This is your SolarWakeup for June 5th, 2019
Biden Climate Plan. The former Vice President is out with his climate plan and it is definitely influenced by the large field moving towards decarbonization much faster than was expected just a few years ago. Biden’s plan calls for net-zero by 2050 and calls the Green New Deal a crucial framework. Note that this is pushed forward as Biden is slipping in the polls and chose to skip the California Democratic convention. There is also late comment about and apology from the campaign regarding lack of citations around the policy document which apparently failed to acknowledge some sources.
A Frustrating Job. The chairman of the CPUC, an incredibly interesting and important job, is stepping down from the commission. This comes ahead of the wildfire related decisions that need to happen this fall. When interviewed about the job, Picker said it wasn’t the worst job he’s ever had but it is the most frustrating. Bureaucracy will do that to you!
Solar Investor Buys Utility. JP Morgan’s Infrastructure Investment group, which is the same team that acquired Sonnedix, has acquired the El Paso Electric Company for over $2billion.
Solar Powered Beer. Anheuser Busch is entering into an agreement to buy energy from a 222MW solar farm in Texas developed by Recurrent Energy, the division of Canadian Solar. The project, coupled with a smaller project, is also entering into a 15 year contract with Energy Transfer Partners who explicitly said that cost was a motivating driver. ETP will reach 20% of its energy use from renewable sources.
Kids Go To Court. After the Supreme Court kicked the kid climate suit back to the 9th circuit, the kids and the US Government went back to court. The Government’s case is ridiculous, in my opinion. For without clean air and water, kids in America will not have their right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for June 4th, 2019
PURPA Solar Shakeup. There has been a shakeup at the PURPA development leader, Cypress Creek Renewables. It’s been one of the unlikeliest stories in solar (PURPA in general has) taking advantage of a decades old law never meant to spur gigawatts of solar development. I look forward to getting to know the new team at Cypress Creek and seeing what is in store for them going forward.
Commercialization Is Not Bankable. There is a flaw with how non solar media treats the opinions of people from inside the industry. From experts that say that Sunedison can buy solar assets at negative IRRs (because their stock increases for more than the acquisition price) or that tax credits can spur commercialization. Solar financing pros will tell you that tax equity investors hate risk above all. Decarbonization will happen through the mass deployment of commercialized products that have been commercialized through risk adjusted equity investments.
Veto Solar Rules, Not Support. The governor of New Hampshire is shutting down growth of solar in NH once again. The goal is for the veto proof margin to hold in the override this year.
Late To The Game, Again. Solar fees just in time to stop the start of the solar market in New York? Any fee added to the solar customers would stop the market right as it gets off the ground and hurt the positive intentions of the fee.
New Reliability Study. PVEL is out with its 2019 Module Reliability Study. For more on this topic, listen to my interview with PVEL CEO Jenya Meydbray.
Aggregation Note. As GTM adds a login to their news site, which is still free, I wanted to share some thoughts on the fact that most sites now have either a paywall or a login. The login is meant to track your reading and appeal to advertisers, which I know is not something everyone likes. On the other hand, content creators have to get paid somehow. I will continue to post content from various sources, as long as they are okay with it, even if there is a paywall. You may find a story interesting enough to subscribe and if not then at least you know that the story exists.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for June 3rd, 2019
Follow Me. If you are on Twitter, follow me @yannbrandt and for more updates from the business side, we are ramping up our Instagram posts @QuickMountPV with Made in the USA manufacturing (Behind the scenes), tech Q&A’s and inside views on supply chain/trade fights etc.
Arizona Drama. An ACC commissioner is out and joining a branch of the government in an administrative role. On his way out, Tobin makes strong comments about the role of the staff at the ACC, which is similar to most other PUCs around the Country or any office in government. Good luck getting to the official without the support of the staff.
The Role of One. Most trends happen when one person does something over and over again, that something gains the attention of others and grows. Greta Thunberg is a good example, starting her climate protests on Fridays by herself before being the center of attention at all the climate conferences. (Catch her interview with Julia Pyper from Austria)
Watch Your Supply Chain. We continue to struggle with trade policy by tweet and everyone is going to get affected by this. Most solar parts are made offshore or at least contain offshore commodities that are now impacted by tariffs. China and Mexico are linked quite closely as many offshore manufacturers have locations in both. Make sure you lock in your supply chain relationships now, especially with companies that have domestic assembly capability.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 31st, 2019
Jobs Success. Looks like the job board is a hit with the readers. If you keep the postings coming, we will keep posting them. Have a great weekend!
Presidential Climate Rankings. A report card for presidential candidates’ climate plans is out and not all are created equal. The report is also quite transparent on how people fared. The democratic leader, Joe Biden, is ranked at the bottom of the list with a D+ but we still expect to see more details on the plan. Many talking heads are saying that climate change is an issue that touches people’s hearts and minds but will not affect their voting, Biden in the lead is exhibit A. Inslee barely making the first debate is exhibit B.
What Biden Should Do. Biden’s team is floating VP names early in the process for various political reasons. What the former VP should do is announce his team for clean energy policy right now and it should include names that you and I would find familiar. Announce Inslee as the EPA Administrator or David Crane as Secretary of Energy, that would make this an interesting conversation.
Solar And Coal Have A Baby. A small modular reactor is born! The fantasy is highlighted by the NEI CEO in the Bloomberg interview and it’s as crazy and unrealistic as solar partnering with coal. Also, the sun not shining and wind not blowing isn’t the best argument anymore.
DOE PR Agents. Exporting US molecules of freedom is the most insane sentence I’ve read.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 30th, 2019
Solar Jobs. Launching a new feature in SolarWakeup you will find below. I’ll be looking at job boards to bring you some interesting opportunities in the sector. Connecting job seekers and hiring companies has been one of the best parts of this newsletter and I want to grow that further. If you have interesting jobs, send me the link. This will be a free feature for now but will transition to premium as we gain traction and show how valuable this network is for everyone.
The Solar Race, Visualized. Wood Mackenzie is out with a visualization of the cumulative capacity installed by Country. You can check it out for yourself here and let’s check back in a few years to see how the forecast came to life.
Win, Win, Win? Xcel is going all in on transitioning to 100% clean energy including the shutting of operating coal plants, years ahead of schedule. From a climate and PR perspective this is exactly what Americans are asking for. A win for clean air. At the same time the utility gets to add early retirement costs to the rate base while also increasing it for new generation. A win for the shareholders. The consumers may see a win over time as the transition continues if the regulators mix the renewables added through 3rd party and internal investments. With lower volatility on the renewable mix, I see it as a win as well, one that should be emulated across the Country.
Looking At Cities. Michael Bloomberg and Rocky Mountain Institute are partnering to show cities on how to act for a clean energy future. This is going to cross assumed political spectrums where the cities range from Florida, Idaho to Ohio. At the same time you can look at Santa Monica announcing a major commitment alongside Austin, cities in two States that could not be farther apart on the spectrum.
The British Are Landing. The US business unit of Lightsource BP has signed a 100MW PPA with the Alabama Municipal Electric Authority. Lightsource BP is now led by Kevin Smith, the former CEO of SolarReserve, whose talking points once included why PV can’t compete with concentrating solar. Welcome to PV, Alabama!
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 29th, 2019
Focus On The Short Term. There is much talk about the 2020 election and how climate policy could possibly pass through congress. All of this is presuming certain results and solar has short term goals. Congressional action should be focused on two short term issues, ITC and tariffs. This all comes ahead of Joe Biden’s climate plan unveiling which many believe will focus on restarting the Obama policies with some likely progressive additions.
Banking, Financing and Retirements. Interesting things are happening in otherwise uninteresting areas. A major French bank is backing out of lucrative business lines because of their climate impact. While BNP is using climate as a reason to pull financing for a coal dependent utility, they are also saying that it is potentially bad business to invest in long term. In Colorado, a small retailer has offered to buy 3 coal plants, close them and provide the cooperative with mostly renewable energy under a PPA. Consider it an innovative way to lock in a contract. They were rejected however. In other States, utilities are offering securitizations of rate base revenues to finance the retirement of coal plants.
Policy Through Other Means. An Iowa solar developer won a PPA with a municipality in Wisconsin and was denied the interconnection by We Energies. Going back to the often used, if you own a 3rd party solar contract you are a regulated utility playbook, We stopped the City from getting what it wanted. Now it will go to the courts after the developer sued the PSC commissioners and the utility to try and get a different interpretation of the rules.
No Coal In UK. It has been 11 days that the UK has been running coal free, not bad for an island utility. Also, big congratulations to a friend of solar, Jonathan Silver, for having joined the board of National Grid.
Making Software Free. Sungevity co-founder, Andrew Birch, whom you recall from my conversation on the start of the solarAPP start last summer is out with his new venture. OpenSolar, which is a free end to end software for solar installers. Check it out at opensolar.com
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 28th, 2019
Change Demand, Not Supply. A new report is out that shows that homes with electric vehicles increase the value of their rooftop solar. This shift in consumer behavior and locking more load with generation means that we are going to want and need every home and business to put solar on their roofs. This also goes to the new focus on electrification of everything in the home with a way for consumers to shape their demand for electricity. Cars can already charge based on a utility schedule but next will be the washer and dryer amongst other home appliances.
Transportation Market Not Decided. China is definitely in the lead with electric cars and buses, their regulatory environment allows the massive scale to happen overnight. The US is lagging with deployment but I don’t think that’s been lost. More importantly while consumers have little problem using solar panels made in China, I don’t think that the same will be true for planes, trains or buses. BYD is trying to be the exception to that and is setting up shop in the US but Proterra is still moving into the growth direction.
Don’t Land On Park Place. A monopoly is hard to beat and break up. Boulder is proof that just because voters and the city council want their own utility, it doesn’t mean that it shall become reality. A reset means that the voters will have to decide if they try again in the future and in the meantime this is a signal to any other municipality that thinks about following down the same path.
Corporate Climate Dialogue. The CEO Climate Dialogue is a group of Fortune 500 CEOs that are advocating for market principled climate policies. Their call to action includes several key metrics for policies that include equity amongst others. The next step would be to get the Chamber of Commerce to make a statement of support before the Senate plan for innovation (which would focus on nuclear and carbon capture) plan takes the climate policy dialogue in the wrong direction. Another player in the climate policy arena is a good complement to the others elevating the topic.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 23rd, 2019
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 22nd, 2019
Busy week at Quick Mount HQ so quick tidbits today.
South Carolina. Governor McMaster signed the compromise bill years in the making. Great to see some solar friends standing front and center. Congrats to the few that did the work for the many! (Pay your trade association dues folks!)
Tax Credits In Play. The Senate, seeing the light coming from that strong House letter, is putting the start of tax credit reform on the table including a longer glide path (read extension) on the table. There was some quick and strong work done in the background and trade groups did a great job responding forcefully to the House letter backing the legislators with the industry support they needed. The folks at SEIA deserve special praise for their leadership here from staff, executives and the board!
Innovation. Too late to be the primary driver. Even innovation requires commercialization and derisking that takes too long.
A Job With Reward. Join Vote Solar as the Interior West Senior Director. If you are good at your job, no doubt you will be, you will be able to say to your grandkids, friends and/or family that you did an amazing job fighting climate change. Apply today, full job description here.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for May 21st, 2019
Corporate Leadership. There are now several groups that advocate for climate policy from a corporate perspective. The carbon tax has been rebranded a carbon dividend to get voters to understand that the money flows back into the economy. This is similar to the process in California where I just received a credit on my electric bill. The famous Luntz polling group is also out with public messaging warning to the republicans. They can no longer message away from climate change as the support for a dividend grows amongst voters. SEIA has been on top of this through corporate purchasing programs and nationwide advocacy for policies like community solar and the ITC extension.
More Refined Focus. Let’s be like Sunrun, wasn’t something most people were expecting to hear from SunPower 3-5 years ago but I agree that this is the right move. Making one of the most desirable and well known modules puts the company on a different starting block and it also has one of the most prominent dealer networks in solar. As the company focuses on a service business, aided by commercialization of new technologies, you’ll likely see partnerships with retail companies that want to aid SunPower in owning the energy bill.
Leadership Through Hiring. Missouri solar installer, Sun Solar, is doing what the industry talks a lot about. While the industry is openly highlighting some issues on diversity, solar is leading on hiring veterans. Big kudos to the Sun Solar leadership for doing what we always talk about.
Same Concept, Different Fuel. Chevron is partnering with EVgo to add charging stations to some of their gas stations. This is interesting given that fuel providers are looking at a future with less consumption of their product. Many of them also have robust commodity trading desks which could make them stand on par with traditional electric utilities and even provide fleet products on pricing on their systems. Also, while we’re all looking at solar, the EVgo team is absolutely crushing it. The team has a long solar pedigree and gets the financial proposition needed for infrastructure and their business model is being rewarded by the market. I can’t wait to see how they execute when you can charge your car in 10 minutes.
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Yann