PV Solar Report Contributor

Rosana Francescato

Earth Month ended well for shared renewables in California. A few weeks ago we reported on the two shared renewables bills making their way through the California legislature, SB 43 and AB 1014. And last week, both bills made it past their first hurdle: committee votes that were crucial to keeping the bills going.

The first of these was AB 1014, which passed through the California Assembly Utility and Commerce Committee on April 29 with a vote of 9 - 0. There was no opposing testimony. In fact, support for the bill was expressed not only by organizations like Vote Solar and the Solar Energy Industries Association but also the US Department of Defense and utilities Southern California Edison and PG&E.

According to Tom Price, California Shared Renewables Policy and Market Strategies Director, the bill was significantly amended. (For details, see this AB 1014 analysis.) But he says its progress is still “tremendously positive news. While it’s not the bill we started with, it does help us advance the goal of broadening access to renewable energy.”

The next day brought more good news: the California Senate Energy Committee voted 6 - 4 to pass SB 43. This bill got some pushback, as utilities and other groups raised concerns that it would shift costs to non-participants. Senator Lois Wolk, the bill’s sponsor, has committed to ensuring that doesn’t happen. So we can expect to see more changes made to this bill.

What’s next for the bills? They need to get through their respective Appropriations Committees and through full chambers, and then continue through the opposite chamber. At that point, the bills are expected to be combined into a single proposal. We’ll keep you posted on their progress.

While many details remain to be worked out, the passage of both AB 1014 and SB 43 through their first committees represents a major milestone. And their eventual passage would have even greater significance. According to a recent report by Vote Solar, a 1000 MW shared renewables program created by these bills would bring these benefits to California:

• 12,700 local jobs

• $130 million in tax revenues

• $4.3 billion in total economic activity

That doesn’t even include benefits like improved public health, increased security, and climate change mitigation.

And there’s yet another benefit. Where California goes, so does the rest of the country. We don’t have enough shared renewables laws in the US. Passing these bills would set a great example and help spread renewables beyond just California -- to the majority of us throughout the country who can’t yet participate in generating clean power.

PV Solar Report Contributor

Rosana Francescato

Solar leases are helping far more people go solar than before and are helping spread solar in a big way. In 2012, third-party-owned solar represented 74% of California’s home solar market. And much of that market’s growth was in low- and median-income areas.

That’s great news! Still, about 75% of us are still left out of the equation. We may have shaded roofs, rent our homes, or live in multi-unit buildings. Businesses can run into these issues as well.

Solar for the rest of us

So how do we get solar for the rest of us? One solution is shared renewables. And now there are two bills making their way through the California legislature that could bring the state a pilot program to try out this idea: SB 43 and AB 1014. They’re really twin bills -- almost but not quite identical -- that will eventually be combined into one. You can find details, including case studies on shared renewables and summaries of both bills, at the California Shared Renewables site.

What this legislation does is allow investor-owned utility customers to get a bill credit for solar or other renewables produced at a location other than their own property. This would be completely voluntary, and ratepayers would not be affected -- an important aspect of this legislation. Customers who sign up for this program would not experience any change in their service, and utilities would still get paid to make the grid safe and reliable.

Each bill would create a pilot program for shared renewable projects of up to 20 MW in size, for a total of either 500 MW (under SB 43) or 1000 MW (AB 1014). The goal is for this voluntary pilot program to spur more private investments and create a significant number of jobs.

The program would would bring access to renewable energy to a wider group of customers -- to those of us in the 75%. There are even carve-outs for residential customers, as well as for smaller projects (1 MW or smaller) in environmentally or economically disadvantaged communities. And the bills protect prime farmland from being displaced by the projects.

A few other states have passed or are considering similar bills, but Joy Hughes of the Solar Gardens Institute considers SB 43 and AB 1014 “probably the most thoroughly thought through legislative treatment of the subject to date.”

What you can do now

If you’re in California and would like to support these bills, help is needed now! Some important votes are coming up in key Senate and Assembly committees:

• April 22 ( Earth Day): Vote on AB 1014, authored by Assembly Member Das Williams and Senator Lois Wolk, in the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee

• April 30: Vote on SB 43, authored by Senator Lois Wolk and Assembly Member Das Williams, in the Senate Energy Committee

It’s crucial that the legislature receive letters of support -- and they need to be in by Wednesday April 17.

So after you get your taxes filed, be sure to send letters in support of SB 43 and AB 1014! Especially helpful are letters from your company, organization, or school district. It’s important to write one for each bill. And it’s easy -- you can simply fill out the templates here and then send the letters to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

Why support these bills?

Shared renewables programs allow many more people and businesses to participate in and benefit from solar. They give people and communities more control over their energy generation. Moreover, they help fight climate change, create jobs, reduce utilities’ need to buy power at the costliest time of day, improve the reliability of the grid, and save taxpayers money.

With all these benefits, shared renewables really are a win-win-win.

There are a number of ways to help spread solar. We’re lucky to have shared renewables as a potential option in California. Let’s work together to make that a reality. Let’s work to get solar to the 75% who are now left out.

 PV Solar Report Contributor

Rosana Francescato

Momentum, transformation, diversification: these words describe today’s dynamic solar industry. That’s according to Rhone Resch of Solar Energy Industries Association, Arno Harris of Recurrent Energy, and Shayle Kann of Greentech Media, who reviewed the state of the industry at a recent Google Hangout presented by  SEIA and GTM.

Executive summary: Solar experienced strong growth in 2012. And despite the significant challenges that remain, solar is becoming mainstream.

Momentum and transformation

Drawing from the SEIA/GTM 2012 report, Resch noted that last year we installed 3,313 MW of solar in the US, a 76% growth over 2011. That represents 40% of all solar capacity in the US today, and led to the US becoming one of the most important markets in the world. American workers installed 2 panels per second, adding up to 16 billion panels -- enough to power 1.2 million households.

It goes without saying -- but I’ll say it anyway -- that as the solar industry grows, it creates jobs, many of which can’t be outsourced. Over 120,000 people are currently employed by the US solar industry, and that doesn’t count the hundreds of thousands of others who work with them.

What’s driven this growth? Resch stressed that policy stability has been a key factor. Since the ITC extension in 2009, solar has taken off -- consistent with what’s happened in other energy industries with stable policies. It’s typical for an energy resource to go through a 30-year period of early adoption and innovation before experiencing rapid growth, and that’s where solar has been. Consistent policies that support solar can help it move through the current transitional phase and continue to play an increasingly significant role.

Of course, another crucial factor in the industry’s growth has been solar’s increased affordability. Average panel costs have plummeted 60% since the beginning of 2011, with the average cost of a completed system decreasing 27% in 2012 alone. In fact, in the past few years solar has leapfrogged from being the most expensive energy form to second or third place in affordability.

Solar’s affordability is not just about panel prices but has also been aided by new financing options. Solar leases have been a huge driver for the residential market. And the industry has proven itself as an attractive asset class. New investment vehicles that could lower the costs of capital, such as Real Estate Investment Trusts and Master Limited Partnerships, are appearing on the scene. PACE programs are taking root in some states. And 2012 was a big year for crowdfunding -- as seen in organizations like Mosaic, which provide financing for smaller to medium projects by letting individuals invest in solar.

The soft costs of permitting, financing, and customer acquisition continue to be an issue, but the SunShot initiative is starting to help reduce those. We’ll see further benefits from this program in the future.

Diversification

Solar has matured and diversified in the past two years -- both in terms of business models and geographically. In 2012, twelve states installed over 50 MW of solar, compared to just five states in 2011. A few years ago, California accounted for 80% of US installations; now, it represents 30%.

Diversification is also evidenced by strength in all segments of the solar market: residential, non-residential (commercial, governmental, nonprofit, schools), and utility.

The market has diversified, too, in terms of who’s installing solar. That’s no longer confined to early adopters or pilot projects. The fact that solar makes economic sense is shown by its popularity with companies like Apple, FedEx, GM, Google, Macy’s, and Walmart -- not to mention the Department of Defense.

And the widespread appeal of solar extends to the general population. In polls throughout the last five years, Americans have expressed support for greater development of solar energy -- across party lines.

Looking ahead

Projections for the near future see the industry continuing to grow. In 2013, solar could become the number 2 source of new-build energy after gas -- and by 2015 or 2016, it could even reach number 1.

This robust growth is tempered by tensions, many in the policy area. As solar becomes a significant part of new energy generation, fossil fuel interests see it as a threat and are challenging policies like net metering and RPS. But SEIA is helping to challenge these attacks, and they have a solid foundation for doing so. Not only are voters supportive of solar, but the distributed generation that solar allows can help stabilize the grid, protecting against power outages and cyber attacks.

Advancements in storage technology will provide a crucial opportunity to address some of these policy issues. After all, with onsite storage, net metering would no longer be needed. And while grid penetration is currently low enough not to require large amounts of storage, in the long term it will become more critical.

The upshot? We need to continue pushing for strong policies that level the playing field for solar. With the right policy climate and advances in storage technology, solar power is set to transform electricity in the United States. 

PV Solar Report Contributor

Rosana Francescato

Why reach for the moon, when we can go for the sun? That’s what Energy Secretary Steven Chu aimed for in 2011, when he launched the SunShot Initiative to improve solar technologies and reduce costs. The program’s goal: to make solar competitive with any other power source -- without subsidies.

So far, it seems the sun was not too lofty a target. Chu may be stepping down as Energy Secretary, but he’s leaving on a high note with great hopes for the future. At a recent Google Hangout on the solar industry, he expressed his excitement about the present and future of solar and his conviction that solar is close to being as cheap as any other power source: “This is not something that’s going to happen twenty to thirty years from today. This is going to happen ten years from today, maybe sooner.”

At the Hangout, Chu and panelists from the solar industry provided plenty of reasons to feel good about solar’s future. They pointed to improvements on the technological front, such as increases in the efficiency, reliability, and longevity of systems -- similar to what we’ve seen happen with computers. What to expect for the future: at least a decade of continued improvements. And within that decade, Chu aims for the U.S. to be a world leader in R&D, deployment, and manufacture of solar products.

But there’s a lot more to what’s happening than just technological improvements. An important part of the SunShot Initiative is tackling “soft costs,” such as financing and permitting -- or as Chu puts it, the “red tape and hassle factor.” Because of drops in hardware prices, those soft costs now make up more than half the cost of installing solar.

We’re already seeing progress.

In 2004, the fully installed cost of utility-scale solar (which includes all hardware and installation costs) came to about $8 per watt -- now it’s below $3, in some cases even as low as $2. ShunShot’s ambitious $1 goal is looking within reach!

SunShot programs like the one in Broward County, Florida, are part of that effort. Panelists from the program shared how helpful it’s been to implement a single portal for permit applications, and ensure inspectors receive consistent training. Other counties are expressing interest, so they hope the program will spread throughout the state.

That points to an important trend: each success that proves the viability of solar paves the way for more solar. A great example is that solar has become more “bankable,” even Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway are seeing they can make money -- so naturally, they’re getting in on the action. MLPs and crowdfunding are other important parts of the financial picture and are allowing many more people to help fund -- and benefit from -- solar. These options are popular: Mosaic’s first publicly crowdfunded projects sold out in less than 24 hours.

Many of these financing vehicles are relative newcomers, and that’s key when it comes to solar. As we deal with new situations like distributed power generation and increases in our ability to store power, we need to think in new ways. Secretary Chu urged the Hangout audience, as we look to spread solar power, to come up with new models.

And he’s been doing his part. It’s a shame to see such a strong proponent of solar step down from his position, but he’s already done a lot to lead the solar industry to a bright future. So let’s carry on the great work, and keep reaching for the sun!

This post was originally published on Mosaic.

PV Solar Report Contributor

Rosana Francescato

The Internet was abuzz last Friday with some astounding news: Germany has more sun than the United States!

That’s as reported by Fox business reporter Shibani Joshi last week on Fox and Friends, in a statement she’s probably been regretting ever since.

The good news about this news is that it’s simply not true. In fact, Germany has solar resources comparable to those of Alaska, while our mainland is more akin to sunny Spain:


This image, from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, is by now a familiar sight to anyone who knows anything about solar -- a group that clearly doesn’t include Fox and Friends.

The same week, another Fox story also concluded that solar is on the decline. Why? Well, it’s clearly because solar is affordable only when the government “throws” billions in subsidies at it, which are now “being slashed.” At the same time, homeowners have been snapping up solar because of an influx of cheap panels from China. So, let me get this straight: The problem is that solar is not affordable without subsidies -- and also that it's so affordable that people are buying it in droves. There must be logic in there somewhere … right?

What these stories really tell us

What’s really on the decline is not solar. It’s a couple other things -- and one of those is Fox News itself. A recent poll shows that the network’s credibility is at an all-time low, though that’s still not low enough when you consider how many people continue to absorb its misinformation. And while other media outlets may not be as laughably off-base as Fox (which some are now comparing to The Onion), the American public is not getting an accurate picture when it comes to solar.

What’s more significant, though, is that fossil fuels are on a slow but steady decline. Last year, even a major coal company admitted that it’s only a matter of time till we move away from them -- and that this is the right move to make.    

But most in the fossil fuel industry are not so upfront. When people in power see that they’re losing their power (pun intended), they can get desperate. And that’s the real story behind these Fox stories.

The article on declining subsidies becomes less baffling when you look at its focus on utilities. As more people generate their own power, utilities are concerned they’ll lose money. That fear leads to all kinds of misrepresentations. And the same fear has gripped the fossil fuel industry.

Joshi’s outrageous claim on Fox and Friends got so much attention that it overshadowed the many times in the short segment she and co-host Steve Doocy touted “nat gas.” Doocy even went so far as to say, “That’s what we really have a lot of.”

I have news for Doocy: What we “really have a lot of” is sun. In fact, every day enough sun falls on the United States to more than power us for 10 years. Coal, oil, and gas combined can’t come close to matching that:

But Fox, like other news organizations, is beholden to the fossil fuel industry. So they cling staunchly to the belief that the industry will prevail, against all odds. And that’s what they report.

Getting beyond misinformation

The sad thing about all this is that it perpetuates the impression that renewable energy is a partisan issue. In fact, 92% of Americans support developing more solar, and a majority want the government to support solar with subsidies and incentives. George Shultz is a major proponent of renewables; the Department of Defense is one of solar’s biggest adopters. Just visit Germany, and you’ll be struck by the fact that there, you can’t guess anyone’s political leanings by whether they have solar panels on their roof.

That’s as it should be. The truth is, solar is just getting started -- in a big way. You could even say solar is booming. And given that it’s so abundant and confers so many benefits, solar power isn’t going away, no matter how much Fox News wants it to.

I hope their recent gaffes will make Fox News reconsider the way they report on solar power. I won’t hold my breath for that, but I predict it won’t be long till we see an overall shift in media representation of solar -- at least, when it comes to the more trusted media sources.

In the meantime, I’m off to plan a vacation -- to sunny Germany!

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