By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

When China suddenly decided to slash its domestic solar industry by cutting off its expansion of new plants and cutting back on subsidies to end-users, some in the industry thought it might be a boon to the U.S. solar industry. After all, those modules that were in the process of being produced had to go somewhere if they weren't going to be used domestically, and the U.S. market - especially in light of the 30% tariffs - seemed a logical place for those modules to go. And indeed, you've seen some of that. According to solar installers I've talked to, module prices have already dropped to pre-tariffs prices, which means some projects that had been discarded as too expensive are now back under consideration. Well hold on to your hats because Reuters is reporting that not only did Chinese module manufacturers not slow down production as a result of the domestic cuts, they inexplicably increased production so far in 2018. To wit:

[China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) Vice-Chairman Wang Bohua said] the production of silicon wafers - a key solar component - rose 39% year-on-year to 50 GW in the first half, with solar module output rising to 39 GW, up 22%.

Reuters also reported Wang saying this:

Domestic market weakness has driven down prices and stimulated foreign sales, with solar component export earnings rising 21.2% to $5.51 billion in the first six months. But overall profits and utilization rates in the sector have continued to decline, Wang added, with some manufacturers even making losses in the first half. “As competition in the sector continues to intensify, and as subsidies are cut, the sector has entered into a period of low profit,” Wang told the conference.

I mean...wow. This is more amazing than any of us here in the United States could ever have imagined. Not only are inexpensive modules from China going to flood this market, there are even more of them than originally expected. Lower prices could buoy an industry that had expected to struggle as the tariffs kicked in, and that could mean good things for employment, too. In other words, despite having a Trump Administration that seems hellbent on destroying the solar industry, the Chinese might be coming to our rescue with overproduction and inexpensive modules. How does one say "Hallelujah" in Mandarin? More: China solar manufacturers raise first-half output despite capacity cap: association (Reuters( Chinese Solar Market Suffers Severe Setback As Government Slashes Subsidies, Projects (SolarWakeup)

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

With five days left in the legislative session, Massachusetts is running out of time to solidify and expand its burgeoning solar industry, and activists in the state are ramping up the pressure in an attempt to try to get something done before the end of the month. Yesterday, in an effort supported by advocacy group Vote Solar and others, city leaders from across the state joined forces to send a letter to the legislature urging them to pass the clean energy legislation currently pending before it, which is designed to accomplish three things:

• eliminiate the arbitrary net metering cap (or at least raise it by at least 5%);
• repeal Eversource Energy's (the state's largest utility) "demand charge" on solar customers; and
• raise the renewable portfolio standard (RPS) by at least 3% a year.

The letter quotes at least 20 municipal leaders in support of the legislation like Framingham City Council Member Adam Steiner:

As a City Council Member and a solar homeowner myself, I have seen the power of solar to benefit families, communities and our environment. Solar is a critical part of our local economy and our commitment to making our environment cleaner, but we need continued leadership from our state leaders to keep solar on track. We hope they will heed our letter and act quickly on these important solar policies.

As New York, New Jersey and even Pennsylvania start pushing into the clean energy future with aggressive plans to increase the solar industry, Massachusetts has been shockingly reticent and retiring about playing a significant role in growing the solar industry in the Northeast. It's mincing steps toward a solar future are a mystifying anomaly, and one that its legislators can fix right now - but time is running out. The legislative session ends on July 31. Massachusetts was one of the primary drivers of the American Revolution - and it's time they assumed their leadership in the Solar Revolution, too.

Bloom Goes Public. Count me in as positively surprised. Bloom Energy has gone public and left room for the shares to go up 63% during their first day. With ~300MW of capacity deployed, Bloom is largely viewed as the potential for distributed energy for corporates that make up their customer list. 16 years of operation before going public was not the plan but many people thought this day would never come, so congrats to the Bloom team.
Value Of DG (Again). This is a topic that is frightening, what happens if hackers take over a grid or power plants and cause a long term power outage. Utility execs will tell you that cybersecurity is one of their biggest worries and we continue to hear about the threat, Homeland Security officials started raising red flags a decade ago. We talk about the cost shift that IOUs claim about solar but this is a value to the grid that solar folks rarely get traction on or get credit for creating. If you want to read some of the best reasons to buy your solar neighbor a beer, make sure to read Vote Solar’s Adam Browning’s Twitter feed. 
Solar In Florida. Solar in Florida is going to grow at a rapid pace. Last year alone it doubled and this year it could double again before an exponential increase next year. I understand the Florida consumer and have heard my (former) neighbors talk about how badly they want solar. Moreover, you don’t have to ask any homeowners how much energy they use because with air conditioning you’ll never offset 100% of their usage. On the other hand, solar contractors that hope to go into the State will have to learn quickly that permitting and inspections are for real in Florida. You won’t get around installing subpar products without making sure that you are installing to the hurricane codes. In summary, don’t think you can give Floridians a cheap version of solar, you will have to plan on doing it the right way the first time.
Inside Look In SC Politics. This was the David vs. Goliath story that sounded like Goliath had exclusive access to special powers. South Carolina had all of the insider trading of an IOU exerting the power they have over the State legislators. I don’t know how much longer that power can exist before the largely republican legislators can no longer stand behind a monopoly when a free market is a better solution.
State Policies In MA and NJ. Keep your eyes and ears on the ongoing policies in MA and NJ. In MA, the solar industry is looking to increase the net metering cap once again and NJ is hoping to expand the market into the low income markets. Make sure to get a script and call list from your local solar advocates.

Have a great day!

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Have a great day!
Yann