Could Facebook Spread The Solar Gospel Throughout The South?

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent Facebook has had some public relations setbacks lately, but one of the items on its long-term agenda that consistently gets it good press is the fact that it has started demanding clean energy – specifically solar – power its energy-intensive data centers. In Virginia, for example, Dominion Energy had to create an entirely new type of agreement and build several solar farms so the state would be considered as a potential site for one of the data centers. We’ve seen these developments across the country, and it’s one of the unalloyed goods that Facebook has … Read More →

This is your SolarWakeup for December 5th, 2018

SEIA Adds Affiliate. SEIA has joined forces with SESA-PR, the solar and storage association chapter in Puerto Rico, as an official affiliate. This is largely different than many State chapter SEIAs that are not actually affiliated with the national group. Some however have taken strides to get closer to SEIA for various reasons. It makes me wonder if there is a purposeful move to join forces given there has been criticism of the relationship the national SEIA has had with some State chapters. Largely the relationships are fruitful and mutually beneficial but there are outlier cases where an affiliate status would allow some disagreements to be handled internally instead of in a public domain or filing. 
Maersk Abandons Fossil Fuels. The shipping giant is out with a pledge to cut emissions to zero by 2050. This is a giant statement given they transport 20% (1 in 5) sea going containers. Hard to imaging how this will be executed but you could imagine electric ships of some sort cruising the world’s oceans. Maersk’s COO tells the Financial Times, “We will have to abandon fossil fuels. We will have to find a different type of fuel or a different way to power our assets. This is not just another cost-cutting exercise. It’s far from that. It’s an existential exercise, where we as a company need to set ourselves apart.”
Xcel Sets Own RPS. The midwest utility which is known for its major coverage in Colorado and Minnesota is looking to be 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050. Short on details but highlighting the goal is intriguing given the potential for solar growth in Colorado and the hopes that Minnesota continues to grow. Becky Stanfield and Jessica Scott of Vote Solar react, “Showing the region and the nation that 100% carbon free is possible and the right choice for health, jobs and leaving a better world for our children. We look forward to working with Xcel and state regulators to help meet those bold but achievable targets in a way that is affordable, reliable and puts people first."
New Home Solar Means More Solar. Policies like California’s new home solar mandate would triple the residential solar market by 2045. The key is the customer acquisition and scale of construction. A home being built doesn’t have the same hurdle to sell through especially if the home is built with solar before anyone owns it. With homebuilders choosing top quality products and buying at scale, this drives the price down and makes the installation more efficient. Lastly, when the cost is put into a mortgage the payments are significantly lower than when solar is installed at a later date. 
Audi Joins EV Party. The company is investing $16billion to build out its electric and autonomous vehicle fleet. In other words, the company is ensuring survival by making cars that buyers/users will require from OEMs. I’m waiting for one of these firms to reach out of the auto market to invest in a solar type company, I think the day is coming. 

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Yann

SEIA Welcomes Puerto Rico Into Affiliate Fold As Island Continues To Rebuild From Hurricane

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent Lots of stories have been written in the past year about how solar energy has helped Puerto Rico come back from Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island’s electrical grid. Whether it’s companies like sonnen or Sunnova installing solar electrical systems for island residents or solar-powered community centers becoming the hub for neighborhoods still waiting for power to come back on, solar power has taken on a central role in the slow comeback of the island to some sense of normalcy. Often, this comeback has been slowed by inaction by their fellow citizens on the mainland … Read More →

The Energy Show: Avoiding a Global Warming Disaster

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The Energy Show: By Barry Cinnamon The bad news about global warming continues unabated. This fall the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (fondly referred to as the IPCC) sent up an emergency flare. According to Amjad Abdulla an IPCC board member and chief negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States, “The report shows that we only have the slimmest of opportunities remaining to avoid unthinkable damage to the climate system that supports life, as we know it.“ Obviously, small island states are at the most immediate risk. But if the earth’s warming trend continues, many populated areas … Read More →

Home Solar Capacity Could Triple If Other States Follow California Mandate

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent A new study from Environment America Research & Policy Center urges other states to follow California’s lead in requiring all new buildings have solar on them. If states would adopt such mandates, which California adopted earlier this year, the home solar market could triple by 2045. It would also cut carbon dioxide emissions from electricity production by more than 9% over the same time. [wds id=”3″] “Every home and structure built without solar is a missed opportunity,” said Bret Fanshaw, Go Solar Campaign director with Environment America Research & Policy Center. “Generating renewable energy from … Read More →

This is your SolarWakeup for December 4th, 2018

Do You Vote Solar? Last evening some of the biggest solar supporters came together to celebrate Vote Solar and the entire team of passionate solar advocates. There are few teams that have done so much, so quietly to advance our market. We had some fun talking about past victories that are the foundation of solar markets across the Country. So I raise my glass for a toast for Vote Solar and all solar advocates that do the policy work that allows installers to sell solar to homeowners and creates the market that creates my job. Without the policies that enable our market, most of us would be doing other work. 
Reality Of Nuclear. Every few months there seems to be a nuclear should make a comeback for the sake of fighting climate change. This storyline seems a bit tired given that it’s been used for years. It is ingrained in so many higher education institutions and think tanks studying the issue. I understand the argument but the political reality is that nobody looking to fight climate change is leaning in on nuclear. I will hear from some of you that the portfolio has to include nuclear but I am here to tell you that the market has moved on. One small pet peeve, calling renewables ‘buoyed by subsidies’ while arguing for nuclear is laughable. Without early cost recovery and government subsidized insurance, water and waste, nuclear would be non-existent. 
Has COP Lost The Luster? COP24 has started and if I wasn’t following the Solar Impulse team on social media, I wouldn’t know. First, it’s in Poland which hasn’t exactly been the leader in climate policy. Second, without the US leading the marketing of it in the US media, it seems to be lacking any coverage at all. As an aside, various forms of renewables shouldn’t put other forms down in order to gain an edge, there are plenty of antagonists to focus on. 
Green New Deal et al. New leaders in Congress have surprised me with the pedestal that the green new deal has been placed on as one of the signature areas of focus going into the new Congress. Ocasio-Cortez, who is humanizing the role of member of Congress in a great way, has been actively pushing for co-sponsors and ignoring the ‘freshmen members stay quiet’ status quo. I look forward to speaking with co-sponsors of the bill and understand how the pivot from macro, big idea like green new deal can leverage the political power that solar has within the voting public.

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Yann

Commercial Solar Starts To Thrive in Wisconsin

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent Commercial solar, one of the most underserved segments of the solar industry, is taking off in Wisconsin, according to a report by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The driver of the push is falling solar prices, which takes the decision to add solar out of the realm of “it’s a nice thing to do” and into the realm of “from a business perspective, this is a must do.” In other words, the money-saving aspect of it has become so overwhelmingly compelling that there’s now an undeniable business case for it. As Larry Schmidt Jr., chief financial officer … Read More →

This is your SolarWakeup for December 3rd, 2018

41. “The United States is strongly committed to the IPCC process of international cooperation on global climate change. We consider it vital that the community of nations be drawn together in an orderly, disciplined, rational way to review the history of our global environment, to assess the potential for future climate change, and to develop effective programs. The state of the science, the social and economic impacts, and the appropriate strategies all are crucial components to a global resolution. The stakes here are very high; the consequences, very significant.” - President H.W. Bush on February 5th, 1990
Tariff Update. Trump had a trade talk dinner with China over the weekend and the two Countries have come out with a momentary pause to the trade war escalation, waiting to increase the tariffs from 10% to 25% while talks continue. For solar this would have larger impacted the raw material increases which could have trickled up to the end product costs that you pay every day for your projects.
Trickle Up. David Roberts from Vox uses comparison to economic theory to highlight the future potential of a grid centered around distributed generation instead of central power plants. This flows with the goals of the solar market and also plays into the future where electric vehicles are the default condition in the auto market. Good to see this in the mainstream media.

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Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for November 30th, 2018

DC Goes 100%. This has been talked about for some time but now it’s becoming law and it makes DC the 3rd State to go 100% renewables. DC has some limitations on how to execute on this but being in the PJM market it does have the flexibility, much like the deal for the solar output by George Washington University. The rooftops are not widely available but we saw a community solar project announced yesterday as well. Local sources sound optimistic about the opportunities in Maryland as well with a legislative path to an increased RPS. Frank speaks to MDV-SEIA’s executive director about the victory in DC. 
Empower Ratebase, Not Thoughts. I appreciate the sentiment from Rocky Mountain Institute in the 1st part of the 4 part serious about empower utilities to participate in the clean energy transition. The problem isn’t that they are against the clean energy transition, the problem is the lack of short term, quarterly profits within the current regulatory framework. Utility execs like other execs will tend to do what their compensation is aligned against. If utilities were to be told that they would make money to participate in the clean energy transition, execs would sing a different tune. The issue now is that the clean energy transition is trying to replace and eliminate utilities, not make them more money. 
In-no-va-tion. I meant to write about this last week but this is an important topic within the political conversation on climate change. Climate change is not a bi-partisan topic which originally was a hoax. When hoax stopped working with the American people, skeptics went with the unsettled science and not being scientists. The public has largely stopped buying the unsettled science line and we have advanced to the latest political talking point. “Climate change is here, it doesn’t matter who causes it but whatever we do can’t impact the economy.” Then, to buy time, politicians will pivot to the need to drive innovation within the demographic of their audience. Innovation is such a broad topic that clean coal and 50% efficient solar modules could fall into the category. Additionally, everyone loves innovation which gets listeners of the talking points to nod in agreement that we need to find more solutions. I call BS though, we need more execution and less talk about innovation because innovation is driven by larger markets and the hopes by people to disrupt the market with new products, services and ideas. 
Have a great weekend! Please send me a note when you travel to San Francisco, always great to meet you in person and stay tuned for great new podcasts dropping next week.

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Have a great day!
Yann

Q&A With David Murray Of MDV-SEIA On DC’s 100% RPS

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent Earlier this week, Washington D.C. announced it had passed a law saying that it would produce all of its electricity from renewable energy by 2032. Though the bill still has to be passed on a second reading, signed by the mayor, approved by Congress and pro-coal President Trump – so who knows if it will actually get approved – it is the most aggressive 100% renewable energy mandate in the country. SolarWakeup decided to discuss the plan’s chances with someone whose offices are right in D.C.’s backyard – David Murray, executive director of MDV-SEIA. Here … Read More →