Florida Public Service Commission OKs Sunrun’s Petition – So It’s Full Speed Ahead

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

What Happened:On a vote of 5-0, the Florida Public Service Commission has approved Sunrun’s request that its third party leases not be considered a sale of electricity and that:

Offering its solar equipment lease to customers in Florida will not cause Sunrun to be deemed a public utility under Florida law;

The residential solar equipment lease described in its petition will not subject Sunrun or Sunrun’s customer-lessees to regulation by the Commission.

SolarWakeup’s View: In a victory for third-party leasing in the state of Florida, Sunrun has JUST been granted the right to sell its products in the state of Florida.

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Sunrun asked the Florida Public Service Commission in Decemeber to declare that its third-party ownership business model wouldn’t instantly make them a regulated utility or penalize their customers under the same rules. The Commission voted unanimously to approve the staff recommendation.

The unanimity of the decision was surprising, given the legendary power of the utilities in the state. Some observers fully expected a decision on the petition to be postponed for more discussion, even after Sunrun voluntarily submitted a copy of its lease in March for the commission to peruse.

During the brief discussion, Sunrun was asked about its Florida website and whether homeowners had access to it, to which Sunrun responded that they would once the company started operating in the state officially (which, it should be noted, required passage of the declatory statement the company requested).

Now that Sunrun has blazed the trail, I’d expect more third-party leasing companies to flood the state. After all, a 2008 report from the Florida Public Service Commission suggested there is the potential of a 52 GW solar resource in Florida that is not currently being exploited.

“The Commission’s vote to grant our petition is a critical step toward broadening access to solar energy for Floridian households,” said Anne Hoskins, chief policy officer of Sunrun. “We are grateful for the time the Commission and technical staff spent promptly reviewing our petition and our Florida lease product and look forward to bringing additional solar energy choice to more people in the Sunshine State soon.”

“Sunrun is delighted to now be able to offer Floridians the opportunity to lease a solar system, enabling them to have clean, reliable, affordable solar power for their homes,” said Lynn Jurich, CEO and co-founder of Sunrun.

This article was edited at 10:45 am on 4/20/2018 to add comments from Anne Hoskins, chief policy officer of Sunrun.

This article was edited at 1:48 pm on 4/20/2018 to add comments from Lynn Jurich, CEO and co-founder of Sunrun.

More:

FPSC Staff Recommendation:

StaffReport

Original Sunrun Petition

OriginalSunrunPetition

Americans Tell Gallup: Develop More Solar, Please

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

What Happened: Gallup’s annual Environment survey indicates that Americans want to develop more alternative energy sources instead of traditional fossil-fuel generation, to the tune of 73%. (Psst…Gallup….Lynn Jurich called and would like her conclusion back, please. Thank you.)

In contrast, only 25% of the country is worried about the availability or affordability of energy in this country.
And finally, more than half of Americans want to prioritize environmental conservation over fossil-fuel energy development (which may mean that, for now, the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve is safe from oil derricks).

SolarWakeup’s View: All I keep hearing is how much Americans want to develop more solar energy. Poll after poll indicates that, including what I refer to as “the famous 90% poll” I’ve been hearing about since I joined the industry in 2011. Lynn Jurich of Sunrun posited as much in her latest thought-leadership piece.

The latest Gallup Environment survey is no exception.

According to the poll’s findings, 73% of Americans want the United States to wean itself of traditional fossil fuels and pour more research into alternative energy sources like solar and wind. And more than 50% prefer to protect the environment over more fossil fuel exploration.

So why does solar still find itself fighting an uphill battle in state after state to get itself established (in South Carolina, for example, where they were SO close to expandinig the industry but decided to kill it instead – sorry, my jaw is still dropped on that one)?

The answer is pretty easy, of course, and you know it deep in your soul – the coal, oil and gas industries are deeply entrenched in the political and utility infrastructure, and those interests are fighting a savage rearguard action to maintain their own power.

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But it’s a fight they will lose. The American people keep speaking, loudly, against their monopoly. Eventually, those voices will drown out the shrieking death throes of fossil fuel interests.

In the meantime, however, solar can’t just sit back and wait for this to happen. Americans have the attention spans of drunken gnats, so it’s incumbent on us to keep fighting to get the word out about the benefits of solar energy – as a job creator, as an environmental safeguard and as a national-security bulwark. I’ve always said that if we could activate the general public, solar would win this battle easily.

So let’s do it already – there are groups out there with whom an alliance to make this happen just makes sense. Make it happen in your community, and I’ll do what I can to make it happen in mine.

Deal?

More:

U.S. Energy Concerns Low; Increasing Supply Not a Priority (Gallup)

What Would Consumers Choose? (Solar. They Would Choose Solar.) (SolarWakeup, courtesy of Sunrun)

Solar United Neighbors

What Would Consumers Choose? (Solar. They Would Choose Solar.)

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

What Happened: Sunrun has produced a consumer-friendly report called Affordable, Clean, Reliable Energy, which asks the ever important question: What would consumers choose for their own electrical production?

In a delightfully readable format, Sunrun’s CEO Lynn Jurich posits that given a choice between a distributed-generation, renewable-energy based electrical system and the traditional fossil-fuel based one, consumers would choose the former.
She also forcefully lays out the case for solar as a job generator and calls for an end to the “war on solar” (now there’s a woman who knows how to use catchy slogans).
Lastly, Jurich argues in favor of removing the state-sponsored monopoly status from most utilities and letting the market decide what the best future for the U.S. electrical grid is. (You go, Lynn!)

SolarWakeup’s View: More of this, please.

Poll after poll after poll indicates that American consumers, by and large, prefer solar electricity. The most famous poll of all showed the number approaching 90%. So why have we failed so spectacularly to rally those throngs of solar-loving Americans behind policies that would help maintain and expand the industry beyond where it is now?

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I have a theory, and it has to do with the technical nature of our industry.

It’s easy to get excited about efficiency ratios, inverter harmonics and other deeply technical issues, and they are interesting to most people within the industry. But most American consumers are like me – the engineering aspects of solar, while interesting, wouldn’t be enough to get me off my couch and to a pro-solar rally.

That’s why Sunrun CEO Lynn Jurich’s new 32-page advocacy piece, Affordable, Clean, Reliable Energy is such a refreshing change from the typical pro-solar article. Jurich’s clear, concise article hits on two of the most compelling arguments for why consumers should – and do – choose solar energy:

Solar is a job generator.
Solar allows consumers to seize control of their own electric future.

Jurich also issues a challenge to utilities who, in many cases, seem scared to compete against solar: Let the free market decide. Remove the state-sponsored monopoly status that most utilities enjoy across the country and give consumers the choice of what kind of electrical future they want. Would they want a decentralized/cleaner/cheaper electricity-generation system;; or rebuilt 19th century centralized/dirty/fossil based one. Jurich bets they would choose the former.

It’s a message that more solar companies must do a much better job of proclaiming every day – and I thank Jurich for at least giving it a good start.

More:

Sunrun - Consumer Centered Energy April 2018

Sunrun Could Start Operating In Florida In Earnest Within A Month

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

What Happened:Sunrun is now one step closer to being able to operate without unreasonable restrictions after the staff of the Florida Public Utilities Commission (FPUC) has recommended that:

Sunrun’s residential solar equipment lease does not constitute a sale of electricity;
Offering its solar equipment lease to customers in Florida will not cause Sunrun to be deemed a public utility under Florida law;
The residential solar equipment lease described in its petition will not subject Sunrun or Sunrun’s customer-lessees to regulation by the Commission.

Because what would a post about Florida be without a photo of Disney World?

SolarWakeup’s View: It’s been a good year for Sunrun so far. Last month, they seized the leadership position in the U.S. residential segment from Tesla Energy. And this month, they are one step closer to being able to operate unfettered in a market that could soon be one of the hottest in the United States.

As I’ve written about extensively in previous career stops, Florida was the Bermuda Triangle of rooftop solar for years, in part because the state’s utility system wouldn’t allow the most popular residential funding mechanism at the time – third-party leasing – to exist. As a result, big third-party leasing companies refused to do business in a state in which it was uneconomical for them to operate.

The winds of change, however, have blown strong through Florida in the past two years, and starting after some significant legislative changes, third party companies have been lining up to enter the Sunshine State, including Sunrun.

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Before they start operating in earnest, however, Sunrun asked the FPSC in Decemeber to declare that its third-party ownership business model wouldn’t instantly make them a regulated utility or penalize their customers under the same rules. And while a final decision won’t come until May, the staff of the FPSC – which carries a lot of weight in most states’ regulatory systems – have recommended that the California-based residential solar installer be granted its requests, which include:

Sunrun’s residential solar equipment lease does not constitute a sale of electricity;
Offering its solar equipment lease to customers in Florida will not cause Sunrun to be deemed a public utility under Florida law;
The residential solar equipment lease described in its petition will not subject Sunrun or Sunrun’s customer-lessees to regulation by the Commission.

“We were thrilled to see a second formal staff recommendation, with another strong legal analysis, recommending that the Commission vote in favor of our petition,” said Anne Hoskins, Chief Policy Officer at Sunrun. “We are grateful for the amount of time staff has spent on this proceeding, and we look forward to answering any questions Commissioners may have about our Florida lease product during the April 20 Agenda Conference.”

Sunrun’s request will be considered at the next FPSC meeting on April 20, with a final decision being rendered on May 10. So stay tuned – things may be about to get intensely interesting in the Florida residential solar market.

Mark these dates on your calendar and weigh in as you wish.

More:

FPSC Staff Recommendation:

StaffReport

Original Sunrun Petition

OriginalSunrunPetition