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

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

By the time you read this, polls will have already opened on the East Coast. It’s your opportunity to shape the country in which you live, so get out today and vote like your life depends on it.

In several states – Arizona and Nevada leap immediately to mind – clean energy is on the ballot. In both states, constitutional amendments are on the ballot that would raise the renewable portfolio standards (RPS) to 50% by 2030. Both amendments have been hard fought contests, with progressive billionaire Tom Steyer fighting hard against entrenched utility interests (especially in Arizona) to put the issue before the voters.

And one day before the vote, the Solar Energy Industries Association and Vote Solar (in the personages of Abigail Ross Hopper and Adam Browning) penned an op-ed urging Nevada voters to support Question 6, which is how the amendment appears on the ballot.

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The op-ed starts out with a strong clarion call, appealing to voters on both sides of the aisle:

Nevada families will head to the polls tomorrow and cast their ballots in a host of hotly contested races. But whether you’re a Republican, Democrat or Independent, there are two things all voters agree on: They want clean air and they want prosperity.

Clean air and prosperity. That’s a winning combination of issues. Instead of framing it as strictly a solar issue – on which there is still a divide between those who understand solar and those who have yet to learn about it – SEIA and Vote Solar decided instead to frame the issue as being a pocketbook and overall health issue. And that messaging, I must say, is brilliant.

I’ve been critical in the past of SEIA for what I saw as its difficulty in finding its political voice, particularly at the state level. But the more I see of the new, aggressive tone of the asssociation – and its increased willingness to fight for issues at the state level – the more impressed I’ve become.

More:

Yes on Question 6 Means Less Pollution, More Jobs

Consumer Reports Finds Consumers Like Renewables, Hate Utilities

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Steve Hanely over at CleanTechnica reports that a new Consumer Reports’ survey reinforces what most of you have known since you joined the solar industry – renewable energy is popular among Americans.

In words someone like me can appreciate (because I wish I’d written them first), Hanley writes:

The Trump maladministration wants to choke us all with more emissions from coal-fired generating plants, but a survey of 1200 Americans conducted by GfK for Consumer Reports finds the vast majority of Americans want more renewable energy and less power plant pollution. The survey also reveals that plenty of utilities seem to have a credibility issue with their customers. Consumers Union has submitted the results of the survey to the EPA as part of the public comment process on rolling back the Clean Power Plan that ended October 31.

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But it’s even better than that. According to the survey, 81% of thsoe surveyed say they want their power plants to produce less pollution, and that even included the four states where the majority of power is produced by coal (those states would be Ohio, Tennessee, Illinois and Virginia). So here’s a news flash: renewable energy is even popular in coal country, something I’ve been telling you since the Kentucky Coal Museum switched over to solar power last year.

But here’s the other finding of the survey that Hanley highlights and that should strike fear into the hearts of utility executives across the country: Consumers don’t trust utilities to do the charge fair prices and provide excellent service. I don’t know why they don’t trust their utilities.

Oh wait, yes I do. It’s because their utilities lie to them all the time, especially when it comes to solar and the fake “cost shift” they are constantly going on about.

The Consumer Reports survey just proves what most of us have known all along. The renewables revolution is coming, and utilities better figure out how to harness that revolution or they will be assigned to the ash heap of history right quick.

More:

Consumer Reports Survey Finds Most Americans Want More Renewable Energy

Texas Is Next State To Get Sunnova Solar + Storage

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Texas is one of the sleeping giants of the solar industry. With it high isolation rates, it’s been predicted that given its way, solar from Texas could actually power the entire country. In other words, it’s a powerhouse waiting to happen.

And now homeowners in the state have the opportunity to put solar + storage at their homes thanks to an expansion by a homegrown solar company that is slowly expanding its national footprint.

Sunnova Energy Corporation announced today the expansion of its Sunnova SunSafe solar plus battery storage service offering to homeowners in the company’s home state of Texas. Sunnova is one of the first residential solar plus storage service providers to offer solar plus battery storage in the Lone Star State. In addition, Sunnova is the only residential solar service provider to offer a 25-year solar plus battery storage contract with a comprehensive warranty and performance guarantee ensuring long-term peace of mind for homeowners.

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“There are two things you should never bet against—adoption of technology and consumer choice. And in Texas we’re seeing that firsthand with the demand of residential solar plus storage. Sunnova’s newly available solar plus battery storage offering provides Texan homeowners with an added layer of energy reliability and freedom that utilities can’t provide,” said William J. (John) Berger, Chief Executive Officer of Sunnova Energy Corporation. “Texas has been the epicenter for transformative energy technologies for years and, as such, it’s only fitting that homeowners across our Lone Star State will play a critical role in our mission to help power energy independence.”

Sunnova’s SunSafe offering in Texas is a customized solar plus battery storage technology system designed to replace much of the energy homeowners normally consume from the electrical grid, day and night. It maximizes the use of the energy produced by the solar system, significantly reducing consumer dependence upon the grid and in some cases eliminating it all together. Unlike solar-only power systems that do not have a battery, it will also continue to produce and store energy when the power grid is down or idle, giving homeowners back-up power for their critical loads.

“In Texas, we’ve seen firsthand the devastation caused by storms and hurricanes, and homeowners across the state want to ensure they’re protecting their families from extended power outages and electricity instability,” said Michael Grasso, Chief Marketing Officer for Sunnova Energy Corporation. “By offering Sunnova SunSafe, homeowners are given that peace of mind knowing that they’ll have reliable energy, day and night.”

In addition to Texas, Sunnova also offers the service in Hawaii, Arizona, California, Puerto Rico and Massachusetts.

Vivint Solar Plans To Grow California Operations Aggressively In Anticipation Of 2020

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

California has the most aggressive solar plans in the nation. This is no surprise. Between the 100% renewable portfolio standard (RPS) (which in the Golden State means solar) to its mandating that all new construction must have solar panels on them starting in 2020, it’s clear the legislature and the people of California have gone all in on the Solar Revolution.

But that would mean nothing if there is no one to serve the burgeoning market. Which is why the most recent announcement from Vivint Solar is so exciting that they are expanding their solar leasing program to the entire state.

Vivint Solar, a leading full-service residential solar provider, announced it has launched a new fixed rate solar lease plan. Initially available in select markets in California, the new solar plan allows new customers to install solar panels for no money down, lease them from Vivint Solar for 20 years and pay the same fixed monthly payment over the entire contract term.

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The new offering underscores Vivint Solar’s commitment to expand the solar plans homebuilders can offer to homebuyers as they prepare for California’s 2020 mandate requiring rooftop solar installations on new homes. In collaboration with Vivint Solar, homebuilders in California can offer multiple solar plans to homebuyers, who will have the opportunity to choose their preferred financing option.

“In order to provide a best-in-class customer experience, we must continue to diversify the ways homeowners can go solar and save money on energy bills,” said Vivint Solar CEO David Bywater. “This new solar plan introduces a simple, flexible option for embracing clean, renewable energy and gives new customers the assuredness that they will pay the same amount for solar energy in 2038 as they will in 2018.”

Vivint Solar expects to extend the fixed rate solar lease plan to additional states in the coming months.