OpEx Is OpEx. The headline is better than the actual story. Exxon is out with an RFP to buy solar and wind energy for its operations. The reason for this is nothing more than better contract terms than other sources. I’d actually look at the other side of this story and point out that Exxon doesn’t have the internal ability to get this done because they haven’t made that splashy solar acquisition. If you’re a corporate you are looking at doing a solar deal because there will not be a fuel rider in the contract, which is the real value here on top of the super low price. At least, Exxon should do the tax equity for the deal, they have the liability.
The Future Of Solar In NJ. NJ is a market that has been the core base for solar on the east coast. Now that Governor Murphy is leading and the legislature has passed some policy, I will be looking at the market in some greater detail. What are the interesting topics? There is a community solar pilot program docket being opened by the BPU but also other market aspects should make the market grow from its solid basis. Let me know what you’re looking at.
Cheap Solar Is An Issue. In 2008, a legislator, the chair of the energy committee in the Florida House, told me that he liked solar but he can’t pick winners and losers and solar must compete on price without his influence. I was young and naive so I took that comment in stride but it has stuck with me. 10 years later, solar costs have dropped like bad habits and may be causing legislative issues that those words can’t keep up with. Not only is solar cheap it’s democratized access to energy generation which is the shift that the energy market wasn’t anticipating 100 years ago.
Codes, Codes, Codes. Energy codes, as John Farrell points out, can matter and should matter to the markets. I would like to point out that energy, especially solar, has to fill the requirements of no less than a dozen code jurisdictions. The issue is that contractors often don’t have the ability to keep up with this and the building inspectors are still getting up to speed on all things solar. This ends with homeowners getting some installations that are below the expected standard and even allows some manufacturers to get away with poorly designed products that don’t meet code. I don’t have the answer to who it should be that ensures homeowners are protected but I’ve already asked SEIA to look into the possibility of adding parts of this to the consumer protections guide.
Solar Policy In CA. You may be surprised to see more news coverage about California solar policy. So here is the scoop. SB 700, which is a 5-year extension of the SGIP program, is doing well and is the bill that CALSSA (formerly CalSEIA) is running. On the other side is AB 893, a bill that would increase the amount of solar and wind that utilities and CCAs have to procure through offtake agreements. The complication here is that there are two bills that have solar support but one is backed by CALSSA and the other is backed by SEIA. One is for DG and one is for utility scale. I have my personal thoughts on this and much of those have been shared with the relevant parties but some of you have asked me about the bills and here is the background.
- SolarWakeup: Reports – Exxon May Want To Power Itself With Solar And Wind – And Is Close To Signing A PPA
- EDF: How New Jersey can finance its bold new clean energy targets
- Salon: The battle for cheap solar power heads to the sunny South — but utilities are fighting back
- ILSR: Why Energy Codes Matter, and What Cities Can Do
- Greentech Media: New California Bill Pushes for Near-Term Boost in Solar and Wind, Plus More Geothermal
- Utility Dive: PacifiCorp, Idaho Power agree to make CAISO their reliability coordinator
- CleanTechnica: Utility-Scale Solar Suffers 20% Drop-Off In First Half
- PV-Tech: Tesla’s solar panel suppliers have changed rapidly
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann