This is your SolarWakeup for September 1st, 2017
Last month, I reached out to the SolarWakeup family and asked for some projects to put tax equity into and you delivered. We were able to connect over 10MW of projects into money. That being said we have about 3MW of capacity left for projects that COD in 2017. Enjoy your weekend, right after you send me some deals.
Let’s Itemize The Bullshit About 201 Petition. Because PV-Magazine is a journalistic organization, they gave the platform to the CEO of SolarWorld Americas (which is for sale) to counter a previous article from Tony Clifford about how bad the 201 petition is for America. In this article, Mr. Stein starts out with nuance and thoughts that find themselves in a distorted version of reality. In other words, time to call out some #Fake201TalkingPoints.
First we have to start with the fact that SolarWorld/Suniva and other ‘domestic’ module companies have already hindered solar growth by having duties and tariffs put on Chinese modules. Now the companies that failed to innovate like all of us had to, are asking the government to help them by screwing everyone else.
“From 2012 to 2016, nearly 30 U.S. manufacturers were forced to shut their doors, casting off hundreds of line workers.”How many new manufacturing/widget/BOS companies were created in that same time? How many manufacturing jobs were created? How many solar jobs across the entire spectrum were added?
“While China and other nations are building up their technological production toward energy independence, the United States is on the brink of losing its own industry.” We have to get real about what SolarWorld is saying in my opinion. If solar panels aren’t made in the US then there is no solar industry at all. I have about 270,000 reasons why that is a selfish and absurd statement to make. Look at the solar industry in my hometown of Miami for example, which has grown very well. Where are those projects being developed? Many of the jobs in Miami are for development in Central and South America. The US is the global leader on developing, financing, managing and manufacturing balance of systems. The argument SolarWorld is making is akin to saying that iPhones create no value for America because they are designed in California but made in China.
You’ll have to read the article to violently shake your head in disgust, disappointment and anger much like I did. The petitioners cling to the wonderland where higher solar prices save their companies and grow the US solar sector. While reality will be that neither of those things will happen and that is what the ITC should be focused on. Higher priced modules in the US will not save Suniva and SolarWorld in my opinion meaning that any remedies will serve only the benefit of people that wish the solar industry to go away.
We can grow jobs in the US, manufacturing and across the value chain, while competing in a low margin industry without wishing harm on our competitors. Because look around your office this morning and find how many colleagues you have today that were your competitor yesterday. We are linked in so many ways, but at the end of the day we are an industry that gets stronger through our amazing American workforce coming together.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 31st, 2017
The Market Has Spoken. Xcel Energy is closing coal and going solar. This is quite the week for power plants as the market continues to make its voice heard.
Ratebase I can Get Behind. Investing into infrastructure for the purpose of more renewables is the right investment that shows the utility is looking forward.
What Does Resiliency Mean To You? Let’s get your best ideas out there.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 30th, 2017
Look Into The Windshield. In my conversation with Amory Lovins I asked him what would be different if he were to write the DOE Grid Study. His answer was much like solar is to coal. He would look forward into the windshield instead of the rearview mirror. Taking advantage of distributed, diverse and cheaper energy he would want the grid to leverage 21stCentury technology. He also fills me in on what Thomas Edison’s idea was that was overruled in 1892.
Solar Marketing Goes Hiking. This video is a bit old but I saw it for the first time during a baseball game. Coors Light has solar on a brewery, which isn’t a new or unique concept. Budweiser has some Solyndra on their Newark location. But this is the first time that I have seen a major corporate tout a solar project in a standalone sustainability commercial. Like corporations, I wouldn’t be surprised to see politicians using solar votes as a swing issue.
Duke Goes For Double Play. I almost skipped over this headline because I thought we sufficiently covered Duke’s nuclear power cancellation already. Then I realized that Duke was cancelling a Florida plant in Levy County while announcing some solar and energy storage at the same time. The numbers seem off, $6billion for 700MW of solar, 50MW of storage and 500 EV chargers so there must be something else included.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 29th, 2017
Grid Study Review With Amory Lovins. There was one voice I wanted to talk to about the DOE Grid Study after it was released and that was Founder of Rocky Mountain Institute, Amory Lovins. He has been calling the future on the grid for many years and he drops some major knowledge and some wonkiness on this episode of the podcast. Not only do we discuss the grid study and its editorial bias but also get into macro grid trends that are important to your business. Listen to this now, subscribe and review it on iTunes.
Looking Forward At SPI. I have been hard at work on my next project. As many of my previous endeavors, SolarWakeup included, I am pulled towards difficult things. While still solar related, it will drive some nuance and try to fix some very big but important things. I look forward to telling you more about this soon and at SPI. I will be at the show and speaking on Monday at 11am about how to communicate solar in current times. Joined by some great solar people, our panel will be a can’t miss so I hope to see you there.
SolarWakeup Live! This is happening and I have locked in the first two cities and hope to announce the dates soon. If you want to get involved, there will be some ability to do so. Please email me to find out more. Stay Tuned!
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Yann
Amory Lovins – Founder of Rocky Mountain Institute and Electricity Grid Visionary
Now that the DOE grid has been released, we speak with the visionary Amory Lovins of RMI. Amory is the founder of RMI which recently celebrated its 35th anniversary. I asked Amory about his thoughts on the study and some more questions. Can we blame LED lightbulbs for stagnating demand or is it something else? What is the most dangerous conclusion in the study? Why do you think Connecticut and Texas agree that energy markets should be deregulated? Will there ever be another coal or nuclear plant built in the US? If you were to write this grid study, what would be the biggest difference in the report? This is one of the biggest names to join EnergyWakeup to date and we are thankful to have Amory's leadership in the clean energy space. If you enjoyed this episode as much as I did, make sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform including iTunes, SoundCloud and Stitcher radio. Please subscribe and share with your friends how much EnergyWakeup is helping you! [soundcloud id='339936781' height='false']
Now that the DOE grid has been released, we speak with the visionary Amory Lovins of RMI. Amory is the founder of RMI which recently celebrated its 35th anniversary. I asked Amory about his thoughts on the study and some more questions. Can we blame LED lightbulbs for stagnating demand or is it something else? What is the most dangerous conclusion in the study? Why do you think Connecticut and Texas agree that energy markets should be deregulated? Will there ever be another coal or nuclear plant built in the US? If you were to write this grid study, what … Read More
This is your SolarWakeup for August 28th, 2017
Sending SolarWakeup’s best to our friends in Texas that are affected by the storm and floods from Hurricane Harvey. If you can help, please find a charity doing work you support.
What’s Next For Nuclear Power? The End? Duke Energy is canceling the Lee Nuclear Plant citing the Westinghouse bankruptcy. This may be partly true but I would assume that solar and battery costs play a part in this decision. Hard to think an executive make this public but I can’t think how engineers wouldn’t have this discussion. It seems to me that once FP&L announces that they are abandoning Turkey Point expansion from the end of nuclear power construction in America. At the same time Duke is asking for a rate increase in the 15% range which could bode well for the PURPA tail that make solar projects work in North Carolina.
Speaking Out Against Tariffs. Right after the Suniva 201 petition filing I said that utilities should come out against the filing. Duke Energy has done just that in a letter to the Trade Commission. The logic is interesting given that the deregulated side of the business wants cheap solar to continue their investments. Remember that Duke bought REC Solar (commercial side) and has many ventures into large scale solar. I’d like to see NextEra, Berkshire, Dominion and Southern come out in the same way. On the other hand, Duke would see a reduction in PURPA projects in North Carolina which the company has been more openly hostile to in the last year.
Speaking In Favor Of Tariffs. Late yesterday, Axios got an inside look at an Oval Office meeting about tariffs. This was the first such meeting where newly installed Chief of Staff John Kelly was in the meeting. It included the trade representatives that oversee the USA’s policy on trade and tariffs. Trump’s comments were eerie and could bode poorly for the solar industry, “"So, John, I want you to know, this is my view. I want tariffs. And I want someone to bring me some tariffs." Only positive for solar could be that steel is also in the conversation and a bigger hit than solar. Bad idea all around.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 25th, 2017
Enjoy your weekend ahead. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite location for the first SolarWakeup Live!, today is the last day to vote.
The Grid Study Is Here. After months and a leaked draft report, the DOE’s study on the value of baseload power is here. I have gone through the first few chapters and read a lot about the need for resilience and that price cannot be viewed in a silo without valuing resilience. Basically the report talks a lot about the need for baseload power which I read that solar is cheaper but without resilience it’s worthless. I’ll be studying this in greater detail and plan on having some experts on next week’s podcast.
A Few Comments On Editing. I know Secretary Perry isn’t a nuclear physicist nor a nobel prize winner but the letter from any Secretary of Energy should have a bare minimum of professionalism. First, don’t copy and paste the Department’s logo without a transparent background and make sure to crops the borders of the logo with a bit of symmetry. Lastly, the first thing my kids are taught in kindergarten is how to write their name. Capital letters first and lower case following, I don’t understand what Rick PeRRy is thinking. Will one of our SunShot friends please email the Secretary’s office a digital letterhead. Please.
California Goes To Rush Hour. The solar trade groups simultaneously slammed the CPUC decision to move the peak times to 4pm to 9pm with an early grandfather deadline. I admit that I am not used to things in California going against the solar agenda. More to come on this, I am sure.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 24th, 2017
Dear Trade Commissioners. Yesterday I mentioned the 27 manufacturing companies that are trying to preserve existing solar manufacturing jobs in the US. Read their entire letter to the trade commission to understand where they are coming from and what they are fighting for. This is an important step for our industry, where competitors get together and fight for the common good.
Why Community Solar Matters. For me, I always saw Colorado as the birthplace for community solar but it seems like conception may have been in CO but the birthplace is in Minnesota. The local market in MN has been working to get a market going for a long time and has really found a win-win for everyone in the way that community solar is structured. Looking at large deposits, minimum number of customers, sufficient value in credits and enough size without making the sites massive. The best policies are those that are copied and the MN community solar policy is good for solar, consumers and even fair to utilities. Disintermediation of site and offtaker solves the greatest issue of all, credit.
Deregulating Monopolies, Customers Like It! When European governments started opening up choice in retail energy providers, customers started shopping for value and customer service. There is no doubt that energy in the 21st century has entered an era where the problems that the monopoly was meant to solve no longer exist.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 23rd, 2017
Please take this quick survey to tell us where SolarWakeup Live! Should visit.
Leading The Manufacturers To Speak Up. During the latest episode of our podcast, the CEO of PanelClaw gave us a forecast that something big would happen this week and yesterday it came. 27 companies with manufacturing jobs wrote an open letter to the trade commission that should reverberate with the commissioners and staff. Don’t miss the podcast,you can listen to it here.
500 minus 37,000 ≠ 114,000. NPR did a great interview and the above mentioned open letter highlights it. Solar is not a binary economy where one parties success is not dependent on another. As an example, if modules go up in price, less projects get done meaning less work for lawyers, appraisers and companies that make widgets. Widgets like adapters, combiner boxes, fuses and racking have less volume when fewer projects are built. When Suniva and SolarWorld want to save their 500 manufacturing jobs, they forget the 37,000 manufacturing jobs that build those widgets and keep the circular ecosystem going in solar. 88,000 jobs are at risk in solar but most importantly the trade commission is being asked to add jobs by killing more jobs and that math just doesn’t add up.
The Path To 100%. A few months ago I spoke with Senator Wiener from California about the plan to increase the RPS to 100%. The 50% by 2030 plan is already ahead of schedule and you could look at market forces making the case for 100% easily achievable. Peaking plants will be replaced by more advanced solar operations, essentially making solar farms 40%-50% capacity factor assets with some dispatching potential. All of this because it lowers the cost of energy for consumers and dramatically lowers the cost volatility.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 22nd, 2017
The Big News. SolarWakeup is going on the road with SolarWakeup Live!, a regional in person breakdown of the top news in solar. I’ll be interviewing local leaders, investors and startups about their work in the solar industry. The tour will go around the Country but now is your chance to tell me where I should start. Fill out this survey and make your voice heard.
LADWP Goes Storage. LADWP is fast tracking an energy storage project after an earlier halt to a massive natural gas power plant. Grid level storage is continuing to ramp nicely in California but what most solar pros should be thinking about is adding batteries to their existing solar farms on the DC side of the inverter. Lost energy and management of solar power is best when it is done this way without the massive efficiency losses of AC connected energy storage. For years now, energy storage and solar have been separate markets. Neither needing the other until today. Soon enough, every solar asset will have storage integrated like another inverter but large solar farms will have the ability to replace the peaking plants in operation today that will not be rebuilt at the end of life. More on this to come soon.
Specific Examples, Humanizing Solar Impact. Take your life savings, start a business and create jobs. That’s the story of Las Vegas solar company Louise Helton who made it through the recession that hit Vegas hard only to be struck by utility overreach and regulatory uncertainty. Taking this story public is where solar wins. No amount of lobbying and political donations can compare to the story telling of people’s lives.
The Solar Eclipse Of The Heart. The eclipse was cool but most importantly my job of finding solar articles gets easier. Also, congrats to any editor that was able to write a headline without using the word eclipse as a pun. I did hear that global solar will be eclipsing nuclear going forward.
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Yann