Sources Say Sunnova Is Heading To Lucrative Florida Market
By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: Following a Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) decision that third-party solar installations won’t be considered regulated utilities, residential solar giant Sunnova is set to get into the game, sources tell SolarWakeup. The company has been quietly setting up its partner network in the state over the past year waiting for the right time to enter this lucrative market. When they move into the state, Sunnova will be offering “solar finance agreements” (known everywhere else in the country as loans). SolarWakeup’s View: It feels like I’ve been writing about Florida’s potential as a solar … Read More
This is your SolarWakeup for Tuesday May1st, 2018
Greetings from Minneapolis, where I am for the Midwest Solar Expo for the next few days.
Biggest Risk (Value) In Rooftop Solar. I started my solar career from roofing so I may be biased but based on conversations I’ve had with installers, there is nothing worse for the customer and the contractor than a roof leak. That’s why the growing contractors are more likely to use higher quality components and sell on those strengths. Now you have a report that shows that selling quality means more sales. Put yourself in the clients shoes, what matters more than a leaking roof? That’s gotta get fixed before anything else, including solar production. How do you differentiate yourself from the competition when it comes to quality? I want to hear from you.
SEIA DG Votes. If you are a member of SEIA, voting is open for the DG committee. My friend, Costa Nicolaou, is running for Vice Chair and I’d highly recommend him for the role. When it comes to quality (see above), Costa is a solar leader on the issue and worthy of your vote.
Low Income IREC Report. Who doesn’t love a good IREC report? This goes in line with the latest topic about the scale of the low income solar market. Especially when combined with community solar, the certainty of solar costs is very attractive to people on fixed or low incomes.
Climate Change Outlook. This is really bleak and disturbing but it’s up to our generation to do something about this. Quite frankly what that means is our generation needs to take control of the political and regulatory system. I’m sorry but it’s time for the boomers to give up the gavel because we’re running out of time to do the right thing.
Illinois Is Coming Up. SolarWakeup Live! is coming to Chicago to talk about Illinois solar market developments at the end of June. We will be announcing the date by next week so you can plan your travel. Get your sponsorship budgets ready because this is a market entry event you will not want to miss.
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Yann
The Energy Show: Gigawatt Scale Solar Installations
We often talk about smaller solar power systems on homes or commercial buildings. On this week’s Energy Show we are discussing gigawatt scale solar installations. The logic is simple: solar panels are getting cheaper and installation costs are declining. At the same time, utility electric prices keep increasing. When prices go up and costs go down profits can skyrocket – so it’s no surprise that there is a big market for large-scale solar installations. When I started doing PV installations in 2001 the biggest projects were about 5 MW. Now there are several 500 MW installations proceeding in the U.S., and several 1,000+ MW (a gigawatt) installations are under way in India and China. Solar power plants in the gigawatt range are now being planned in the U.S. To put a gigawatt solar power plant in perspective, it is twice the capacity of most natural gas plants, covers about ten square miles, uses over three million solar panels, and employees thousands of people during construction. To fill us in on the details of projects of this size, my special guests are Mark Cox and Shola Ashiru with the New Energy Fund II. Mark and Shola have been financing solar companies and projects for almost 20 years. They are currently working on a 1.2 gigawatt project which would be one of the largest systems in the world and the biggest in the U.S.
We often talk about smaller solar power systems on homes or commercial buildings. On this week’s Energy Show we are discussing gigawatt scale solar installations. The logic is simple: solar panels are getting cheaper and installation costs are declining. At the same time, utility electric prices keep increasing. When prices go up and costs go down profits can skyrocket – so it’s no surprise that there is a big market for large-scale solar installations. When I started doing PV installations in 2001 the biggest projects were about 5 MW. Now there are several 500 MW installations proceeding in the U.S., … Read More
Nice Headline, Doctor – But That Doesn’t Make It True
By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened:Ah, ya gotta love drive-by hit pieces led by tricky, click-bait headlines, don’t you (you don’t, and you SHOULDN’T)? Vox ran an article (which you no doubt saw, given how many of you clicked on it) that implied somehow battery storage was bad for the electrical grid, headlined “Batteries have a dirty secret.” Then, in the subhead, David Roberts, aka “Dr. Vox,” asserts that the actual deployment of batteries increases carbon emissions. OMG, if true, right? Well, as you probably have already guessed, that’s not what the story says at all. Quelle surprise. SolarWakeup’s … Read More
Turns Out, Silvio Marcacci May Be On To Something (About 320 GW Of Untapped Solar Potential)
By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened:The Interstate Renewable Energy Council has released a report outlining two potential paths to enable greater solar access for renters and multifamily residents, and low-to-moderate income communities. The report, titled Expanding Solar Access: Pathways for Multifamily Housing, suggests shared solar, whether on-site or off-site, is the key. Following on last week’s Forbes magazine article by Silvio Marcacci arguing that there could be 320 GW of untapped solar potential in just these types of applications, the report seems timely. SolarWakeup’s View: Last week, I gave major props to solar support Silvio Marcacci’s article in Forbes … Read More
This is your SolarWakeup for April 30th, 2018
Jumping on a flight to Minneapolis for Midwest Solar Expo. I’ll be interviewing the CEO of a co-op, hope you can join me.
An Opportunity Missed In Michigan. Michigan PSC voted to allow the DTE natural gas plant to proceed, maintaining the status quo. Imaging the opposite decision had been made and the new energy economy would have started to sprout in Michigan. I’m proud of the work that was done by solar advocates to make this an issue, I hope this happens on every sitting plan going forward.
Yes, So What. All new supply chains have their issues and the energy storage industry isn’t much different. All hardware is going to have an inherent carbon cost and one using mined materials is even worse. But to assume that there is a price too high for the value that batteries will provide to the energy space isn’t in play for me right now. Storage will do amazing things especially as we drive the price down.
Definitely Watch This. A couple of time-lapse images of ultra large solar farms in China. Worth a watch.
Can We Discuss ITC Yet? The ITC step downs are on the horizon, already being modeled in solar development and affecting solar plus storage installs. All at the same time where oil and gas will continue to benefit from exploration credits and more importantly the active tax credit rules whereas solar has to play with passive liabilities only. Solar should drop down the tax credit when, and only when, all other energy sources lose their credit as well.
Minnesota. Tomorrow I moderate a discussion with solar leaders about the impact that the 201 and steel tariffs have had on the solar industry. What do you want to hear during this discussion?
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Yann
MPSC Issues Most Unsurprising Ruling Ever (And Approves $1 Billion DTE Energy Plant)
By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened:The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), in a decision that surprised no one, awarded DTE Energy the right to build its $1 billion boondoggle natural gas plant. The commission appears to have ignored, you know, the evidence that showed renewable energy – specifically solar – would provide a much better bang for ratepayers’ bucks than this natural gas plant. The action comes as a blow to solar advocates across the country, who were watching this case to see if the aggressive tactics would stop the plant. Proposed natural gas plants are increasingly being denied … Read More
This is your SolarWakeup for April 27th, 2018
Eyes Wide Open. This is bigger than just Alabama. This is Michigan, Connecticut, and more. Solar net metering continues to be under attack and it’s threatening thousands of jobs and small businesses. Keep in mind that penetration is essentially negligible and provides more value to the grid than it costs. If we want major adoption of solar across the Country, solar needs to have a fair way to operate with market certainty.
Buildings Stay Open Longer Than Businesses. I agree that commercial solar will be majority 3rd party owned. It’s not because business owners don’t have access to tax equity, it has everything to do with the following. Ask a CEO if the business will be around 25 years from now, and they will be absolutely certain it will be. Ask that same CEO if they will still be in that building 25 years from now and a lot of hesitation comes across their face. Solar is a long term solution to power a building, not just the business within it and that is why the building itself is what should be underwritten in the transaction.
Pruitt Keeps Going. Here’s an unpopular opinion, I hope Pruitt sticks around. Yes, he is doing crazy stuff at the EPA and fighting science at every turn. But his non-political actions are keeping him on the front page and showing off his regulatory dismantling, to the dismay of the American people. If Pruitt goes, then so does the limelight. Who do you think will replace him? Do you think that person would do anything different on the policy front?
Press Releases Aren’t Under Oath. It may come as a shock to you but sometimes press releases aren’t everything they seem to be. I think it’s great that SunPower bought SolarWorld and First Solar is building another factory in Ohio. If you think that 201 is the reason that both of those events happened, then you need to stop trusting every press release. 201 is only a 4 year event and First Solar was exempt from it anyways. They could have built that factory anywhere in the world and doing so in Ohio had nothing to do with 201. On the other side, more complicated, is SunPower buying SolarWorld USA. For our view on why we think this happened, read here.
Enjoy Your Weekend. Will I see you in Minneapolis next week?
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Yann
Hawaii Revolutionizes Consumer-Utility Relationship With New Law
By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: Hawaii has rebalanced the relationship between utilities and their customers with a new law tying rate increases to performance data. According to Hawaii Public Radio, “The Hawaii Ratepayer Protection Act will require the Public Utilities Commission, the PUC, to develop incentives for local electric companies to modernize and manage costs.’ The law takes effect July 1st. The PUC will then be required to create an incentive framework by January 1, 2020. SolarWakeup’s View: To call Hawaii’s solar situation “complicated” would be like calling World War II a “kefuffle.” Ever since October 2015, when … Read More
Does Chapter 11 Shelter Schletter From Employee Wrath?
By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: Schletter’s bankruptcy just got more interesting to me, based on some public information a friend of mine shared with me. Did you know that Schletter had been sued by its employees in the Western District of North Carolina – the same one in which they have field bankruptcy – after one of their employees fell prey to a W-2 phishing scam that caused the sharing of all the employees’ private information with some identity thieves? Did you also know that in late March (full document below) the judge dismissed Schletter’s attempts to dismiss … Read More