Tag Archives: Daily Rundown

This is your SolarWakeup for October 19th, 2018

Late newsletter today, thanks to the inflight wireless. Great to see so many of you last night!

Presented By Conti Solar. Conti Solar, a national EPC, O&M, and energy storage company. Our attention to detail, flawless execution and collaborative culture has enabled us to successfully develop and install over 500 MW of solar projects since our early initiatives in 2008. We leverage established partnerships with solar developers, IPPs, utilities, off-takers, suppliers and landowners to streamline project development, design, construction and operations; drive down project costs and create value across all project stakeholders. Majority-owned by Ares EIF with a minority position retained by the Conti Group, Conti Solar is well positioned with a diversified network of industry experts and the financial resources to be a trusted, long-term partner. Learn more at www.contisolar.com.

Recapping Illinois. Enjoy this episode of SolarWakeup Podcast with Brad Klein from ELPC, the environmental law and policy center. Brad and I spoke in Chicago about the policies that are starting to grow the Illinois solar market. ELPC and some solar representatives worked for years to advance energy policy in Illinois, one of the most political State capitols in the Country. This is a detailed discussion of what happened behind the scenes and how the policy became a bill. Check out the podcast here or find it by searching for SolarWakeup on your favorite podcast app.

Will Promises Made Be Kept. Part of how the Illinois solar policy was passed sits in the promises that were made during the legislative process. Many times, policy relies on promises from the industry to individual legislators instead of writing more constraint into the language of the bill. That is definitely true in Illinois and solar promised to include union labor and low income families/job seekers in the market. If this does not happen for the benefit of shortterm gain, expect pushback and missing allies next time the policy needs to be updated.

New Jersey Concerns. Here is a flashback to MA policy implementation for you and highlighting why SolarWakeup Live! is a crucial event for you to attend. NJ opened the docket for the SREC replacement program this week and people are concerned. Their primary concern today is that there is likely to be a gap of time where the market certainty is gone while a new program is put in place, just like we saw with SMART in 2018. Losing a year in a market this important hurts solar companies in a really big way and will cause layoffs and closures. If you attended SolarWakeup Live! in Boston last year, you would have heard the information from a State Senator and the Director of the SMART program. Both were hesitant about where solar could go in 2018, and attendees told me in person afterwards that they would take things with great caution. In Jersey City, expect my conversations with folks in the know and the NJ BPU President to cover how the process will play out. You may now get the information about the result at the show but you will be educated about the process and the timing. And being right at the wrong time is bad in solar.

Lowering Rooftop Solar Costs. This is your reminder that rooftop solar can still lower costs in a big way starting with getting the cost of capital closer to that of mortgages. Solar is still 10% or more higher than the mortgage on your home when you take a solar loan. Second, the permit costs and speed represent close to $1/watt in cost that should be on track to getting absorbed by better regulatory policies. Some smart folks are working on it but we need more people to raise their hands to implement this.

Vote Solar DC. Last night, 150+ solar pros got together in DC to celebrate the amazing year that Vote Solar had. Imagine if this advocacy organization led by the amazing Adam Browning had another $10 or $100million in the bank. Our market would skyrocket. If you know someone that supports solar and wants to support this great cause financially in a big way, this is the way to do it. Have a great weekend!

Opinion

 

Have a great day!

Yann

 

This is your SolarWakeup for October 18th, 2018

Presented by Aten Solar. Your single source in adding value to your supply chain and procurement.  Aten Solar is your go-to source for the best closeout pricing on new and surplus modules for your project needs.

Saudi Energy Story. Most speakers at the upcoming Saudi Future Investment Initiative conference have pulled out due to the disappearance of the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Two speakers have notably not pulled out and they both have an energy connection including solar. EDF CEO, Jean-Bernard Levy, and Siemens CEO, Joe Kaeser, have not withdrawn from the event according to Axios/CNN. EDF has significant presence in the US solar market and while this is far upstream from the local business unit, this could pose questions for the local teams that they will have no good way of answering. 

Who Stopped Coal. No question that coal has declined over the past few years and the war on coal waged by Obama is the political talking point. At the same time, Trump appears to be taking credit for the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions while also looking to bring back coal. The reality is neither Obama or Trump had anything to do with coal. Solar may also not have had much to do with it. Fracked natural gas dropped the price of the commodity 10 years ago and the replacement of coal plants expanded the gas portfolio in a massive way. 

Lessons Learned, No Comparison. JEA, the Jacksonville utility that is often rumored to be considering an acquisition by NextEra, is signing new solar agreements. Part of the reporting appears to show a learning lesson from the utility operator that it will not put itself at risk as it did with the Vogtle nuclear plant. First, I doubt that JEA is coming out of pocket for the solar farms. Second, I am sure that the utility is only obligated to purchase the energy produced by the plant. I.e. it looks like every other PPA signed in the US by a utility. This is just a PR stunt to put solar on the same playing field with the ratepayer waste that is Vogtle. 

DTE Playing Old School. DTE Energy filed a change to the net metering to remove the retail rate credit and exchange it for the wholesale rate. That’s the 2012 net metering fight and I’m surprised that DTE is playing that game 3 weeks before a Gubernatorial election that is pretty close. I hope that the folks at DTE realize the error in their strategy and come to the conclusion that net metering is not a threat and it helps defray millions in costs saving consumers plenty of rate increases. 

DC. Vote Solar. Tonight. See you there! Raising a glass for a great cause. 

Opinion

 

Have a great day!

Yann

 

This is your SolarWakeup for October 17th, 2018

Presented by PV Pros. PV Pros provides nationwide technical services for investors and asset managers. We manage your technical needs while you focus on the financial aspects of development, acquisition, and ownership. Our team of professionals offer technical due diligence, inspections and testing, subject matter experts for disputes, preventative maintenance, repairs, and monitoring across the United States. 

Clean Energy Voter’s Guide. Two takeaways from the AEE guide to clean energy policies in the upcoming election. The first, obvious and sad is that the republican party candidates still feel like clean energy is bad politics for their donors. Two, it does appear that access to renewable energy is an issue that both sides are agreeing on. Especially in Florida, this is a topic that I first discovered in my interview with State Sentator Jeff Brandes.

States Matter. In case it isn’t obvious, State policy is disproportionally important when it comes to energy policy due to the State by State regulatory oversight. The politics of this get interesting because energy and climate change has become an issue in Congressional races even though those representatives don’t have much influence at the State. That’s why we, as a solar industry, need to do more to solarize the education of the electoral funnel. A county commissioner should know that voting solar is good for the race for State House and the votes in the House are good for the Senate and so forth. The opposite is also true, voting against solar should feel a campaign to stop the politician from moving up the ranks.  

Bailing Out On Bail Out. It seems that the Trump administration is bailing out on the nuclear and coal bailout. Frank has the complete story but the note from PJM that coal and nuclear generation could shut down without issue must have played a role in the decision. It’s a good decision. 

Rubio Digs Deeper. More on the interview from Sunday, Senator Rubio, whom I first met when he was the Speaker of the Florida House, said that moving to “all solar panels and did all that stuff, which is not realistic.” The message now is that climate change is too big to deal with and the assumption is that it would cost too much money and destroy the economy. Those are the talking points we need to educate the party with. 

Pass On Gas. Vote Solar’s Adam Browning highlights the technical case for a future without natural gas in order to keep the planet from warming too much. This tweet storm courtesy of Jonathan Gaventa of E3G. 

Opinion

Have a great day!

Yann

 

This is your SolarWakeup for October 16th, 2018

Presented by Pfister Energy. Changing the way energy is generated and delivered. Pfister Energy is a leading turnkey design-build renewable energy solutions company. Servicing C&I, community and utility sectors for solar, storage and O&M. Visit pfisterenergy.com for more information.

Solar And Taxes. SEIA is updating its popular tax guide. If one thing is for sure, its that solar investments will require a knowledge of the tax benefits associated with it. The more solar grows the more people get to invest in the medium so this resource becomes more widely read across the market. Just look at the impact the market has had in New York, with NYSERDA’s CEO, Alicia Barton saying: “Hot off the presses, the 2018 NY Clean Energy Industry Report is a good news reality check we need. Headline: Bold climate action feeds new jobs and economic growth. NY added 5,600 new clean energy jobs last year alone. Check out the full report! @NYGovCuomo#Rev4NY”

Lynn Jurich On Leadership. As the CEO of Sunrun, Lynn Jurich has plenty on her plate and she said down with Inc. to pass along some knowledge. One of the things that has separated Sunrun in my opinion is the value it places on policy. Others have dabbled and smaller companies find it hard to make a real impact. There are few events that I attend where an Sunrunner is not in attendance. Engie has picked up their regulatory presence as well which is always helpful to legislative outreach. 

Helpful Tax Equity Info. The solar lendscape outlines the players of the capital stack most often found in solar project investments. Take a look at the 2nd edition of the lendscape showing you the 28 most prolific tax equity investors. Some folks that are applying to capital markets jobs will sound a whole lot smarter now and maybe navigate the annual Rancho Bernardo circus a bit easier. 

Millennials See Solar Future. It doesn’t really matter what Vice said about solar, millennials saw the headline on Vox and are now all in on solar. Just kidding, we already had 100% of young people on our side. Combined with some of the internet ready content like this one from the Years Project, shortens the political argument to a tangible bite size. 

Survey et al. Last chance to be included in the SolarWakeup Sentiment Survey. Please make sure to come to DC on Thursday for Vote Solar Equinox DC, because at the very least I want to make sure they keep me on the host committee for next year!

Opinion

Have a great day!

Yann