Consolidation Comes To Energy Storage Market As NantEnergy Buys Sharp Properties

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

For those of us who love the solar industry, storage is the next frontier. If we can figure out how to marry solar + storage, then the rest of the market opens up and mass adoption arrives in a big green wave.

But much like the solar module manufacturing segment of the industry, there are too many battery manufacturers out there in the market. To allow companies to make money and thrive – meaning keeping innovation and breakthrough ideas alive – consolidation is a critical part of that equation.

So when a company like NantEnergy, which currently focuses on zinc-air batteries, purchases the lithium-ion technology arm of Sharp Electronics, some of us sign with relief and suggest that this kind of consolidation will actually move the industry forward rather than make it take a step back.

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What makes me even more sanguine about this purchase is that NantEnergy appears to be keeping the entire staff of Sharp’s Energy System and Services Group on board, including its founder Carl Mansfield, who will join NantEnergy as a vice president. In other words, they have decided not to pretend they have all the answers and recognize that there is intelligence and innovation to be found in places other than within their insular four walls.

Mansfield himself recognizes the importance of this approach, too. He’s quoted in the release as saying this:

“The SmartStorage team continually aims to make energy storage accessible, affordable and simple for our customers, guaranteeing that performance will be delivered,” Carl Mansfield said. “NantEnergy’s proven technologies will enable us to offer new SmartStorage products and expanded capabilities in the future. I have ultimate confidence in the direction and promise of SmartStorage and NantEnergy, and I look forward to working with a leadership team that shares my passion for growing and innovating in the energy storage market.”

I have great hopes for this consolidation not only to work, but to thrive because NantEnergy isn’t trying to put its own stamp on what had already been a successful business venture. Here’s hoping they give Mansfield the autonomy necessary to continue growing this side of the business so all of us in the solar industry, including NantEnergy, can benefit from his expertise.

Vivint Solar Crosses 1 GW Threshold in Residential Installations

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

In the hoopla surrounding Tesla Home Energy and Sunrun as they battle it out for the top spot in the residential solar installation business, it’s easy to forget about who is in second place – and who is installing solar at an ever-increasing pace as its steady growth continues to show.

Vivint Solar announced it has installed 1 gigawatt (GW) of solar energy systems since its launch. The company installed 1 GW in just seven years, making it one of the fastest residential solar providers to reach this significant milestone. Vivint Solar first announced the achievement yesterday when it reported third quarter 2018 financial results.

Founded in 2011, Vivint Solar has become a national leader in residential solar, helping more than 146,000 customers in 22 states enjoy the benefits of affordable, renewable energy.

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“We’re extremely proud of the entire Vivint Solar team for their contributions to this remarkable achievement,” said Vivint Solar CEO David Bywater. “The impact we have made on the environment and in the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans by enabling them to power their homes with clean energy is immensely rewarding. We are confident that the quality of our installations and incredible customer experience will continue to differentiate us in the residential solar market.”

Deploying 1 GW of solar power underscores Vivint Solar’s success in evolving from offering a single product in a single sales channel to a flexible, customizable home renewable energy platform available to consumers across multiple channels. Under Bywater’s leadership, the company has pursued a sustainable growth strategy and focused on more profitable markets, solidified its capital position and diversified its solar plans to include loans and enhanced lease options, which have become rapidly adopted by customers. Vivint Solar has also strived to lead the industry in workmanship and quality control standards for installations.

“There has never been a more exciting time to be at Vivint Solar. Achieving 1 gigawatt of solar installations further validates our roadmap as we work to innovate and become the most trusted, best-run residential solar company in the world,” said Bywater. “Above all, I am proud to lead a company of over 3,500 outstanding employees who are committed to delivering a best-in-class customer experience and passionate about providing choice and control in energy generation and consumption.”

Just in 2018, Vivint Solar’s financial and strategic achievements include a solar-plus-storage solution with LG Chem batteries, the largest residential solar asset-backed securitization to date and an innovative multi-party forward flow funding arrangement, and three new tax equity funds to expand the runway for future transactions. In addition, the company announced a collaboration for new home construction in California with one of the nation’s largest homebuilders.

The Energy Show: Protecting Your Rights to Go Solar with Dave Rosenfeld

The Energy Show: By Barry Cinnamon

We take it for granted that you can install solar on your home or business anytime, just as you can make any other energy saving improvement. Unfortunately, the reality is there are a host of restrictions on solar and battery storage. Many of these restrictions are due to arbitrary regulations (solar panels cannot be visible from the street), as well as rules promulgated by utilities to maximize their profits. Riddle me this, Solarman: why does your local utility encourage you to install an 8 kw EV charger, but makes it extremely complicated (sometimes impossible) to install a 2 kw rooftop solar system?

Incumbent industries have economic power behind them. Utilities spend hundreds of millions of dollars to suppress competition from rooftop solar, compared to the million or so dollars spent by most state solar industries. But polls show that 95% of the population favors solar. Although the solar industry is at a financial disadvantage, there are tens of millions of people in the U.S. that benefit – either directly or indirectly – from the solar industry. The challenge is organizing this grass roots army to advocate for cleaner and and more affordable energy sources.

The Solar Rights Alliance was founded to empower these millions of solar citizens. Its mantra is everyone should have the right to generate his or her own power directly from the sun — and that no monopoly or special interest should try to block or own the sun.

Our special guest on this week’s Energy Show is Dave Rosenfeld, Executive Director of the Solar Rights Alliance. He’s spent his career building movements and institutions that expand freedom, liberty and justice including work with the National Public Radio, The Public Interest Research Group, and the Public Interest Network. Grass roots advocacy has been effective in making many big changes in our democracy, and Dave is working hard to deploy this growing army of solar enthusiasts to make solar cost effective and available to everyone.

Voters Deliver Split Decision On Parallel RPS Ballot Initiatives

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Tom Steyer is waking up this morning to the realization that when you get involved in politics – particularly clean energy politics – sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.

In Arizona and Nevada, Steyer had worked tirelessly to support two constitutional amendments, one in each state, that would have cemented the goal of a 50% renewable portfolio standard by 2030 into law. And just like the rest of the country, the results from those initiatives turned out to be a mixed bag.

In Nevada, voters decided to pass the amendment with 60% of the vote, paving the way for solar to flourish in the state a mere three years after the Public Utilities Commission tried to destroy the rooftop industry by unceremoniously (and suddenly) eliminating net metering without warning.

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Now the vote in Nevada isn’t final. Voters will have to approve it again in two years for it to take effect. But with 60% of the vote in favor, it appears likely that it will find its way to approval in two years and then into the state’s constitution. The state’s current RPS is 25%, putting it well behind other states with equal insolation rates.

On the other hand, Steyer’s attempts to pass a similar amendment in Arizona went down in flames. The ballot initiative faced heavy opposition from the state’s largest utility, Arizona Public Service, which spent hand over fist to defeat Proposition 127, which would have done for Arizona what Question 6 could do for Nevada.

In a particularly provincial, gloating manner, an spokesman for the issues group funded by APS told Arizona Central that Arizonans wouldn’t have their energy decisions dictated to them by outsiders all the way from … California.

“Arizonans support clean energy, but not costly, politically driven mandates,” said Matthew Benson, chairman of the opposition group funded by APS’ parent company. “Arizonans support solar power and renewable technology, but not at the expense of an affordable, reliable energy supply. Arizonans prefer to choose our own energy future rather than have it dictated to us by out-of-state special interests.”

So while the rest of the country is trying to figure out what effects the midterms will have on national politics, clean energy advocates are looking at the results in Nevada and Arizona and asking themselves the same questions. Only time will tell which of these outcomes dictate a trend (if, in fact, either of them do).

More:

Arizona voters reject clean-energy measure Proposition 127 by large margin

SEIA’s Closing Argument To Nevada: Yes On Question 6