Tag Archives: Daily Rundown

This is your SolarWakeup for March 11th, 2019

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Senate Tax Extenders Diss Solar  and Storage. The Senate Finance Committee is out with their list of extenders to be considered in the annual exercise to extend tax credit and deductions. Out of some 29 line items, not a single one is for solar or storage even though the ITC is stepping down at the end of the year and storage isn’t considered at all. There is no sense on casting blame, yet, but the question is how does an industry that should be at the top of power in DC doesn’t get a mention in one of the most important memos of the year? How does storage, which is the future of replacing expiring power generation, get completely ignored? We have to have an internal evaluation on how our industry advocates, what it asks for and how we make those requests. If we rationalize this failure 

InterSolar N/A. What once was my favorite trade show of the year is now over, InterSolar North America has been sold to a new show producer and the July event is rescheduled for February in San Diego. 3 Floors at Moscone is not a cheap venue to fill and with the declining attendance of both visitors and exhibitors spread the rumors across the market about how this event could possibly still move forward. That being said, the famous Solar Battle of the Bands will continue, make sure to keep that date in your calendar. 

Norway Divesting. The Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund is divesting from certain oil investments, totaling $8billion out of their $1trillion pool. That makes this a big story with a little effect unless it gets copied. Moreover, this also shows some signal to the oil majors that are not divested from that their business plans better align with the mission to decarbonize. 

Total Cost Of Ownership. By now you’ve heard the $93trillion price tag for the Green New Deal, a figure that sounds so absurd that even the think tank that’s credited with it is shunning it. So while Showtime’s hit show The Circus opens with dialogue of green jobs and climate change, it’s clear that the debate will be had over the total cost benefit of a policy in line with the Green New Deal. 

Get Your Tickets. Register for SolarWakeup Live! on solarwakeuplive.com 

Opinion

 

Have a great day!

Yann

 

This is your SolarWakeup for March 8th, 2019

Have a great weekend! Make sure to sign up for SolarWakeup Live! and listen to the latest podcast. If you’re reading something interesting, send it over!

Opinion

 

Have a great day!

Yann

 

This is your SolarWakeup for March 7th, 2019

Put It To A Vote. The Green New Deal resolution could make its way to the Senate floor for a vote. McConnell threatened the vote as a threat to democrats so they would have to be on the record thinking that voting for the resolution could hurt them politically. Schumer is calling his potential bluff and saying it should go tot he floor for a vote because not only does he think the democratic caucus will support it (the resolution) Schumer also thinks that republicans will be hurt by voting against it. Climate change and renewable energy are going from unknown political issue to the vote that matters in the Senate.  

The Midwest Factor. Politicians from the Midwest will have to think a few times about how to play their messaging to their voters. A ’No’ vote would have to be pitched as being against the bill while still remaining in favor of renewable energy, especially wind. The Iowa caucus used to be about the ethanol pledge and it’s now turning into the support for wind energy and the PTC. That’s the upside of the Green New Deal language, it isn’t specific to the technology and drives the best path towards the local decision makers. 

I Missed This Too. Part of the Bloomberg announcement was a specific goal around the Beyond Carbon campaign. That goal is the closure of all coal plants by 2030 and to transition away from oil and gas. My follow up question is about the strategy to reach that goal, is it political, financial or through regulatory changes?

The Hopeful Outlook. After the feedback from yesterday on whether SMART is smart, let’s look at the more optimistic view of the Massachusetts future. First, energy storage is going to be a giant market and MA is leading the charge. That is why I am interview the CCO of Engie Storage Marc Roper. Second, when it comes to startups in solar and clean energy there are very few people as committed to that mission as Greentown Labs and I will be joined with CEO, Emily Reichert. I’d love for you to join me at the theatre for this event, see the agenda and more at solarwakeuplive.com 

Opinion

 

Have a great day!

Yann

 

This is your SolarWakeup for March 6th, 2019

Is SMART Smart? Massachusetts has been the most prolific market for developers through SREC I and II. SMART could prove to be as successful if used correctly and developers work the various multipliers the right way. At SolarWakeup Live! I will be interviewing the person in charge of the program implementation and bring together the developers and investors looking to buy and sell projects. The event is the same amount of information gathering and networking with the people that will make you money. You can use SWLB20 as a SolarWakeup reader to lower the cost of entry at SolarWakeupLive.com 

Bloomberg Is Out, In On Climate. Michael Bloomberg is not running for President, realizing the tough route to the nomination and will instead double down on the issues he feels most strongly about including climate change. Part of the plan will be to launch the campaign Beyond Carbon which is a play on the campaign he largely funded with the Sierra Club called Beyond Coal. It’s impressive how much climate change has gotten to the top of the issue list when just 2 years ago, climate change wasn’t brought up in the debates. 

Coal Wants Competitive Monopoly. It’s increasingly unbelievable to watch regulators and legislators look to bail out power plants that can’t add value to ratepayers. Instead of doing whatever is best for consumers, regulators want the plants to continue operating even if it means running it as a net detriment to the ratepayers. This is in line with the legislative control the incumbent market participants still have without having support from the majority of voters or consumers regardless of political party. 

Trade War Pains. Coming up on the article from yesterday where business is questioning whether the trade war has been worth it at all and today we talk about the actual cost that it has caused the Country. Between the nearly $8billion in cash that the government has had to spend to help out the farming community and the lackluster GDP we expect in this quarter, it is clearly shown that it was probably a bad idea. For solar we’ve seen the cost increase and the jobs impact from the 2018 jobs census. 

Opinion

Have a great day!

Yann