Boston Live! Get your tickets to SolarWakeup Live! Boston happening on March 26th. Great event and agenda being put together to make you more competitive. If you haven’t been to a SolarWakeup event, please come out to Boston. I do everything I can to give you the information that I would want if I were in your shoes. Happy to connect you with folks that have come out and like this alternative model of conference conversations.
The BFD GND. Congresswoman AOC and Senator Markey released the draft resolution also known as the Green New Deal. This bill is part green and part new deal, highlighting some of the biggest issues facing the Country and the reasons for proposing the resolution. Note that this is not legislation at this moment, more of a battle cry to create laws that aim to execute on the proposals.
Trump Cries Socialism. The GOP and Trump have come out in favor of the GND being a label for the Democrats seeking to divide the Country on this issue. This is a battle to label the resolution as socialism while the Democrats will seek to message the resolution in its part since clean air, clean water, green jobs, renewable energy and fighting climate change all poll well over 70% favorable.
Justice For All. Green New Deal seeks to highlight environmental, financial and social justice within the policies that will drive action against climate change. The sponsors are not only looking to move forward but also seeking to ensure those that have been left behind are leading the pack.
Renewable Energy. Wonks have been quick to skip to this paragraph. Is it 100% renewable energy or clean energy? Is nuclear included? They are missing the point, this is a vision to get as close to 100% within 10 years, 15 years faster than California’s SB100. It also looks to invest billions in energy efficiency while creating a job guarantee for anyone that would like to work in the expanded fields. Any variation of this would be a big growth for the solar market we operate in, from distributed generation to community solar.
Solar Storage ISO Win. Sunrun won a capacity bid in the ISO-NE grid market. This is a big deal and it reached the twitter account for Senator Whitehouse (D-RI). While this is a big win that generates new revenues for the solar plus storage market, it is an example of the new economy fitting within incumbent markets. The capacity win is meant for fossil fuel power plants that want capacity contracts to pay for their existence while raking in double digit returns for energy sales on top of that. The pros call that revenue stacking. What would be the better way? The better way would be for operators of distributed storage assets to be able to bid into the real time market with the right pricing signals that generate additional cash flows for homeowners and businesses. One day, Sunrun may be sending ‘storage dividend’ checks to their customers who want to let the company maximize the value of their investments.
- Axios: The Green New Deal is getting a boost from 2020 hopefuls
- Vox: There’s now an official Green New Deal. Here’s what’s in it.
- Utility Dive: Residential solar+storage breaks new ground as Sunrun wins ISO-NE capacity contract
- Greentech Media: Vistra Energy Cements Top Spot Among Residential Retail Electricity Providers
- PV-Tech: Meyer Burger sells wafering business for CHF 50 million in cash
- GreenBiz: SolarCity’s co-founders charge up African venture dedicated to improving ‘energy access’
- Post and Courier: SCE&G’s new owner prepping now for rate changes down the road
- Wisconsin State Journal: Wisconsin utilities and environmental groups unite behind solar, but regulators question value
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann