This is your SolarWakeup for July 17th, 2018

A Bridge To Prosperity. Natural gas was the political bridge that let politicians take money from the rich gas industry while advocating for a renewable energy future by ending coal with natural gas. The last 10 years were basically about that trend, utilities across the Country rate based the end of coal power generation in favor of the gas plants. If anything, the natural gas bridge to a renewable future cost utility consumers 100’s of millions of dollars in new generation. The bridge has essentially reached the other side of the transition because solar plus storage is competitive in almost every market.
Exhibit A. Using demand response, the CPUC is showing utilities how they can avoid building new generation. The interesting aspect of this is that it shows how the natural gas bridge ends and more importantly why our sector is important. Oil, auto and utility companies are buying companies that focus on the distributed space, not just because of their business model but because the intersection of DERs, EVs and generation will need teams that build that distributed ecosystem.
Exhibit B. Here is more NV solar for you, this time a whopping 690MW project. The most obvious omission from this announcement is the size of the storage associated with the project which would likely be the world’s largest announced after last week’s 1.2GWh project from Vistra. Storage will absolutely be built on this plant, not just an option as it is outline to have. This is a big project but we’ll need many of them to make up for the fossil power plants that will be replaced by this type of generation.
More Solar Manufacturing. JA Solar is adding more manufacturing in Vietnam. For $68million, the company will add 1.5GW of wafer capacity for shipment of products not made in China. The plant will start to operate this year and deliver 500MW in 2018.
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 a savings to traditional electricity. Sunrun is excited to expand its solar offerings to Illinois residents.

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Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for July 16th, 2018

Duke Wants Acclaim For Ending Solar. “Duke Energy Carolinas achieved a major milestone last week in its support of solar energy, as more than 5,000 of the company’s South Carolina customers have installed solar panels on their homes and businesses, reaching a legislative goal for customer-owned solar capacity.” Those are the words from the Duke South Carolina President, morphing the net metering cap into a legislative goal. The ‘goal’ was put their by the utility so that they can control the solar market and cause thousands of jobs to go away for South Carolinians because putting solar on homes isn’t a job that can be outsourced. South Carolina deserves better than being pitched this kind of PR, legislators should quickly make sure that they aren’t blamed for this ‘success’.
Reversing Ontario’s Solar Market. As the politics in Ontario change to the conservatives, the end of the Green Energy Act is getting a new official end date. One that may have already past. The government announced last week that some 750 projects were being cancelled including many solar projects. The original years of the GEA had feed in tariffs at some pretty high rates, but I’m sure there are better ways, conservative ways, to keep solar in business in Ontario. It used to be the most vibrant place to work in solar, I spent many weeks there myself. I hope that the market can find a future and maybe even see the rest of Canada catch up.
Too Much Solar? The Vistra Energy CEO was on Jim Cramer’s Mad Money show last week. If you remember from a few weeks ago, Vistra, which is a traditional IPP, won an RFP for a 1.2GWh battery to be installed at Moss Landing after announcing a 42MWh battery in Texas with our friends from FlexGen. So here is the CEO of Vistra making the quiet case for why there is a need for more energy storage, too much solar. IPP shareholders probably agree with that but as we all know, as power plants in places like California reach their end of life, more generation will be needed, especially at those sub $30/MWh rates.
Startup Solar Nation. Now that I am actively living in the Bay area, I am really interested in helping more startups get traction in the sector. Some founders have found how excited I get about the ecosystem and I want to do more including helping those companies spread their news like new funding. More on this in the near future.
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.

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Have a great day!
Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for July 13th, 2018

I hope you enjoyed your week and if you attended, Intersolar. Have a great weekend and see you on Monday!
Exxon Diverges From ALEC. On its own, Exxon leaving the anti-renewables group in ALEC probably doesn’t mean very much, especially when Exxon doesn’t come out and say why it didn’t renew its membership. If this becomes a trend it could mean that the values alignment with the membership group hurts members when they try to hire or acquire talent. If Exxon is to follow the oil industry with investments and business units in renewables and electric vehicles, then the policy initiatives by ALEC may be partly the reason. Consider this a data point not pointing to a trend, just yet.
Big Plans In PA. Pennsylvania has the potential to be a great solar market. Land availability, reliable grid, low install prices and access to PJM in most areas. What it lacks is some of the foundational market support including some access to SRECs. A draft plan from the state environmental agency is trying to push the solar market forward with a plan to get to 10% of retail sales which would equate to 15GW of solar up from 300MW today. Let’s give them some support to get that done.
Greening Supply Chain. There have been several jobs posted over the past 6 months by Apple that vaguely sounded like they were solar jobs but always spoke about supply chain. One of those jobs had a requirement to be able to work in China and speak the language. This announcement about a solar fund adds additional color. It is no longer enough for this manufacturer to be ‘solar powered’, it also wants to make sure the inputs to the business are aligned with its own values with renewable energy. The other piece, which I’d like to see be more vocal, would be to get the tech giants more involved to open the markets for the solar industry. The instant permit process would be a great start, tech companies should be behind that endeavour so that consumers and customers have the same access to solar as the corporation does.
NY Times Learns About Solar. A local story for the NY Times covering the community solar market and the access to solar it gives to folks in dense areas. Any national coverage for solar that isn’t covering a fight solar has to be in to increase access is a positive one and should make people ask why they don’t have the same choice. Community solar should be a national option, the separation of site to user is the best way and most efficient way to let consumers get 100% solar energy at a very competitive rate. This way consumers can put solar on their home if possible then buy additional energy as their usage demands.

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Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for July 12th, 2018

Big thanks to the warm Bay area welcome from many of you. I appreciate you coming by and saying hello. Back to more robust summaries next week!
Fox, Denies Being A Fox. Wheeler doesn’t like being called a coal lobbyist and the assumption that follows that fact. If you bring a fox into the henhouse and tell the fox that maybe the hens should be eaten, then what are the hens supposed to assume is going to happen? Wheeler was a coal lobbyist. Trump wants to bail coal out and build coal power plants. What does Wheeler expect people will think?
Fighting The Good Fight. I had the pleasure of being with IREC yesterday to get an update on their important work. IREC isn’t always the most visible policy group but when it comes to building the foundation of solar markets, assume IREC was there early. Interconnection for solar and storage, training firefighters and more, IREC is doing it and you should support in any way you can.   
Energy Storage Grows. Frank sat in on the Energy Storage Associations presentation yesterday. With GWh scale storage being announced, my guess is that this association grows alongside the market.

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Yann

Energy Storage On Pace To Double Its Installed Capacity By The End Of The Year, CEO Says

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent As you might imagine, the word on everyone’s lips at Intersolar North America – in addition to solar – is storage. Specifically, the question is how much storage can the United States expect to have installed and how quickly it can come. Fortunately, Kelly Speakes-Backman, CEO of the Energy Storage Association, was attending the show to answer exactly those kinds of questions. Speakes-Backman informed the audience at the insanely broadly titled “The Future of PV” session that the United States installed 1 GW of storage last year and is on pace to double that this … Read More →

Beyond Baseload: California Solar Advocate Says Grid Needs Flexibility Instead Of Baseload Power

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent One of the many things I learned from a former colleague of mine (he knows who he is) is the importance of baseload power. Or, as he would say, the absolute non-importance of baseload power. Basically, distributed resources like solar and wind make traditional electricity producers crazy. So crazy, in fact, that they say things like, “What happens if the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing? We need baseload power supplies so we can keep the lights on 24/7.” To which Angelina M. Galiteva, founder and board chair of Renewables 100 Policy Institute, … Read More →

This is your SolarWakeup for July 11th, 2018

Short summaries today given that Intersolar is winning the battle. On another note, who will be at Solar Battle of the Bands tonight?
100% Renewables, I’m In. A few years ago I sat on a panel with Tony Seba and we debate, with passion, the virtue of extending the ITC for solar. This time, we didn’t share a stage but we did share an opinion. It may not become rule but it could become inevitable that we enter a 100% renewable environment.
More Tariffs? Are You Kidding Me? Trump readies another round of tariffs, $200billion this time. We don’t know the details yet and SEIA is looking into it but at this point, short of having a different President, we have to go along with this since the legislators are not doing much. Let’s just hope we can end this trade fight soon, rather than later.
Bailout Blackmail. Another nuclear plant is threatening closure. I’d like legislators to say, go ahead and spend the money to close it, then take the site and interconnection and drop a bunch of batteries on the spot and build a ton of DG solar to make up the generation.
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.

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Yann

Could Solar Generate 100% Of U.S. Energy In 12 Years? Tony Seba Thinks It Could

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent Tony Seba set the Intersolar North America crowd on fire at his opening session, saying that if the trend in battery prices continue their downward plunge, solar + storage could supply 100% of the U.S. electricity supply by 2030. “That’s not too bad for an industry in crisis, is it?” Seba told the crowd to hearty laughter. “But as the country becomes ever-more electrified, it’s going to happen.” [wds id=”3″] Seba predicted that as battery prices continue to plunge, solar + storage will be lower than transmission costs, making solar the only logical choice for … Read More →

This is your SolarWakeup for July 10th, 2018

Welcome To Intersolar. Good morning San Francisco! Now that I am a local, I’ll be at the show all week mostly in and around the Quick Mount lounge on level 3. Come to say hello!
The Solar Foundation Releases Its Solar Workforce Development Toolkit. We can all agree that the solar industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States, right? Heck, The Solar Foundation tells us so every year with its National Solar Jobs Census (well, except for this year, because tariffs, but for the past decade or so it’s been on a huge growth trajectory – and we believe will shortly be again). But how can you find workers for this specialized industry and bring them into this well-paying career? Well, the trick is workforce development, and now The Solar Foundation has released a 94-page Solar Workforce Development Toolkit designed to help solar companies develop their workforces with a series proved strategies that every business can implement in their day-to-day business practices. Here is the post
Breaking Down The Arizona Breakdown. Can anyone understand what is going on in Arizona? How can a regulatory employee have a spouse be working for a regulated entity? The whole thing goes beyond a family trying to make a living, especially if it is hidden from the public’s knowledge.
Direct Energy Gets Total Capital. The total has made a $1.4billion (euro) investment to acquire 73% of Direct Energie. This is an additive investment to the SunPower investment made many years ago. Direct owns the solar developer Neoen as well as some traditional power generation. Note that this is different than Direct Energy, which is owned by Centrica.
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

The Solar Foundation Releases Its Solar Workforce Development Toolkit

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent We can all agree that the solar industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States, right? Heck, The Solar Foundation tells us so every year with its National Solar Jobs Census (well, except for this year, because tariffs, but for the past decade or so it’s been on a huge growth trajectory – and we believe will shortly be again). But how can you find workers for this specialized industry and bring them into this well-paying career? Well, the trick is workforce development, and now The Solar Foundation has released a 94-page … Read More →