Come see me in Sacramento next Monday at 11:30am at the PAC-12 Sustainability Conference. Bill Walton and I will preach the solar gospel, hopefully driving campuses and students to be leaders and consumers of solar energy.
The Businesses Lead the Way. I’ve always said that our most important and most unserved advocate is the customer. When was the last time that you spoke to a customer for 2 or more years ago? Activate them to help push a policy or sell them some upgrade? We have to think outside the box on this because we have over a million customers nationally, that is a powerful target audience to help us all, including to refer more business to our industry.
Oak Tree Is Making Moves. I don’t know if Oak Tree is really into wire harnesses or the investment partner was hoping to wear cargo shorts more often. The key question for this deal is obvious, what was Dean wearing in the investment meeting??? Congrats to the whole Shoals team!
Turn the LePage. Maine needs to keep working on its policy. Every State matters and every year matters but as State fights go, sessions start and end but the education on solar policy never stops.
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Yann
Long day in California which ended in Sacramento for a day of meetings surrounding the AEE conference.
PAC-12 Sustainability. Come see me on Monday the 26th in Sacramento at the PAC-12 Sustainability Conference. I’ll be talking with Bill Walton about the important work students and universities play in our markets. I hope to see you there.
Solar Foundation Solstice. This Thursday, anyone in the DC area should be at the Solar Foundation Summer Solstice event. Now, more than ever, we need to support the important work that the Solar Foundation does for our industry. Get your tickets here!
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Yann
Great first day in the Bay Area to talk about how the solar industry is entering and integrating energy storage. What is your top issue when studying storage for your solar project?
Solar Wins In Africa. Just a few years ago there was a conversation about the need to energize Africa using central power and transmission. The data now shows that solar is doing the job needed to electrify many areas without the need for costly transmission. Add hybrid power systems in microgrids to high power demand areas and you can create an entirely distributed grid.
100% Renewables? Can we get to a grid with 100% renewables by the middle of the century? In my mind, it is absolutely feasible if we have the right price signals.
Are Corporates Getting Smarter? From a development standpoint, corporates and other C&I customers have so many tools at their disposal to control their energy costs. Islanded and behind the meter microgrids can be built to their needs with the power inputs that the client wants. With steep declines in energy storage costs and new technologies, distributed power will not only be distributed but also potentially a microgrid that is smarter than we have been accustomed to.
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Yann
I am on the way to San Francisco as I spend the last week of the Energy Storage Road Show in the Bay Area with a quick stop in Sacramento on Wednesday.
Sandoval Goes Back To Politics. The legislature in Nevada crafted really forward thinking policy for its constituents this year. The Governor was quiet throughout the process and after signing the net metering bill on Thursday, vetoed 2 bills related to solar on Friday. The first would have created a community solar market in Nevada which would have brought solar to renters and homeowners with bad roofs for solar. He also stopped the bill that would have increased the RPS to 40%. Much of this was in response to opposition by ‘the boulevard’ and his continued hope to move to Washington. A missed opportunity in my opinion for the Governor to play politics by supporting solar.
Faces To Political Issues. Mainstream news outlets are doing a good job to see who is affected by the changing economy. This isn’t a good/bad economy problem, but a old/new job opportunity issue. As part of this, I would like to hear from you about interesting career paths on your teams. There is a political connotation to this and I want to show that people from all sorts of backgrounds found work in solar. Did they come from oil or coal? Laid off from another trade contractor? Anything interesting and appeals to mainstream America, please send me an email.
Florida Hates Taxes. We don’t have an income tax and now commercial solar will get a large property tax reduction thanks to the leadership of Senator Jeff Brandes and Vote Solar. Vote Solar’s team pushed for this years back and stuck through the process by getting a legislative push to bring it to the voters. Well done by all.
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Yann