Unbundle Solar. “I’d tell my mom to sign up” is the best headline of 2019. I’ve had some great conversations with community solar executives as well as pondered my hopes as to where this market goes this year. All of it can be summed up to this headline because that is where we need to be. There is a never ending demand for community solar and more needs to be developed. 2021 is the year that this market takes off with a nice run-up continuing next year.
Co-op Opportunities. The western co-ops have been largely untapped by solar developers because of the agreement with Tri-State. This agreement limits how much each co-op can contract independent of the group. Once this dam breaks, and it will, you will see some incredible capacity of solar getting contracted. This may even open a new merchant market.
EV Through Policy? Los Angeles is looking to have 80% of new vehicles be electric by 2028. Through incentives, infrastructure and working with ride hailing companies, it should be achievable. Here’s my question though. San Jose is currently at 21%, almost 3x Los Angeles. What makes EVs more common in the Bay Area than their southern partners? Maybe we should figure that out before embarking in a policy driven game of guess what?
Personnel Moves. Eric Wesoff is back! The former Editor-in-Chief at Greenwich Media is now the editor of PV-Magazine USA after former editor, Christian Roselund, left for Rocky Mountain Institute. Welcome back Eric!
- Greentech Media: ‘I’d Tell My Mom to Sign Up.’ Has Community Solar Finally Come of Age?
- PV-Magazine: Pro-renewable co-ops must propose how to figure a fair fee to exit Tri-State
- Vox: California solves batteries’ embarrassing climate problem
- Axios: Los Angeles launches low-carbon transportation plan
- GreenBiz: Climate change and the new language of weather
- PV-Tech: Innergex Renewable Energy signs PPA for 200MW PV project in Ohio
- Utility Dive: Boulder makes $94M ‘final offer’ for Xcel Energy assets, in bid to avoid condemnation
Opinion
Best, Yann