This is your SolarWakeup for October 3rd, 2024

Getting Political. CleanCapital’s Chief, Jon Powers, makes the case for getting more involved in politics. Jon (an amazing solar leader and someone I consider a friend) leads by example in both the way he served the Country and how he leads CleanCapital. Understanding that our industry is highly regulated and requires the participants to be involved in the political process across the landscape.

Tariff Continuation. As the solar industry maneuvers the latest tariff expansion, it’s a good reminder that the regulations are not limited to legislative action but also within the executive branch and agencies like the Department of Commerce. That being said, driving the message in Washington as well as state capitals can also be a helpful tool to advance the industry (and individual companies) priorities.

Peak Production Politics. I’ve long talked about(on in this case typed) about the fact that the US is currently producing record levels of oil and gas. Politically, the administration has been shy to highlight this at the risk of creating a wave from the left flank which is understandable given that most on the right flank would not actually believe this data point. From my seat, I see the focus across the energy ecosystem looking at the increase in energy demand in electricity. The energy bull market is a new concept after many years of declining electricity consumption and there is a concern in the market that we are not building new generation fast enough or moving projects through development (including transmission). 

Opinion

Best, Yann