This is your SolarWakeup for March 13th, 2018

Old Grid, New Energy. Some of today’s best stories are on Twitter when an expert gives his take in the snippet format. Sometimes that information gets covered by our Frank Andorka (reminder: you can send anonymous tips from solarwakeup.com or email him or myself). In this case, he covered the responses by the various ISOs to FERC’s request for information about resiliency. This is part of the NOPR process we saw a few months ago. The takeaway, our grid isn’t made for new energy generation and wires are the weakest link. His story here.

Big Time Virginia Legislation. A big utility bill that passed the Virginia legislature and has now been signed by Governor Northam. Amongst the many issues this bill tackles, it declares 5GW of solar and wind development in the public interest. Bills like this take years to accomplish and solar’s role was in the weeds for much of that time. One of the people that I know was deeply involved in this is Scott Thomasson of Vote Solar. If you plan on doing business in Virginia, come say thank you in person at Equinox 2018. More coverage on this coming shortly, check solarwakeup.com in a few hours.

Overhyping Bad News. Yesterday there was an article about solar taking a break in California. It was the top story you clicked on and therefore we covered it. First, top gravitating to the bad headlines. Second, most of these articles are clickbait based on misread data. So we set the record straight in our afternoon story so that you get the complete picture.

RPS Ballot Initiatives. 2018 is going to be a big year for ballot initiatives. Amongst the many issues across the Country are three RPS questions being posed in Arizona, Nevada and Michigan. I’m optimistic that these questions will do well at the polls not only because of a wave but because people like the idea of more clean energy in the wake of closing power plants.

See You There? I am waiting for two confirmations of great interviews to join two already great solar leaders, Bernadette Del Chiaro and Danny Kennedy. The venue selection is going on now so if you expect to attend, get your tickets now. Event is on April 10th.

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Have a great day!
Yann

Reports Of A Pause In The California Solar Market Are Greatly Exaggerated

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: Quartz Media’s Michael Coren read a Greentech Media report and pronounced that solar in California is overbuilt. At the same time, Coren contends there is plenty of solar in the pipeline. And the residential and commercial markets are still moving ahead. SolarWakeup’s View: What happens when writers who aren’t steeped in the inner workings of solar try to write about it? Bad information gets spewed out into the atmosphere and undoes whatever pollution control solar has done in the first place. Now, I’m sure sure Michael Coren can write rings around around me when it … Read More →

19th Century Grid Unsuited To 21st Century Electricity Distribution

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: The invaluable Michael Panfil, lawyer for the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), created a tweet-storm on Friday worthy of a president as the nation’s ISOs offered comments on the FERC resilience docket. In short With the exception of PJM, the regional ISOs say the weakest link in the current electricity-distribution system is in the wires connecting centralized generation plants to customers. More distributed generation with storage is the most likely solution to the problem. SolarWakeup’s View: Short version: A 19th century grid isn’t the most effective way to transmit electricity in the 21st century. That sound … Read More →

This is your SolarWakeup for March 12th, 2018

Prosumerism Consolidation. Before Innogy existed and E.ON split itself, RWE and E.ON were the German utilities trying to make sense of the new direction of the power economy. Germany led the way in solar before everyone else and eventually RWE and E.ON realized they had two distinct businesses. Power plants and consumer services. Both of them created a prosumer business, spun out from the parent company. Now, E.ON is acquiring innogy, the RWE prosumer business in a complicated transaction. For solar, especially in the US, it doesn’t mean much except for a bigger player on the block in E.On. Both entities have been investing heavily, more on that to come. Most notable units with the transaction is Belectric (owned by innogy) which appears to be heading to RWE once the transaction closes.

Vote Solar’s Michigan Report. Frank Andorka covered the report released by Vote Solar late last week. We’ve talked about the strategic shift in Vote Solar’s tactics to opine on issues that otherwise wouldn’t affect solar except now solar is a better choice for consumers. This report presents the data to make it so and hopefully the regulators will listen. These types of projects are not free nor cheap. Vote Solar needs your help to make markets like Michigan prosper so you can do business there. Join me and hundreds of solar friends at Equinox 2018 in San Francisco next week on the 22nd. Reminder: if you buy 10 tickets and send me the receipt, you get to write a paragraph here.

Storage Market(s). Make sure to catch my conversation about dc-coupled energy storage or read the write up from Frank. This was recorded at SolarWakeup Live! New York. A lot of hype about dc-coupled has got storage companies claiming big things but I spoke with one that has had it up and running for a year. If you are doing solar farms or C&I, you’ve got to be thinking about storage.

Oklahoma? My friends know that this is the State that I want to make the poster child of energy systems. So when I read about EV growth in Oklahoma and feedback from people that bought an EV, I get excited. OG&E and the other utilities have such a great opportunity to send us a postcard from the future.

SolarWakeup Live San Francisco. The second speaker to join us on the SolarWakeup Live! stage is Bernadette Del Chiaro, the Executive Director of California Solar and Storage Association. Everyone knows Bernadette and the work she’s done to bring CalSSA to where it is today. She is going to be a great conversation and will give us the insight on the legislative agenda ahead for the largest market in America. Get your tickets now, WAKEUP20 for 20% off.

March Madness Bracket. SolarWakeup is having the 1st annual March Madness bracket challenge and it’s free. Go to ESPN Tournament Challenge and search for SolarWakeup group. The password is GoSolar. The more folks we have, the more fun we will have. The winner gets to write the opening paragraph and promote their agenda, company or cause. Must have your bracket complete by Tip-off on the 18th.

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Have a great day!
Yann

Let’s Get High(er): GE Unveils 853-Foot Wind Turbine (Plans)

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: GE unveiled its latest wind turbine, the Haliade-X. It will Stand 853-feet tall. Have blades the length of a football field. Will, if all goes according to plan, will produce 67 GWh annually (Vox calls that “whackadoodle.”) SolarWakeup’s View: First off, let me say my first reaction to this story was, “Whoa – that is one enormous wind turbine.” But then it got me to thinking: When a utility retires a fossil-fuel-fired plant, how much wind and solar will we need to replace all that generation? The answer is a ton. When a plant is … Read More →

For Michigan, It Should Be All About Renewable Energy Jobs

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: A report by Vote Solar and the Union of Concerned Scientists revealed that if DTE Energy, a Detroit-area utility, implemented a renewable/energy efficiency portfolio instead of a $1 billion, 1,100 MW natural gas plant

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: A report by Vote Solar and the Union of Concerned Scientists revealed that if DTE Energy, a Detroit-area utility, implemented a renewable/energy efficiency portfolio instead of a $1 billion, 1,100 MW natural gas plant Would provide more than 10-times the number of construction jobs. Add slightly less than 4-times the number of permanent jobs. Would generate $213.5 million in local and state taxes and $41.1 million in federal taxes. SolarWakeup’s View: I love Vote Solar. The work they do to advocate for the industry almost flies under the radar unless you’re paying close attention, but … Read More →

This is your SolarWakeup for March 9th, 2018

Storage Podcast. New podcast is up for you to listen to. Make sure you are subscribing on the podcast app of your choice and heading to iTunes and giving energyWakeup a 5-star rating. This week we have the CEO of FlexGen to talk about the benefits of dc-coupled energy storage. Adding storage to solar has never been easier.

More Trump Taxes. More Solar Taxes. The steel and aluminum tariffs are official. Canada and Mexico are spared however but there are a few impacts for you to consider. There isn’t enough American made commodity to satisfy all of our needs for the product so at the very least it increases the pricing locally. There is no apparent mechanism for the tariff to flow to US manufacturing, much like the solar tariff. These trade barriers only serve to increase the cost to US consumers.

Your Policy Task. Last week I told you what you could do to advance solar policy with your colleagues. This week I ask the same of you if you have manufacturing happening in your company. If you have workers making things then invite your State Representative/Senator or your Congressman to your facility and show them the type of jobs your company creates for your community. Explain how the solar market works and how global it is, that every tax/tariff hinders your ability to grow and create more jobs. Get it all on tape and put it on social media.

Big Wind. One offshore wind turbine for 12MW. That’s a big wind turbine.

CERAWeek. This week was some sort of oil and gas gathering that brought out some crazy quotes, especially from Secretary Zinke and Perry. It gives you some great insight on who they are working for. Hint - it’s not solar…

Sponsor. Get your message out to your customers, most of whom read this newsletter. Contact us for sponsorship opportunities for the newsletter and events. You can also get your ticket for SolarWakeup Live San Francisco (April 10th) right here Use code WAKEUP20 for 20% off.

Selection Sunday. Everyone’s dream is to write these words, I know. Now you have two different chances to do that. SolarWakeup is having the 1st annual March Madness bracket challenge and it’s free. Go to ESPN Tournament Challenge and search for SolarWakeup group. The password is GoSolar. The more folks we have, the more fun we will have. The winner gets to write the opening paragraph and promote their agenda, company or cause.

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Have a great day!
Yann

Can EVs Save The Utility Model?

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: Quartz Media reports that as distributed generation continues to peel off customers from utilities, they

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: Quartz Media reports that as distributed generation continues to peel off customers from utilities, they are increasingly turning to electric vehicles (EVs) as their business-model savior, and are designing incentives to get their current customers to purchase them. SolarWakeup’s View: The charts below are striking fear into the hearts of utilities everywhere – electricity demand is flatter than Interstate 70 through Kansas. So if you’re a regulated utility that has realized new generation will be hard to justify going forward, where do you turn to keep growing the ratebase? For many utilities, that life extension … Read More →

Is DC-Coupled Storage The Next Solar Boom Segment?

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By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: Our own Yann Brandt, the proprietor of this place, interviewed Josh Prueher, CEO of FlexGen, about the concept of DC-coupled energy storage and what it could mean for the solar industry. What are the major advantages of DC versus AC coupled energy storage for solar? How does solar start integrating storage in its projects? SolarWakeup’s View: As the race to unlock the solar+storage market heats up, the idea of DC-coupled storage is an intriguing one. In such a system, the storage devices are placed between the solar modules and the inverter, instead of the traditional … Read More →

This is your SolarWakeup for March 8th, 2018

SolarWakeup Live! San Francisco. The Bay Area is the center of the solar industry universe. Almost 20% of the readers of this newsletter are somewhere within an hour of San Francisco. So after a 3 city warmup, we are coming there. We are honing in on a venue and invite you to join us. One confirmed speaker is Danny Kennedy of CalCEF and formerly Sungevity and so much more. If you are looking for brand exposure on this platform, this is also a great opportunity to sponsor. As you’ve seen below, sponsors get on the newsletter, website, podcast in addition to the event. Send me an email at yann@solarwakeup.com to talk about sponsoring. See you there!

I Am Hopeful. David Hogg is one of the recognizable activists that has emerged post Parkland shooting. Through his activism he has amassed a platform and a following on social media. One of his comments last week was about the need for STEM education so that he and his generation can get jobs in wind and solar. It took me a few days to digest this and consider whether it was content important for this audience. Here is a 17 year old that just went through horror. He is speaking out on issues that matter to him and sees optimism in the future within our industry. I think that says something about the industry that we’ve built together and I, for one, welcome him and all of the next generation to join us in our mission.

You Get An EV. You Get An EV. No, this is no the next episode of the Oprah show. But it is likely coming to a utility near you. We’ve talked about it before. Utilities have flat demand growth and they need a catalyst and that means competing with gas stations as the source of fuel. This is not a small event in history, utilities have never competed with BP, Exxon, etc. They have each stayed in their own lane but now those worlds are converging.

Everyone Loves Tax Credits. GM wants to build more EVs. Every auto OEM is doing so and just in time for the EV tax credit to expire. Look for these giant companies, with rather large amounts of influence to head to DC and get the tax credit extended. Expect the utilities to help them do that, because of the point above. Wall Street may be on their side as well because someone has to finance all of those cars.

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Have a great day!
Yann