Michigan Bellweather Decision. I’ve spoken about the importance of going on the advocacy offense and I couldn’t be prouder of the work that Vote Solar is doing in Michigan. Just yesterday, FPL’s CEO went on an earnings call and essentially outed himself and said that solar plus storage is more cost effective than “inefficient” alternatives. If the Michigan PSC delays the approval or denies DTE’s request for the gas plant this would be the first time a PSC delays a gas plant ahead of a thriving solar market. Nonetheless that is the right think to do.
Community Solar Potential. NREL was out with a study outlining the potential of bringing solar to demand even if the building can’t actually host solar. The disaggregation of solar generation from the load is a favorite topic of mine, it creates the collaboration of the lowest capital cost of solar, removes credit risk and generates more clean energy. At the same time we need to be thinking about growing the C&I market where transaction costs and credit risk make it more difficult than the residential market where the FICO score exists. I remain convinced that C&I is a combination of cash sales with long term financing through PACE is the best way to do that. Businesses that own their building have tax appetite and with assessment terms up to 30 years, why wouldn’t you want that.
Acting Like The Leader. 1366 Technologies asked for a 201 tariff exemption for their manufacturing facility. Now it appears that the request landed them in hot water for not having that facility in the US. I am sure there is much more to the story but the quote from the DOE makes me wonder if the aggressive tone is mirrored from above.
If My Way Works, Let’s Not Do It Your Way. A group of utility execs are workshopping how Puerto Rico should rebuild their infrastructure. At the same time, Sunnova, Sunrun, Sonnen, Tesla, and others have installed hundreds of micrograms on the island. Last week, when the entire grid went down again, only the solar micrograms were running including the fire stations. So tell me this, why do we have traditional power execs running this process when we already know what is working.
- SolarWakeup: Decision On Fate Of $1 Billion DTE Natural Gas Plant Looms
- SolarWakeup: Forbes Article Reveals 320 GW Of Untapped Solar Potential
- Bloomberg: Solar Startup Asks for Tariff Exemption, Draws Trump Rebuke
- Fast Company: During Puerto Rico’s Blackout, Solar Microgrids Kept The Lights On
- mLive: Michigan solar owners hit with ‘unfair rates’ under ruling, reps say
- EDF: New Jersey’s leaders pave the way for a clean energy future
- Greentech Media: Europe Faces Another Solar Boom, Increasingly Unsubsidized
- RTO Insider: Overheard at the Energy Storage Association Annual Conference
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann