This is your SolarWakeup for November 16th, 2020

The Leadership Outlook. SunPower’s CEO, Tom Werner, may have the most direct, yet politically correct statement about the Biden victory. When asked about the fact that Biden isn’t a climate denier Werner said,” It helps a lot.” He goes on to add that a stable regulatory environment would be a great benefit to the solar market. This is in line with what I got from my conversation with Abby Hopper, the CEO of SEIA. That is why everyone is working hard on the ITC extension now, businesses have to plan in a way that takes the peak and cliff away from the strategy side.

Buy What You’re Selling. If you were on our resi market call last week you heard me say that solar companies need to start believing in their own growth. The solar market is in one of the tightest supply markets I’ve seen since 2007 mostly because manufacturers were nervous about the COVID effect on market demand and forecasts were cut to 2GW when in reality we will pass 3GW and have Q1 and Q2 reach all-time highs. No matter the size of your solar company, you should be thinking about ordering now for Q1 and Q2 deliveries. Manufacturers should be running their businesses as if the ITC has already been extended, time to buy into our own market.

The Maps In The Oval. Joe Biden is going to look at the energy transition from a big picture perspective, like the smart grid map that he talks about. The map that Madam Vice President Harris will look at is what Axios is reporting on today, local pollution at the neighborhood level. The Environment Defense Fund has been doing methane measurements across the Country that do similar data visualization. The local pollution maps are going to drive the legal strategy for showing that polluters harm minority and low-income communities to a much higher degree than others. For the handful of coal plants that are still without retirement dates and weaker plants sitting in neighborhoods, watch for those to be replaced by energy storage before the end of the first term.

Solar Steel. Nucor, the steel manufacturer, has signed a 250MW PPA with EDF Renewables in Texas. This should be the steel going into all the trackers and C&I racking equipment, good old American made steel with American sunshine. In Texas. Are we mainstream yet?

Will The MOPR Go SWOPR? The MOPR was an attempt by the Trump team to upend local energy markets to prop up coal and gas plants against solar and wind projects. There was hope for a national 100% RPS but that is unlikely in a GOP Senate or even a 51-49 Dem senate. Perhaps the opposite of a MOPR, executive action towards solar and wind is possible if some adjustments to FERC are made. It still would find opposition from State and regional energy markets but likely align with their goals more than that MOPR ever did.

Spotlight On Community Clinic. This 412 kW-DC solar carport installation at Vista Community Clinic (VCC) will provide long term renewable energy for the sustainability-driven healthcare facility. M Bar C Construction, CollectiveSun, and VCC leadership joined together in bringing this system from funding to design to installation. Solar energy produced from the installation will free up facility resources allowing VCC to continue to serve their patients and the surrounding community while setting a powerful example of their commitment to renewable energy. 

Opinion

Best, Yann