California Revises, Extends Low-Income Solar Program

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondentthey

When California decided last week to revise and extend its Single-Family Affordable Solar Homes (SASH) program with a 12-year rebate program for disadvantaged citizens who want to take advantage of solar, it marked another step forward in the democratization (small “d”) of electricity generation.

It also continued the national trend toward the inclusion of low-income solar in statewide solar legislation, much of which is being modeled on California’s original SASH program.

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As Elsie Hunger from GRID Alternatives put it:

California has been a leader nationally in providing solar access to families in disadvantaged communities. We are thrilled to see the commission’s continued efforts to expand access and ensure that our transition to clean energy includes all our communities.

The new rebate program, Disadvantaged Communities – Single Family Affordable Solar Homes (DAC-SASH), provides additional long-term funding for the SASH program, which has reduced the cost of going solar for more than 7,000 households and provided over 100,000 hours of solar job training for individuals seeking employment since 2009.

In addition to adopting DAC-SASH, the Commission Order also makes modest improvements to the utilities’ Green Tariff programs with the goal of helping low-income customers receive bill discounts through participation. The decision did not go as far as coalition members had hoped in creating community-based shared solar opportunities like those that have been used successfully to increase low-income consumer access in Colorado and other states.

At the same time California’s Public Utilities Commission was making its decision, Illinois solar advocates were meeting in Chicago at SolarWakeup Live! to discuss the importance of the job creation elements of the Solar For All program created in Illinois’ Long-Term Renewables Resources Procurement Plan (the Plan).

“This is how we will be judged by the legislature when we come back to them for future expansion of the program,” said Becky Stanfield, senior director of Western States for Vote Solar. “If we miss these targets, we will lose support for solar in the Illinois legislature. That can’t happen.”

Eya Louis, contractor development coordinator for Chicago-area nonprofit Elevate Energy, said the key to successful job creation is not just the training of future solar workers but making sure they have jobs once they finish the training. She said her organization is about to graduate its first class of solar workers, and it will hold a job fair to make sure they connect with contractors looking to hire.

“You can’t forget about that step,” Louis said. “You can do all the training you want, but unless you are able to put them in positions to get jobs, the training aspect goes to waste. It’s easy to forget that step, but it’s imperative that we as an industry do not.”

IRS Regifts Utility-Scale Solar Four More Years Of 30% ITC

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondentthey

Four more years! Four more years!

That’s the mantra some utility-scale solar developers are chanting today after the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) decided to extend the 30% investment tax credit (ITC) through 2023 as long as they have broken ground or spent 5% of the total expected investment in the project by the end of 2019.

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Bloomberg reports the opinion, issued by the IRS late last week, came as something of a surprise to most utility-scale developers. As the reporters noted:

“The news is positive for utility scale solar developers who can now avoid solar tariffs imposed on imports through 2021, procure majority of their solar panels in later years, and still qualify for the higher tax credits, analysts led by Michael Weinstein, said in the note.

If developers break ground on January 1, 2020 or beyond, the credit drops to 26%.

The decision, combined with China’s unexpected decision to halt construction on its own domestic industry, could help move some utility-scale projects that had previously been shelved back into an active status with developers.

China’s decision to scotch its domestic industry means inexpensive modules could soon be flooding the U.S. market, with utility-scale projects benefiting the most.

kWh Analytics Launches Searchable Solar Financing Database

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Leading solar risk management firm kWh Analytics has launched Solar Lendscape, a searchable database designed to connect project developers with financing solutions.

The Solar Lendscape catalogs the solar industry’s most active lenders, including their check sizes, target market segments, and product type. This list will be updated regularly.

kWH Analytics is also offering to provide introductions to any of the lenders on the list if project developers need it. Interested developers should send an email with details of the project to lendscape@kwhanalytics.com.

The database can be found here.

An analysis of the data indicates the number of active solar lenders has increased nearly 25-fold over the past 11 years, according to kWh Analytics.

Solar Lendscape

Jinko To Reuters: Our Jacksonville Factory Is Still On Track

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Jinko Solar, being a public company, has to be as positive as possible. So when Reuters asked the Chinese module manufacturer whether the new round of tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration – 25% on modules and cells on top of the 30% the administration already imposed on all imported cells – my old friend Jeff Juger had a ready answer.

He told the news service that the Jacksonville factory, which was originally supposed to double as the company’s U.S. headquarters, will be producing modules by the fourth quarter based on cells manufactured in Malaysia, which may be true now. But sources close to the factory say the original plans involved cells manufactured in China. Trump’s tariffs sent those plans into a tailspin, however, despite China being the most cost-effective source for the cells.

Juger also told Reuters he hoped Trump’s administration would exempt the Malyasian cells from the tariffs under the exemption plan included in the original tariff pronouncement. He maintains the Jinko factory in Malaysia is the only factory that produces the necessary cells and discussed how much the success of the Jacksonville factory could turn on getting the exemption, telling the news service:

The 2.5 gigawatt exemption gives us quite a bit of headroom to import tariff-free cells. If the government grants that exclusion request and lets us import these cells, it will allow us to further scale up the factory in Florida.

Therein, of course, lies the rub. It’s worth noting that initially, the factory was going to be double the size than what it’s currently projected to be and was supposed to support twice as many jobs. If the company doesn’t get the exemption it’s seeking, it’s fair to ask when, if ever, the Jacksonville Jinko factory will be running at full capacity.

For Jacksonville’s sake, we hope Jinko gets the exemption. It would be shame if that much ballyhooed factory ends up being more of a whimper than a bang.