Closing 2020. I still have the Thanksgiving coast this afternoon and I hope you enjoyed your long weekend in your best way possible. Yes it was different but maybe it brought you back to some level of comfort. We’re four weeks out from closing the book on 2020 and I start thinking about lists and the big stories of the year, what a year to think back on for solar. It’s also a time to do the 2021 forecast: who, what, when, where and why. Start pondering and we’ll exchange notes. If anyone has great gift ideas for a 10, 9 and 4 year old that incorporates solar, I’d love to hear them.
One Big Thing. With 236GW worth of coal capacity still online, many of which have a retirement date let’s look at the two attributes that are still valuable beyond the retirement but are not valued by anyone in the grid operations. Until the moment we start valuing, with real dollars, these two things, we will have a hard time actually closing these power plants that are polluting communities around the Country. First, the interconnection is incredibly valuable. If the land allows, connecting a new power generation to that interconnection point is the cleanest and cheapest way to operation. If the land is not there, like a downtown peaker plant for example, it’s a great energy storage connection point. Second, unused grid capacity. If a coal plant goes out of service the same capacity should be allowed to reconnect with a fast track interconnection. The way it works today is solar or other generation that applies to connect to a certain point of interconnection that has a coal plant on it, even if the coal plant is scheduled to close, grid operations do not remove that existing capacity. That results in large interconnection fees and new power lines required for the new generation even though they are filling a gap. If we just offset coal plants in the next 5 years, solar would grow at rates never seen before.
Solar For Clubs. My friends at Sustainable Capital Finance (SCF) have seen an uptick in interest for solar PPAs from schools, country clubs, and golf courses, as these off-takers have been impacted differently than other C&I energy consumers during the COVID-19 crisis. Golf & Country Clubs have seen increased revenue from golf and other outdoor activities, while schools would install solar while students aren’t on school grounds. In both scenarios, savings from a solar PPA are extremely attractive.Click here to learn more about how their subscription-free, proprietary software, the SCF suite, can help to speed up your PPA pricing and transaction process.
- PV-Magazine: How does the US retire 236 GW of coal and 1,000 gas peaker plants?
- Bloomberg: Australians Install Rooftop Solar Panels at a Record Pace
- Axios: A power giant’s $190 billion push for cleaner future
- Los Angeles Times: Boiling Point – In the West, opposing natural gas is tricky — even for a Democrat with climate cred
- PV-TEch: Vesper Energy to fast-track development of US solar pipeline after closing Macquarie financing
- Greentech Media: The US Will Rejoin the Paris Agreement. What Happens Next?
- Utility Dive: From Maryland to California and beyond, rate design innovations are boosting the energy transition
- Reuters: Costa Rica eyes billions of dollars in savings with net-zero emissions
Opinion
Best, Yann