Tag Archives: Daily Rundown

This is your SolarWakeup for January 27th, 2020

The Solar Tech Boom. I met the CEO of Sofdesk, Lennie Moreno, several years ago and you knew right away that he’s not going to let customers slip away. Tucked away in a nondescript Montreal office building, Lennie replicated a tech loft that built a popular software which may be the biggest exit for tech in solar thus far. It likely isn’t the biggest by dollar amount but it’s the type of software that can be built without expensive hardware solutions added on and with an exit on record, it will give VCs a liquidity event to seek to replicate. Sofdesk’s sale also brings Kelcy Pegler Jr back into the news, as he stood as the company’s Executive Chairman and investor for the past few years. While the former NRG Home Solar CEO is usually flying under the radar, seeking to remain out of the spotlight, this is the second major exit for the solar pro. The first exit came in 2014 when NRG’s David Crane acquired Kelcy’s Roof Diagnostics Solar, one of the largest residential solar installers in the Country at the time. When asked to comment via email, Kelcy responded with “Stay Tuned”

All About The Customer. In solar, there are many customers and for manufacturers it means making multiple people happy. If you make anything, you need to know how much to make, where to send it and which SKUs will be needed. Enphase has had trouble with making sure it’s rising product demand is met by the needed supply but with a major acquisition, they are about to get a lot smarter without upsetting the ecosystem. Enphase has acquired Sofdesk, the company behind the popular solar design software you know as Solargraf. Why would Enphase buy a design software with hundreds of installer customers? It’s not only the data but also the technology that will enable a more seamless integration of Enphase in design, proposals, permitting docs and more. But it also tells the company when a proposal goes out, to what city/state, and which sized module is proposed alongside the inverter. Integrated at scale, Enphase will be in a position to fulfill demand more efficiently. Will it include an order now button for installers? Who knows, but it could be the type of margin expansion that Enphase management seeks to grow every day.

The Full Wall Street. Forget ESG at this point, Wall Street is all in on the energy transition and climatization of businesses. See below for actual examples responding to this. In his annual shareholder letter, Larry Fink from BlackRock, is going further than he has in the past. He and through him, BlackRock’s 7.8 trillion AUM, is calling for full corporate climate disclosures and the business purpose beyond profit. It is also asking for the corporate’s plan on how they would be compatible in a net-zero economy.

The Utility Transition. I have officially been in solar long enough to be lectured to by a nuclear engineer turned CEO that nuclear energy is the future of the energy transition and then have the same person make the point that renewables are the lifeblood of that business and the energy transition to the extent that they have the entire utility lobby endorsing a 100% clean energy future. NextEra happens to be my utility and also the utility that may bring the distinction between solar and the utility business model to the most fundamental point, who owns the asset. For 15 years, NextEra has never openly seemed anti-renewable, even behind closed doors the utility was doing pilots and negotiating paths to building more solar. The sticking point was always ownership, which I grant you is not a small one especially when you care about competition, consumers and overall intellectual honesty. While NextEra announced that they target 30GW of renewables to be added on their balance sheet in the next 3 years, it is the announcement from EEI’s Tom Kuhn, which I credit to NextEra’s influence, that is most impressing today. “We are joining the growing call for a 100% clean energy future.”

Energy Wednesday. Governor turned Secretary of Energy nominee, Jennifer Granholm is on the hill today for her nomination hearing. Expectations are that the White House is also rolling out more executive action on climate. Of note in the personnel world, Energy Storage Association’s CEO Kelly Speakes-Backman has been appointed as the Principal Deputy Assistant Energy Secretary at DOE’s EERE and Energy Innovation’s Sonia Aggarwal is joining the White House as a senior advisor for climate policy and innovation.

A Supply Chain Mess. Solar is growing everywhere and the US market continues to be underestimated. With our path to 1million solar homes installed in a few years, Australia at over 25% penetration, suppliers are having a hard time keeping up with demand. The SolarWakeup Buyer’s Group was meant to not only lower costs but also increase access by consolidating demand amongst its members. We’re doing that now, reducing lead times and saving money. Get in touch with us through our portal or hit reply to this email. 

Opinion

Best, Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for January 26th, 2020

It’s Deal Week. Lots of transactions yesterday and I think we are just getting started.

Shoals. The IPO is well oversubscribed and they have upsized their offering from 50 to 70million shares and increased their price range. It’s now expected that SHLS will raise/sell over $1.4billion in shares. Not bad for a $150million revenue company.

Sunlight Financial. If you’ve dialed into Phil Shen’s market updates that I participate in, you’ve seen Sunlight’s CEO on those calls. Unable to attend the past 2 times, you now know why. Sunlight is acquired by an Apollo backed SPAC and will be going public as well.

First Solar. What once saved the company is now being sold. First Solar is selling its development business to Leeward and will be focusing solely on manufacturing.

A Supply Chain Mess. Solar is growing everywhere and the US market continues to be underestimated. With our path to 1million solar homes installed in a few years, Australia at over 25% penetration, suppliers are having a hard time keeping up with demand. The SolarWakeup Buyer’s Group was meant to not only lower costs but also increase access by consolidating demand amongst its members. We’re doing that now, reducing lead times and saving money. Get in touch with us through our portal or hit reply to this email. 

Opinion

Best, Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for January 25th, 2020

A Fed Response. Looking at the policy landscape, especially on solar and renewables, I wonder how close folks have looked at what ESG first monetary policy would look like. Solar on a roof can be a $1,200 per year stimulus for those living in the house or similar benefits for community solar customers. All we’d have to figure out how to lower the cost of money to the point that the capex of the investment is offset by the cost of staying with the status quo.

Infrastructure Week. Joe Manchin, with a bright spotlight on him at the 50th Senator, is calling for a $4 trillion infrastructure bill. He’s not ready to jump into renewables head first but he also knows that infrastructure spending won’t be building new coal plants, he just can’t say it out loud.

Fixing RTOs. There is no doubt that the last four years of attempted Federal takeover of state and regional energy policy has caused problem. Starting with the MOPR, RTOs and ISOs have to come back to the starting block and then implement state by state energy standards and goals. Moreover, they are looking at an energy demand that has been turned on its head and now is very residential. And then you add the electrification of transportation as well as the money losing power plants that are closing and you realize that the energy markets have to figure out how to price signal to developers the value of DERs and other distribution level grid investments. This is an important time to be a regulator.

Solar For All. With everything that we are talking about, in the market and in policy rooms, we have to ensure that the access to solar and solar generated electricity isn’t just for those that own a single family residence with southern exposure. Renters, low income families, and others without access to onsite solar must have reasonable alternatives with similar benefits. Low income families spend a giant percentage of their income on utilities and it would be a bad signal by our industry and supporters to forget that.

A Supply Chain Mess. Solar is growing everywhere and the US market continues to be underestimated. With our path to 1million solar homes installed in a few years, Australia at over 25% penetration, suppliers are having a hard time keeping up with demand. The SolarWakeup Buyer’s Group was meant to not only lower costs but also increase access by consolidating demand amongst its members. We’re doing that now, reducing lead times and saving money. Get in touch with us through our portal or hit reply to this email. 

Opinion

Best, Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for January 22nd, 2020

Star Spangled Weekend. Yes, The Dead’s Bob Weir played at the Clean Energy for America Ball on Wednesday night but it was solar’s own, Dan Shugar, that played the intro Anthem. It was like having the Battle of the Bands back for a moment. 

Click To Run FERC. Commissioner Glick, former counsel to the Senate Energy Committee, has been chosen by Biden to chair FERC. He’s a vocal opponent of the MOPR, the flawed plan to save fossil fuel power plants through massive subsidies. As chair he will oversee an energy transition and implementation of FERC orders 841 and 2222 amongst many others.

A Biden Prediction. Before the end of the first Biden term and more likely by the end of 2023, the US solar market will install solar on more than 1 million homes. It is very likely that in 2022, residential solar will sell solar to more than 1 million homes. Training and supply chain will be the only limiting factor whether it happens in 2023 or 2024. #timestamped

Sentiment Plus ESG. The tailwind of sentiment matched by regulatory support is now propped up by the 2021 word of the year, ESG. More to come on this.

Join The Residential Solar Rocketship. Suntuity Solar is one of the fastest growing solar companies in the Country and we’re looking to hire the best to join us. Our executive team is hiring for VP of Operations, HR Director, Director of Talent and more positions at all levels of experience. If you or someone you know is looking to expand their career, send Suntuity an email!

Opinion

Best, Yann