Tag Archives: Daily Rundown

This is your SolarWakeup for May 14th, 2020

History Lesson. David Freeman wasn’t a name that I was familiar with before yesterday but the name means a lot to those that have been in solar longer than me and they shared some of those thoughts with me and I thought you should hear them as well. David passed away this week at the age of 94. He led TVA, LADWP and SMUD during his career in power. The solar overlap includes the original SMUD PV Pioneer program which started the path to the million roof initiative that California celebrated late last year. Some have told me that much of California’s solar success wouldn’t have been able to get to where it is today without his leadership.

Job Growth Halted. The pandemic is having its impacts on jobs around the Country including clean tech. According to the latest report by ACORE, 600,000 jobs have been lost in the industry. Not only is it impacting those sidelined from the construction jobs but it is also impacting really good employees on a more than temporary basis. We need to find the bold policy initiatives that will catapult the market back into growth mode and get people back to work as soon as possible.

AOC Picks Climate. There was question about if and how AOC would get involved in the Joe Biden campaign and we got the answer. She is co-chairing the climate change campaign committee with John Kerry. It highlights the importance that the issue has in the campaign especially for the ‘young people’ that AOC and Sanders were targeting during the campaign. It also means that Biden is willing to be pushed far on energy/climate change issues.

The Pod On Spotify. For those that asked, and thank you for doing it, SolarWakeup Live! The podcast is now available on Spotify. Do your thing and share it with friends and colleagues. We had an informative and forward looking interview with Andy Klump from CEA this week and next week will have my interview with Rob Newman from Nearmap to talk about how you never have to get on a roof to measure again. 

Opinion

Best, Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for May 13th, 2020

This Week’s Podcast. I talk with Andy Klump from Clean Energy Associates (CEA). CEA works with companies to help them procure and quality check equipment like modules and batteries. Andy usually lives in Asia but is currently stateside while the pandemic keeps most of us in our homes. I spoke to him about the status of factories, how to make sure you get the best quality equipment, and what would happen if the ITC grant requires domestic content. He also makes some bold predictions about where prices for modules could go. Check out the episode and do us a favor by subscribing and rating.

Elon’s Alameda Drama. There is going to be a time in 2020 where the location of your business has an outsized impact on the success of your business. Tesla’s Fremont factory is going through that now. I’m not saying that Alameda is right or wrong, that’s for others to opine on, but the fact that the factory is in Alameda versus Michigan or 30 something other California Counties means that the factory is still not operational. The same is true for solar installers which lacks coordination with science. Bay Area counties are letting solar with storage be installed but not without storage. That means that installing solar in this area is locationally bad for business.

Time To Buy. Engie is out and public about wanting to do more in US energy storage, renewables and offshore wind. Engie has been one of the most active corporate investors in the market and if anything they see now as an opportune time to do more.

The Pivot Is On. The biggest reason there is a delay in getting you the results from last week’s survey is that there is now a distinct difference between installers that are investing in pivoting to new tools and processes while spending more on lead generation. The good news is that we are seeing the best levels of sales since the start of the pandemic. As installers, now is the time work together in friendly competition and find that the combined volume of the marketplace gives you the power.

SolarWakeup Is Hiring. Early bird gets the worm, a job posting will be going live next week for inside sales at SolarWakeup. If you know someone interested or interested yourself, send me a note. 

Opinion

Best, Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for May 12th, 2020

Post Pandemic Impact. In reality the entire rundown today could have been some version of ‘COVID recovery needs to be climate solution’. This is the overlap of politics, regulations and economics that has an impact on our work beyond the recovery. Realists will say, nothing will change, I even said it to someone on a call yesterday. But the answer is that there is more to politics than what Senator McConnell wants because 50 States also look to find a way to get Americans back to work. Permitting can be a federal act of congress or it could be driven by your state and local leaders as one example.

Buffett’s Day In The Sun. A week after Buffett said he regrets his $10billion oil investment there is a double headline day for Berkshire, both from an off taker perspective. NV Energy’s project with Arevia Power got the green light from the feds while Pacificorp is readying a huge RFP for renewables. While this isn’t the sunniest region for the most part, there is no doubt that the storage aspect of the RFP is going to be breaking records and could make for interesting timelines and modeling around the ITC.

It’s a Global Market. I looked at the global inverter market share and had to do a double take for two reasons. First, 2019 found 126GW of solar installed around the world. Second, there are a lot of names on the list that don’t make a mark in the US market. That either means there is much more upside for US leaders abroad or for the market share list in the US to change.

Talking Solar. Join me next Tuesday on a call with Roth Capital’s Phil Shen. This is the 4th call we’ve had together since the pandemic started and created a lot of clarity for those that dialed in including a Q&A segment. You can register for the free call here.

Sending Good Thoughts. All of you know Frank Andorka, long time solar writer and former rock star solar correspondent at SolarWakeup. Frank has been in a battle with COVID-19 for over a month including a multi-week stay in the ICU near his home in Ohio. Frank recently moved out of the ICU but remains in the hospital. Please keep Frank in your thoughts and prayers, remembering that this pandemic is indeed close to us all in one way or another. Find him on Facebook, if you wish to reach out directly and leave him a kind note.

Opinion

Best, Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for May 11th, 2020

My Update. Just over 22 months ago I joined the team at Quick Mount and moved my family to the Bay Area. After 13 years developing, financing and leading teams in C&I and utility scale solar, I joined the residential solar segment. Quick Mount revolutionized the mounting space going back to 2006 and in a competitive market I was asked to get Quick Mount back to its leadership position. What originally was estimated to be a 3 year process, ended up in a sale of the company in 14 months from the moment I arrived. The team was best in class and ownership trusted us to grow it with great additions and success followed with a new strategy implemented. With the turnaround and sale complete, I remained with the acquiring company to help with the integration and now is the time to move on to find the next great company in solar. The past 2 years have been the greatest time in my professional career and a real sign of the maturity in solar today. In the meantime there will be time to catch up with family and consulting while the opportunities present themselves as they have in the past.

The People. If I learned one thing in the last 2 years it is that the people in residential solar are amazing and what’s proof in the past month is that their resilience is like no other. I’m overjoyed to have had a chance to work with this group of solar professionals and look forward to doing much more with you.

The Market. I published my bullish outlook of the market a few weeks ago which has now been confirmed by half a dozen public companies during their earnings calls. In my interview with Palmetto’s CEO and President we talked about how the company had some of their best sales in the past month and I predicted that 2020 wasn’t going to be a down year compared to 2019. I believe that not only is 2020 going to be a better year than expected but I see great promise in the years ahead, investors are saying the same by buying in on the company stocks. Whether it is public or private markets, solar’s investment environment has never been better.

SolarWakeup. SolarWakeup will continue publishing the newsletter and expand into serving the solar market with reports and information. Many of you have already participated in the module index which will expand its reach and value that it creates for manufacturers and installers alike. Just like Expedia expanded air travel, so will a transparent marketplace for installers. You already see manufacturers expanding clarity with online stores and dealer networks as proof of the path forward. More to come on this tomorrow. 

Opinion

Best, Yann