I may be attending the remedy hearing to cover it for you all and get some expert analysis post hearing. If that happens, I will let you know. Some great events coming up to see me in person. On 10/31 we are in Boston for SolarWakeup Live! On 11/7, there will be a live streaming of EnergyWakeup at MDV-SEIA’s Solar Focus Conference in DC. And 12/6 SolarWakeup Live! Will be in DC. Make sure to get your tickets for all events and contact me if you want to sponsor any of those.
Remedy Gamesmanship Begins. We’ve been expecting the remedy testimony to come out in advance of the hearing and had heard rumors that Suniva and SolarWorld would not be in full agreement about the minimum price. Suniva has adjusted its minimum price a bit and asks for Canada to not be allowed to be a free trade partner. They still want the minimum price to be $0.74 per watt and have a tariff on imported cells. SolarWorld will be asking for an import quota which Suniva wants the tariff to apply to. Remind yourself that this is coming from two companies that will never be the same, regardless of remedy imposed because their bankability is either questionable or non-existent at this point.
Putting 51^st State In Action. I’ve had a lot of ‘if only’ conversations this week regarding the disaster in Puerto Rico. Bringing solar generators, multiple power input microgrids, energy storage etc. It’s all doable but who is the customer? Where should it go? In a discussion on my linkedin page, it was brought up that this is one of the largest power outages outside of wartime in a long time. Puerto Rico is literally the 51^st State, which matches the SEPA program to figure out what the utility of the future looks like. Seems like an opportune time to take theory and apply to real life. I’d also think that since NextEra couldn’t buy HECO, they should think about buying PREPA.

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Yann

Listen to the latest podcast and put a review on iTunes please. Get your tickets to SolarWakeup Live! Boston here.
Tax Reform Is Here.The important parts of tax reform have been highlighted and the way it would affect solar are as follows. Corporate rate is proposed to drop to 20% and a repeal of the estate tax and AMT. The corporate drop would affect the supply of tax equity because less would be owed and reduce the value of the depreciation, both of which will cause a negative pressure on tax equity value if it passes as proposed (it will not). Some senators and Secretaries have proposed making the reform retroactive to 2017, which would cause larger issues and drive contractual clauses that are ignored right now. Hoping to cover ‘change in law’ provisions with future guests on the podcast soon.
SolarWorld May Have Lost A Customer. Roofing contractor PetersenDean has signed a supply agreement with San Antonio’s Mission Solar. This is noteworthy because on my many trips to California, the radio waves are plastered with ads from PD about made in America modules which used to be purchased from SW. Now it appears that Mission Solar is getting that business, I don’t know if that is related to bankability or the 201 petition but noteworthy. I do want to ask something of the solar industry. SolarWorld is screwing the industry and we should take our business elsewhere. HOWEVER, the employees are stuck in a shitty position. You can be honest with them about your feelings but at the same time, you should offer your help to them in terms of finding another opportunity if they so desire. It’s not their fault and they probably had no ability to impact this. Just saying that we shouldn’t necessarily put the two in the same basket.
The RPS, Forgotten But Not Lost. They used to seem ideological and far fetched, especially in the mid 2000’s. Today, RPS continue to drive state and utility purchasing into renewables without cost to ratepayers. We’ve spent the year debating the 100% RPS across the leading States but many red and purple States have long forgotten the RPS. I can’t think of the last RPS bill filed in Florida since Representative Kreegel killed it in 2009 because 20% RPS by 2020 with a 2% cost cap was ‘impossible’. I laugh out loud now on how wrong we were but maybe having a doctor as the head of the energy committee was the problem to start with.

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Yann

Mike DellaGala has been in solar for a long time and we've known each other about that long. I wanted to have Mike on the podcast to talk about the change in his business model. For many years, Mike was a sponsor in the market, his goal was to buy projects with as little risk as possible at the highest returns he could find. Today, he has shifted DGEP Management to get into projects as early as possible and provide the capital needed to get to NTP. With developers using their networks and capabilities to dream up a project, the large interconnection fees are sometimes hard to find and this void is his target. We talk about the 201 petition, market inefficiencies and policies that work for solar. Make sure to check out SolarWakeup Live! in Boston on 10/31 and D.C. on 12/6. Tickets available but selling fast. If you enjoyed this episode as much as I did, make sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform including iTunes, SoundCloud and Stitcher radio. Please subscribe and share with your friends how much EnergyWakeup is helping you! [soundcloud id='344208057' height='false'] Mike DellaGala has been in solar for a long time and we've known each other about that long. I wanted to have Mike on the podcast to talk about the change in his business model. For many years, Mike was a sponsor in the market, his goal was to buy projects with as little risk as possible at the highest returns he could find. Today, he has shifted DGEP Management to get into projects as early as possible and provide the capital needed to get to NTP. With developers using their networks and capabilities to dream up a project, the large interconnection fees are sometimes hard to find and this void is his target. We talk about the 201 petition, market inefficiencies and policies that work for solar. Make sure to check out SolarWakeup Live! in Boston on 10/31 and D.C. on 12/6. Tickets available but selling fast. If you enjoyed this episode as much as I did, make sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform including iTunes, SoundCloud and Stitcher radio. Please subscribe and share with your friends how much EnergyWakeup is helping you! [soundcloud id='344208057' height='false']

Inside Development Capital, A Podcast. Risk is the biggest problem for developers. Risk costs money and slows things down when it comes to building a project. That’s why developers tend to take a project beyond maximum value, like an option declining in value after a peak. The solar industry has a lot of different sources of capital available today, much more than years ago, and we will be going through some of them over the next few months on the podcast. Listen to this episode as we talk about a different type of development capital.
More Georgia Solar. Another 1,200MW of solar in Georgia. Recently we’ve seen solar get done in Mississippi and Oklahoma as well. Sitting in Florida, I wonder when the time of solar in our State will happen.

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Yann