The Tone Of The ITC Hearing. It was boring through the prepared testimony but hours of questions from the commissioners was telling. Commissioners were much more demanding of answers to Suniva/SolarWorld starting with their request to understand how a 201 remedy would help them survive. Crickets from the petitioners on that point.
Craziest Thing Said By Suniva/SolarWorld. The minimum price and tariffs would not affect the market because the RPS policies would require utilities to buy solar at whatever price it costs and the tax credit adjusts to higher pricing. It was also said that there was no elasticity in the utility scale market meaning that cost of install was detached from market size.
Best Point(s) By Anti 201 Witnesses. 1. There is no obvious and stated circumstance where Suniva and SolarWorld end up in a better position 4 years from now with a requested 201 remedy. (SEIA lawyer Matthew Nicely) 2. Solar industry may have grown through solar tariffs 1 and 2 but silicon wasn’t as fortunate, the US leadership was lost when China retaliated to the tariffs. 3. Don’t forget the consumers and the higher price of energy they would have to pay if the proposed remedy is recommended.
Advice To Solar Industry From SEIA President. I spoke with Abby Hopper of SEIA and asked what solar companies should be doing. Patience is the answer because there is nothing happening today, tomorrow or the next few weeks. SEIA is going to the White House today and Trump goes to China in November. Expect more deal talks to heat up over next weeks and months.
What Was The Biggest Surprise. NextEra showed up with a big hitter. Duke did a press release but NextEra sent Mike O’Sullivan who has been the VP of Development at the deregulated side of NextEra for over 15 years. He knows the market and speaks well. Easily the caliber of a utility CEO in many other circumstances and it was not lost on me that he came himself instead of a junior representative. Meanwhile, has anyone heard from SEPA?
FERC, Lewandowski, and Rick Perry. Politico seems to think that Corey Lewandowski is pulling strings for coal operators and pushing the coal electricity bailout. FERC now looks to fast track this with days/weeks to file and respond. First reporting insinuates that the fix is in.
Tell Your Boston Friends. Spread the word about SolarWakeup Live! Boston. Expect to hear from DOER, a legislator, VCs and finance innovation. We will also react to the ITC remedy vote that will happen that day. Please circulate the link to your team and network. We may open up a bigger room if we get the demand in the next week.
Coverage Of Live Events. I enjoyed going to the ITC hearing today and seeing people face to face. Doing more would require driving revenue to SolarWakeup. It’s not my full time job and it’s just me. The simplest solution would be to charge a nominal subscription fee to the email. In return you get in depth insight at the industry’s most important events. Thoughts? Hate it? Just wondering out loud here.
- PV-Magazine: The case against tariffs – Don’t harm the U.S. market to save a few companies
- PV-Magazine: Suniva, SolarWorld double down on trade proposals
- Utility Dive: FERC seeks fast track on DOE baseload compensation proposal
- MIT: Serial Battery Entrepreneur’s New Venture Tackles Clean Energy’s Biggest Problem
- PV-Tech: Energy storage – ‘Great white hope’ for Britain’s clean energy sector
- Washington Post: The Energy 202 – Rick Perry manages to unite oil, gas, wind and solar — against him
- NRDC: Trump Tax Plan – Big Polluters Win, the Rest of Us Lose
- Bloomberg: Saudi Arabia Gets Cheapest Bids for Solar Power in Auction
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann