Tag Archives: Daily Rundown

This is your SolarWakeup for August 2nd, 2019

Low Cost Energy. These charts that show solar costs plummeting are always satisfying but they are also incredibly misleading and I would go as far as saying they are false. When it comes to coal and gas there is no cost for the societal costs around the emissions of the direct pollution or the costs to resources like water. Asia will be making a straight 180 especially with the massive increase of storage access and cost reduction. Those markets also price renewables with the right level of return to project sponsors. 

PG&E Proceedings. News came out late yesterday that PG&E had renegotiated a contract with Recurrent Energy. I’ve reached out to representatives on whether this is an unbuilt project that has an awarded offtake agreement or an operating asset. The latter would be a problematic precedent but with the storage association, I presume it has not yet been built. The bankruptcy is causing some issue in the market with some dollars due to operating assets being held up by the bankruptcy process as well as funds that were due to be paid to other vendors across the business. 

Resi’s Real Market Scale. Enphase shipped over 1million inverters in the quarter and the majority of that was in the US. The company does not release market share but you can back into the scale of the residential market in the US and abroad and how fast the market is growing. If you carried options on the Enphase stock into earnings you were rewarded with a 4x return on those contracts, Sunpower’s investors also had a nice day in the market. Time for everyone to double down on the market and get involved in policy as well. 

Let’s Go. Another tax credit bill was published in the Senate yesterday, this time to extend the wind credit for offshore facilities. Whether congress will take up a tax extender bill this fall will decide which vehicle will be best for the solar ITC to get an extension. During recess, go see your Congressional representatives and their staff!

Have a great weekend! Thanks for reading this week. If this email was forwarded to you, you can subscribe here. If you enjoy this, leave a note on your Linkedin that others should subscribe. 

Opinion

Have a great day!

Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for August 1st, 2019

 

Opinion

Have a great day!

Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for July 31st, 2019

Debate Night 1. Climate change, with specific mention of solar, made major appearances in the debate part deux. It comes up when the candidates talk about national security, economic growth and corporate misalignment with the american people. The debate also had job retraining from fossil to solar and wind which goes to the core of the argument we’ve been making for some time. 

Jay Inslee Impresses. I made this comment on Twitter yesterday as I keep seeing Jay Inslee and David Roberts do a back and forth on climate policy. I am sure that Roberts would be happy to cover other candidate’s climate plans but until the others roll out plan after plan, Inslee will continue to hold the gavel on the issue for many. 

So Does Enphase. A few years ago Enphase was basically out for the count, string inverters were too cheap and Enphase couldn’t get the traction it needed. I even had folks pitching me hard for MLPEs in the C&I market to no avail. That lack of traction is no more and ENPH has rebounded to $25 per share with positive earnings per share and $200million of cash in the bank. The biggest headwind for the company is making enough product as wall street analysts try to figure out the highest potential value based on how much the company can build not what it can sell. 

Demand For Community Solar. I haven’t seen a community solar press release that says that lack of consumer demand means that a solar farm isn’t going to get built. My hypothetical question to community solar developers is, how many GW of solar gardens would create an oversupply and gardens go unsubscribed? 

Residential Podcast Series. A big announcement to all the loyal followers of what is becoming the most influential podcast in solar. I will be doing a deep dive into residential solar in a series that will go out this fall. The conversations will be with the CEOs of installers across the Country, large and small, to figure out what drives the homeowners desire to go solar and how to grow and make these companies profitable. In the meantime, check out the current pods and leave a rating so that we go up in the rankings. 

Opinion

Have a great day!

Yann

This is your SolarWakeup for July 30th, 2019

A Movement Indeed. This has been a year of climate activism and by all measures it has been successful. Polling and media tracking has shown that Americans care more about fighting climate change than ever before. While climate change got none of the presidential debate  questions in 2016, every major campaign on the democratic side is talking about climate change as the number one threat facing America. In a few months, there will be another major climate walkout from schools and work. The Global Climate Strike will highlight the issue across the world and get more people thinking about how they can participate. Check out some of the information here. 

Planning A Contest. Last climate strike I made a few t-shirts for my kids and even used an idea and quote that was inspired by some readers. Many of you brought up the desire to buy some as well but last minute planning made it impossible. The next climate strike is September 20th. In preparation, let’s get some ideas for a t-shirt that is appropriate for the Global Climate Strike. If you have an idea, email it to yann@solarwakeup.com. I’ll work to get them printed and make them available to you so we can all match around the world. 

The Trade Talks. The trade talks are back and the deal looks uncertain. While the politics are bad in DC, the landscape for voters keeps the issue as one that Trump finds attractive. With the GDP dropping last quarter, it may get the advisors to push for a deal. Don’t hold your breath though. 

Steyer Talks POTUS. Tom Steyer went on Julia Pyper’s Political Climate podcast. The podcast which typically features a bipartisan panel, with a republican and democrat complementing Julia, was without the republican for the interview. Steyer went strong on calling for a national emergency proclamation on day 1 and gave some of the specifics that he supports. As an aside, when talking about climate change, I prefer the lack of balance from the hosts. As long as the Republican Party refuses to deal with the issue, I could go without their opinion. 

Don’t Forget ITC. Make sure to get your I ❤️ MY ☀️ postcards out by going to itc.ilovemy.solar and reaching out to member of Congress. They are on recess and need to hear what the ITC means to you and your company. You can find their contact information on the Find Your Rep page. 

Opinion

Have a great day!

Yann