Op-Ed Argues In Favor Of More Robust Louisiana RPS

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

The key to a booming Louisiana solar industry is a stronger renewable portfolio standard (RPS), according to an op-ed written a solar advocate from the Natural Resources Defense Council in The Lens, a newspaper focusing on New Oreleans and the Gulf Coast of the state.

After discussing the benefits of community solar and a place for it in the electricity generation mix of the Pelican State, author Kevin Fitzwilliam then proceeds to argue that a strong RPS is necessary to drive solar development in the state, a fact so obvious it’s hard to even believe it needs to be said (but apparently it does, and kudos to Fitzwilliam for saying it.

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The op-ed reopens a discussion that was closed in 2013 after several studies determined that a mandatory RPS wasn’t needed, according to the solar regulatory clearinghouse DSIRE. Researchers at DSIRE wrote:

Three major reasons given not to pursue an RPS were 1) that renewable energy generation is more expensive than conventional energy generation, 2) that rising natural gas prices have put renewables at a cost disadvantage, and 3) that federal interest in mandatory RPS goals appeared to be limited at the time.

That last is a particularly strange argument, given that on almost every other issue, federal attitudes about anything would be roundly ignored in Louisiana politics. But now, according to Fitzwilliam, the first two arguments have fallen away, too. He writes:

The bad news is that Louisiana doesn’t have the mandate to develop renewables that is brightening Minnesota’s energy future. And without one, there is no top-down pressure on utilities to get smart about solar.

Without such pressure, Fitzwilliam argues, Louisiana will never be able to get the robust community solar market it both deserves and needs. As he concludes:

Today’s U.S. electric grid has 50 times as much solar energy as was available in 2007, and community solar is helping to grow that amount. As more states across the country adopt legislation mandating renewable energy, community solar will become more commonplace. With all our abundant sunshine, it’s time for Louisiana to come off the sidelines and get in the game.

We couldn’t agree more with Fitzwilliam. It’s time for Louisiana to take another look at a mandatory RPS before it falls far behind its fellow southern states in the Solar Revolution.

More:

Leap to solar in Louisiana requires mandating that utilities use renewables

DSIRE: Louisiana

Isn’t That Convenient? Duke Energy Launches Community Solar After Net Metering Cap Hit

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Last week during Intersolar North America, Duke Carolinas announced it had hit its 2% net metering cap in South Carolina for residential solar installations, meaning anyone that installs after August 1 will be compensated under less generous net metering rules.

And low and behold, a week later, Duke Energy opens its first community solar farm in the state.

Fancy that.

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I’m sure you can see my two minds fighting with themselves over here. On the one hand, I’m all about community solar. As someone whose house is not optimally oriented to have solar on my roof, I’m on the email every couple of months or so begging my mayor to start a community program in my home town (Hi Mayor Welo!). On the other hand, it’s pretty convenient that the community solar program only starts when most South Carolinians within Duke’s service area won’t be ABLE to put solar on their roofs for full compensation.

Here’s a quotation from Kodwo Ghartey-Tagoe, state president for Duke Energy in South Carolina, about the “Shared Solar Program” (Duke South Carolina’s community solar program) from the release announcing the program:

This is a great program for any customers who don’t own their residence or are unable to put a solar facility on their property. We estimate that residential customers will earn back their initial payment in credits from the solar array in three years. Customers are not only saving on their electric bill, they are directly supporting a renewable energy future in South Carolina for generations to come.

Huh. “Unable to put a solar facility on their property.” After the utility (and, in fairness, other utilities in the state) put the kibosh on raising the net metering cap a few months ago, thereby putting a lot of people in the position of being “unable to put a solar facility on their property” because it was no longer financially viable.

Now, I’m not suggesting there’s some great conspiracy here. It’s actually a brilliant business decision, looked at from strictly that perspective. I just feel a bit sorry for the South Carolinians who are now at Duke’s mercy when it comes to deciding from where they can buy their solar electricity.

More:

Duke region hits South Carolina net metering cap

Just Call Him Nostradamus Brandt: He Predicted The Moss Landing Storage Deal Two Weeks Ago

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

You know how some people claim to have the gift of seeing the future? Well, I’m lucky enough to know someone who actually does see the future, and his name is Yann Brandt.

OK, Yann won’t be doing palm readings at the Quick Mount PV booth at Intersolar next week or anything like that (note to Yann: a side business, perhaps?), but he was prescient enough to foresee the largest solar + storage deal announced yesterday at Moss Landing in California two weeks before it happened.

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On June 19, Yann wrote:

What if, Vistra’s portfolio is replaced by storage? I don’t mean around the edges but MW for MW of capacity. I know this is a hypothetical but if you read the expectations from the Vistra investor’s day presentation, you see that they expect big storage in CA and NY in particular.

And low and behold, 14 days later, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) announces that it has contracted with Tesla and Vistra to build the two largest storage projects in the country. Yann had it down even to the company (Vistra). It’s clear Yann has a knowledge of the market and can see things others can’t, and he deserves his props for getting this one right.

Of course, the bigger picture here is the doom it spells for natural gas peaker plants, which until recently had been the backup-power solution of choice for California and other utilities across the country. Then California’s Public Utilities Commission started clamping down on peaker-plant applications and telling utilities to get on the storage bandwagon right quick.

What the PG&E case tells everyone is that massive storage plants are possible and even preferable to natural gas – and that could spell the end of natural gas’ reign as a “transition fuel.” What is likely to happen now is that other utilities commissions are going to see what’s going on in California and start demanding the same storage commitment from their utilities. And as storage prices continue to fall, look for that to happen quickly around the country.

Now everyone email Yann and ask him what numbers you should choose for the lottery – the guy seems to have a knack for seeing into the future.

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PG&E Proposes World’s Biggest Batteries to Replace South Bay Gas Plants

Iowa Utility Backs Off Its Usurious Beyond Solar Program, Moves To Community Solar Instead

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

One year after making its request, Interstate Power & Light, an Iowa utility, has backed off its plan to offer electricity from existing solar and wind project at higher prices to its customers, formally withdrawing the proposal from before the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB), according to a report in Midwest Energy News.

Instead, the utility has issued requests for proposals for community solar projects ranging from 2 MW to 7 MW. It will take bids through July 25 and hopes to have a finalized plan before the IUB by September.

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The premium pricing scheme, called “Beyond Solar” (an odd name since the proposal included selling electricity generated from existing solar arrays – but we digress), came under sharp criticism from solar advocates because of the built-in discrepancy between what solar users would pay under the plan compared with what non-solar users would pay. The utility called it a “premium” service to justify the gap, but what it was really was a practice akin to usury.

As a non-solar utility, Interstate Power & Light must have surveyed the rest of the Midwest and realized they were quickly becoming a dinosaur in its own region. Illinois just passed its progressive Long-Term Renewables Resources Procurement Plan. Minnesota has a burgeoning community solar program. Even in Michigan, the utilities there have pledged to go coal-free by 2040 and invest heavily in solar energy over that same time period.

And while Iowa has been known for its wind development (having high-profile advocates like Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst didn’t hurt), solar has been slow to develop there. It’s unclear exactly what caused this about face, but it’s about time.

As Josh Mandelbaum from the Environmental Law & Policy Center told Midwest Energy News:

I think they are legitimately trying to engage with stakeholders. We’re certainly appreciative of the continued effort and the fact we’re headed in the right direction.

Perhaps this new community solar plan will light the solar fire in the state so it can join its other Midwest brethren and sistren in joining the solar revolution.

More:

After criticism, Iowa utility takes new approach with solar offering