California Dreamin’. Super Tuesday has come and gone and California is going to take its time to give us the results. At the time of this writing it looks like Biden may come out in the lead when all the results are in though the expectations were that Sanders would be ahead by at least 50 pledged delegates. For solar, there is going to be a discussion over the next few months what the trade environment would look like in a Sanders administration versus how aggressive a Biden administration would be on energy topics.
Big Day For Vote Solar. Vote Solar has been actively making its case to advance solar policies in Florida and New Mexico. In Florida the goal was to make the largest community solar program accessible to low income families albeit owned by the utility. First getting the proposal expanded to be more attractive to more people and then having the program approved by the PSC. In New Mexico, the Governor will sign a revival to a modest tax credit which will make solar a little bit more attractive for homeowners, another win for solar.
Hold Your Gas Powered Horses. As Wall Street sours on coal, it’s too far to say that investors are giving up natural gas in favor of utilities. Investors for those two buckets are not interchangeable for one and the sustained low natural gas prices may be what is causing investors to park their money elsewhere. At the same time, investors have an unlimited appetite for renewable energy infrastructure investments. The limitation to total deployment remains project pipelines.
Look Out Global DG. The renaissance happening across the world is happening behind the meter. Consumers have long wanted to add solar and ROI was typically the biggest limitation to that effort. With the global price of solar more likely than not to be less than the cost of the grid, DG solar is booming in the US and abroad. While DG is not without complication, it is ripe to be disrupted in more ways than one and ready to get much bigger than anyone is forecasting.
- Miami Herald: FPL’s solar plan wins OK despite opposition from PSC staff analysis, consumer advocate
- News Tribune: New Mexico governor signs solar energy, grid update bills
- Bloomberg: Wall Street Is Falling Out of Love With a Once-Coveted Fossil Fuel
- Adios: The energy stakes of Bernie vs. Biden
- Greenwich Media: Spain’s Other Solar Boom – Distributed Systems for Self-Consumption
- PV-Magazine: Job moves at Tesla, ACORE, Safari Energy, GE Grid Solutions, 8minute, AMP, Enovix and PI Energy
- Rocky Mountain Institute: Adapting to Fire – How Cities Can Enhance Resilience with Distributed Energy
- Utility Dive: Comprehensive Senate energy bill draws industry, bipartisan support, but lags on tax credits, efficiency
Opinion
Best, Yann