Arizona Regulator Wants To Get Ahead Of The Voters (And That May Be OK)

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent No one knows exactly what progressive billionaire Tom Steyer hoped to accomplish with his pro-solar ballot initiatives. Taken on their face, his amendments in Nevada and Michigan are designed to accelerate clean energy development in those states. In the aforementioned states, the question is a little more clear: Steyer is not about putting ballot issues before voters simply for the sake of getting the vote. While the issue will go before Nevada voters, Steyer’s group in Michigan used the ballot initiative as a bargaining chip to extract clean energy promises from the state’s two largest … Read More →

This is your SolarWakeup for July 2nd, 2018

Impact Of Mobility On Solar. It doesn’t appear to be happening a lot yet but I think there is a natural overlap between the mobility and solar markets. I am taking this beyond the EV charger under a solar carport. More interesting is the value of the PPAs between solar owners and C&I clients or homeowners and going back for an upsell. Many of the land use documents are already in place so why not go in and add more technology. Are you in either sector and actually going after this? Have any mobility companies reached out to you? Let me know.
Delisting Yingli Solar. If you are like me, you’ve been watching plenty of global football over the past few weeks. One thing that is different is the missing Yingli Solar ads on the banners around the stadiums which were everywhere when the World Cup was in Brazil 4 years ago. The Yingli name will also disappear from the NYSE as they are getting delisted. Are these modules still moving around the US market?
Adapting Tesla’s Solar Business. There is no doubt that SolarCity (sorry, I can’t call it Tesla yet) has taken a turn away from the clear leading role in solar. Cutting the speed of growth took much of the sales push away while the rest of the industry has been able to push upward as well. I know many in solar partake in the Tesla bashing, especially in solar, but I would say that the bigger story is what has happened to the growth of the local installer. Doing 1MW or more per year is no longer unique, it’s actually quite necessary in many instances. The distributed nature of residential solar is exactly why I made the move into the sector. Many great companies have the ability to serve consumers with great customer service and the same financing options that originally gave SolarCity the advantage.
Consolidation Is Good For Resi Solar. When the news broke a few weeks ago that SunCommon and Hudson Solar were merging, I read with interest. Mergers are a great way to grow in a market that is tight on the margins and for installers it means more volume to negotiate with distributors and finance providers. The news this week really made me excited because seeing business operation financing for solar companies means it’s another signal about markets understanding and appreciating solar.
Presented by Pfister Energy – Pfister Energy is a turnkey design-build renewable energy provider for commercial, industrial, utility, and community projects with an emphasis on energy efficiency and energy management. We possess 25 years of project experience with over 120 MW of solar installed on rooftops, carports and on unused land nationally. Clean energy is not limited to solar and as part of our smart building-integrated energy plan, we provide holistic solutions by stacking solar, LED lighting, wind, daylighting and other energy efficiency systems combined with storage.  Visit www.pfisterenergy.com for more information.

News

Have a great day!
Yann

Well, There Goes That Bulwark: Powelson’s Retirement Puts Coal, Nuke Bailout Back On The Front Burner

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent Opposition to President Donald J. Trump’s policies seem to be falling away at an increasingly rapid pace – one more obstacle to his nuclear and coal bailout has gone by the wayside. Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioner Robert Powelson, who had steadfastly opposed the plans to prop up failing nuclear and coal plants unexpectedly announced that he will retire from FERC effective in mid-August. Powelson will be leaving to take over as the president and CEO of the National Association of Water Companies. [wds id=”3″] Losing a staunch ally in the fight over the bailout at … Read More →

Suncommon’s Expansion Plans Get Boost From New Credit Facility

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent As the solar industry has continued to grow, it’s easy to forget that Burlington, Vermont, was the first city in the United States to go 100% solar. The Green Mountain State has quietly grown its solar industry somewhat below the radar, but there are signs that it’s beginning to mature as a market. One such indication is that Vermont-based Suncommon, a residential solar installer, just recently received a credit facility to fund its expansion into the Hudson Valley from Citizens Bank. Earlier this year, Suncommon acquired New York-based Hudson Solar and plans to use the … Read More →

This is your SolarWakeup for June 29th, 2018

I hope you have a great weekend. I am headed back to the East Coast for a week and will be back in San Francisco for Intersolar. Are you coming?
Protecting Consumers. SEIA is out with a revised consumer protections document meant to give homeowners information and questions to use during a home buying process. It would make sense for ‘good’ contractors that use quality products and stand behind their work to attach the document to their proposals with their answers to the list of questions. If you provide the homeowner with the document with answers, they are likely to use the document with your competitors that may not hold themselves to the same standards.
Time For Power Companies To Go Private. When you look at the IPP marketplace in the US it’s no longer surprising to me that the most innovative (for large corporations) are the foreign IPPs with largely European shareholders. Companies like NRG and Sempra have faced activist investors that push for a quarterly focus on traditional power and monetization of any renewable facilities. That being said, the global IPPs may be too big to make the real innovative change that can be game changing. One of the activist influenced IPPs should consider going public and going the other way. Instead of quarterly focus, they can partner with long term yield investors to create the future we think possible.
Supreme Court Impact On Environment. What does it mean for the environmental policies when Justice Kennedy retires and is replaced this summer. An interesting, albeit sometimes small, issue that could result in a change of view on the current policies and rules. Aside from this retirement, Commission Powelson of FERC is retiring after just a year. He may be the swing vote on the coal and nuclear emergency bailout issue. More on this to come.
Divesting Political Campaign Funds. Politics continue to play a role in the energy space, which should come to no surprise to any of you. After the NY-14 primary upset and a primary of his own, Governor Cuomo is signing the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge. If you recall, the Democratic primary in Virginia put the donations of the utility at issue but without the result of the eventual nominee to stop taking the money. It seems like the issue is evolving and we will end up with all candidates taking the position of not taking money from oil, gas, and utilities.
Presented by ENGIE. ENGIE (formerly SoCore Energy) is a market leader in commercial, industrial, and distributed solar and storage portfolio development with installations across some 25 states. ENGIE offers commercial and industrial companies, electric cooperatives, and communities solar and storage solutions that provide energy cost savings, increased resiliency and carbon reduction opportunities.

News

Have a great day!
Yann

SEIA Updates Residential Guide To Solar, Emphasizing Consumer Protection (As It Should)

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent It’s easy to talk consumer protection, but it’s another thing to actually do something about it. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has taken it upon itself to be the most vocal advocate for consumer protection in the solar industry – and now they’ve got a residential consumer guide to match the rhetoric. The national solar organization has updated its SEIA Residential Consumer Guide to Solar Power to reflect a focus on creating a positive buying experience for residential solar consumers with a one-stop guide to the ins and outs of purchasing residential solar, including … Read More →

Open Energy Creates Competition With Its Commercial Financing Exchange

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent Commercial solar is the most challenging segment of the solar industry in which to find low-cost financing. Open Energy, a commercial financing provider, is trying to fix that problem by creating the first lending exchange for commercial scale solar developers and installers. Called The Open Energy Finance Exchange, it allows more than 60 lenders to compete to fund a project, driving down costs and improving terms for project developers. The exchange reportedly will provide access to $5 billion in capital. [wds id=”3″] The key to the exchange is the loan quote tool, which helps project … Read More →

This is your SolarWakeup for June 28th, 2018

Palmetto State Showdown. I’m starting to realize that the legislature in SC may be playing dirty with the solar industry. For the second time, last second rules have stopped the net metering cap from being increase and the cap is rapidly approaching. This is going to cause the halt of the market and potential loss of jobs for South Carolinians. Hopefully this can be turned around next year in earnest.
Electrify Everything Says SMUD. The Sacramento utility is looking ahead for homes in their service area and realizes that a fully electric home may be the best way forward. The rebates, up to $13k on existing homes, serve to ready homes for a future without more gas infrastructure. This is the first of this concept that have typically pushed for water heaters, stoves etc to go gas and reduce electricity usage. The skeptic may look at this and see a utility that wants to have more customer base but it doesn’t appear to be true in this case.
LG Comes To Alabama. Another 500MW assembly plant has been announced, this time by LG. The plant is an add on to the existing campus LG has in the State of Alabama. Now, I have nothing against Alabama but why not North Carolina? We know it all centers around the cost of labor but for once it would be great if the manufacturer thought about the market dynamics a bit. Tease the State with the plant in return for a market perhaps? Now that we are well passed the 2GW of exclusion for cell imports, how will the US assemblers deal with this?
Remember SB 100. I covered the 100% RPS in California last year when it looked like it could pass the California legislature. This year that looks like an even better possibility. So remember the bill, SB 100, because I’m starting to increase my confidence that this could become reality. Over the past year, legislators have had the chance to see costs plummet on solar and storage and the pushback on the ability to do this is basically gone. Let’s put California, one of the largest economies in the world, on track to 100% by passing SB 100.
Presented by Sunrun. Sunrun is the largest residential solar, storage and energy services company in the United States with a mission to create a planet run by the sun. Since establishing the solar as a service model in 2007, Sunrun continues to lead the industry in providing clean energy to homeowners with little to no upfront cost and at savings to traditional electricity. Sunrun is excited to expand its solar offerings to Illinois residents.

News

Have a great day!
Yann

South Carolina Derails Its Clean Energy Future With Last Minute Legislative Shenanigans

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent The utilities showed their muscle again in South Carolina, “persuading” legislators to remove two pro-solar provisions from the state’s budget bill and scuttling the chances of fomenting solar growth during this legislative session. Removing the state’st net metering caps and encouraging more purchases of solar electricity from independent power producers (IPPs) had been in the bill until the last moment, when they were removed because they allegedly didn’t meet the standards for being part of the budget process. [wds id=”3″] The move was reminiscent of a similar maneuver earlier this year when the net-metering provision … Read More →

New York Maps Out Energy Storage Future – 1,500 MW By 2025

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent Energy storage is the next front in the solar revolution, and states across the country are starting to grapple with how to incorporate it into the future of their electricity-generation plans. California, Arizona and New Mexico have already mandated that their utilities incorporate storage into their long-term planning. And now New York has announced its plans to incorporate 1,500 MW of energy storage into it electricity generation by 2025. [wds id=”3″] Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the aggressive plans last week, touting that it would create $2 billion in consumer benefits and 30,000 jobs. He also … Read More →