More Software Acquisitions. Congrats to the great team at Energy Toolbase for successfully getting acquired. On Friday afternoon, news broke that Pason Power was taking majority ownership of ETB to build out the next era of the software. I first met John a few years ago when someone told me there was a software startup in Florida working on solar and I didn’t quite believe it so I drove up to his office and recorded one of my first podcasts. They’ve come a long way and look forward to seeing what they do next!
PURPA Deal In Michigan. There’s been a pipeline of solar brewing in Michigan and last week the MPSC struck a deal with developers and Consumers Energy to open up that funnel. Starting in 2020 and through 2024, 584MW of solar will be connected. We’re a long way from the vision that former Governor Granholm had for Michigan as the solar leader in America but this is a step in the right direction.
No Deal In Louisiana. I can’t say that I am surprised that solar lost this fight and net metering is going to have to pay for lost revenues to the utilities. Maybe they will be paying EV owners for the extra energy they buy? This perpetuates the nonsense that southern States believe in free markets because this is just the monopoly man jumping into a gold-filled pool.
Wrong Headline. Bloomberg (is all about the paywall now) has an in-depth look at what caused the boom in the renewables markets and their answer is (wrong) capitalism. Before I get into my reasons for not buying it, let me say that I understand why they say it. Capitalism, i.e. the ability to make a profit from investing, plays a big role in the growth off the renewables market, mainly the ability for investors to develop, buy and hold long term physical assets with creditworthy revenue streams for decades. The flaw is that it wasn’t capitalism that created the opportunity or the growth. It was policy and regulators, i.e. politics. If it weren’t for Germany’s feed-in tariffs, those that followed and the RPS mandates in the US, capitalists would never have found the opportunities. This market is rooted in politics and it’s sad to see so many shirks the importance of the policies in their businesses.
Wind ITC Math Doesn’t Compute. I didn’t write this on Friday but I hated the headline about the Wind market being worried about the solar ITC being extended. It’s sad and flawed (if true). If solar ITC goes away, much like net metering going away, then the policies that drive the wind market will go away as well. This is a rising tides market, solar needs wind and wind needs solar. And both need the ITC/PTC, just ask our cousin, energy storage.
Infrastructure Argument. Look for more talk today about oil infrastructure as Trump releases strategic oil reserves after the oil attack in Saudi Arabia. I also would like to hear some talk about the diversity of power generation including distributed generation as a defensive strategy.
- Solar Power World: Pason Power, Energy Toolbase merge to create a comprehensive energy storage software platform
- PV-Tech: Truce with Michigan utility frees 584MW PV pipeline from planning limbo
- Utility Dive: Louisiana utilities to pay less for rooftop solar power under new net metering rules
- Bloomberg: What’s Behind the World’s Biggest Climate Victory?
- Greentech Media: Looming Grid Shortfall Prompts 2.5GW California Procurement Proposal
- Axios: The climate policy cameos in the third Democratic debate
- Vox: The best case for and against a fracking ban
Opinion
Best, Yann