This is your SolarWakeup for August 14th, 2018
Why CA Is 50% Of Solar Market. Good policy doesn’t happen by accident, it comes from effective policy representation. Tomorrow the solar industry is heading to Sacramento to push for the next year of policy including SB 100, the 100% RPS for California. I know your time and money is valuable but CALSSA has a PAC to help drive money into the political process. Please consider making a contribution.
Learning Lessons. Without knowing the details, you would expect NV Energy to stay as far away from the distributed solar policy as possible. After what happened a few years ago, it appears that NV Energy will continue to think in very short time spans about only itself. That’s why the headline about Sierra Club and NRDC joining NV Energy against energy choice seemed so wrong on the face of it.
Another Trillion To Go. Solar and wind have reached 1 terawatt in cumulative capacity which means that more than a trillion dollars have been invested. For most of those projects that means an interconnection, land rights and off-taker agreement are making that capital some of the most secure investment portfolios in the world. Let’s do it again, this time in less than a decade!
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 13th, 2018
Oklahoma Is Prime For Free Markets. The news out of Oklahoma is that the AG (not Scott Pruitt anymore) says that providers of third party solar contracts are not to be classified as utilities. The reality is that it’s Oklahoma and that the AG opinion may change as required by the politics. But, there is little that I want to see more than the State of Pruitt and Inhofe to have to wrestle with cheap solar and wind especially cheap solar and wind with cheap batteries.
A Step Backward. The politics of fossil fuels is really the politics of the incumbent markets. When we electrified the nation the deal was that monopolies were carved out and private capital was guaranteed a profit. The incumbency is the struggle here, not just the fuel source. The DNC wrestled with the wrong problem, which was not enough money, instead of wrestling with the issue of taking that money from the fossil companies solar subsidiaries. How great would it be to have a $10million donation from an oil company coming from solar company X?
SB100 And CA Lobby Day. California needs to show the nation and the world that the future is 100% renewable energy. Amongst other things, the California solar industry is coming to Sacramento this Wednesday to lobby for the local industry with CALSSA. If you are in solar it means you are likely doing business in California. Couple ways that you can help. First, come to Sacramento this Wednesday. If you’re not local and can’t make it then take the $1k that it would have cost you in time and travel and send a check. I’ll take that from you and deliver it to the CALSSA PAC that helps advance our market here. We talk about how we cannot compete on money but I’m not asking you for $10k, just $1k that you spend every time you travel for a meeting. Hit reply and I’ll give you the details. Let’s get at least $12k together today as a SolarWakeup team.
A Better Way To Splice. We all use rail to mount our modules but while most rail is created equal, there is a way to use rail to save money on labor. With the Quick Mount PV QRail you get an internal splice that requires not hardware that needs to be screwed in and the clamps won’t fall out when placed in the channel. Check out this quick video to see the difference!
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 10th, 2018
Nevada’s Story Of Solar Revival. This was the most contentious national solar fight a few years ago, documentaries featured the famous fight between solar and the Nevada PUC. Fast forward a few years and the market is thriving with the first NEM cap being hit at 80MW. Jobs are being created and supplies are flowing, helping the supply chain economy thrive as well. Nevada has become the market to point to and one that could be mirrored in South Carolina and other States that attempt to keep residential solar choice away from consumers.
Sunrun’s Steady Rise. Sunrun wasn’t always the flashiest residential home solar provider but they’ve reached the top now. Part of what makes the company unique is that it has stuck with the long path of policy centric market development, it’s rare to be at a legislative event or industry conference that a Sunrunner is not at. The financial presentation continues to tell Wall Street a narrative on how solar and public company accounting can coexist, while still be complicated for many. The company announced 91MW of solar deployed, 12,000 customers and an increase of $27million in cash over the last quarter. Congrats to the team.
Juicy PPA In Hawaii. Couple of highlights that I’d like to point out about the solar plus storage project in Hawaii. The project is 5MW of solar with 3MW / 15MWh of storage. The PPA is for $0.17/kWh over 22 years. At the core, this is a great project for the investor and likely for the consumer as well. At 5 hours of storage, the batteries have the ability to shift the entire day’s production even at the peak of summer (or very close to all of the production). This plant is the solar version of baseload to the extent that such a feature is needed on the grid. Dispatchable solar such as this is the future and creates tremendous opportunities for power players across the grid.
New FERC Commissioner. Damn the free market! That’s my paraphrase of the nominee’s comments at a July hearing when asked about market distortions being considered by the administration to bailout coal and nuclear plants. Commissioner Powelson voted against the FERC bailout for coal but McNamee seems a lot more willing to do the bidding required. Stay tuned.
Have You Seen The Rafter? In today’s edition of solar wall of shame, please see the following work of art. This is a direct deck attached flashing mounted on top of the shingle roof. Add some caulking and this installer is happy with the result. Make sure to send your shameful solar pictures alongside your beautiful images to be featured.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 9th, 2018
The Other Factors. It’s not all tariffs and duties when it comes to markets. CFIUS and other regulatory approvals can shape markets as well. This isn’t just a China topic, this is all foreign investment in renewables that could be impacted if CFIUS review takes too long. I don’t expect this to become n too big of a topic but keep your eyes on similar things that happen to your business and supply chain.
Tesla’s New Investor. Lost in the ‘funding secured’ tweet was the other story of Tesla’s day. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund has taken a significant position in Tesla, somewhere north of $2billion. Considering that the money was made on selling oil, you have to acknowledge the success that Tesla has had to show the world that electric cars have a future and oil exporters need to create a hedge by taking a stake in the market segment that will disrupt oil.
Making Local Decisions Count. When I asked Jon Carson how his solar development business was similar to the days when he activated local voters for Obama, he told a riveting story. In a classic way, he tells the story of the local ironworker sitting in an open house held regarding the solar farm. The solar project is the political candidate and getting local support means telling a local story. Thank you, everyone, for the feedback on this podcast, I am glad you enjoyed it thus far.
Opposition To Municipal Solar. This has probably happening in the past but it’s the first time I see it in writing. A utility lobbied a municipal government not to sign a solar contract that would save money. It’s the inside baseball that shows how local incumbent markets will get.
Bad Solar Exhibit A. Keep them coming! I got some great submissions yesterday on bad solar, have you seen bad installs and want to share? Send them my way and send a caption for this solar sail!
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 8th, 2018
I’m Keeping SolarWakeup Private. If you missed the fun yesterday, Elon announced via tweet that he is thinking about taking Tesla private. The talking heads quickly went to SEC violations, Elon’s desire to burn short traders, or the ability for Elon to pull it off. But when you combine the shorts in the stock, the accounting nightmare that solar can cause to GAAP accounting and what Jim Cramer says about Vivint Solar makes you realize that Tesla would be much better off as a private company. Changing the world is hard and takes time, time that Tesla’s investors are willing to let the company have.
Talking Solar In Politics. I like all my interviews, but talking to Jon Carson was a personal high for me. Jon is now leading a solar development firm, Trajectory Energy Partners, which made the interview relevant for our audience. But prior to solar Jon helped elect Barack Obama to the White House and that’s a story I wanted to hear. Aside from his solar development tactics, which were great, I asked Jon about how solar plays at the highest levels of DC politics. Check out the interview here.
Maryland Forward Motion. Frank gives you some details about yet another pilot project in Maryland. Solar could be so much bigger than it is and yet Maryland still struggles with its politics that tries to play the middle. It’s time for the legislature to act on strong policies that enable a sustainable solar market which will lower the costs of energy for consumers.
Bring Your Solar To MS. A 9% increase in rates for Mississippi energy customers means they’ll pay an all in $0.139/kWh for electricity. In 18 months, expect rates to rise drastically once again which means that solar companies will see a great reason to go there now and build some solar homes with storage. Absent strong policies, use the technology price declines to enable MS residents to make their energy choices.
Solar Wall Of Shame. You’ve been sending me great solar pictures, keep doing that and make sure to add your logo to it and send it along. Some of you have been sending the worst of the worst as well. Let’s put some sunshine on the bad solar installs, I’ll be aggregating this and work with SEIA and others to make consumers ask the right installation questions. Send your worst of the worst install pictures and we’ll see who gets on the wall of shame.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 7th, 2018
New SolarWakeup Podcast Coming. The first of the interviews from Chicago is coming out on podcast today. Make sure you are subscribed to the SolarWakeup Live! podcast available on iTunes or your favorite podcast stream platform. Jon Carson managed the campaign for Senator Tammy Duckworth before becoming the National Field Director for then-Senator Obama. Now he is a solar developer and a great interview.
Making The South Better For Solar. I had this conversation yesterday, why isn’t solar growing faster across the South? States like Louisiana could do really well with a robust solar policy. It used to be that an RPS had a rate cap of 2% but now you would have to put a cap on the savings because renewable energy is going to save consumers money.
Focus On Local Leaders. This is a great story about a leader that has to look forward. An Illinois town that has its roots in coal looking for a future in solar. All it takes is a young mayor to start with a solar farm project that could yield a much brighter future. I’d love to see a future where solar professionals are talking to every mayor in America, with less than 20,000 local governments across the Country, that puts 10 solar professionals in each office. On that note, who will be joining me at the CALSSA lobby day next week?
Incumbent Market Dynamics. This isn’t directly solar related but what is happening in Florida right now is bad. There are millions of dead fish washing up ashore due to a toxic algae bloom. Goliath grouper and even manatees have been found dead. There is a limit to the power of the incumbents, we must always remember that.
Unshift The Fuel Costs. The real story about the new fuel cost incentive in Hawaii is the subsidy that the current utility regulations hide. When utilities rate base the new power plants, the cost of fuel is covered by the ratepayers. If the fuel costs go up, consumers have to foot the bill regardless of how high they go and there is no reason for utilities to worry about this because there is no risk to the shareholders.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 6th, 2018
Getting Down In Illinois. Since coming to Chicago in June, it’s been great how organized the market has grown since that time. the IPA has engaged the program administrator and companies are coming into Illinois to invest capital and hire local talent. The latest announcement is Vivint Solar which follows Sunrun into the market. Other private, national players, appear to be looking at the market as well.
More Arizona Comeback? Sunnova’s first State was Arizona and they are now coming back into the State after leaving some time ago. Frank speaks to the company about the move to re-enter with energy storage and the current regulatory environment. I hope you enjoy the Q&A’s as much as I do, they are the in between a full-length podcast and give more color than a regular article.
A Buyer’s Market. At the risk of repeating myself, I want to tell a story of the message I relayed to a group of university sustainability professionals a year ago. The same is true for anyone that has influence to a large energy user with excellent credit. Large users that can leverage that bankability can pretty much name their price and make the quantity of energy purchased the variable. That’s what I say to any large user, go to market with a contract and bid price instead of the the other way around.
Is Storage Growing? How long until solar for your home comes with an inverter and battery as standard features? I don’t see that very far away in the future, maybe 2023 when the battery is in every system.
Seeing Humor In Tariffs. China put a 25% tariff on US solar cells. The irony is obviously that China doesn’t really import cells but this could be a jab at SQN because Suniva used to send their cells from Georgia to China for module assembly. I definitely chuckled when I saw this headline, meaningless as it is.
Designing Solar. Make sure you check out the best in class solar layout software from Quick Mount PV. QDesign is free for users and leverages great technology to make your layouts a breeze. Of course, it gives you the details of the product you need plus the mechanical portion of your permit package.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 3rd, 2018
Welcome to August and if you’re European, I hope you enjoy your vacation! Have a great weekend everyone!
Going 100%, Burlington’s RFP. Burlington, VT wants to become a true net-zero city and wants help to do so. The RFP reads like a checklist of legislative goals that are a great guide for other cities at the least and aspirational in the ways that Burlington seeks to achieve its future. Well done.
A PACE Securitization. Congrats to my friends at CleanFund for a $103million securitization of PACE assets that crossed borders and technologies. Most importantly it was rate AAA, which shows the strength that PACE can provide to financings in the C&I space.
Corporate Green Tariffs. Between utility offtake and community, solar/contract for differences in the green tariff. A rate schedule that allows corporations to use their leverage in an economic development process to grow the production of solar generation in the service area. I think that many states that don’t want markets will have to create a quasi QF program for green tariffs.
Public Company Updates. Tesla and SolarEdge filed their quarterly updates yesterday. Tesla short sellers are getting into some pain and SolarEdge continues to show the future of DG solar.
Thoughts On MA? What’s your feedback on the MA legislation that passed this week now that you have had time to review it? Let me know.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 2nd, 2018
A lightning round recap today on the top news in your solar inbox. Speaking of quick and easy, make sure you check out the junction box with integrated flashing for your residential installs. Available at most distributors across the Country.
Gone With The Wind. An Iowa nuclear power plant is closing in favor of more wind. This comes from one of the largest nuclear power operators, NextEra. Aside is the internal power struggle since CEO Jim Robo is a avid supporter of nuclear power and nuclear engineering. In the Spain wind rush a decade ago, Robo was notorious for his disdain for the money lost by his company in those projects.
Look At This Picture. You saw this article yesterday but when I looked at it again yesterday afternoon the picture caught my eye. It is a stock image of an installation in the Miami area. This is what many homeowners are getting now and it’s a shame. It also shows how much more we have to do to educate the AHJs and getting SEIA and the NRCA to warn consumers about the roofing aspect of solar.
Electrify It All. I can’t wait until the high mileage, route vehicles are electrified. The delivery trucks, transit and school buses, and postal vehicles are on/off or idling all day long. The routes and distances are very precise so the battery sizing is easy to calculate. The other side of mass electrification is how the concentrated charging will cause hotspots and peak power needs that will likely get served by batteries.
More PV Manufacturing. It looks like the Tesla plant in Buffalo is ramping up, good to see this happening. I haven’t seen them in the wild but hope to soon. Maybe some of the Tesla employees can invite me over now that I’m a local to the Bay area.
More FPL, In Florida. Florida solar is growing quickly, this time with more IOU rate based solar to the tune of 300MW from FPL. I think this type of capacity is causing FPL to think bigger than a threat from DG by focusing on EV growth and the upside of rate base for their shareholders.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 1st, 2018
Mediocre Sausage Making. The MA legislature passed a solar bill yesterday and pardon my lack of excitement. While a bill moving key features forward and a path to remove the fixed charges are included, the NEM cap continues to be punted and the opportunity to give consumers more ability to add solar has been lost for now. Nonetheless, there are important legislative wins and some messages to other utilities that hope to structure anti solar rates, for that this is a solar victory. Hats off to the advocates in solar for getting forward movement but the twitter statement from Vote Solar’s Sean Garren summarizes the final bill. “In like a lion, out like a lamb”
Reviewing California’s Solar Mandate. I appreciate the continued partnership with Barry Cinnamon and his wonderful podcast, The Energy Show. In the latest edition, you will hear him discuss the CA solar mandate on new homes. This is an important topic for me in my day job at Quick Mount PV. New homes represent a great opportunity to lower the cost of solar in a new installation while presenting ways to install attractive solar in a way that still holds quality for 30 years. That quality is sometimes missed because the transaction isn’t with the longterm owner so we appreciate the opportunity to educate homebuilders and installers on making sure its a leak free, quality installation.
Educated Consumers Consume Less. Last week during the heat wave in California (I can confirm that it is warm, but not Florida hot) consumers were asked to lower their energy consumption to ensure blackouts wouldn’t happen. That’s the funny thing about consumers, they can be helpful when educated and can be one of the best demand response tools if planned for properly. That’s the other side of renewables integration that folks don’t plan for. Consumers can, especially with new technology, adapt their habits to get what they want which is 100% renewable energy.
Solar Tariffs To Nowhere. Another great data point about the tariffs, this time the steel and aluminum tariffs. The tariffs are causing disruption more than innovation and in some instances result in worse installs for consumers. If aluminum prices rise, installers don’t replace tiles properly, take a look at the header image on the article. The installer did some sort of hack instead of using a proper tile replacement flashing, happy to show them one if they’d like.
Does Your Neighbor Solar? When I put solar on my home, my neighbors had lots of questions about it. How do you arm your customers and how do you respond to neighbors that are interested in solar? Would love to highlight great ideas here.
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Yann