Sorry to bring this up, I really wasn’t planning on doing so until maybe 2021 but Corey Honeyman from GTM asked a question at the Solar Summit yesterday that almost made me fall out of my chair. During the 1 on 1 chat with a SolarCity exec, Corey asked how the ITC cliff in a few years was being planned for. I am no policy professional but I play one for a few minutes through this newsletter but there is absolutely no part of me or anyone else in the room that was thinking about the step down of the ITC. We just got it passed a few months ago, in a series of political miracles against the will of some of the biggest players from outside and within or sector. Let’s drop the step down talk until the end of the next President’s first term. And I really hope that Hillary Clinton’s energy advisor doesn’t get this question tomorrow. I do have a question for the interview. When will the trade tariffs which are taxes on the consumers be lifted if Secretary Clinton is President?
Opinion
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann
Day 1 of the Solar Summit covered the role of software in solar. Speaking on the panel yesterday I reflected a bit about what software I use to be successful at my day job. The answer is not nearly as clear as I thought. Solar is complicated and requires people to make decisions that implicate their future in big ways. I failed to mention one stat that I wanted to make people aware of. The best VC in the space is DOE SunShot which has invested $138mm into companies that innovate which has resulted in over $3bb in follow on investments. That’s quite the track record in my opinion and we should do more to help them.
Opinion
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann
Today is the start of GTM’s Solar Summit. Part of the conference will include looking at the data in each State but before the data comes out let me give you some thoughts. Generally, the first quarter seemed quite soft. The public companies back me up on this and I have seen it as well in my daily work. I don’t find any systemic issues or blame SunEdison for this. The first quarter is often soft and competition is more fierce than it has been in the past. We will also see quite a divergence in State markets. New York is trying hard to create a market while Illinois is being smothered by their utility. Politics and monopolies are a unique match because one created the other and now cannot get out of the parasitic relationship. Welcome to Scottsdale!
Opinion
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann
More changes coming to the busy residential solar sector. Last week SolarCity announced it was getting into grid services including some consulting practice segments. This could look similar to some of the moves that Edison International has made recently including personnel additions to the energy practice. The big move came from NRG, through NRG Home Solar and EVGo. NRG is getting out of the financing business and will be passing that off to Sunrun and Spruce while focusing on three northeastern States. EVGo was sold to Vision Ridge, which is led by Reuben Munger, the hedge fund manager and EV Company CEO that now has a few plays in the cleantech space. I hope to see you all in Phoenix for the solar summit. I will be having some live SolarWakeup sessions where you can help choose the stories.
Opinion
News
Opinions:
Have a great day!
Yann