Tag Archives: Daily Rundown

This is your SolarWakeup for May 25th, 2021

A Solar Unicorn. Aurora Solar has raised $250million in their series C, with a self proclaimed unicorn status indicating a valuation over $1bb.

Inside McCarthy’s Mind. Gina McCarthy knows the executive branch well, having led the EPA under Obama and now the domestic climate leader for Biden. Who are the allies and the foes in the fight against climate change? Axios meets with McCarthy to get a better understanding.

A Trillion Dollar Opportunity. $5.2trillion to be exact. Building out infrastructure isn’t a function of cost but an opportunity for capital to make a return. From new transmission to residential solar plus storage, it’s an integrated system that will not only save or make money but also function better than the century old version we have now.

Offshore Gold Rush. The offshore wind market requires big balance sheets, at risk capital in the billions and patience. While the projects may not be built until the second half of this decade, the rush to build that NTP pipeline is clearly happening now.

AB 1139 Heads To Floor. The dubbed utility profit grab bill has massive ramifications for solar in California and across the Country. While the NEM 3.0 process is going through the CPUC process, AB 1139 has been moving through the committee process in the assembly. For those that aren’t tracking, this has the ability to affect not only the NEM 3.0 but also existing installations in NEM 1 and 2. 

 Opinion

Best, Yann

 

This is your SolarWakeup for May 24th, 2021

7 To 10 Days. On the Sunday shows and heading into the weekend, the infrastructure bill made headlines again. Biden lowered the price tag of his proposal by $500mm, mostly by eliminating GOP priorities in the bill, in order to get GOP back to the table and negotiate in earnest. The White House, through Cedric Richmond, said there was no big rush on the pushing the bill into reconciliation which Senator Sanders threatened. On the other hand, Missouri’s Roy Blunt said that the bill would need to find agreement in the next 7 to 10 days. Wait and see who does what and who makes the next move, though it appears that a $400bb reauthorization for surface transportation has bipartisan support in the committee as of late last night.

A Federal RPS. The climate crisis certainly needs bold policies like a federal RPS, which if it comes in a ‘well-designed policy’ is supported by EEI, the utility trade association. Show me 60 votes in the Senate that would allow a federal reach into state regulations and I’ll bite into the feasibility of this. In reality, an EPA driven carbon and methane reduction from power plants is the only way to back into the result sought in the RPS.

Governmentwide Review. Biden unveiled an executive order which pushes Deese  (National Economic Council) and McCarthy (domestic climate czar) to conduct a governmentwide review on how climate risk is being accounted for in financial transactions within government. This is likely the initial step to start slowing any funding, loans or other guarantees for projects that do not advance climate policy.

Elliott, The Utility Evaluator. A headline from last week but Elliott Management is pushing for Duke Energy to be split up. Elliott is famously involved in utility and IPP activism including when NRG’s green efforts were thwarted 5 years ago. This is often a value now versus value later project but Elliott can be quite effective in its work.

The Dry West. We are about to head into the Summer and the entire western US is very dry, moisture levels are record lows. Not only does this produce fire risk but also storm and heat wave situations. Hydroelectric capacity is likely to be limited as well which has pushed natural gas prices up and could create additional pricing peaks or blackouts during demand related peaking events.

 Opinion

Best, Yann

 

This is your SolarWakeup for May 21st, 2021

Have A Great Weekend!

PPAs For C&I Deep Dive. On May 26th, 10am PST, Sustainable Capital Finance (SCF) will host the next webinar in its 2021 webinar series analyzing solar power purchase agreements (PPAs) for Non-Profits and Municipalities, including SCF’s 8-Step PPA process. Additionally, SCF will examine a series of project case studies illustrating common challenges specific to school, non-profit and municipal projects, and requisite solutions. This webinar is recommended for anyone looking to provide solar PPAs for schools, non-profits and municipalities, as well as solar developers & installers looking to increase their knowledge on SCF’s PPA solutions. Click here to sign up for this exciting, free webinar!

 Opinion

Best, Yann

 

This is your SolarWakeup for May 20th, 2021

F-150 Release Success. Here are some reasons why the F-150 release is a success and why it’s important for our industry. It still looks like a truck with the advantages of an EV with acceleration and range. It also gives truck owners their first truck without giving up the bed because the frunk is created. The Lightning will also have an onboard generator for all those working men and women powering tools on construction sites. For folks like me, we’ll pretend to go camping and tailgating. This is exactly the opposite of the EV1, you get all the benefits of an EV without sacrificing what you like about the truck and normalizing electrification makes you want to own this. $100 to reserve yours today, paying to join a marketing list is the new customer acquisition tactic!

V2G Activated, Solarized. But wait, there’s more. Ford is including a feature called intelligent backup power, a feature that will allow you to use the truck as a battery for your home. They have productized vehicles to grid or home in this case. The solar overlap is that Sunrun announced last night that it has been chosen as the preferred installer for Ford Intelligent Backup Power. With a battery bank expected to be in the 120kWh range for the extended range model (300 miles), this has energy use ramifications a bit beyond anyone was expecting from a car company. I’ll be realistic here that this isn’t real V2G since it assumes a disconnect from the grid has occurred, islanding the home, and therefore regulatory policy could be limited but surely regulators are wondering how else this could be used. Charge the car at night, island the house during peak times, and then do it all again? What about the warranty on the car? You can also charge the truck on commercial rates and offset residential charges perhaps? I’m intrigued and I like the auto OEM / utility legislative battle that this promotes. Get the popcorn!

How To Sell It. Ford is reserving the trucks through their dealers. If the dealers don’t get real on supporting specialized sales folks and partnering with local contractors to build out the infrastructure, this is going to struggle getting out the door. I’ll hold my enthusiasm for this.

And The Gas Tax? EVs are great and I think every car should be electric. How will we pay for the roads with the lost gas tax revenue? Ponder that with Secretary Pete.

Black Solar Professionals Database.The Society of Black Solar Professionals and Black Owners of Solar Services invite you to fill out this 5 minute survey.  With this information we are creating an opportunity ecosystem to serve the needs of Black people in the solar space. The database formed by this information will serve as an opportunity matcher between Black people in the industry and industry opportunities (jobs, RFPs, Financing opportunities etc.) Thank you to Savannah Whitfield from Black Bear Energy for highlighting this.

PPAs For C&I Deep Dive. On May 26th, 10am PST, Sustainable Capital Finance (SCF) will host the next webinar in its 2021 webinar series analyzing solar power purchase agreements (PPAs) for Non-Profits and Municipalities, including SCF’s 8-Step PPA process. Additionally, SCF will examine a series of project case studies illustrating common challenges specific to school, non-profit and municipal projects, and requisite solutions. This webinar is recommended for anyone looking to provide solar PPAs for schools, non-profits and municipalities, as well as solar developers & installers looking to increase their knowledge on SCF’s PPA solutions. Click here to sign up for this exciting, free webinar!

 Opinion

Best, Yann