Solar Jobs. Launching a new feature in SolarWakeup you will find below. I’ll be looking at job boards to bring you some interesting opportunities in the sector. Connecting job seekers and hiring companies has been one of the best parts of this newsletter and I want to grow that further. If you have interesting jobs, send me the link. This will be a free feature for now but will transition to premium as we gain traction and show how valuable this network is for everyone. 

The Solar Race, Visualized. Wood Mackenzie is out with a visualization of the cumulative capacity installed by Country. You can check it out for yourself here and let’s check back in a few years to see how the forecast came to life. 

Win, Win, Win? Xcel is going all in on transitioning to 100% clean energy including the shutting of operating coal plants, years ahead of schedule. From a climate and PR perspective this is exactly what Americans are asking for. A win for clean air. At the same time the utility gets to add early retirement costs to the rate base while also increasing it for new generation. A win for the shareholders. The consumers may see a win over time as the transition continues if the regulators mix the renewables added through 3rd party and internal investments. With lower volatility on the renewable mix, I see it as a win as well, one that should be emulated across the Country. 

Looking At Cities. Michael Bloomberg and Rocky Mountain Institute are partnering to show cities on how to act for a clean energy future. This is going to cross assumed political spectrums where the cities range from Florida, Idaho to Ohio. At the same time you can look at Santa Monica announcing a major commitment alongside Austin, cities in two States that could not be farther apart on the spectrum. 

The British Are Landing. The US business unit of Lightsource BP has signed a 100MW PPA with the Alabama Municipal Electric Authority. Lightsource BP is now led by Kevin Smith, the former CEO of SolarReserve, whose talking points once included why PV can’t compete with concentrating solar. Welcome to PV, Alabama!

• Vox: A major US utility is moving toward 100% clean energy faster than expected
• Rocky Mountain Institute: Cities in Red and Blue States Act for a Clean Energy Future
• Renewable Energy World: Alabama Municipal Electric Authority signs 100-MW solar PPA
• Utility Dive: Santa Monica, CA passes $800M plan to go carbon neutral by 2050
• Think Progress: Austin is proving that cities in conservative states can lead on climate action
• Greentech Media: Schneider Buys Stake in AutoGrid to Tap Its Software for Distributed Energy and Microgrids
• PV-Tech: Canadian Solar secures 1.8GW solar panel supply deal with EDF Renewables North America

Opinion

• Axios: The policy and politics of cutting CO2

Have a great day!

Yann

Focus On The Short Term. There is much talk about the 2020 election and how climate policy could possibly pass through congress. All of this is presuming certain results and solar has short term goals. Congressional action should be focused on two short term issues, ITC and tariffs. This all comes ahead of Joe Biden’s climate plan unveiling which many believe will focus on restarting the Obama policies with some likely progressive additions. 

Banking, Financing and Retirements. Interesting things are happening in otherwise uninteresting areas. A major French bank is backing out of lucrative business lines because of their climate impact. While BNP is using climate as a reason to pull financing for a coal dependent utility, they are also saying that it is potentially bad business to invest in long term. In Colorado, a small retailer has offered to buy 3 coal plants, close them and provide the cooperative with mostly renewable energy under a PPA. Consider it an innovative way to lock in a contract. They were rejected however. In other States, utilities are offering securitizations of rate base revenues to finance the retirement of coal plants. 

Policy Through Other Means. An Iowa solar developer won a PPA with a municipality in Wisconsin and was denied the interconnection by We Energies. Going back to the often used, if you own a 3rd party solar contract you are a regulated utility playbook, We stopped the City from getting what it wanted. Now it will go to the courts after the developer sued the PSC commissioners and the utility to try and get a different interpretation of the rules. 

No Coal In UK. It has been 11 days that the UK has been running coal free, not bad for an island utility. Also, big congratulations to a friend of solar, Jonathan Silver, for having joined the board of National Grid. 

Making Software Free. Sungevity co-founder, Andrew Birch, whom you recall from my conversation on the start of the solarAPP start last summer is out with his new venture. OpenSolar, which is a free end to end software for solar installers. Check it out at opensolar.com 

• Vox: Democratic hopes for climate policy may come down to this one weird Senate trick
• CleanTechnica: BNP Paribas Cuts Ties With Polish Electricity Producers Over Coal Dependency
• Wisconsin State Journal: Solar developer sues PSC, We Energies over denial of Milwaukee rooftop project
• Axios: Britain approaches its 11th day without using coal for electricity
• Utility Dive: Securitization fever – Renewables advocates seize Wall Street’s innovative way to end coal
• PV-Tech: Solar and storage to power Centrica’s new EV offering
• Renew Economy: Australia to reach 50% renewables by 2030, despite Coalition scare campaign
• GreenBiz: With infrastructure reform, U.S. could build world’s biggest, greenest carbon sink

Opinion

• Rocky Mountain Institute: An Affordable Net-Zero All-Electric Community in the Colorado Rockies

Have a great day!

Yann

Change Demand, Not Supply. A new report is out that shows that homes with electric vehicles increase the value of their rooftop solar. This shift in consumer behavior and locking more load with generation means that we are going to want and need every home and business to put solar on their roofs. This also goes to the new focus on electrification of everything in the home with a way for consumers to shape their demand for electricity. Cars can already charge based on a utility schedule but next will be the washer and dryer amongst other home appliances. 

Transportation Market Not Decided.  China is definitely in the lead with electric cars and buses, their regulatory environment allows the massive scale to happen overnight. The US is lagging with deployment but I don’t think that’s been lost. More importantly while consumers have little problem using solar panels made in China, I don’t think that the same will be true for planes, trains or buses. BYD is trying to be the exception to that and is setting up shop in the US but Proterra is still moving into the growth direction. 

Don’t Land On Park Place. A monopoly is hard to beat and break up. Boulder is proof that just because voters and the city council want their own utility, it doesn’t mean that it shall become reality. A reset means that the voters will have to decide if they try again in the future and in the meantime this is a signal to any other municipality that thinks about following down the same path. 

Corporate Climate Dialogue. The CEO Climate Dialogue is a group of Fortune 500 CEOs that are advocating for market principled climate policies. Their call to action includes several key metrics for policies that include equity amongst others. The next step would be to get the Chamber of Commerce to make a statement of support before the Senate plan for innovation (which would focus on nuclear and carbon capture) plan takes the climate policy dialogue in the wrong direction. Another player in the climate policy arena is a good complement to the others elevating the topic. 

• The Driven: How electric vehicles can boost value of rooftop solar
• Think Progress: The bus wars are over. Electricity — and China — won.
• Utility Dive: Xcel, Boulder to settle lawsuit – City agrees to dissolve utility
• Bloomberg: A CEO Council on Climate Change? That Sounds Familiar
• Vox: 12 excuses for climate inaction and how to refute them
• PV-Tech: Work starts on California’s largest floating solar project
• Renew Economy: AEMO says W.A. grid at risk if regulations fail to keep up with renewable transition
• Greentech Media: Sonnen Brings Homebuilder Strategy to Illinois With Passive Home Project

Opinion

• GreenBiz: 3 takeaways from that failed Amazon employee shareholder resolution on the climate crisis

Have a great day!

Yann

• Baltimore Sun: Maryland bill mandating 50% renewable energy by 2030 to become law, but without Gov. Larry Hogan’s signature
• Yale: Why Low-Income Households Need to Be Part of the Clean Energy Revolution
• The Hill: Amid climate crisis, renewable energy poised for rapid growth
• Utility Dive: Murkowski questions need for renewables tax credits
• Think Progress: Top GOP pollster finds overwhelming support for carbon tax by millennial Republicans
• Greentech Media: US Wind Industry’s Response to Solar’s Rise – Embrace It
• EDF: Equity, innovation can be part of Illinois’ efforts to electrify transportation
• Rocky Mountain Institute: Four US States Scoring Under-the-Radar Clean Energy Wins

Opinion

• PV-Tech: Intersolar 2019 – A first-timer’s takeaways

Have a great day!

Yann