SEIA/SEPA Complications. Yesterday I wrote about the need to bring more money to the State chapters by renegotiating with SEPA on how the revenues from SPI are split. This is a complicated topic because there is a contract between SEIA and SEPA on their JV for Solar Energy Trade Shows, LLC (SETS). I believe that SEIA should approach SEPA and ask for 25% of the total profits to go to the benefit of State SEIA chapters. (More on how later) You may not know that the Chair of SEIA’s Board of Directors, Nat Kraemer, recently stepped down as the Chair. The Acting Chair is now Tom Starrs, the VP of Market Strategy and Policy at SunPower.
How it gets Tricky, Quickly. Tom Starrs is now the acting Chair of SEIA and may run for the permanent Chair position when election happens later this year. As the VP of Policy, Starrs is also a member of the board of SEPA and has been for several years. So when it comes to renegotiating the SETS JV agreement Starrs would have a clear conflict. Given that this has gone under the radar for several years, I don’t know what the solution is. The SEIA Board appears to need an introspective review on what it stands for or what values it seeks from the members of the Board. The Board, if you recall, is a leading revenue driver for the association and allows companies to pay for a seat, somewhere north of $125k per year. I don’t have a problem with the paid for board but I do think we, as an industry, need to define central values on items like net metering for the members. Currently we have members of the Board that diverge from what many of us would consider good for all of us. Most of the time we don’t know how issues are pushed in committees by various members because small companies tend to stay out of that process, a divergence from State chapters which is a problem.
The Energy Storage Road Show for Solar Contractors & Developers in California is officially on! I will be traveling throughout California in the next 8 weeks. If you are looking at or have installed C&I and large scale energy storage, send me an email so we can get together. More specific dates coming soon but get on the list now.
What happens beyond SEPA? I’ll start with this. I don’t have a problem with SEPA or their mission but let’s be clear about their mission. This is the utility’s non-profit to access the solar industry. The board is made up of current and former utility execs and solar companies working in utility segments. Starrs was a member of the board of directors at SEPA when SEPA’s executive committee voted to reject the SEIA request to help in pushing for the extension of the ITC. Moreover, SunPower is a PowerPlus member of EEI, the group that last year was caught looking to fight solar by branding itself more cleverly and could use studies like today’s top story to define solar to consumers. I don’t know Mr. Starrs and I am not questioning his motives but the solar industry should have an acting Chair of their trade association that has no appearance of conflicts. I don’t see how we can fix our State level issues which require a negotiation with SEPA unless the direction is very clear.
Make sure you listen to the latest episodes of EnergyWakeup. Listen to the importance of State level solar policy from Rebecca Cantwell, the executive director of COSEIA. And hear from solar entrepreneur, John Gurski, the founder of Energy Toolbase, a cloud based analytics and proposal tool.
- PV-Magazine: Study to utilities – Fudging the solar facts can get consumers on your side
- Motley Fool: Utilities and Solar Finally Finding Ways to Work Together
- Think Progress: Scott Pruitt removes scientists from EPA advisory panels to make room for industry advocates
- Solar Industry: Minnesota Experiences ‘Dramatic’ Solar Growth
- SolarWakeup: How to Negotiate and Settle With Xcel Energy on Solar Policy
- GreenBiz: Calling all CSOs – This is your defining moment
- NRDC: California Sets Stage for Next Generation of Climate Action
- Fortune: This Is the Fastest Growing Job in the U.S.
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann