New Mexico Commission Could Eliminate Stand-by Fees On Solar Customers

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent An ongoing controversy in New Mexico over stand-by fees on solar customers may finally becoming to an end, according to an article in the Santa Fe New Mexican. A hearing officer recently recommended that regulators make Southwestern Public Service Co. stop collecting a “standby fee” from customers with solar systems, saying a study the utility used to justify the fees is “riddled with errors and unreliable.” Color me shocked (not shocked): A utility is using flawed materials to justify treating solar customers like separate-class citizens. Sounds an awful lot like the “cost shift zombie myth” … Read More →

This is your SolarWakeup for August 20th, 2018

SB 700 Advances In CA. After a great day of lobbying by the 200 solar pros in Sacramento, SB 700 came out of the House Appropriations committee with a positive vote on Thursday evening. This means that the bill heads to the House floor and is expected to come to a vote. If successful, the bill may head to the Senate before going to Governor Brown. This is a fantastic bill that extends the SGIP funding for 5 years and lays the groundwork for future Governor Newsom to lead solar further down the road. A 5 year SGIP is key to solar’s growth given the importance of storage within a solar value proposition in time of use rates. California would lead the volume that drives the cost of storage down for States that are a bit more aggressive on net metering than pro-solar markets.
SC Utility Board Ousted. As I often do, I go to Twitter to see what is happening and a story made its way through energy Twitter on Saturday. A shareholder meeting of a co-op utility in South Carolina was gathering a crowd that was far bigger than any before it. When it was all done, shareholders voted to fire the board by an overwhelming margin for abusing their positions and excessive pay amongst other things. It’s an incredible story that could be a precursor for utilities across the Country if they abuse their positions.
Module Costs Decline. I’ve stopped guessing what happens to the stocks, especially solar stocks but this review of First Solar takes the view of module costs which is interesting. What happened to the pricing after tariffs and where is it going? I’ve heard not only Chinese pricing but all module prices dropping consistently into a market favorable way. Let me know what you’re seeing.
The Impact Of Policy. Utah is a strong solar market and has shown great residential solar growth. Some of the largest residential solar companies are based there. But with limited local advocacy support there was a change in net metering that has caused a bit of a reset. I’ll be looking at the State chapters a year after speaking with many of the State chapter directors to see how the industry can prop them up.
Solar Compared To Homebuilders. Homebuilders have national brands but for the most part they are quite fragmented like the solar industry. Jon Carson uses homebuilders as an example of a market that does very well in DC. Here’s my discussion with him.

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Have a great day!
Yann

California’s SB 700 Moves Forward To Full Assembly Vote; Next Three Weeks Are Critical

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent Last week, more than 200 solar + storage advocated descended on Sacramento to push for passage of of a significant energy storage bill. Their efforts seem to have had the desired effect, as SB 700 – an energy storage bill that fell completely off the legislative radar last year – is now front and center as it moved out of the Assembly’s Appropriations Committee and on to the full assembly floor. The bill would extend the incentives for the popular Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP). Between it and SB 100, which would move California to a … Read More →

Maine’s War On Solar Continues As Supreme Court Rejects Net Metering Appeal

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent From an outsider’s perspective, it sure looks like Gov. Paul LePage of Maine is winning his longstanding war on solar. Armed with zombie lies about cost shifts and allowing utilities to run amok with special burdens on solar users, LePage has fought for at least three years to strangle the solar industry in his state, vetoing three different pieces of legislation that would have helped set the Maine solar industry on more solid footing. Now the Supreme Court has gotten into the act, saying solar advocates’ attempts to challenge current net metering policy to the … Read More →

This is your SolarWakeup for August 17th, 2018

Let’s Talk About Money. As you head into the weekend think of this positive victory. CALSSA let the industry know that SB700, a 5-year extension of SGIP, has cleared committee and is headed to the Assembly floor. This victory is due to the lobbying of the industry and the daily advocacy of CALSSA and a few larger companies with dedicated policy staff. We’ve all heard about the complaints from me and the advocacy groups is that there isn’t enough money flowing to the trade organizations. The typical response and justification is that we’re the solar industry and we won’t fight money with money, we will never have enough of it. I’ve bought this line over the years but I think it’s also become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Let me elaborate. Inside the industry, not enough companies are paying enough dues to State chapters and solar advocacy groups. I get it, money is tight in an industry that is stingy with margins. At the same time, 260,000 people in solar and if each paid $10 per month in advocacy dues, we’d have $30million more per year. Companies that do pay advocacy dues should go out of their way to support other solar companies that do as well and given the choice of two, should choose to support the one that stands side by side with us. But there is another source of money that should be supporting solar groups, groups like Vote Solar. The millionaires and billionaires that talk about climate change and renewable energy should endow our industry with hundreds of millions of dollars. That money would go to ensuring a solar advocate at every town hall, County commission and regulatory body on a full-time basis. It would also push objectives like ‘instant permits’ and electing politicians that support our industries. If they want solar to really thrive, it is incumbent on us to educate them on the political and regulatory nature of our business. We can fight power with money, we just have to ask for it more forcefully.

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Have a great day!
Yann

Q&A With Laura Rigell: Philadelphia Celebrates Solar Day – With Good Reason

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent In the birthplace of American independence, the solar industry will celebrate later this morning as the mayor, council and solar advocates gather for Solar Day in a ceremony designed to recognize the number of solar jobs in the Greater Philadelphia area and to unveil the latest class of young high school students that went through a vocational solar training. We talked with Laura Rigell, solar manager for the Philadelphia Energy Authority, to find out more. Frank Andorka (FA): Why does Philadelphia celebrate Solar Day? Laura Rigell (LR): The Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA) has been working … Read More →

The Energy Show: There is a New Utility in Town – Silicon Valley Clean Energy

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The Energy Show: By Barry Cinnamon The electric utility industry is undergoing rapid change. There used to be two types of utilities: investor owned utilities (IOUs, such as Pacific Gas and Electric and ConEd) and municipally owned utilities (MOUs, such as LADWP and Silicon Valley Power). Now there is a third hybrid type, called a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) utility. IOUs work for their stockholders — striving to maximize their profits by charging the most they can for electricity, maximizing their net assets and minimizing their expenses (often maintenance). MOUs work for their local cities — and try to provide … Read More →

Creditors Spar In Court Over Suniva Solar Cell Production Assets (Full Complaint Attached)

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent You had to know Suniva would come to this, right? Nothing – and I mean nothing – has come easy with this company. First, it filed a trade complaint, only to get bigfooted to almost an afterthought on its own complaint by its “co-petitioner” SolarWorld. Then it won the case, which led to SolarWorld being purchased by competitor SunPower and Suniva to be…sold for parts. But now that we had finally moved on to the selling off of assets, even THAT can’t go smoothly for the poor bankrupt module manufacturer. Now two of its creditors … Read More →

This is your SolarWakeup for August 16th, 2018

What It Takes, To Win. I had the incredible pleasure of spending the day with more than 200 solar professionals and the world class leaders from CALSSA in Sacramento yesterday. The annual ‘Solar In The Capitol’ lobby day allows groups of 6 to meet with legislators, including the members that represent the companies and individuals. Legislators thanked us for coming and helping them as they push for solar policy, the in person lobbying is irreplaceable and there should have been a thousand of us. I can’t thank Bernadette Del Chiaro and her team enough. There would be no solar industry in California without them and CALSSA and now I had the pleasure to see their work up close and personal. If you are not a member, join by clicking here.
Taking The Case To WTO. In a move that surprises nobody, China is taking the US to the WTO to review the tariffs imposed during the 201 case. It is important to note at this point that Suniva is no longer operational and SolarWorld USA is under contract to be acquired by SunPower. Don’t expect much to happen but its a process.
Free Markets. Subisidies. Sitting with republicans to talk about solar often starts with a comment about subsidies and that the free market should choose the technologies. That is complete and utter bullshit and now Rick Perry breaks down why the free markets in energy are really not free markets. Quite the contrary, energy markets are advantaged to the incumbent monopolies against competition and new technologies.
Storage Is Inevitable. In our lobby day, we spoke up for SB 700, the CA bill that would extend the SGIP program for 5 years. After the PG&E announcement to build over 1.5GWh of storage and the solar industry’s move to include storage in more systems, the future of energy storage is unstoppable.

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Have a great day!
Yann

German Company To Build Cutting-Edge Solar Module Recycling Plant

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent Easily lost amidst the excitement and thrill of building more solar capacity is a real concern: What do we do with the solar modules after the typical 25-year lifespan of a particular project? Fortunately, thanks the the European Union, a German manufacturer is on the case and has built the first industrial-sized recycling pilot plant for an industrial company in its home country. According to the website Phys.org: With strong competencies in plant manufacturing and wastewater treatment including recycling, the Geltz Umwelt-Technologie firm has built a test and treatment facility at a large disposal firm … Read More →