This is your SolarWakeup for August 21st, 2017

New Podcast, Summer Break is Over. The kids go back to school tomorrow including Kate starting kindergarten and my schedule can get back to some routine. As two bankrupt companies that have raised hundreds of millions of dollars try to use an antiquated trade policy to save themselves (hard to see how that would work) while taking so many other companies with them. I spoke with the CEO of PanelClaw, Costa Nicolaou. Costa has run PanelClaw for a decade and has the leading marketshare for the rooftop market. Most importantly, PanelClaw has market share while having to play in a commodity market where premium pricing is hard to get. Costa walks through how he runs the company and what he sees happening going forward. He breaks some news on the podcast about new offerings that will be coming from PanelClaw.Listen Now!

Solar Is For Everyone. I really dislike this type of headline, because it is so obviously false. Maybe a decade ago, solar was reserved for those with extra dollars in their bank accounts. Today, solar financial products span the entire income range. Loans, leases and PACE give homeowners more choice than ever. Community solar and meter aggregation policies provide even more access to low income families and renters through shorter terms. Of course, there is a preferential treatment for people with good credit but that’s a talking point that utilities don’t like because they milk low credit scores for hundreds or thousands in deposits. This regulator should tell us why this op-ed was written.

IPPs Go Merchant And Regulated. A third bidder for Oncor has emerged after the denied acquisition by NextEra. Joining Berkshire and Elliot is Sempra, the well known IPP may be looking to get some regulated holdings into its portfolio. At the same time, Calpine has agreed to a private equity buyout by a group of investors led by Energy Capital Partners.

Opinion

 

Have a great day!

Yann