Author Archives: Frank Andorka

Proposed Kansas Demand Fees Could Bring Solar Installations To A Screeching Halt

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Solar observers in Kansas are watching closely as two demand-charge proposals wend their way through the Kansas Corporation Commission. A decision on whether the fees will go into effect is expected on September 27.

It’s always interesting to watch lesser solar states work out their solar policies, despite the fact they often fall into some of the same traps earlier states have. Kansas appears to be no exception.

The state’s two largest utilities – Westar Energy and Kansas City Power & Light – currently have proposals before commission, which solar advocates say could bring the industry to a screeching halt, according to Midwest Energy News.

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One solar installer named Mark Horst is quoted in the article discussing one particular customer that he put together an estimate on how the demand charge would affect her bill. This is what he found:

The demand fee is high enough that it would actually offset all of the energy savings provided by smaller solar arrays, according to Horst. He analyzed the finances of one customer’s 2.32-kilowatt array, and determined that her average monthly savings of $35 would be more than negated by an average monthly demand charge of $45.

The upshot: “She would have to pay $10 a month for the luxury of having solar panels,” Horst said, adding that he would have to advise her for financial reasons to remove the panels.

As Midwest Energy News correctly points out, the demand charge is a longstanding method that utilities use to try to recover the revenues they lose when people discover what a good deal solar is for them and generate their own electricity.

What is heartening, at least for Kansas consumers, is that most utility regulators are loathe to allow demand charges because of their confusing nature. Most regulatory bodies aren’t willing to make it harder for customers to understand their bills.

That’s not to say Kansas won’t be the exception to the rule. But it should give solar installers like Hurst and solar consumers like the one he discussed some hope that the Kansas Corporation Commission won’t allow these usurious and confusing charges to make their way on to those bills. We’ll all find out together later this month.

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Kansas utilities’ proposed new fees could wipe out savings for some solar customers

Paying A Price: Wholesalers Face Defections If They Move Too Slowly On Renewables

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

One Colorado co-op has set the stage to defect from one wholesaler because they don’t believe it’s moving fast enough to incorporate renewables into its portfolio – and the long-term implications are potentially startling.

As Western Energy News reports:

The Delta-Montrose Electric Association will vote in October on rule changes that would allow another power supplier to help finance its exit from a contract with Tri-State Generation and Transmission.

The association is among Tri-State’s largest customers, and its defection could heighten the risk of a mass exodus as others are forced to cover a larger share of costs for operating the wholesaler’s infrastructure, including its coal-fired power plants.

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The problem, at least according to Delta’s CEO, is the arbitrary cap Tri-States puts on local generation. That significantly limits the amount of renewable energy the co-op can have in its own portfolio. From Western Energy News:

Several co-ops have been stymied by Tri-State’s 5 percent cap on local generation, and Tri-State and Delta-Montrose continue to wait on a rehearing from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on the matter.

“We’ve been stifled from our ability to have flexibility to develop those resources and make them economical for our membership under the confines of our current contract,” [Delta CEO Jansen] Bronec said.

While Delta’s defection would have an immediate impact on Tri-State, the decision to move away from coal-generated electricity could have implications far beyond Colorado’s borders. It should send the message to wholesalers like Tri-State that arbitrarily clinging to outdated fossil-fuel generation is a way to lose members at an alarming rate. As prices continue to drop for solar and wind production, co-ops are not going to sit idly by and pay higher prices just because the wholesaler doesn’t want to change.

The Solar Revolution is happening, and smaller entities like Delta are starting to catch on. Once they realize the power is in their hands, look for more wholesalers to bend to the will of their members – and look for more renewable energy to come online as they do so.

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Colorado co-op vote sets table for defection from coal power wholesaler

European Union Removes Trade Sanctions On Chinese Solar Modules

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

While the United States seems hellbent on starting new trade wars with countries around the world, the European Union (EU) has determined that its own sanctions on Chinese solar modules should come to an end, according to reporting by Reuters.

As Reuters reports:

The EU first imposed anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures for Chinese solar panels, wafers and cells in 2013 and extended them by 18 months in March 2017, signaling that they should then end.

Chinese manufacturers have been allowed to sell solar products in Europe free of duties if they do so at or above a progressively declining minimum price. If sold for less than that price, they are subject to duties of up to 64.9 percent.

The trade measures will be allowed to expire on Monday.

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The reasons for the expiration mirror the same debate going on over tariffs in the United States, to wit: the EU is trying to strike a balance between EU module manufacturers (who believe the measures should stay in place) and installers (who want the measures to go away so less expensive modules can keep coming to the market and allowing installations to flourish). In the end, the European Commission, which coordinates economic policy for the EU, decided to let the measures expire.

Which, of course, set off a panic in some quarters surrounding what was referred to as a ‘flood’ of modules being dumped on European markets at below-market prices, thereby depressing prices on modules throughout the supply chain. Again from Reuters:

EU ProSun, the grouping of EU producers that launched the initial complaint in 2012 and wanted a further extension of measures, had said that European manufacturers would be devastated if the measures ended.

Beijing’s decision to limit installations in China meant producers there had some 30 gigawatts of excess capacity to shift with few markets to sell into after tariffs imposed by the United States and planned by India, the second and third largest markets behind China. The total EU market is some 7 gigawatts.

It’s long been our contention that tariffs don’t really help anyone, and that inexpensive modules help spread the use of solar throughout the world. It’s why we’ve argued so vociferously against Trump’s tariffs here in the United States.

But this European issue isn’t over yet – Reuters reports ProSun said it might launch a legal challenge to the expiration of the duties. This story is something to keep an eye on moving forward – it could reshape the global solar industry for years to come.

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EU ends trade controls on Chinese solar panels raising fears of cheap imports

The Energy Show: Recycling Solar Panels with Sam Vanderhoof

The Energy Show: By Barry Cinnamon

Solar panels last 30 years or more. Almost all of the old panels that I have tested still crank out close to their original power output. Unfortunately, old solar panels are not compatible with the electronics of new systems – inverters, optimizers and microinverters. Sort of like that old CD-ROM software that is still good…if you could just get a computer that has a CD-ROM drive and runs Windows XP.

Some people want to upgrade their old 14% efficiency panels with new 20%+ efficiency panels equipped with a battery storage system. One big benefit of upgrading or adding panels is that the 30% tax credit applies to all new equipment — including that old inverter that may have failed. I expect that commercial customers will also start to upgrade their systems, replacing thousands of old panels with thousands of new panels.

So what do you do with these old panels? Even though they are constructed of recyclable glass, aluminum and silicon, there has not been a viable solution for recycling solar panels. Instead of dumping old solar panels in landfills, my friend and solar guru Sam Vanderhoof has a solution to this problem: his new company called Recycle PV Solar (recyclepv.solar).

Sam estimates that about 95% of solar panels are going into landfills. 15 gigawatts of solar panels were installed in the U.S. in 2016 – that represents about 6 million pounds of panels being installed every day! On a cumulative basis there are about 53 gigwatts of panels currently installed in the U.S., or about 200 million solar panels. To visualize the enormity of this recycling challenge, a train filled with containers of solar panels would be 1,500 miles long! Please Listen Up to this Week’s Energy Show to learn more about the challenges, economics and opportunities of recycling solar panels.