Does Storage Salvage States In A Post Net-Metering World? A Q&A With Sunnova

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Residential installer Sunnova left the Arizona market when it decided the regulatory environment was too unstable for it to function effectively. Now it has decided to return with a solar + storage offering. SolarWakeup wanted to find out what made it change its mind and come back to the Grand Canyon State.

SolarWakeup (SWup): What has changed about Arizona that has encouraged Sunnova to come back to the state?

Kelsey Smith, Sunnova Director of Public Relations (KS): Two things: The first is that there is more regulatory certainty about how the state plans to value solar. We still believe credits for excess solar generation should still be at retail rate but, although credits are now slightly lower, we at least have a better sense of what they are. And the second thing is that batteries are quickly coming down in price and it makes a lot of sense to pair them with solar in Arizona to help mitigate the cost of things like time of use rates and demand charges.

SWup: Why did Sunnova leave in the first place?

KS: The regulatory uncertainty in the state and the lack of clarity about how utilities were going to compensate solar customers combined with SRP’s demand charges made it difficult to do business for a while in AZ.

SWup: Does Sunnova think batteries are the solution for states that have dismantled/are dismantling net metering?

KS: We do. Having a battery to store excess solar generation negates any need to use the grid to absorb that generation. At some point, we think that the majority of customers will have batteries, and utilities will be incenting them to use the grid more by offering net-metering.

SWup: Have prices in the battery market finally reached levels that make it a good investment for your average homeowner?

KS: Battery prices have continued to improve year over year and the answer to a good investment is really dependent on two different issues. 1) Price of electricity: if the cost for a kWh from the utility is high enough then it can absolutely justify the cost of a battery to defer solar usage during the home’s peak usage or during utility on-peak rates (for TOU). 2) the value a homeowner puts on reliability and peace of mind. So, yes, while the reasons may vary, we see solar plus storage as a solid investment for energy resiliency, independence and reliability in AZ.

SWup: What does Sunnova’s solar + storage arrangement look like?

KS: In Arizona, we are offering our Sunnova SunSafe™ solar plus storage offering as both a lease and a loan, which both come with our 25-year Sunnova Protect warranty.

SWup: What makes Sunnova think Arizona is ripe for a solar + storage revolution?

KS: Arizona is a legacy solar market – Sunnova’s first solar market—and beyond that, it’s a sunny state with a healthy solar market. With the ongoing tumult in energy policy and pricing, we feel that energy storage provides the flexibility needed to respond to a rapidly changing energy environment. We know customers in Arizona want choices when it comes to their energy and we feel that we can provide them with just that while enhancing their energy service through energy storage as well as smart home products that improve efficiency and economics in the home.

Those Crazy Radicals In Burlington, Vermont, Are At It Again

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

It was the first city in the United States to become powered by 100% renewables. Now Burlington, Vermont, and its radical electrical utility are at it again – they have issued a request for proposals to become the first net-zero (NZE) city in the country.

If it succeeds, Burlington could blaze a new trail for cities across the country the way it did with it commitment to renewable energy. After all, until Burlington did it, you never heard anyone else talk about such aggressive and lofty goals, did you? You did not.

Now 72 other cities have joined the commitment, according to the Sierra Club’s “Ready for 100” list. So how exciting would it be to see the same commitment to net zero after Burlington proves you can do it?

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First, though, the electric utility – the largest municipal utility in the United States with 21,000 customers – has to complete its RFP, which states:

Our concept of an NZE City encompasses sourcing as much renewable energy as we consume across the electric, thermal and ground transportation sectors (air travel is not included at this time), thereby displacing fossil fuel consumption.

The Burlington Electrical Department says it is already moving in the direction of becoming a net-zero city through its focus on energy efficiency and strategic electrification, while helping its citizens understand the goals and helping them get there. The RFP’s authors write:

The success of the NZE effort depends in part on BED continuing to serve as a trusted advisor and partner to customers interested in energy efficiency and technologies such as solar, storage, heat pump technology, electric vehicles, solar + battery storage, weatherization, deep energy retrofits, commercial envelope, and HVAC, and lighting and other offerings.

BED will review proposals using the following RFP Evaluation Criteria:

Has the necessary analytical and modeling capabilities to conduct energy/environmental/economic analyses to provide BED with multiple alternative pathway scenarios describing how to achieve NZE;
Has conducted relevant work in the past for municipal or state governments or utilities;
Demonstrates the ability to take complex data and information and provide it in a way that is useful, and transparent, for a variety of audiences including policymakers, regulators, BED staff, and the general public;
Outline of a project plan that meets BED’s targeted timeline for an interim report (ideally early 2019) and final report (by July 2019);
Demonstrates relevant experience presenting similar materials to policymakers, regulators, and the general public;
Has expertise in utility-led energy transformation work and new business models for utilities, or “utility 2.0”.
Understanding of electric utility business and financial structures, as well as general utility rate economics

Proposals must be made by Burlington Electrical Department approved vendors by August 31. The full RFP is attached below.

NZE Roadmap FINAL RFP 7.27.18

Suncommon’s Expansion Plans Get Boost From New Credit Facility

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

As the solar industry has continued to grow, it’s easy to forget that Burlington, Vermont, was the first city in the United States to go 100% solar. The Green Mountain State has quietly grown its solar industry somewhat below the radar, but there are signs that it’s beginning to mature as a market.

One such indication is that Vermont-based Suncommon, a residential solar installer, just recently received a credit facility to fund its expansion into the Hudson Valley from Citizens Bank. Earlier this year, Suncommon acquired New York-based Hudson Solar and plans to use the money to expand its operations into New York state.

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Vermont has a long history of environmentally friendly activism and passion, and the growth of its solar industry – and the expansion of its companies into other states – prove that the environmentalist heart of the state continues to beat strongly. But it is also indicative of two other important trends.

First, it proves the solar industry is bicoastal. While everyone focuses on states like California, Arizona, New Mexico and the like, a strong, vibrant and healthy solar industry is taking root in the Northeast, too. Secondly, no matter what coast the solar revolution is happening on, it’s the smaller states like Vermont where the most interest should be focused. States like California, New York, Arizona and Massachusetts are already well into the solar revolution and are, naturally, setting the curve.

But it’s in states like Vermont and Wyoming, where the state’s first major solar installation is about to happen in the real hear of U.S. coal country, where the revolution is the most remarkable. As those markets begin to mature and money starts to flow into those states, that’s when we’ll know the solar revolution has finally taken hold and won’t be shaken. Suncommon’s ability to get funding for its expansion is one more positive sign that we are rapidly moving toward that day.