I love Sunshot. I’ve been a cheerleader of the DOE and this program for quite some time. When it was established in 2011, getting to an EPC providing a system at less than $1/watt by 2020 seemed ridiculous. I used to think that modules couldn’t get to under $1/watt and few others did either. I congratulate the team at Sunshot for helping get some of the early money into innovative business models and companies that otherwise would have had a hard time getting that money in the private sector. The private sector has followed up with its own capital over 30x, which is indicative on its own.
Buffett loves solar. Apple does a really good job of finding the most market sensitive participant in its purchasing. In NV that is NV Energy, clearly looking to add more central solar power to their portfolio and show the PUC that they really are pro-solar. With Apple’s impeccable credit score and the NV sunshine, I would foreshadow the PPA rate coming out in the net metering debate. Apples and oranges but the news headlines will be there.
Say it again. The States are going to have to make up relaxed Federal regulations. While some would see a difficult path ahead, which I can agree with, but I see a potential avenue. In States with IOUs, the ratebase is a bargaining chip where policy can get passed. Capital markets won’t be moved by temporary policy. A coal power plant needs a 30+ year life cycle for investment and no reasonable money is going to assume no cost of carbon or policy for pollution in that model.
- Greentech Media: SunShot $1 per Watt Solar Cost Goal – Mission Accomplished, Years Ahead of Schedule
- PV-Tech: Apple to build 200MW of solar with NV Energy
- NPR: As Obama Clean Power Plan Fades, States Craft Strategies To Move Beyond It
- PV-Magazine: New Hampshire PUC staff suggests net-metering tweaks
- Wired: Making Sense of President Trump’s Contradictory Energy Plan
- Solar Industry: N.Y. Regulators Help Pave The Way For More Solar
- NBC: Wyoming proposal would require utilities to use fossil fuels
- Forbes: Solar Employs More People In U.S. Electricity Generation Than Oil, Coal And Gas Combined
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann