This is your SolarWakeup for September 30th, 2016
Alongside the Sunshot Initiative, we need more venture capital to focus on the solar industry. The why is simple, $30billion industry in the US and the gateway to the home ecosystem. The problem is that solar is viewed as a hardware first industry that requires tons of money to commercialize. But that is changing, albeit slowly. kWh Analytics, for example, recently raised $5mm in their series A and there are plenty other startups doing well in their seed and angel rounds. Our ecosystem is still broken and part of that is that we don’t have that many accelerators, Powerhouse being the main and maybe only one. You’d be amazed how few startups pitch me to get into the blurb, those of you that have done it realize that it’s fairly easy. Our industry still fails on the role of advisors and networking outside of trade shows. Most accelerators have dozens of advisors that are there to help startups, give advice and impart wisdom on how to run a business.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 29th, 2016
Here is why this election is so important for all of us. If you work in solar and want to keep working in the sector, we have a very clear choice. Now that solar is synonymous with clean energy we have an important leadership role as a sector. The chairman of the Clinton campaign is John Podesta and he is a true supporter and leader of the solar industry. As President, the cabinet, sub cabinet and agency jobs are filled with like minded individuals. For example, the SunShot Initiative has a great new leader, Charlie Gay. Charlie has been in solar for a very long time and understands to get SunShot 2.0 to the next level. Yesterday he spoke with SolarWakeup and you get to hear it from the man himself. If you want leaders like Charlie Gay to keep their jobs after January, you know what to do when you vote!
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 28th, 2016
M&A is strong this year in solar, mostly due to the influx of Sunedison projects and pipeline that have hit the market. Minnesota community solar gardens are also entering into construction and operational phases, finally adding some MW in a new market. This M&A is still focused on development entities for the most part. The difference recently is that the development shops have some backers that could have the ability to lower the cost of capital, but that potential doesn’t appear to have happened quite yet. It doesn’t need to with the supply of pipeline creating plenty of potential. As corporates ramp up contracts, we may see some need to lower the cost of capital going forward.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 27th, 2016
Solyndraaaaa! It’s not a Presidential debate without mention of a ‘failed’ loan guarantee for Solyndra. I think Trump’s biggest issue with Solyndra isn’t the taxpayer funds, it’s that private dollars to the tune of $1billion were lost too. Let’s remember that the loan guarantee is going to MAKE the taxpayers money when it is all said and done. Hillary Clinton noted clean energy in her opening (#jobs) and then again when it came to creating prosperity in America (#jobs). Solar was named because at this point solar=clean energy and the jobs from dying coal and gas sectors are going to solar. We are providing good jobs and good pay for hardworking Americans across the Country. Solar is doing the job America needs us to and it was front and center during the debate. Trump didn’t even know Solyndra’s name, it’s an issue that didn’t work for Romney and it’s not working now…
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 26th, 2016
There is a new economic term that is coming true. “Stacking gigs”. Stacking gigs is the act of earning dual (or more) potential incomes within the gig economy. The original gig is being a realtor. Recently (because I live in Florida), I have talked to Uber drivers that are also realtors. The stack doesn’t work as well but a new stack has come out in the Northeast and I am sure within the SolarCity/Sunrun field consultants as well. The act of driving for Uber and also selling solar. It makes a ton of sense for a few reasons. First, you have a captured audience and can explain how solar works, how the investment makes sense and overcome any rumors the person may have heard about solar. Second, the driver may have already driven to the home and done a cursory analysis of the home. What type of roof, exposure, shading, etc. At $1000 per unit sold, drivers could really expand their earning potential while getting paid to do it. The stacked gig economy begins, courtesy of solar!
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Yann
These are the top 10 most read solar articles by your peers this week!
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The Top 10 is ranked by the number of SolarWakeup.com readers that clicked on the news article during the previous week. It is the poll of the most relevant solar news of the week as judged by your colleagues and competitors.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 23rd, 2016
Energy growth is going to come from new market segments. Electric vehicles are the most obvious and the growth is set to kick off when the Chevy Bolt and Tesla Model 3 hit the markets. Both offer an all-EV in the $30s before the tax credit and have a range over 200 miles. There is nothing that the oil companies will be able to lobby for when consumers start buying. The other industry that is set to increase energy use (legally) is marijuana. According to a report by EQ Research, the Denver area accounted for about 2.2% of the energy consumption. The lighting and ventilation equipment is energy intensive after all. Fun times in energy, always!
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 22nd, 2016
When it comes to fighting for net metering, I feel that the SolarWakeup community has a standing of leadership. Why? Because we stood for retail net metering, together, for over 2 years through the SolarPledge. The SolarPledge also worked in tandem with SEIA to ensure that the industry fought for the ITC extension, together. Was everyone with us from the start? No. Did we create concensus that gave us the results we wanted? Yes. I have respect for the work that Barry and Jigar have done in their careers but why are they doing PR around their petition? What is the agenda behind their petition? Did they have a conversation with Tom Kimbis or SEIA staff before publishing it? I can only think of a single case of a solar company coming out against net metering, but that didn’t sway SEIA even under the Chairmanship of a utility scale developer CEO. I enjoy transparency, that’s why I wrote every day about my thoughts, so here is my recommendation to the team behind the petition. Let’s sit in a room with SEIA, I’m happy to be a neutral 3rd party, and discuss what is really the cause for the strive. Let’s end the senseless newspaper coverage about nonexistent strive and get to a solution, because at the end of the day I don’t see us being that far apart from where we need to be in the future. So tell me the day and I will be there, so we can figure it out together.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 21st, 2016
Let’s call it well under $0.50/watt. While I was not at SPI, many of you spoke about the declining module prices that were spreading around the trade show floor. Of course the prices have payment/timing contingencies, we are a long way from even the $1/watt not too many years ago. What is going to happen now that modules are a commodity competing on price with racking equipment. Maybe some magic potion will come up and show us all how Apple is getting a 3,000kWh per kW production factor. It continues to be true that reporters don’t understand megawatts from kilowatt-hours but I am fairly certain that Apple’s 50MW plant will not produce 151million kWhs.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for September 20th, 2016
Yesterday, Terraform and Terraform Global had to file extensions on the notice of delisting from NASDAQ. The stay of the delisting and request for a hearing have been approved by the exchange and the hearing is schedule for November 3rd. Of course this is stemming from Sunedison’s bankruptcy and the inability to issue proper financial results even though some have been trickling in. The yieldcos also have begun to work to get a new sponsor in place or seek strategic alternatives to Sunedison as the sponsor. Advisors have been engaged by both entities which include Centerview Partners, Morgan Stanley, AlixPartners and Greentech Capital Advisors. This summer some players began to make moves including Brookfield Asset Management, which acquired a significant stake in Terraform Power. The saga continues…
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Yann