Why Solar Permitting Matters And What You Can Do To Help: A Discussion With SEIA’s Abigail Ross Hopper

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

At the beginning of June, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) co-hosted a meeting in San Francisco, the purpose of which was to find ways to reduce extra costs associated with going solar. These costs, known as soft costs, include the cost of permitting, inspections, customer acquisition and other issues. SolarWakeup caught up with SEIA’s President and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper to discuss how the meeting went and what the next steps will be.

SolarWakeup: What was the purpose of this first meeting?

Abigail Ross Hopper (ARH): This was an introductory meeting, and as such, we think we did a nice job of laying the issues on the table. The next step broadly will be to identify concrete solutions, and determine specifically what it’s going to take to dramatically reduce soft costs. We see this as both a real and a critically important opportunity for the industry.

SWup: Why is the issue of permitting so important to the industry?

ARH: The process to design, permit, inspect and interconnect is much more burdensome in the United States than it is in other developed economies. Inconsistent interpretations of the rules (which can be national, regional, and local) from jurisdiction to jurisdiction makes the process inefficient and costly for both solar companies and permitting offices while also leading to customer frustration during a lengthy permitting process. That customer frustration can lead to contract cancelation, meaning all the time and money spent on such customers is lost and must be made up on systems that are completed. All in all, this contributes to a typical residential PV system in the U.S. costing about twice as much as a typical system in Australia. The current permitting and inspection process exists to ensure the safe installation of the system but there is a better, more effective way.

SWup: How can the industry participate?

ARH: Several organizations and companies, including Sunrun, Mosaic, SEIA and The Solar Foundation (TSF), are co-leading an effort, in collaboration with other companies and organizations, to develop a plan to thoughtfully streamline the process in the U.S. while maintaining high safety and quality of work standards. SEIA will build on the expertise and success of its Codes & Standards work and TSF will build off the work of its SolSmart program. Industry can participate and shape the campaign by joining SEIA and learning about and espousing to cities the successes of SolSmart.

SWup: What conclusions were reached at the meeting?

ARH: The participants are continuing discussions to develop and finalize an aggressive plan of action. Organizations and companies have seen a clear need to address this problem and have made commitments to work on this to reduce soft costs. More details to come soon.

SWup: What affect do you see these discussions having on the segment?

ARH: This is about making solar more affordable. More affordable means more accessible to more Americans and businesses. Cutting deadweight loss and unnecessary steps and costs benefit everyone.

SWup: What is the next step?

ARH: We’re continuing to build the coalition and assess what it is going to take to do this right. But real support in resources and funding from the industry will be crucial.

SWup: What policy prescriptions at the federal or state level can help move the needle on this?

ARH: This issue does not fall neatly into federal or state policy lines but there are opportunities to engage at national, state and local levels. All will be necessary in the end.

For more background on the permitting initiative outlined by Abby, you can catch Yann’s interview with Andrew Birch

Iowa Utility Could Be First To Reach 100% Renewables By 2021

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Under the radar, something happened last week that could send shockwaves through the renewables’ industry – in a good way.

MidAmerican Energy, a division of Berkshire Hathaway Energy (Warren Buffet’s joint), filed an application with the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) to establish ratemaking principles for a 591 MW. By itself, the application is unremarkable, but as usual, it’s the details that make this deal stand out.

If approved, the wind farm would allow MidAmerican to become the first utility in the country to be powered 100% by renewables in just three years. by 2021 to be exact. That’s potentially a huge development and one that could signal that the renewables revolution has finally arrived.

That it could happen in Iowa first would only be slightly surprising. After all, the state has been slowly but steadily growing a huge wind industry despite, if you’ll pardon the pun, strong political headwinds. And its politicians – even national ones like Senator Chuck Grassley (a staunch solar opponent but wind supporter) – have recognized the huge role renewables are playing in the state and have done (and are doing) things to make sure the renewables industries in the state continue to grow.

But what makes the transition to renewables truly fascinating is the effects it could have on other utilities in the Midwest. Utilities like First Energy (last seen fighting a rear-guard action to save its failing coal plants). Or Xcel Energy, currently pushing community and utility-scale solar hard in Minnesota. Or DTE Energy and Consumers Energy in Michigan – both of whom have pledged to be coal-free by 2040 and powered by 50% renewables by the same date. Or Illinois, where we will be later this week, which just passed its Long Term Renewables Resources Procurement Plan to focus the state on building its renewable energy infrastructure.

In other words, change is coming to the the Midwest faster than anyone could ever have imagined, and a positive decision in the MidAmerican Energy case could accelerate the timeline even more quickly.

Senate Should Reject Fossil Fuel Hawk for Renewable Energy Office

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

I can’t lie: I’d completely forgotten about poor ol’ Dan Simmons.

In a previous engagement, I’d written about Simmons when President Donald J. Trump appointed him as the interim head of Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), a post in which he’s served ever since. And I must admit the reason he’s fallen off my radar is that he hasn’t done anything so horrific as to raise red flags.

The EERE budget battles have raged on, with one side trying to slash the budget to the bone while Congress keeps reattaching the meat, to the consternation and I dare say irritation of many members of the administration (and to the fury of Bob Murray, a coal executive with whom Trump is tight).

For those of you who don’t know EERE, its primary mission is to provide technology assistance to renewable energy and has funded some of the latest breakthroughs in the solar industry. Money has continued to flow to research (even if it has been intermittently), and the office has at least treaded water instead of drowning.

So the damage that has been done by Simmons has been minimal, and with so many other anti-solar policies coming from the Trump Administration on seemingly a daily basis, the former conservative think-tanker didn’t make the cut of things I worried about.

Until now.

The Hill reports the Trump Administration is going to try to make the appointment of Simmons as the head of the EERE official, which would require Senate confirmation. Which is why I believe the Senate should actually do its duty and reject Simmons when he comes before them. His record as as an anti-renewables apostle is clear, though he does his best in interviews for the position he wants to fill to deny it. As The Hill notes:

[Simmons] previously served in leading roles at the Institute for Energy Research (IER) and the American Legislative Exchange Council, both conservative groups that generally oppose policies like tax credits and grants aimed at boosting solar, wind and other forms of renewable energy.

And this:

Simmons said in a 2013 Heartland Institute podcast that boosting renewable energy would hurt consumers.

“No matter what the renewable guys say, what they will admit is that their type of power — the wind and solar — is more expensive and will increase the price of electricity,” he said.

Does that sound like a guy who has any clue about the wind and solar industries? And does it sound like someone who should be anywhere near the EERE?

Right, of course it doesn’t – and it’s time to start calling our Senators to let them know that.

IPPs Are Starting To Bet Heavily On The Solar + Storage Game

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

It’s easy to get caught up in a solar + storage discussion that only focuses on batteries – but as independent power producers (IPPs) begin to realize how important solar + storage is going to be in their market, they are quickly realizing the question is far more complex than it seems on the surface.

IPPs like Vistra, for example, just signed a deal with FlexGen, an innovative storage provider that is focusing on adding storage to C&I and utility-scale projects, to design and integrate a 10-megawatt/42-megawatt hour FlexGen energy storage system (ESS) at Upton 2 Solar Power Plant in Texas.

When completed in late 2018, the energy storage system, using FlexGen’s Hybrid OS software, will allow Vistra to store inexpensive solar energy generated during the day and deliver it to customers during evening hours when demand is greatest, improving grid reliability. The lithium-ion energy storage project at Upton 2 will be the largest in Texas, and the seventh largest in the United States.

Vistra is seen to include storage in many more ways going forward especially in markets like New York and California according to their investor’s day presentation. In California alone, Vistra sees the potential of 4.5GW – 8.8GW of energy storage penetration.

With project financing at a premium, finding new and innovative ways to add storage to projects that enhance financing success is the next frontier of the storage race – and IPPs are racing forward into it with wild abandon.

FlexGen, which has been in operation for nearly a decade, is in a position to capitalize on a growing market where consolidation has already taken some of the biggest names off the market. The company has a unique capability to also work on DC-coupled projects, where systems place storage devices between the solar modules and the inverter, instead of the traditional configuration of putting it behind the inverter. It means there are fewer components to install, meaning there are fewer parts to break down. In addition, you eliminate the unnecessary step of converting DC power to AC power (at the inverter) and then back to DC power (at the storage level) and then back to AC to deliver the electricity to the offtaker.

Every storage project is different, based on the market dynamics that create the revenue flow. The solar and power industry is seeing the future is more complicated than calling the lithium manufacturers and having batteries sent to the site. The system, power electronics and software need to work in sync to ensure total life cycle operations match the modeled expectations.