Tag Archives: Daily Rundown

This is your SolarWakeup for February 4th, 2019

SPI Boston. Good morning from 37,000 feet as I fly cross country to what is being called SPI Northeast in Boston, the decision to make the trip was almost halted watching the snooze fest led by the geriatric duo B&B. Make sure to say hello if you are there. Speaking of Boston, get your tickets to SolarWakeup Live! Boston where I will be interviewing some of the solar leaders in the market and give you the information you are looking for. solarwakeuplive.com for tickets and agenda. 

Slow Progress in Georgia. The Super Bowl stadium in Atlanta is powered by more renewables than Georgia Power’s consumers. Without boring you with the details, just look at the picture for their IRP filing which shows nuclear going up and coal declining a year 10% in the next 5 years. Making up that resource will be demand shaving and 1,000GW of renewables. Surely we can think of running a better utility than what is proposed but since Fanning will be speaking at BNEF no doubt in a few months, he has plenty of green credit to his name. Maybe he will write a book about renewables when he retires. 

Nevada. Good things are happening in Nevada and the legislature can build on it again this year. Consumers are getting more choice and they are choosing solar. Soon enough, the corporations will have access to energy choice as well. Other states should look at what is happening here and emulate it. Maybe my friends in retail energy can tell me if the retail energy companies can compete with IOUs in terms of political donations. 

BP Discloses. With all that cash in the bank, BP is looking for ways to get more retail investors interested in its work because a stock price only moves based on the decision of two parties to buy and sell a stock. Look for more headline renewable and EV investments to put that cash to work which is both for longevity and marketing purposes. 

I Have A Podcast. Some of you are still surprised to learn that I have a podcast. With over 50 episodes since I started more than a year ago, most of them are relevant regardless of when you listen to them. You can search SolarWakeup on Apple Podcasts or other podcast apps. Please leave a rating and subscribe! https://soundcloud.com/solarwakeup if you want to listen online. 

Opinion

Have a great day!

Yann

 

This is your SolarWakeup for February 1st, 2019

Fast Track Friday. Get your SolarWakeup Live! Boston tickets. Right Now. Have a great weekend!

GE Consolidates. Renewables is getting a new umbrella at General Electric. Revenues are growing and it may become an interesting division within the company. 

$20 Billion. That is how much Shell earned in profits over the past year including $5.7billion last quarter. I’m not sure that the solar industry as earned that in profits over the past decade as a sector. 

One Of Many. The bankruptcy judge will have a say in the PG&E matter but without the CPUC and FERC, nothing will get finalized. The Governor will likely also get a say along with the judge working the probation issue. 

Invest It Faster. Shell gets into the EV charging game, they need to do much more of it. 

Opinion

Have a great day!

Yann

 

This is your SolarWakeup for January 31st, 2019

Couple Things. If you haven’t yet, please register for SolarWakeup Live! Boston. I am working to make this an even better and more engaging live event than ever before. You can buy tickets and find sponsorship opportunities at solarwakeuplive.com. Second, thank you to the many kind notes about the write up yesterday. Not all days will get 1,500 words on a topic but when the opportunity arises to dramatically change the world, I’ll opine. 

PG&E Violates Probation. If you didn’t know it before, PG&E was convicted of a felony and placed on probation after a gas explosion. Yesterday, PG&E was in court to face potential probation violations after their probation officer referred the matter to the court. The whole thing is a bit surreal, given that PG&E is a corporation, and the judge laid into the company as if they were a real person. A fantastic play by play by reporter Matthias Gafni is here and his article is top of the list today. 

What Would Harry Reid Say. Imagine if Obama brought nuclear waste to Nevada, secretly and while misleading a federal court, without telling Harry Reid. That’s a real situation and the topic has been a crazy story for a long time but what Trump/Perry did has been a political non-starter forever. It also reminds us that much of the nuclear waste from power plants is sitting in pools in the backyard of those plants. 

AOC Will Release GND. Forget California’s 2045 goal of 100% clean energy. Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez will release the legislative language for the green new deal with Senator Markey next week which includes a much more aggressive timeframe. More importantly it includes an important jobs initiative which is the central argument for our industry’s success. 

Do Good Do Well. I spoke with Go Solar Group’s CEO this week about their growth in the Southwest markets of Texas, Nevada and Utah. Part of their founding and ongoing mission is the desire to help families in Africa when they do well locally. Go Solar now has 10 employees in Africa working to provide solar powered lights and other micro-finance products that help families succeed and grow. Check out their trends for the year and I thank them for their world positive initiatives. 

Positive Feedback. Freedom Solar in Texas was kind enough to list me as one of the top bloggers they like to follow. I’m in good company and glad to hear that this newsletter is helpful to their mission. Check out the complete list.

Opinion

Have a great day!

Yann

 

This is your SolarWakeup for January 30th, 2019

Chapter 11. PG&E has filed for chapter 11 reorganization. This is the second time in less than 20 years that one of the largest investor owned utilities, with a monopoly handed to them by the State, has filed for bankruptcy protection. The company listed $71billion in assets and $51billion in liabilities. 

Newsom Reacts. “PG&E today filed for reorganization in federal bankruptcy court. That was PG&E’s choice but it does not change my focus, which remains protecting the best interests of the people of California. My administration will continue working to ensure that Californians have access to safe, reliable and affordable service, that victims and employees are treated fairly, and that California continues to make forward progress on our climate change goals.”

My View. The issues related to PG&E are multi-faceted. First and foremost is public safety, the operator of the grid in the service area needs to do everything possible in building and maintaining a safe grid while understanding the climate change reality that will make wildfires highly likely. Next come the consumers and residents in California. What should they expect from their utility in return for handing over the monopoly which is worth tens of billions of dollars. Given that the utility controls who has access to and the speed of access for things like renewables, what kind of partner is the grid to the consumers goals in fighting climate change? Last is the relationship between consumers that want choice in energy and the transmission portion of the utility. Given the 21st century technologies and options for consumers, is it time for a reset to the monopoly model?

Post Chapter 11. As outline in the chapter 11 filing, PG&E is filing for bankruptcy in anticipation of future liabilities from the 2018 wildfires. These liabilities are largely the difference between the insurance coverage and actual damages. In short, it seems that PG&E was underinsured for the potential risks it faced. This is where the regulators and Governor need to step in and represent the consumers. Some people that lost everything could find themselves being shorted on their damages because of the PG&E bankruptcy. This is the opening that the Governor need to fulfill both of his goals as he outline in the comment above. First, ensure access to reliable service that treats consumers fairly while ensuring progress towards climate change. Through the monopoly regulation, the government will have concurrent jurisdiction on the proceedings, and keep a seat at the table. 

The Structure. In order to achieve the goals desired by the legislature, Governor and consumers, the integrated monopoly model needs to glide towards an end. Other states have done this through deregulation where the IOU is focused on building and maintaining the transmission grid. For the solar space it means that the utility would operate the highway that we seek access to and in some instances priority access to the grid both in front of and behind the meter. PG&E is already (basically) out of the generation business so this would be an easy part of the reform. Then PG&E would step out of the retail service business and competition would start at the consumer level, this is already happening with CCAs and could be increased. My last reform would be around the ownership of the utility itself. Given that any reorganization effort would require legislation that would indemnify the utility from wildfire risk, the utility can no longer be owned by 3rd party shareholders. If the ratepayers have to carry the risk they should reap the benefits of proper management. The model for this type of ownership is the cooperative, a successful model running across the Country. PG&E customers would own the grid and would be able to drive the priorities that align with their goals. Through CAISO’s leadership, the new PG&E would enable renewable and energy storage integration and provide retailers a stable market to provide great electricity services to customers. 

But Be Real. Risk taking and changes aren’t going to come easy, the Governor is still moving in and the legislature is upset after having bailed PG&E out last year. No-one is in a rush to make changes tomorrow. 

Solarcoaster. Cypress Creek is showing that PURPA solar is hard and is cutting the team by 20%. Some of this was evident from the plethora of bounced emails I got yesterday morning. If you were affected by layoffs and looking for help, please send me an email and I will connect with folks throughout the sector. We’re a solar family and I’ll do my part to help. 

Supporting Net Metering. A presidential candidate, Elizabeth Warren, name checks net metering at a rally. This may not be the first candidate that understands the policy but it is the first to make a mention of the important policy that gives homeowners the ability to choose solar. 

Opinion

Have a great day!

Yann