A Feel Good Story. The CEO of a Los Angeles based installer has the story that we want to hear in solar. Kenneth Wells didn’t have it easy growing up and after 6 years in the criminal system found himself entering the solar workforce through a program at Grid Alternatives. That training led to more solar jobs before ending up at Sunrun as a construction manager. Today he’s his own boss running O&M Solar Services. There isn’t enough funding for solar groups like Grid Alternatives and training centers, and stories like Kenneth’s help tell the solar success story.
Solar Is Misunderstood. The headline pulled me in, I wanted to read more analysis on what folks thought about Sunrun’s acquisition of Vivint Solar. Reading the article, I was shocked by the confusion. In short, the author says that Sunrun bought Vivint Solar because more homeowners are buying solar instead of leasing it and Sunrun wanted to more share of the “shrinking slice of the pie.” Cash, loans and leases are democratized. Most installers have access to all three financial products today and this deal isn’t about leases.
PacifiCorp Responds To Solar. Two days in a row for the Northwest utility on SolarWakeup. The 58th largest utility in America filed their IRP and is readying an RFP for 1.8GW of solar and 595MW of energy storage to be installed in the next 3 years. Not too shabby.
Capital Dynamics Wants It All. When MISO releases their recent interconnection data, we will likely see record applications that may reach over 2GW in applications, maybe much more. Capital Dynamics, the asset manager with a record of execution, is now partnering with Tenaska on a portfolio of 24 projects coming online by 2023. The total capacity is estimated to be 4.8GW.
Nonprofits Want Solar Too. My friends at CollectiveSun can help you sell more solar to nonprofits. By working with CollectiveSun your nonprofit prospects get easy $0 down financing and a 12% or more tax-like credit for their systems. Now, more than ever, solar can help nonprofits save on their critical operating expenses. If you are a solar installer or developer, this is a great solution for you to sell more solar and ignite more deals with nonprofits. Click here to learn more about working with CollectiveSun.
- PV-Magazine: CEO of residential solar installer survived gangs and prison, only to face structural racism in his career path
- Quartz: What the biggest-ever solar company acquisition means for the future
- Power Engineering: PacifiCorp’s IRP seeks 4.3 GW of wind, solar and energy storage by 2023
- Greentech Media: Capital Dynamics and Tenaska Partner on 4.8 Gigawatts of Solar Development
- Solar Power World: Climate groups take legal action against Arizona utility for raising rooftop solar customer rates
- GreenBiz: State of the planet a worrying concern for future generations
- Rocky Mountain Institute: Connected Communities: A Better Way of Building
- Utility Dive: Coal retirements spur 8% drop in 2019 power sector carbon pollution after Duke, Vistra top 2018 emitters – Ceres
Opinion
Best, Yann