, only 25% of the country is worried about the availability or affordability of energy in this country.
• And finally, more than half of Americans want to prioritize environmental conservation over fossil-fuel energy development (which may mean that, for now, the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve is safe from oil derricks).

SolarWakeup’s View:  All I keep hearing is how much Americans want to develop more solar energy. Poll after poll indicates that, including what I refer to as "the famous 90% poll" I've been hearing about since I joined the industry in 2011. Lynn Jurich of Sunrun posited as much in her latest thought-leadership piece. The latest Gallup Environment survey is no exception. According to the poll's findings, 73% of Americans want the United States to wean itself of traditional fossil fuels and pour more research into alternative energy sources like solar and wind. And more than 50% prefer to protect the environment over more fossil fuel exploration. So why does solar still find itself fighting an uphill battle in state after state to get itself established (in South Carolina, for example, where they were SO close to expandinig the industry but decided to kill it instead - sorry, my jaw is still dropped on that one)? The answer is pretty easy, of course, and you know it deep in your soul - the coal, oil and gas industries are deeply entrenched in the political and utility infrastructure, and those interests are fighting a savage rearguard action to maintain their own power. But it's a fight they will lose. The American people keep speaking, loudly, against their monopoly. Eventually, those voices will drown out the shrieking death throes of fossil fuel interests. In the meantime, however, solar can't just sit back and wait for this to happen. Americans have the attention spans of drunken gnats, so it's incumbent on us to keep fighting to get the word out about the benefits of solar energy - as a job creator, as an environmental safeguard and as a national-security bulwark. I've always said that if we could activate the general public, solar would win this battle easily. So let's do it already - there are groups out there with whom an alliance to make this happen just makes sense. Make it happen in your community, and I'll do what I can to make it happen in mine. Deal? More: U.S. Energy Concerns Low; Increasing Supply Not a Priority (Gallup) What Would Consumers Choose? (Solar. They Would Choose Solar.) (SolarWakeup, courtesy of Sunrun) Solar United Neighbors

See You In Charlottesville. I’m not the only one leaving town (I see you Paul Ryan). I’m on my way to Charlottesville to moderate a panel on solar investments and financing at the Tom Tom Festival. Let me know if you are in town for this.

Shame In SC. I thought  60-40 victory in the SC House would mean that a mild solar win for the industry was safe. BUT never underestimate the power of greedy monopolies, especially in Southern States. Using some crazy legislative tactics, the utilities got the House to reconsider the matter AND requiring a 2/3 margin to pass. This failed to happen and the bill died, for now, costing SC around 3,000 jobs. These jobs won’t come back in the nuclear industry, after that $9billion boondoggle, but hopefully legislative leaders will see a way to fix this. Frank and local news on the topic.

Monopoly Regulations. More on the topic of what monopolies should be allowed to do later but since SC happened, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the legislative power investor owned monopolies have through their lobbying. A monopoly is given to a private corporation for the public good, to have a responsibility to serve the consumer in the best way possible for key markets, energy being one. Having that privilege should come with restrictions, especially around influencing politics and participating in competitive markets that they could have an unfair advantage in. I believe, and most consumers would agree with me, utilities should be prohibited from lobbying and should be treated like non-profits that are only allowed to educate. No political fundraising or underhanded legislative tactics should be allowed by someone that already has 100% market share.

The Energy Show With Barry Cinnamon. Is now available on SolarWakeup. His latest episode about microgrids is here. We are excited to have Barry join the SolarWakeup community as we continue to grow and look forward to hearing his podcasts going forward.

More Murray Quotes. Another gem from Murray, saying “People will die in the dark” if coal goes away. Quite the opposite, no more mining accidents and cleaner air will mean society lives longer and solar will keep the lights on.

The Quiet Bus. If my kids could ride the Tesla electric bus, they definitely wouldn’t want me driving them to school. I discussed the school bus route with Proterra’s CEO in this podcast.

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Have a great day!
Yann