SolarWorld Enters Insolvency. In Germany, the process for insolvency is rather tough for management. Your responsibilities and exposure can be rather onerous and the departure of the management team can be telling. Last week, rumor had it that investors were close to a deal to save SolarWorld. This could still happen but it appears less likely now that the company has entered insolvency proceedings and the team has resigned.
An Arizona Reminder. I know it’s hard to keep up with everything going on but there is still an open investigation in Arizona regarding the corporation commission election a few years ago. Since the investigation started, the investigators have charged a former commissioner and his wife as part of a broader review. Documents will be seen and dealmaking will surely happen now that there is leverage and the aim seems still to be on APS, part of Pinnacle West.
Retrospective Perspectives. Andrew Beebe has been around solar for a lifetime, which means starting between the years 2005 and 2007. I remember the days of ‘alternative’ energy and agree that the energy piece of the conversation is largely gone, now focused on renewable instead. That being said development of renewable energy still seeks capital from special situations groups instead of private equity firms built around this entire premise. Money looks for deals more than deal development. That is the natural next step in my opinion to make solar gain market share into double digits of total supply.
Opinion
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann
Will Storage Mirror Solar? I often ask myself how the chemistry projects in storage will play out in the storage sector. 10 years ago, solar was also going through a science project with companies in thin film and organic cells trying to drive up the efficiency to lower the cost. When it all played out, costs in crystalline came down and bankability caused the science projects to struggle gain the scale required to get actionable market share. Storage could be different. The science could drive exponential advantages as opposed to just lower costs. Lithium Ion may very well be the crystalline that keeps market share because of costs, access and bankability but maybe something else will overtake that. Google seems to think so…
This Will Be Different, Shell 2.0. Shell has been hiring some big solar names, names most solar folks know. The CEO has said his next car will be an EV and capital will get deployed into renewable energy. BP had a solar factory, Chevron used to do tax equity and Total basically owns SunPower. Oil companies have been trying to see an entry into new energy for years, as long as any corporate money. This time will be different I think except that the total dollars deployed will be restricted by the drastic reduction in costs.
For You To Read. Leaving this story here without comment.
Opinion
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann
A Corporate Deal That Makes A Difference. It seems to me that JP Morgan going corporate including a goal to deploy capital is different that the Amazon/Facebook/GM/Ikea/WalMart announcements before it. JP Morgan has quite a track record in solar, big equity and tax equity alike. Hitting $200bb isn’t just good for our industry but it’s a good thing for investors in JPM as well. Being a customer only makes sense given that investors need as many deals as possible with great offtakers.
Series 6 Paying Off. Wall Street had some doubts about First Solar’s double down on manufacturing. The company has made much of its cash on development, betting early and often on interconnections. It’s been mentioned that FSLR is a winner in the 201 petition but I wouldn’t get too conspiracy theory on that given the leap in technology that FSLR was banking on before the petition was ever filed.
Going Local For Customers. Last month, at the PAC 12 Sustainability Summit, I had a simple message to the leaders in the room. You are the perfect customer and there is no deal that shouldn’t get done. Too many meetings have happened over the years where the discussion about solar ends with “it doesn’t pencil right now.” Really the question should be posed, what does it take to get a deal done at XX cents per kWh? Do we need to go bigger? Do we need to do a virtual net metering deal? Mayors can do the same. By talking to the market, doing solar deals can be done almost anywhere in the Country.
Opinion
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann
Have a great weekend!
A Few Of My Favorite Things. There is an irony in seeing solar skeptics get into solar. Many times this is done quietly until they are successful. I welcome them to the solar industry and I am happy to see a change in perspective. In this case, Calpine won a solar project in Texas.
Something To Ponder. The Kochs have been confusing me recently. Of course, anti-solar (except when it comes to protectionism) but in this case apparently anti-EV. This could be based on the reduction of use of oil. But being anti-EV also means being anti-natural gas becase NG is the fuel of choice for the utility which needs EVs to grow. Maybe it is now a tactic of being anti-Elon Musk.
Arizona Settlements. Regulators recommend accepting the Arizona solar settlement. Next week you will hear from the Arizona SEIA Executive Director on this topic. Stay tuned.
Opinion
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann