A Trade Fight Day. The ITC (trade commission) held their mid-year review for the 201 tariffs to see if they should continue declining or otherwise. Suniva’s Matt Card, apparently still employed by the company, spoke on behalf of the tariffs without giving an update on Suniva’s return to the market. Hanwha Q-Cells also spoke publicly in favor of the 201 tariffs. SEIA, contractors and others spoke in favor of the American solar jobs that are impacted or lost because of the counterproductive tariffs. Meanwhile a court struck down the White House attempt to rescind the bifacial tariff exemption and Bloomberg interviewed Sunpower’s CEO on the topic of tariffs.

BP Gets In Deeper. BP has struck a deal to offer renewable energy from wind and solar farms for Amazon’s data centers in Europe. The deal also announced that BP increased their stake in Lightsource, the developer active in both European and US markets.

Corporate Storage Deal. Not that kind of deal. GM and LG Chem announced a JV to build a $2.3billion battery manufacturing plant in Ohio. In combination with the First Solar Youngstown plant, Ohio may want to revisit their anti-RPS stance given the manufacturing hub they’ve created in the state. 

Speaking Of Storage. At GTM’s storage event in Denver, Colorado’s Governor showed up and spoke about his bullish position on energy storage and how it will help get Colorado to 100% renewable energy.

But The Workforce Needs. While we are all bullish on the growth of the market, we need to continue thinking about how we create a bigger labor force for our industry. Now that markets are getting geographically closer to the impacted coal markets, I wonder when installers start hiring labor that is trained in solar installations and travel to solar projects.

1 Million Solar Roofs. Speaking of amazing things, CALSSA will be having a big event next Thursday in Clovis, CA to commemorate 1 million solar roofs, an ambitious goal set during Governor Schwarzenegger’s time in Sacramento. The hallmark legislation sparked an industry that benefits us all and we’d love to have you in Clovis. If you can make it and travel there next Thursday, your support is needed and appreciated. More info to come including big names at the event. 

• Utility Dive: Solar developers, manufacturers clash on Trump tariff impacts as trade commission poised to reevaluate
• KFGO: Judge blocks higher White House tariffs on imported solar panels
• Bloomberg: Sunpower CEO – Solar Panel Tariffs Are Doing What They Intended to Do
• Axios: BP to provide Amazon with renewable electricity for European data centers
• CNBC: GM, LG Chem to create $2.3 billion battery cell venture for electric vehicles, to create 1,100 jobs in Ohio
• Greentech Media: Gov. Polis on Colorado’s Quest for a Clean Grid — and Where Storage Fits In
• GreenBiz: The coal industry is shrinking — here’s what miners need for a just transition

Opinion

• PV-Magazine: Elon Musk calls for an ‘immediate’ and ‘significant increase’ in Tesla’s solar installs

Best, Yann

Solar, Activate. Time for solar to get loud once again. We need you to make calls to Congress and ask for the ITC to be extended. Here is the call to action link. Please fill it out and ask your colleagues/employees to do the same. In the wake of the White House attack on each of you, we need to explain that we represent real American jobs.

CALSSA. Today is my first day on the job as a member of the board at CALSSA. As part of your support for what we do, please join as a member and make me look good. Hit reply to this email and ask me to get you in touch with the membership team. You can also do that right here. 

• Reuters: U.S. solar industry urges Twitter campaign to ‘punch back’ at White House
• Bloomberg: BlackRock Raises $1 Billion For Clean Power as Wind, Solar Boom
• Axios: House Dems’ proposed tax incentives could reduce carbon emissions
• Greentech Media: How Energy Storage’s Growth Trajectory Differs From the Early Days of Solar
• PV-Tech: PVEL, Ariel Re and Beecher Carlson providing comprehensive PV Plant insurance program
• GreenBiz: What to expect from the UN’s COP25 climate change conference
• Utility Dive: Renewables, legal groups challenge FERC’s authority to upend PURPA

Opinion

• PV-Magazine: California load-serving entities experience increasing challenges in procuring resource adequacy capacity

Best, Yann

The Tariff Effects. SEIA released a report showing that the solar tariffs have caused more than 62,000 job losses or missed growth. At least $19billion in private investment was lost while 10.5GW of solar was not installed. The harm hit the States that have the most borderline markets already that could have created job and business opportunities if US modules were priced at the same level as other markets globally.

Trump White House Claims ‘Fake News’. Navarro called SEIA “a loose confederation of Chinese solar companies seeking to destroy American solar manufacturing jobs and U.S. solar installers that want cheap Chinese panels and don’t care how many American jobs are destroyed by China’s heavily subsidized industry.”

SEIA’s Abby Hopper Responds. “We were heartened to hear the president talk today about his concern over climate change, and I think we are all in agreement that greater use of solar energy and a strong solar manufacturing presence is one way we can meet our collective goals of continuing American economic growth and addressing climate change in a meaningful way. We’d be thrilled if Mr. Navarro would come to one of our conferences and meet some of the 240,000 Americans who work in this great industry, including the tens of thousands of people who are manufacturing solar products. We look forward to working with the Trump administration on ways to advance real manufacturing growth without these particularly counterproductive tariffs.”

SolarWakeup Comments. The White House doesn’t have to like the report and can even rebut it. They could have easily countered by saying that solar is growing and new manufacturing has been built in the US thanks to their policy. Instead they go straight to the fake news and the kicker quote. SEIA is a lot of things and not perfect from my standpoint but diminishing the association to a “loose confederation” or “Chinese solar companies” that “don’t care about American jobs” is complete malarkey. Most of you reading this newsletter are members of SEIA and know that the jobs you create and you hold are cared about. I don’t care what party you come from, there should be robust condemnation of the Navarro comments.

A New Era Of Investment. Axios’s Dan Primack, whom I ran into at SFO yesterday, is out with a renewable energy article. This is news by itself given that he covers private equity in greater detail than any reporter. The TL:DR is capital is drying up for fossil fuel generation and a lot of the investment is going to go towards renewable energy. Of course we have to make sure the pipeline is robust enough for the capital to be interested. The further takeaway is that executives and board directors will have adjust their messaging and strategy going forward. Watch this space. 

• Reuters: U.S. solar group says Trump tariffs killing jobs; White House says ‘fake news’
• Axios: Climate change expected to drive private equity away from fossil fuels
• New York Times: Report Detailing PG&E’s Failures Raises New Hurdles for Utility
• PV-Tech: Renewable a-listers call for climate neutrality as COP25 kicks off
• Greentech Media: US Storage Market Rebounds as Outage-Scarred California Promises Big 2020 Growth
• ILSR: ILSR’s 2019 Annual Report – Building Local Power
• Utility Dive: Nevada PUC floats proposal for 1,000 MW storage target by 2030

Opinion

• Grist: No land, no problem. Floating solar panels might be the next big thing.

Best, Yann

Unbundle Solar. “I’d tell my mom to sign up” is the best headline of 2019. I’ve had some great conversations with community solar executives as well as pondered my hopes as to where this market goes this year. All of it can be summed up to this headline because that is where we need to be. There is a never ending demand for community solar and more needs to be developed. 2021 is the year that this market takes off with a nice run-up continuing next year.

Co-op Opportunities. The western co-ops have been largely untapped by solar developers because of the agreement with Tri-State. This agreement limits how much each co-op can contract independent of the group. Once this dam breaks, and it will, you will see some incredible capacity of solar getting contracted. This may even open a new merchant market.

EV Through Policy? Los Angeles is looking to have 80% of new vehicles be electric by 2028. Through incentives, infrastructure and working with ride hailing companies, it should be achievable. Here’s my question though. San Jose is currently at 21%, almost 3x Los Angeles. What makes EVs more common in the Bay Area than their southern partners? Maybe we should figure that out before embarking in a policy driven game of guess what?

Personnel Moves. Eric Wesoff is back! The former Editor-in-Chief at Greenwich Media is now the editor of PV-Magazine USA after former editor, Christian Roselund, left for Rocky Mountain Institute. Welcome back Eric!

• Greentech Media: ‘I’d Tell My Mom to Sign Up.’ Has Community Solar Finally Come of Age?
• PV-Magazine: Pro-renewable co-ops must propose how to figure a fair fee to exit Tri-State
• Vox: California solves batteries’ embarrassing climate problem
• Axios: Los Angeles launches low-carbon transportation plan
• GreenBiz: Climate change and the new language of weather
• PV-Tech: Innergex Renewable Energy signs PPA for 200MW PV project in Ohio
• Utility Dive: Boulder makes $94M ‘final offer’ for Xcel Energy assets, in bid to avoid condemnation

Opinion

• Los Angeles Times: PG&E and SCE want higher profits. California regulators aren’t convinved.

Best, Yann