Nothing To See Here. A few weeks ago it was announced that regulators in MA were opening an investigation into the interconnection practices. Going as far back to my last SolarWakeup Live! in Boston, solar was being stifled by delayed and expensive interconnections. As soon as the investigation is announced, National Grid finds an extra 300MW that can connect without any cost. That’s great but what would be better is a transparent, speedy process so that development can continue past stops and starts.

A New Era. Ford unveiled their first real electric car, a crossover named Mustang. I’m going to judge it by the cover and headline numbers as a winner. Pricing comes in at mid 40s with a standard 230 mile range and an option to get to 300 miles. In 2021, expect two versions of the Mustang GT to come out as well. The looks of the car are great as well, like a Mustang version of a BMW X6. We shall see how it does, but it’s the first electric car not from Tesla that I find compelling. Why is this important to solar? Homes with electric cars are much more likely to put solar on their home and think about it for their office. Plus the additional load makes the need for new generation more likely.

The Norm Going Forward. The smaller Arizona utility is adding a 250MW solar plant that also includes storage. The battery will be a 250MW/1GWh version that will allow the plant to shape its peak and move production to higher value. Aside from grid services, I would expect that the plant release energy sometime mid day and recharge to have a full load for the morning peak. If SRP releases an operating plan, I will make sure to pass that along.

Lots of Chatter. The farmer goes solar chatter is increasing in strength and frequency. This story is important to the future of solar in America and hopefully our industry learns ways to tell more of it.

Congrats. Christian Roselund is leaving his post at PV-Magazine to become the editorial director at Rocky Mountain Institute. A great addition at RMI, congratulations to Christian on the new gig. 

• Greentech Media: National Grid – 300 MW of Halted Solar Can Move Forward With ‘No Cost’
• Axios: Ford Mustang Mach-E debuts with new attitude
• Utility Dive: Salt River Project to install Arizona’s largest battery system, helping to replace giant coal plant
• St Louis Public Radio: Farmers Look At Solar Panels As A Hedge Against Crop Prices And Trade Uncertainty
• PV-Tech: Q CELLS to appeal US ITC judgement on patent infringement case dismissal
• CleanTechnica: US Solar Panel Prices Continue Dropping, Solar+Storage Increasing — Tracking The Sun Report
• Bloomberg: Mexico’s Latest Hit to Energy Investors Upends Wind, Solar Aid

Opinion

• EDF: How companies are using electric trucks to reduce air pollution and save money

Best, Yann

New Home Solar Lives. On Wednesday, the CEC pushed a decision that could have hurt the solar on new home requirement requested by the utilities. This will come back and hopefully with local community solar for multi family units only.

Ratings and Advance Rates. More securitization are being done in solar. Once a novel concept, almost every quarterly filing highlights another securitization, some of which are now rated A and offer mortgage level rates.

Compete and Improve. It’s true, renewables have to compete on price without the backstop of a guaranteed return and pay for the infrastructure improvement. Many of these improvements are priced to hurt the renewable generation which caused the MA regulators to open an investigation into the local utility.

The Transition. Earlier this week Tesla received a prestigious German auto award and then announced a new factory in Berlin. While Tesla is littered in online polarization, there is no doubt that companies like VW and Mercedes have advanced their timelines by a decade because of their success. Elon was on stage with the VW CEO this week, an interesting dynamic.

Census and Local Shows. Make sure your company fills out the Solar Jobs Census and if you are in the Maryland/DC area, attend the MDV SEIA conference Solar Focus. 

• Los Angeles Times: Editorial – California needs solar panels on new homes.
• PV-Magazine: Institutional investors warm to residential solar securitizations
• Greentech Media: Vestas – Renewables Sector Should Be ‘Outraged’ at Footing the Bill for Grid Upgrades
• Axios: The bumpy transition toward electric vehicles
• Denver Post: Colorado commissioners approve land request for solar farm
• Renew Economy: South Australia household batteries to the rescue as Queensland coal unit fails
• GreenBiz: The great EV infrastructure challenge
• Utility Dive: CPUC demands PG&E defend power shut-off actions, launches investigation into all IOUs

Opinion

• EDF: California fires, electricity outages need not be “the new normal”

Best, Yann

• Los Angeles Times: California will still require rooftop solar panels on new homes — at least for now
• Greentech Media: US Trade Court Sides With Longi, Jinko, REC in Solar Patent case
• PV-Tech: IRENA – World must take solar to 8.5TW by 2050 to fight climate change
• Axios: The trouble with big power companies’ net-zero pledges
• Vox: These uses of CO2 could cut emissions — and make trillions of dollars
• Washington Post: The Many Reasons Venice is flooding right now.

Opinion

• GreenBiz: Inside the transition from diesel to electric

Best, Yann

Growth, Training Required. Sunrun reported their quarterly earnings yesterday and CEO Lynn Jurich led with the blackouts in California. Sales are booming for the company, as with the market, but Lynn highlighted the lagging installation numbers. With 600 jobs listed by the company, it reminds us of the work we need to do to train the workforce all installers need to get solar installed. If only there was a way to merge the impact from coal bankruptcies with the location of solar installation jobs. From a manufacturer’s standpoint, I think a lot about how we can be helpful in the training of the workforce. We have the facilities and knowledge but lack the time and resource to bring folks in and let them know that training is available.

More Jobs, Jobs, Jobs. It’s that time of year again – The Solar Foundation needs your help to complete the Solar Jobs Census. The nonprofit organization is preparing its tenth annual report that is the authoritative source of solar employment numbers, nationwide and state by state. Please help them succeed by completing the Solar Jobs Census survey now.

The DG Microgrid, Financed. Vivint Solar is out with a new PPA product that pairs solar with storage. This goes into the current state of mind of consumers that just had a blackout and are thinking about the value storage would have provided to them. As time passes, that values goes back down to zero and the consumer is no longer interested in paying for the value it creates. 

• Greentech Media: Sunrun Sales Outpace Installations in Q3 as Labor Crunch Hits Home
• Solar Power World: Vivint launches residential solar + storage PPA option in California
• PV-Magazine: DTE established renewables arm
• Bloomberg: U.S. Solar Companies Are Stockpiling a Massive Amount of Panels
• PV-Tech: IHS Markit – Despite China decline global solar growth in 2019 to hit 129GW
• GreenBiz: Vehicle-to-grid technology is revving up
• Utility Dive: Lessons learned from Europe – What US cities must do to achieve a clean electric future
• Axios: The mammoth gap between energy trends and climate goals

Opinion

• Vox: How should billionaires spend their money to fight climate change? I asked 9 experts.

Best, Yann