This is your SolarWakeup for April 4th, 2018

Moves At SEIA Misguided. Earlier this year, SEIA approached members of their board, many of whom pay for the privilege, on the idea of inviting utilities to join SEIA as members. Many of the board members that were approached called in a non-starter but the idea went high enough at SEIA leadership that it was considered worth floating. The money has become more important to the association than the mission or its values in my opinion. I had to ponder what it meant to have the idea get enough support from leaders to discuss. In line with this new line of thought was the extension of the SEPA joint venture which produces SPI and in 2015 generated over $3.5million in profits to the owners. SEPA is focused on making utilities smarter with their energy systems, it’s not a solar association and in my opinion the values between the two entities no longer align enough to have the joint venture continue, alas it was renewed by the board. What’s next for SEIA in its search for what it stands for and what does that mean for you and its mission going forward? Here is Frank’s exclusive look inside. If you have an opinion on this, I’d love to hear it, please reply to this email and let us know what you think.

SC Solar Push. Hundreds of solar advocates took the fight in South Carolina to the Statehouse steps yesterday. Being this is South Carolina, this was not a partisan fight and focused on the jobs. You could have taken the signs from the protestors in Nevada and used them here which speaks to our message and focus. With the failed nuclear power plants plaguing the political discussion, solar could be the ideal outlet for economic development.

Solar In 2008. Do you remember solar in 2008? What information and advice do you wish you had then that you have today? Storage is like solar in 2008 is the trendiest buzzword in storage conversations but much of that is true. Financing products, innovation for consumers and lead gen are all topics. This article does a good job of going through some of the important issues.

Small Solar In Africa. Africa is such a great opportunity for solar and for the people to enjoy greater access to energy. Small solar upstarts have done a tremendous job growing their companies and deploying with great impact. The other side of that is large scale solar which displaces some of the most ingrained industries in the market and requires offtakers and regulators to work hand in hand, presenting new and different investment issues. I hope Africa does it all, small and large while also doing things like solar power street lights to improve the infrastructure.

SolarWakeup Live! Less than 1 week before we meet in San Francisco. There are some seats left for you to hear from some of the Bay area solar leaders. I hope you will join us for the afternoon. Reserve Your Seat.

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Have a great day!
Yann

SEIA Efforts To Court Utilities Misguided

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened:  Since January 1, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has made moves that indicate it is considering wooing utilities to become part of its membership – a move that may be well-intentioned but are far more likely to be self-defeating. SEIA President and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper told SolarWakeup last year that she was willing to talk to anyone (which apparently really does mean anyone) to expand the solar industry. In the past few months, SEIA floated the idea of bringing on utilities as members of the association to some board members. SEIA … Read More →

Tesla Solar Roof Reviews Start Rolling In

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened:  Inverse talked to one of the earliest adapters of the Tesla solar roof to ask what she thought of it – and suffice to say the customer has liked it a lot so far. “I’m thrilled to be an early adopter, and hope Tesla can find a way to streamline the process and price to make it available to the masses.” Ordered last May, the roof is now producing power – one of the first such installations in the country (but likely not the last). SolarWakeup’s View:  Haven’t we learned yet not to … Read More →

Puerto Rico Should Spread Its Solar Success

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened:  Casa Pueblo, an environmental nonprofit and community center in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, has kept its lights on continuously even after Hurricane Maria knocked out power to most of the rest of the island in September. How? A solar power system. Arturo Massol Deya, president of Casa Pueblo, told Yale Climate Connections that the center has been running on solar power for more than 20 years. Let’s be clear: While many of us on the mainland have been debating about whether solar power can replace the island’s grid, there’s actually a real-life case study … Read More →

This is your SolarWakeup for April 3rd, 2018

CCAs Go Solar Shopping. I am looking forward to interviewing Lindsay Saxby from Marin Clean Energy. Marin Clean Energy is one of the largest CCAs and they are currently looking for more solar as part of their RFP. They are also looking for energy storage. These are some of the topics I plan on getting information on. If you want to hear the answers to these things, you need to be at SolarWakeup Live! in person because the recording will not be posted until after the RFP is due. Use APRIL40 for 40% off your ticket to our exclusive event in San Francisco. There’s a single sponsor interview slot left if you are looking to reach the SolarWakeup audience with your message. As anyone that has come to our previous events will say, this isn’t the biggest crowd but its the most influential. Again, use APRIL40 to get 40% off your tickets.

SolarWakeup Bracket Challenge. Congrats to the winner of the SolarWakeup March Madness bracket. Nathan Arbitman of DSM Advanced Solar takes the victory with the correct Villanova prediction. In second place comes Tom Matzzie of CleanChoice Energy who was just a few points behind. Hats off to the Allie Detrio of Engie for a correct championship game but picked the wrong victor. Thank you to all for playing.

Jacksonville Stunts Solar. Jacksonville enjoys the double entendre, spending millions to bring Jinko’s factory to the City while at the same time killing its net metering policy. So the 50 jobs at the factory will be lost 6x in the market. The Jacksonville area has 347 solar jobs according to The Solar Foundation which will be at risk. It also shows that the regulatory uncertainty may have caused Jinko to lower its employment estimates. This whole situation is indicative of Florida’s solar market where allowing competition could  create 10’s of thousands of jobs but instead the focus is on leaving solar to a monopoly.

What Consumers Want. A poll has hit the all-time low of consumers worrying about the cost of energy while wanting the best environmental benefits from their electricity at much higher rates. That means consumers are willing to pay more to get cleaner energy sources in a market where cheapest today often wins the race. I am surprised that in a head to head, republicans still split 51/49 on renewables versus fossil, likely in a poll shift based on what the respondent feels they should answer.

What Consumers Get. Now that we see what consumers want, it’s good to see that they are getting some of that. With the ramp up of clean energy, US carbon emissions are coming down. These are positive notes but we can do so much more, let’s keep pushing and accelerate!

DTE Fights Back. This could be an interesting start to the Vote Solar tactic of opposing the natural gas power plant. Now DTE is proposing a renewables plan likely in a way to win over the opposition. Keep watching to see how much farther it can go.

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Have a great day!
Yann

Saudi Arabia Plans 5,000 Square Mile Solar Farm

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: Quartz Media reports that “Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Japanese multinational Softbank to build 200 GW of solar power by 2030 at a cost of $200 billion.” The math is pretty simple: The world’s current largest solar farm is the 1 GW Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park in India, which Quartz calculated covers 24 square miles. So if you multiply that by 200 – which is the factor bigger that the plant in Saudi Arabia would be – that would cover 5,000 square miles in … Read More →

Jinko Solar’s Incredibly Shrinking Jacksonville Factory

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: Wow. Just. Wow. Jinko Solar’s investment in Jacksonville, Florida, just keeps getting smaller with each passing story, having fallen from initial reports of more than $400 million in local investment and more than 800 jobs. In three months, the level of investment from the Chinese solar module manufacturer has fallen from $410 million to $50 million (an 88% decrease). Meanwhile, the city keeps throwing more money at the module manufacturer. Having initially approved slightly more than $23 million in incentives, they approved nearly $3.5 million last week. So for those of you keeping score … Read More →

This is your SolarWakeup for April 2nd, 2018

No April Fools. Use APRIL40 for 40% off your ticket to our exclusive event in San Francisco. There’s a single sponsor interview slot left if you are looking to reach the SolarWakeup audience with your message. As anyone that has come to our previous events will say, this isn’t the biggest crowd but its the most influential. Again, use APRIL40 to get 40% off your tickets.

Cheap Solar, Now Value. The BNEF report pretty much confirms reality. The battle for price of energy output has been won by renewables. No fuel cost assumptions make certain of that fact. There is no longer the need to battle for cheaper now that we’re sub 3 cents in sunny areas. Now is the time to talk about system value, value of DG, value of storage and putting some of that value into the ecosystem. That means contractors investing in higher margins for higher quality. Buying better roof mounting that doesn’t leak. Most of all we all need to invest in margins.

Legacy Power, Legacy Tricks. First Energy has been pushing for coal and nuclear subsidies through all the avenues, FERC, DOE and the White House. On Friday, it asked for emergency bailouts for the power plants that are not providing value to the system and have the Trump administration guarantee profits to the ailing power plants. After no positive response on the request, First Energy went to bankruptcy court late on Saturday to file for chapter 11 and look to restructure debt. Within the last 12 months I still had conversations with private equity firms that were open to acquiring these types of power plants but I have to think that those days are quickly ending.

Subsidized Manufacturing From Jinko. I enjoy the irony of the solar manufacturing plant receiving subsidies from the Florida government in response to a global tariff against solar modules because the foreign manufacturers are…subsidized. Explain the nuance of a State that is anti-solar, anti-competition for solar projects that is making the headlines by putting together subsidies with guarantees from ratepayers. This isn’t Jinko’s fault, they are a bystander in this and I want them in Florida. But more importantly, I want solar to be allowed to compete here.

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Have a great day!
Yann

Renewables, FTW! Price Drops Send Natural Gas Reeling

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: For. The. Win. A new report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance suggests renewables’ prices are falling so quickly that coal is dead and even natural gas may be on its deathbed. The cost of new solar plants dropped 20% over the past 12 months, while onshore wind prices dropped 12%, according to the latest Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) report. Since 2010, the prices for lithium-ion batteries — crucial to energy storage — have plummeted a stunning 79 percent, the report also indicates. The kill quote: “The economic case for building new coal and … Read More →

Jeff Flake Doesn’t Understand Baseload Power

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: People, I know he’s darn purty, but seriously, if you care about the future of energy in this country DO NOT think Jeff Flake is a 2020 savior, no matter what Sean Penn tells you. He doesn’t even understand the basics of energy baseload. In a recent speech at St. Anselm College’s New Hampshire Institute of Politics, in what was widely reported as the first speech of the 2020 Presidential campaign, Arizona (Short-Time) Senator Jeff Flake said that maybe, just MAYBE, the Republican Party should consider accepting climate change science and consider doing something … Read More →