This is your SolarWakeup for March 12th, 2019

Presented by ENGIE Storage. (formerly Green Charge) helps power the world more efficiently and sustainably. As the nation’s number one distributed energy storage company, we serve energy producers, distributors, and consumers, including utilities, network operators, and energy consumers in business and government.
Listening Closely. When it comes to the presidential nomination cycle, the race has begun. Each of the aspiring candidates is talking about their renewable energy platforms and what it means to our industry. Pete Buttigieg, Mayor of South Bend Indiana, is getting a national audience on all of the big platforms including Pod Save America and a town hall on CNN. During his Pod Save America interview he spoke more clearly about renewable energy, climate change and the Green New Deal than anyone else on the circuit. Given that we are the same age, I was discounting his ability to cut through the noise but at least on this issue, I want to hear more from the Mayor from an industrial city in the Midwest. If anyone can get coal miners and factory workers to realize that the future of work includes our industry, I think Mayor Pete has a chance. As he puts the Green New Deal, “It correctly situates this as a major national emergency.” Watch the full Pod Save America interview and let’s start a campaign to have Mayor Pete join me on SolarWakeup Live!
Get Your Tickets. Curious about community solar investments in the Northeast and within the SMART program in MA? We have three of the leading operators and developers  in the business on stage at solarwakeuplive.com 

News

Have a great day!
Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for March 11th, 2019

Presented by Pfister Energy. Changing the way energy is generated and delivered. Pfister Energy is a leading turnkey design-build renewable energy solutions company. Servicing C&I, community and utility sectors for solar, storage and O&M. Visit pfisterenergy.com for more information.
Senate Tax Extenders Diss Solar  and Storage. The Senate Finance Committee is out with their list of extenders to be considered in the annual exercise to extend tax credit and deductions. Out of some 29 line items, not a single one is for solar or storage even though the ITC is stepping down at the end of the year and storage isn’t considered at all. There is no sense on casting blame, yet, but the question is how does an industry that should be at the top of power in DC doesn’t get a mention in one of the most important memos of the year? How does storage, which is the future of replacing expiring power generation, get completely ignored? We have to have an internal evaluation on how our industry advocates, what it asks for and how we make those requests. If we rationalize this failure 
InterSolar N/A. What once was my favorite trade show of the year is now over, InterSolar North America has been sold to a new show producer and the July event is rescheduled for February in San Diego. 3 Floors at Moscone is not a cheap venue to fill and with the declining attendance of both visitors and exhibitors spread the rumors across the market about how this event could possibly still move forward. That being said, the famous Solar Battle of the Bands will continue, make sure to keep that date in your calendar. 
Norway Divesting. The Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund is divesting from certain oil investments, totaling $8billion out of their $1trillion pool. That makes this a big story with a little effect unless it gets copied. Moreover, this also shows some signal to the oil majors that are not divested from that their business plans better align with the mission to decarbonize. 
Total Cost Of Ownership. By now you’ve heard the $93trillion price tag for the Green New Deal, a figure that sounds so absurd that even the think tank that’s credited with it is shunning it. So while Showtime’s hit show The Circus opens with dialogue of green jobs and climate change, it’s clear that the debate will be had over the total cost benefit of a policy in line with the Green New Deal. 
Get Your Tickets. Register for SolarWakeup Live! on solarwakeuplive.com 

News

Have a great day!
Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for March 8th, 2019

Have a great weekend! Make sure to sign up for SolarWakeup Live! and listen to the latest podcast. If you’re reading something interesting, send it over!

News

Have a great day!
Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for March 7th, 2019

Put It To A Vote. The Green New Deal resolution could make its way to the Senate floor for a vote. McConnell threatened the vote as a threat to democrats so they would have to be on the record thinking that voting for the resolution could hurt them politically. Schumer is calling his potential bluff and saying it should go tot he floor for a vote because not only does he think the democratic caucus will support it (the resolution) Schumer also thinks that republicans will be hurt by voting against it. Climate change and renewable energy are going from unknown political issue to the vote that matters in the Senate.  
The Midwest Factor. Politicians from the Midwest will have to think a few times about how to play their messaging to their voters. A ’No’ vote would have to be pitched as being against the bill while still remaining in favor of renewable energy, especially wind. The Iowa caucus used to be about the ethanol pledge and it’s now turning into the support for wind energy and the PTC. That’s the upside of the Green New Deal language, it isn’t specific to the technology and drives the best path towards the local decision makers. 
I Missed This Too. Part of the Bloomberg announcement was a specific goal around the Beyond Carbon campaign. That goal is the closure of all coal plants by 2030 and to transition away from oil and gas. My follow up question is about the strategy to reach that goal, is it political, financial or through regulatory changes?
The Hopeful Outlook. After the feedback from yesterday on whether SMART is smart, let’s look at the more optimistic view of the Massachusetts future. First, energy storage is going to be a giant market and MA is leading the charge. That is why I am interview the CCO of Engie Storage Marc Roper. Second, when it comes to startups in solar and clean energy there are very few people as committed to that mission as Greentown Labs and I will be joined with CEO, Emily Reichert. I’d love for you to join me at the theatre for this event, see the agenda and more at solarwakeuplive.com 

News

Have a great day!
Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for March 6th, 2019

Is SMART Smart? Massachusetts has been the most prolific market for developers through SREC I and II. SMART could prove to be as successful if used correctly and developers work the various multipliers the right way. At SolarWakeup Live! I will be interviewing the person in charge of the program implementation and bring together the developers and investors looking to buy and sell projects. The event is the same amount of information gathering and networking with the people that will make you money. You can use SWLB20 as a SolarWakeup reader to lower the cost of entry at SolarWakeupLive.com 
Bloomberg Is Out, In On Climate. Michael Bloomberg is not running for President, realizing the tough route to the nomination and will instead double down on the issues he feels most strongly about including climate change. Part of the plan will be to launch the campaign Beyond Carbon which is a play on the campaign he largely funded with the Sierra Club called Beyond Coal. It’s impressive how much climate change has gotten to the top of the issue list when just 2 years ago, climate change wasn’t brought up in the debates. 
Coal Wants Competitive Monopoly. It’s increasingly unbelievable to watch regulators and legislators look to bail out power plants that can’t add value to ratepayers. Instead of doing whatever is best for consumers, regulators want the plants to continue operating even if it means running it as a net detriment to the ratepayers. This is in line with the legislative control the incumbent market participants still have without having support from the majority of voters or consumers regardless of political party. 
Trade War Pains. Coming up on the article from yesterday where business is questioning whether the trade war has been worth it at all and today we talk about the actual cost that it has caused the Country. Between the nearly $8billion in cash that the government has had to spend to help out the farming community and the lackluster GDP we expect in this quarter, it is clearly shown that it was probably a bad idea. For solar we’ve seen the cost increase and the jobs impact from the 2018 jobs census. 

News

Have a great day!
Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for March 5th, 2019

Busy week here in the Walnut Creek headquarters so some quick notes on what is on my desk right now. 
The Trade War. General optimism about the tariffs being settled is making the rounds in corporate board rooms. Mostly we are looking for our long term supply chain pipelines to come back to normal and many domestic manufacturers are looking for that as well. Lead times are unsustainable right now causing lots of crunch on procurement offices. 
Corporate Solar Responsibility. As DTE energy is looking to kill rooftop solar in Michigan, it strikes a renewable supply deal with GM and Ford. GM and Ford have a responsibility to make sure that their employees have access to the same type of renewable energy as they do. Using their power for their own advancement without trickling down the benefits is short sighted and hurts the effort. 
The RPS One-Uppers. I’m all in for States to compete on their own versions of the RPS. Sooner, renewable or other is the type of 100% debate that helps the markets. 
Nuclear Schemes. I doubt that the real truth about the Georgi & South Carolina nuclear boondoggles will ever come out but you can read between the lines here. That is why I get frustrated when renewable energy advocates get labeled as anti-nuclear. I am anti-nuclear subsidies and rule making because even when the industry has been given EVERYTHING, free insurance, free cleanup, free water and early cost recovery from ratepayers, they have failed to build anything at all. Nuclear isn’t dead because ‘environmentalists’ won, nuclear failed because of their own lack of execution. 

News

Have a great day!
Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for March 4th, 2019

Community Solar Goes Mainstream. The most relevant topic going on in solar, especially in the Northeast, is community solar. The benefits are giving access to solar for renters and consumers with lower FICO scores, lowering the cost by building bigger facilities and not needing long term contracts. That is why I am bringing the experts in the field for a super sized panel to SolarWakeup Live! in Boston. Reps from CleanChoice Energy, BlueWave Capital and Ampion know the space and will share their knowledge. 
Fight For PG&E’s Board. Things are warming up in the PG&E board room. While a bailout bill is being floated in Sacramento, shareholders are fighting for control of the board room. BlueMountain Capital, which owns significant stake in PG&E, has written a letter to the shareholders and plans to nominate a brand new board of directors. There are some notable names on the list which you will recognize

News

Have a great day!
Yann

SolarWakeup Live! The Solar Bill of Rights and Solar Rights Alliance with Dave Rosenfeld

[

SolarWakeup Live!: By Yann Brandt In this episode I speak with Dave Rosenfeld of the Solar Rights Alliance about the bipartisan legislation that was filed in California last week, the Solar Bill of Rights. The bill is California focused legislation but the story rings true across the Country, consumers deserve the opportunity to go solar without obstruction from the electric monopolies putting barriers in the way. Dave runs the Solar Rights Alliance which brings together solar consumers and creates the response mechanism to help the solar industry push politics forward. Much like the NRA, SRA members join (for free) when … Read More →

This is your SolarWakeup for March 1st, 2019

Tesla, It’s Here. Tesla has announced some major changes including the release of the long awaited $35k model (before incentives) and guided to almost half a million cars to be manufactured. That’s a lot of EVs. The result of the lower priced car is that the stores will be closed and all purchasing will be done online. This obviously impacts the plan to sell solar in the stores and maybe the idea is to also sell solar online. Installers tell me that they are doing well with Powerwall 2 but I don’t see how Tesla Energy will focus on keeping up with others on the solar side. 

News

Have a great day!
Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for February 28th, 2019

New POD, Solar Bill Of Rights. Last week a new solar bill was filed in California but this bill was focused on consumers’ rights and bipartisan. The Solar Bill of Rights is driven by the Solar Rights Alliance and I speak with their executive director about the bill and the focus of the SRA. The SRA needs you to think about how you can be helpful in this as well, please subscribe, rate and review on your favorite podcast app. This episode is presented by UtilityAPI
Solar Tariff Fallout. Take a moment to read this article by Bloomberg on the topic of the steel and aluminum tariffs. In many ways, the factories (including the one at Quick Mount PV) are exactly the jobs that Trump seems to focus on. Many of the racking companies in solar use 3rd party contract manufacturers and many of those are in the US. With the tariffs in place, domestic commodity pricing has increased and importing parts and pieces has become more expensive than procuring finished products abroad according to the reporting. This means that the local jobs that depend on competitive commodity pricing are hurt by the tariffs causing the result to be the opposite of the intended effect of the policy in the first place. 
Developing In Florida. Disney is going solar with a 50MW project through their coop utility. There has been some quiet development out of the team from Origis like this project and the one in Tallahassee which was first discussed in 2008. Nice to see things happening in my former home state given the decade I spent joking that the only solar jobs were at the airport for those of us flying out of State. Now Florida is the second largest jobs employer and has their own “SPI”. I must have missed the phone call from the show producers :). 
Missed TVA Opportunity. During the Obama years, the solar industry should have absolutely packed the team at the TVA and at the TVA board. This is also true for the regulatory bodies across the Country, the NJ BPU President was recruiting for staff at the last SolarWakeup Live! event. We need solar advocates to be working in the regulatory bodies, maybe a Federalist club version of solar where we provide internships and fellowships to folks that want to work in regulatory bodies. 
SolarWakeupLive.com. SWLB20 for 20% Off, 1 month out!

News

Have a great day!
Yann