I am in Minneapolis to participate in the Connexus Energy ribbon cutting for their solar plus storage farm. As a co-op, Connexus is looking to lower the cost of energy for consumers as CEO, Greg Ridderbusch, told me in May. Co-ops are there to help consumers get more solar in every way possible, that’s why I am here even though my day job is in residential solar. Congrats to Connexus and their partners Engie and NextEra on the project.
Presented by Pfister Energy. Changing the way energy is generated and delivered. Pfister Energy is a leading turnkey design-build renewable energy solutions company. Servicing C&I, community and utility sectors for solar, storage and O&M. Visit pfisterenergy.com for more information.
Storage Company For Sale. The energy storage integrator that is providing the 42MWh project to Vistra Energy in Texas is up for sale. We got a view at the prospectus that the investment bankers are shopping and it shows a robust pipeline which isn’t surprising given the rise in interest in energy storage. FlexGen has been aggressive in solar given their knowledge with both AC and DC coupled systems. With energy storage increasing across the Country it is good to see the consolidation happening sooner which will likely increase the bankability of the providers in the market. If pipeline is as valuable in storage as it is in solar and the knowledge barrier in storage is greater, I don’t expect the line of bidders to be short in FlexGen.
Checking In On SolarCity. Solar in Tesla may not be as dead as folks make it out to be. Tesla announced 93MW in the 3rd quarter which is only a few megawatts less than what Sunrun guided towards in the quarter. This means that some of the strategy of selling through the stores is working and the Model 3 ramp up may be helping. I don’t have the detail of whether the 93MW is all residential but I assume that is a decent guess.
Solar In Arizona. A deep dive into solar in the New Yorker is not common and reading the first 1000 words made me think that it’s a good thing and it may still be. Some of the talking points come straight from the RPS opposition including things like solar only shines at some times and it is a cost increase to consumers. With solar plus storage already at sub natural gas prices in Arizona, the data in the talking points are misleading. The positive takeaway is that readers of the New Yorker are different than the readers of SolarWakeup and the broader audience is thinking about solar, I wish that it was broader than three interviewers though.
Is Capital The Need? An interesting question, does the industry need more capital in order to meet climate goals. Couple of thoughts. The question is the wrong premise, it should ask: More Capital Needs To Be Deployed To Meet Goals. There is a limitless amount of capital interested in projects that meet sustainability goals. Additionally, the commentary could increase the scope of the capital. If capital is available for projects and the pipeline of projects is limiting the progress, then we need capital that is willing to take different risks besides fixed contract off taker agreements at return hurdles that are in line with the pipeline. Lastly, more capital needs to be willing to take bigger bets on technology risks. This last point is in line with what I’ve written about the Bill Gates concept of solving climate change with breakthrough technologies.
- SolarWakeup: Deal Scoop – Energy Storage Giant FlexGen Is For Sale
- PV-Tech: Tesla peaks at 93MW of solar installations for 2018 as roof tile system delayed again
- New Yorker: The Battle for Solar Energy in the Country’s Sunniest State
- GreenBiz: More private capital needed to finance U.N. Sustainable Development Goals
- The Tennessean: As governor, Phil Bredesen pushed for solar, then helped launch solar company
- Greentech Media: Uber Wants to Go All-Electric in London, With the Help of a New Clean Air Fee
- Hawaii Public Radio: HECO taking Bids on Utility-Scale Solar Projects
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann