Vivint’s $100 million deal, Sunpower’s trade secrets suit: pvMB 6/24/19

Vivint Solar closes $100 Million of New Tax Equity Commitments – “Vivint Solar, Inc. today announced it has received commitments for an additional $100 million of tax equity financing, which will enable it to install more than 55 megawatts of residential solar energy systems… The investment commitment is expected to allow Vivint Solar to design and build low-cost, clean energy systems for over 8,000 new residential customers.” Source: Vivint Solar

Sunpower trade secrets lawsuit – Sunpower is suing the company’s former Executive Vice President of Global Channels, Martin DeBono over allegations that  DeBono sent Sunpower’s proprietary information to his new employer, Standard Industries, shortly before leaving SunPower. The lawsuit alleges that along with informational emails, DeBono created “Solar Overview for Standard,” a powerpoint presentation based on SunPower information. This is not the first instance of SunPower bringing suit against a former employee for perceived IP theft. Source: Reuters

42% of Dems prefer plan to decarbonize by 2030 – Numbers here! We got numbers! According to new INSIDER polling, 42% of Democratic voters said they prefer a plan that aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 by any means necessary. For comparison, about 15% of likely Republican primary voters said the same. The rational of this philosophy most aligns with the Green New Deal testaments of Rep. Alexandia Ocasio-Cortez (D) NY, while the climate plan promoted by Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington garnered just 23% of Democrats. That plan, for anyone wondering, calls for the investment of $3 trillion over 10 years to get a net-zero carbon emissions energy grid by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions altogether by 2045. Source: INSIDER

Pennsylvania 100% renewable by 2050 bills get 40% of state senators’ support; 34% of state reps’ support – In a case of numbers that are a lot better than they look, a reported 20 (of 50) state senators and 70 (of 203) state representatives in Pennsylvania support Senate Bill 630, which would require Pennsylvania to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050. Those numbers are quite high for a state traditionally averse to renewable energy, one with longstanding and entrenched relationships with the coal and nuclear industries. The fight for this bill is a bipartisan one, being led by Senator Tom Killion (R), Senator Vincent Hughes (D) and Representatives Chris Rabb (D) and Elizabeth Fiedler (D). Sources: PennEnvironment, Daily Local News

Cost of Energy storage in New Jersey – In response to the ESA Elements of the Clean Energy Act of 2018, Rutgers has released the New Jersey Energy Storage Analysis (ESA) Final Report, which looks to determine the cost of energy storage within the Garden State. “Energy storage (ES) is an essential component of New Jersey’s sustainable energy future because it enables the grid to handle increasing amounts of clean renewable energy and manage changing, highly variable electricity demand. This report answers a set of questions posed by the New Jersey State Legislature regarding the status of ES technologies, the purposes they can cost-effectively serve within New Jersey, and how to encourage their wider implementation and cost reduction with time.” Source: Rutgers (the full report) (.pdf)

North Rosamond plant goes on-line – Duke Energy has announced that the 150 MW North Rosamont solar plant, recently purchased from Clearway Energy Group in April, has officially come on-line. The Kern County facility is home to 477,000 solar panels, is located on 1,188 acres and will power approximately 71,000 homes. How’s that for numbers? The energy generated will be sold to Southern California Edison under a 15-year PPA. Source: Duke Energy

Quickmount PV doubles production capacity – Quickmount PV, the roof mounting and racking system manufacturer is doubling their manufacturing production all the way up to 1.2 GW annually. This comes shortly after the announcement that Quickmount is expanding and adding an East Coast production facility. In addition, the company is adding a second shift for the first time to its Walnut Creek, California manufacturing facility. Source: Quickmount PV

Ground broken on 150 MW Texas plant – “174 Power Global Corporation today announced that it broke ground on the $200 million Oberon Solar Power Facility in Ector County, Texas… Solar modules for the 150 MW Oberon project will be supplied by Hanwha Q CELLS, one of the world’s leading providers of photovoltaic panels and solar energy generating systems, with a major manufacturing facility in Georgia. When completed in the spring of 2020, Oberon will generate enough electricity to power 25,000 to 30,000 Texas homes annually with clean, renewable energy. Oberon is 174 Power Global’s second solar generation facility in Texas, further solidifying the state’s position as a leader in renewable energy.” Source: 174 Power Global

Schletter auction – “In 2018, the Schletter facility in Shelby filed for bankruptcy putting production to a stop in mid-April and vacating their building. Last month, Greenheck Fan Corp announced that it would be expanding its Cleveland County operation and moving into the former Schletter building. The remaining assets of the solar panel bracket makers were auctioned off Saturday to clear the way for the new venture to move in… A bank employee by day, Provissiero travels to auctions looking for items he can resell later on websites like eBay. He was not the only person attending the auction looking for items to resell. A number of buyers strayed away from the heavy machinery and shop equipment to look instead for smaller ticket items they could sell for scrap or post online… Items for auction sold for anywhere between a few hundred dollars and several thousand dollars.” Source: The Shelby Star

SPP launches an EIM – Southwest Power Pool has announced that it will be supporting the launch of a  Western Energy Imbalance Service (WEIS) market, the purpose of which is to balance generation and load by region and in real time. Expected to launch in December, 2020, the project will hopefully reduce capacity/energy costs, provide price transparency for wholesale energy, and ensure transmission system efficiency. Source: Utility Dive

Ameresco completes 10 MW energy security project at Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot – “Ameresco, Inc., today announced the completion of construction of a comprehensive energy resiliency and energy infrastructure project at the United States Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) Parris Island, South Carolina. The $91 million project, which required no upfront capital from MCRD PI, features resilient distributed energy systems designed to withstand potential storm and seismic conditions… The Marine Corps depends on Parris Island, the only such training facility on the eastern seaboard, to turn approximately 20,000 recruits into Marines each year to support deployment schedules and maintain its operations. The distributed generation, energy storage, and secure microgrid controls that Ameresco designed and installed there have dramatically enhanced the site’s resilience, giving the installation the capacity to sustain its critical training operations when the local grid goes down. The project also saves the installation $6.9 million in annual utility and operational costs, reduces utility energy demand by 75%, and reduces water consumption by 25%. To achieve these results, Ameresco optimized utility consumption at facilities across the 8,000-acre installation with demand reduction measures.” Source: Amaresco