This is your SolarWakeup for November 10th, 2021
A New High-water Mark. In a landmark deal, the home alarm company, ADT, acquires Sunpro Solar the southeastern giant that has grown dramatically over the past few years. I may be biased, I’m a big fan of what Marc Jones and his team at Sunpro have done to build that company. Solar isn’t always the easiest business but ask any of his suppliers and manufacturer partners and you’ll find a consistent nod of approval. ADT knows how to sell a tough in-home product and utilities have been sitting on the sidelines worried about alarm companies getting into the energy business. The public markets also liked the deal, rewarding the stock price with over 12% increase on the day. ADT Solar will be knocking on a home near you, with over 100,000 field reps, how will that translate to a change in the solar landscape and what’s next in the market?
How Will The Market React? You’ve got a new benchmark for valuation in the space. Last month, SunPower acquired Blue Raven and now ADT buys Sunpro for a huge number. When you no longer need to sell on the future of a market, folks see over the horizon into the future and know they should be in this space. AAA launched a smart home, home alarm company, a few years ago, will they match ADT in this move? We already saw Vivint do it, but they separated those companies instead of leveraging the smart home environment. Look for new investments in this space now that exit opportunities can be reached, that should make it fun for everyone.
Looking At Generac Again. Last week, Generac acquired Ecobee, which makes not only a thermostat but also smart home products and alarm hardware. They don’t have the in-house sales force like ADT but there’s an overlap that’s becoming more obvious when you look at it on a more holistic level. What it means for consumers is a whole other question…
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This is your SolarWakeup for November 9th, 2021
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This is your SolarWakeup for November 8th, 2021
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This is your SolarWakeup for November 5th, 2021
Electrification, Not Generation Transition. This is becoming increasingly obvious to me, the energy transition is not primarily driven by the change of fuel creating electricity but by the fact that the end use of energy is in the form of electricity. Said differently, gas stations are becoming charging stations and stoves are going induction. Once you think about the energy system in this form, end use versus production type, you can see the change in business models that are ahead and allow you to build your solar business beyond the installation into the long term, what will the homeowner do with this self production?
Oil Major Pivot. I’ve said this before but oil companies are getting into electricity markets beyond where they’ve been for decades. This will represent the first time that oil majors and utilities will compete for consumers having stayed on their side of consumer spending for a century without getting in each other’s way. In deregulated markets, oil companies are far more advanced in energy trading than utilities, but within regulated environments, competition will be hard to come by. Bill Gates made the point that some oil companies could fail, which is possible but unlikely in my opinion. The truth in that statement is that electricity could be considered far easier to commoditize than oil or gas.
Your Voice In Solar. We need to make it easier for people to get solar, not harder. Rooftop solar gives everyday Californians the power to control their energy bills and keep the lights on. The Public Utilities Commission will make a decision on net metering on December 10, we must ensure that they see that California supports rooftop solar! It’s easy and only takes 30 seconds to sign here: https://bit.ly/SaveCASolarFriend
A Global Launch. Congrats to the team at OpenSolar for hosting their global launch event and creating version 2.0 of this incredible (and free) design, proposal and project management tool for installers. Check out the recorded event if you missed it.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for November 4th, 2021
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This is your SolarWakeup for November 3rd, 2021
Rejoined. Biden and leaders from around the world make new pledges which for the first time in several years includes the United States once again.
Watch Your Methane. The byproduct of oil and gas production can be a powerful means to normalize the societal costs of fossil fuels, a methane reduction standard could be impactful.
A Better Place For A TukTuk. Oil giant, Vitol, is changing the tuktuk game in India. With their incredible (and global) renewables platform, they are electrifying buses in Bogota and investing in a battery swapping company that is targeting the 160 million 2 and 3 wheelers in India. It was a vision that Jeff Bezos had, but not becoming true.
Clean Your iPhone. Apple wants their suppliers to step up, using their purchasing strength to make sure their vendors are doing more to match the tech company’s stated goals.
Generac Into Your Home. Generac is acquiring Ecobee for $770million. From generators to batteries, the company is looking to create a whole home supply and demand market. I wonder if their new marketing will be, “Your home is a DER.”
Don’t Miss It. OpenSolar’s 2.0 launch is today, make sure you catch their incredible leap in technology that is used by installers around the world.
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Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for November 2nd, 2021
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This is your SolarWakeup for November 1st, 2021
Creating Version 2. My friends at OpenSolar have decades of resi solar experience and now, after years of the free proposal tool for installers, are deploying Version 2.0. You can catch the release on November 3rd, I’ll definitely be tuning in.
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This is your SolarWakeup for October 29th, 2021
Build Back Better, For Ten Years. The White House released the tax credits in the Build Back Better budget reconciliation. Climate related policies represent $555billion and clean energy tax credits are front and center. A ten year extension of the ITC remains with a plethora of support for the infrastructure improvements that we are all in the middle of creating.
A Storage IPO. Congrats to the team at Fluence for an incredibly successful IPO and first day of trading. It represents the future of the grid transition is with energy storage. Here’s to a rising tide for all in the sector.
Creating Version 2. My friends at OpenSolar have decades of resi solar experience and now, after years of the free proposal tool for installers, are deploying Version 2.0. You can catch the release on November 3rd, I’ll definitely be tuning in.
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This is your SolarWakeup for October 28th, 2021
Closing A Deal. As COP26 comes up quickly, Joe Biden is looking to close a deal as opposed to THE deal he may have been hoping for. In a game of whackamole, the President is having to negotiate 50 separate deals and can’t afford to lose a single vote, threatening one on the left for every notch he gives to the moderates.
Conservation Of Energy, The Delivery Can Change. The headlines, as oil and gas CEOs come to DC, is that fuel companies are in denial. That may not be false, but sometimes lost in the summary is what is really happening to the market. We all learned about conservation of energy in physics class so let’s translate that concept to the energy transition within transportation and homes. Energy will still be consumed to drive or cook you meal, the method of delivery is changing from fuel to electrons. The power availability will remain the same and possibly the only thing changing is the location of the fuel need, i.e. from a gas stove to a gas power plant. So take a step back and realize that while the fuel mix in generation is changing, it’s a unique change from the bigger transition happening in how that energy is being delivered. That’s the transition that is creating a new grid that is far more dynamic, complex and constantly expanding and contracting.
Getting To Glasgow. Not since Paris has a COP been this hyped up in importance. The outcome be could maintain the global focus on fighting climate change and how to adapt to the evolving market opportunity.
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Yann