SEIA Makes Big Changes. And they’re not good. I woke up to the news yesterday that SEIA had told longtime executive Tom Kimbis that they are moving forward without him. Tom, if you recall, was the interim president at SEIA when Rhone Resch resigned about 2 years ago. He did such a great job during his tenure that I thought he had earned the credentials to keep the job. In recent months, I was worried that Tom would move on from SEIA and had told people that I hope this wouldn’t happen. So imagine my shock (and it takes a lot) when I heard SEIA had laid him off as well as Christopher Mansour. The changes, according to Abby Hopper, are to better align resources with the strategic vision of SEIA. I’ll have more thoughts about this move soon, hoping to sleep on it a bit. For SEIA’s side of the news, make sure to read our coverage. More to come.
Get My Kids An EV Bus. A couple of points I’d like to make here. First, when I spoke to Proterra’s CEO, Ryan Propple, a few months ago, I never considered the inefficiency of buses idling all day why waiting, stopping and sitting in traffic. I also failed to think through the pollution that kids across America are subjected to while riding the Blue Bird. So it is no surprise to me that electric buses make sense everywhere in America. The second point, I am impressed by the idea that ‘friend of the pod’ Jigar Shah and his team had to do a sale-leaseback with BYD to provide electric buses to jurisdictions the entry into an ’offtake’ agreement. Only one major downfall here, I can’t name a single Chinese mode of transportation that I ride. Not my car, not my plane nor my bicycle. When it comes to moving people from point A to point B, Americans don’t ride Made in China. So I’d like to see Proterra electrify Blue Birds across America in a similar transaction. Many reasons why school buses are a great place to start.
Ballot Fights Continue. In Arizona, the ballot initiative to ask voters about expanding the RPS is being challenged. The challenge isn’t in the form of data or arguments on the issue but instead to attack the ballot initiative by claiming that 75% of the signatures are invalid. This is the stuff that bothers me about the legislative process. Argue the issue, not the process, because we all know that a higher RPS is good for the residents of Arizona but the incumbent utilities just can’t handle so much goodness. The Mr. Burns in them won’t allow it.
Take This To Another Branch. While I admit to have been cheering on the lawsuits against oil companies about their disregard for climate change, specifically their knowledge of it decades ago, an NY judge has politely asked the petitioners to take this to the legislature. Maybe it would have been nice to get to more discovery in the judicial process, the judge is right that the legislature should do its job.
Big Storage Sector. Much has been made around battery prices declining over the next few years but the parts and pieces that make energy storage a system are getting attention. The power conversion, both ac-coupled and dc-coupled, is getting manufacturers to design and build some of those system. This is a nice look inside the future of storage from the system level.
- SolarWakeup: SEIA Shakeup Ousts Former Interim CEO Tom Kimbis, Long-Time Lobbyist Christopher Mansour
- Greentech Media: Study – Electric Buses Already Emit Less Carbon Than Diesel Buses, in Any State
- SolarWakeup: APS-Backed Lawsuit Challenges 75% Of The Signatures For Arizona RPS Initiative
- CleanTechnica: Federal Judge Dismisses NYC Climate Change Law Suit
- PV-Tech: Navigant – Energy storage PCS becoming a ‘crowded market’
- Utility Dive: IPL rate deal largely avoids fixed charge hike
- Solar Industry: DuPont Unveils New and Expanded Solar Product Portfolio
- CBC: Canada launches NAFTA challenge of ‘illegal’ U.S. tariffs on solar panels
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann