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What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

  • 1.  What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

    Silver
    Contributor
    Posted 02-01-2023 08:25 PM
    If I asked you to guess what topics will be "top of mind" for the U.S. solar industry in 2023, what would you say?

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    Kat Friedrich
    Editor in Chief
    ASES
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  • 2.  RE: What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

    ASES Award Winner
    Posted 02-02-2023 07:15 PM
    I expect for 2023 -

    1. PV import tariffs details and status
    2. Supply chain issues for modules, balance of systems, battery banks etc.
    3. Rural push back on large-scale PV projects
    4. Interconnection backlog in various regional transmission organizations (RTOs)
    5. Nuances in the IRA tax provisions on "add on" for undeserved communities
           and locl labor - how the IRS rules will qualify

     

    Scott Sklar 

    Adjunct Professor & Sustainable Energy Director

    Environment & Energy Management Institute (EEMI)

           and Director, GWU Solar Institute

    The George Washington University (GWU)

    https://eemi.seas.gwu.edu/   sklar@gwu.edu

    Personal email: solarsklar@aol.com Ph 703-522-3049



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    Scott Sklar
    President & Adj Professor
    The Stella Group, Ltd, GWU EEMI
    Arlington, VA
    solarsklar@aol.com
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

    Silver
    Contributor
    Posted 02-03-2023 01:27 PM
    Edited by william fitch 02-03-2023 01:29 PM
    Good list. Maybe one to add will the the acceleration of FUD into 2024 as certain individuals get re-platformed.
    The To DO would be how to combat the increase, and show them for what they are in a way
    that has not been done.

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    william fitch
    Owner
    www.WeAreSolar.com
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

    Silver
    Contributor
    Posted 02-03-2023 04:40 PM

    Thanks for your thoughts about this, Scott and William.

    I am on the same page with you about these ideas, Scott. 

    William, could you explain more about what you are describing?



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    Kat Friedrich
    Editor in Chief
    ASES
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

    Silver
    Contributor
    Posted 02-03-2023 06:27 PM
    Sure, its just at the moment its kind of stirring around like a soup of chemicals in my head, looking for the right form... I will try and get it to coalesce.

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    william fitch
    Owner
    www.WeAreSolar.com
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

    ASES Life Member
    Posted 02-03-2023 05:42 PM
    The Public Utility Commissions in many states are staffed by ex utility executives who see rooftop solar as a challenge to their monopoly.  In California they are pushing to change the net metering rules to reduce the value of customer side of the meter, rooftop solar by 30% , making payback to homeowner, beyond 10 years.  CAPUC APPROVED CHANGES, and sent to governor.  Industry pushing back hard, but utilities will issue new net metering rules in April.  Many state utilities will try to have their PUC's copy California.  The technical issues of next generation grid stability with rooftop solar, will be small compared PUC's making rooftop solar uneconomical for the average home owner.

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    Barry Butler, Mgr
    Ceo
    Butler Sun Solutions
    Solana Beach CA
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

    Silver
    Contributor
    Posted 02-03-2023 06:12 PM
    Edited by william fitch 02-04-2023 11:24 AM
    Edit: 2/4: I should have put the direct URL in for, "Balancing the Load" for those who wanted to read. Sorry about that. When my first tier writing is in play, sometimes the simple practical "things" get left out.

    https://fcfcfcwearesolar.blogspot.com/2021/10/balancing-load.html

    I am getting Deja-voo here. I have written SOoooooo many times on the motivations of the utilities to combat demand destruction (What you just described) and how that forms their basis for everything they do. Solar is a wonderful thing from their perspective, as long as they own it. They use DER requirements to choke off the easy access to inexpensive inverter solutions, and their drive is really to totally control the inverters YOU OWN and that sit on YOUR ROOF, as if they owned them themselves. Their excuse is of course when pushed is, "Well its "our" grid, etc.." Of course as long as the power is on the load direction side, they are as happy as clams in salt water, and you can load and "pulse" the grid as much as you like, when the meter is spinning in their direction. But, start moving the power in the other direction and , "Whoa, what's going on here! You are disrupting things and we need to control the production." I wrote an article about it back in October of 2021 called, "Balancing The Load.".
    I just received and email from one of the Republican congressional representatives for the 9th district in PA, denouncing Socialism, praising Free Market Capitalism, all accompanied with an adjective based grammatical fireworks display equivalent to the Millennium change. Same old, same old. They always accuse the other side of the very thing they are doing. It is as predictable as sunset and sunrise times. 
    I guess my point is that there is absolutely no mystery in what they want, how they go about it, be it tactically, psychologically or policy wise. The ONLY thing to figure out is how to COMBAT.

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    William Fitch
    Owner
    www.WeAreSolar.com
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    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

    ASES Life Member
    Posted 02-12-2023 02:31 PM

    Utility hijinks regarding excess power from your own PV is another reason to consider passive solar space heating and other solar thermal technologies. With these systems, the excess energy is stored at home (IN your home for passive solar, in a tank of water for solar water heating). The utility never has a chance to charge you for it, let alone change their policies re compensation.

    Energy resilience is another topic that surfaces when centralized utilities fail, whether due to an unusual weather event or vandalism. In a future in which the electric utility is the only one, we are more vulnerable to the unexpected, as well as to the capitalistic tendencies of the monopoly. Producing and storing your own thermal energy makes sense from this perspective.



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    M Keith Sharp
    Emeritus Professor
    Louisville KY
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    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

    Silver
    Contributor
    Posted 02-12-2023 10:42 PM

    SO true.



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    william fitch
    Owner
    www.WeAreSolar.com
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    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

    Silver
    Contributor
    Posted 03-06-2023 07:42 PM

    @Barry Butler, Mgr , @william fitch and Keith, have you read the book "California Burning: The Fall of Pacific Gas and Electric -- And What It Means for America's Power Grid"? I read it this weekend and it really opened my eyes regarding how severe the existing reliability and regulation issues with utilities are. I have been interacting with utilities professionally off and on since my 20s, but I have never seen such a good description of what can go wrong when they are mismanaged. 

    When I brainstormed on my own about trends for the coming year, I came up with the following list. 

    - Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act implementation
    - Inflation Reduction Act implementation
    - Solar tariffs
    - Net metering
    - Electric vehicles
    - Green hydrogen
    - Workforce expansion
    - Grid interconnection
    - Supply chains
    - NIMBY issues



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    Kat Friedrich
    Editor in Chief
    ASES
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    Original Message


  • 11.  RE: What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

    Silver
    Contributor
    Posted 03-06-2023 11:20 PM

    Kat: Had not read it. I read very few books like that, IE cover to cover. I scatter read various types of material as my interest and knowledge requires.

    I ordered hard cover of it off Amazon. Given its length, it will take me months to read, probably. I read very slowly, other than scanning. SO I may just scan and sample first. And of course, too many other things to do with my time as well doesn't help. My list of to do's is basically endless.



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    william fitch
    Owner
    www.WeAreSolar.com
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    Original Message


  • 12.  RE: What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

    ASES Life Member
    Posted 03-07-2023 01:01 PM
    Edited by M Keith Sharp 03-07-2023 01:37 PM

    Haven't read the book, but sounds like utility mismanagement is yet another reason to add to the list of reasons (unusual weather, vandalism and policy changes) favoring local ambient energy systems. The recent storms in California, Kentucky and Tennessee have caused power outages for many people. Some of the roads in CA are still not passable, so for homes on those roads, whatever stored energy (thermal mass, batteries, firewood) they have is all there is. In these storms, super-insulated, passive solar Ambient Houses would remain comfortable for several cloudy days and never become so cold as to be unlivable. With battery backup, the house will cool quickly once the batteries are dead, unless it has lots of insulation and thermal mass. Our house typically cools 1F overnight, maybe 2F if it's near or below zero.

    Resilience is a topic I have been thinking more and more about recently. Relying on someone else for your comfort, and in extreme cases even your life, may not be wise.



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    M Keith Sharp
    Emeritus Professor
    Louisville KY
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    Original Message


  • 13.  RE: What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

    Silver
    Contributor
    Posted 03-07-2023 01:20 PM
    Edited by william fitch 03-07-2023 01:21 PM

    "Resilience is a topic I have been thinking more and more about recently."

    I have recently been getting allot of Deeja-voo lately with the things people have been saying. One of the main reasons I put a 3 burner Propane (OMG!!) cooktop in our new kitchenette is for Energy diversity in power out situations. It was my 3rd level backup for such conditions. 

    Well online in the Clean energy sites, boy, did all the Woke's get their underwear tied up in a knot, going on and on about induction cooking, as though I could not have possibly known about such a thing. The advocacy arrogance of it all. Its a good thing I did not say it was NG, other wise they would have needed defib units.

    Resiliency is one of those things you don't always think about, much like house alarm systems, until after the break-in, or you almost freeze. It is the logic of the extremes that govern choice when the stakes get to such a high level, not averages or average value.



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    william fitch
    Owner
    www.WeAreSolar.com
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    Original Message


  • 14.  RE: What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

    Silver
    Contributor
    Posted 03-16-2023 10:30 AM

    Bill and Keith, we have been thinking about survivalism as a topic for a potential Solar Today issue. 

    Bill, when I read the book, I looked for specific topics that I was curious about. I was more interested in the technical issues than the early history of PG&E. 



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    Kat Friedrich
    Editor in Chief
    ASES
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    Original Message


  • 15.  RE: What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

    Silver
    Contributor
    Posted 03-16-2023 10:55 AM

    Hi Kat. I am on chapter 4, which for me is fast. I like her style to read because it is very similar to the way I write in terms of language structure and formation. So its easy reading and enjoyable.

    Its funny, I am finding the History more interesting then the tech which is kind of see spot run for me. However, the History going back to the Gold mining days on the hydro side and the early castings for malleable iron prototypes leading to early failure is fascinating from  the metallurgic perspective. To be fair though, for a casting to survive over 100 years in that environment I find astonishing given all the super harsh conditions. Her personal descriptions of the "players" as well, are pictorially creative and linkable to their roles. I am trying to squeak out more time to get through it sooner...

    Additionally, Kat, when you use the word survivalism, are you speaking of the Solar Industry and its continuance forward, or more broadly and less specific as in "we as humans".
    .....Bill



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    william fitch
    Owner
    www.WeAreSolar.com
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    Original Message


  • 16.  RE: What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

    ASES Life Member
    Posted 03-18-2023 09:13 PM

    I don't know, "survivalism" for me brings images of Mad Max apocalypse, articles by Bear Grylls, and "AR-15 vs. trench shotgun: Which is best for protecting your home?" I don't think that is your intention, but "do it yourself," "self reliance," "off grid," and "resilience" might be better descriptors for something appropriate for Solar Today.



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    M Keith Sharp
    Emeritus Professor
    Louisville KY
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    Original Message


  • 17.  RE: What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

    Silver
    Contributor
    Posted 03-18-2023 10:06 PM

    Mad Max!! If you are heading that direction than you cannot leave Charlize Theron out of the last loop.

    Love to meet that Lady!!



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    william fitch
    Owner
    www.WeAreSolar.com
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    Original Message


  • 18.  RE: What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

    Posted 03-19-2023 08:52 AM

    Why that is Mighty Joe Young of Ya, But Mad Max! isn't going to happen.  The Energy Transition to renewables is going smoothly and will continue to do so.  People will wake up one day and realize that the new world of energy has grown up all around them in full bloom,  in plain sight the paradigm shifted and the Sun will never set the same again.

    Sunset

     



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    Timothy Mcbride
    CEO/Owner
    Sol-Era R & D
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    Original Message


  • 19.  RE: What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

    Silver
    Contributor
    Posted 03-19-2023 09:12 AM
    Edited by william fitch 03-19-2023 07:12 PM

    And the Zen Master said, "We'll see."

    The Prize

    EDIT: I am now over half way through said book. Had a creative impulse I had to satisfy.

    Had a little a little fun between Kat's topic idea and book, plus Tim's posted picture and thoughts.....

    Creative moments



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    william fitch
    Owner
    www.WeAreSolar.com
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    Original Message


  • 20.  RE: What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

    Silver
    Contributor
    Posted 03-21-2023 03:19 PM

    @william fitch , @Timothy Mcbride and Keith, 

    I'm still at the drawing board regarding that issue and what it might be called. It would be about how the solar industry can help people survive emergencies, so yes, it would deal with resilience and off-grid technologies. It's not necessarily focused on self-reliance or DIY. The word "resilience" would be a good fit. We have a lot of theme ideas in our queue; this one is in the middle of the list, so it might be a while before we explore this idea. 



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    Kat Friedrich
    Editor in Chief
    ASES
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    Original Message


  • 21.  RE: What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

    Silver
    Contributor
    Posted 03-23-2023 10:59 AM

    From the 30K foot view regarding your two top points, off grid and resilience, I must define resilience here. My def is really about the end result. IE, resilience is the design that enables the end user to have power the greatest amount of time with the littlest "work and cost".

    Off grid is not the answer (In isolation) because it puts you at the center of all potential problems, for one. And two, it does not make maximum use of the full potential use of the able production, which ultimately goes back to cost. 

    Just to keep this short and at 30K, Grid-tie with off grid capable is the way to go (Was also my real world choice). Most of the problems and their resolution fall on the utility, but, off grid capable allows you not to suffer while they take care of business. Its really that simple. It also takes some of the stress off the utility giving them more "breathing room" when fixing problems, knowing people are not freezing, cooking or starving to death waiting on them.

    Broadly speaking the problem here (Big picture) is that the current utility business model is in conflict with the necessity of global warming reduction, as is Capitalism really. That's why we can't make any significant progress after 40 years.



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    william fitch
    Owner
    www.WeAreSolar.com
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    Original Message


  • 22.  RE: What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

    Silver
    Contributor
    Posted 03-24-2023 11:24 AM

    Well, I just literally finished the book. Has to be record time for me. I have to say, that when I read the solution of "underground" at the very end, I could not help chuckle since it was the very solution I suggested in the Puerto Rico thread a few days ago regarding climate mitigation and resiliency. A fleeting smile accompanied as well....

    Thank you Kat for the read suggestion. I actually enjoyed it. Could launch an easy dozen conversations from the book, but as my for fun survivalism .jpg says with the beach on the left and blazing O&G fire on the right, it really is as simple as GREED, Case# 1,834,666. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer and sometimes dead.....

    Wall Street: Greed is good



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    william fitch
    Owner
    www.WeAreSolar.com
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    Original Message


  • 23.  RE: What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

    Silver
    Contributor
    Posted 04-06-2023 08:20 PM

    I'm glad you enjoyed the book. I agree that it is a good conversation-starter. Especially given what has been going on in the news with PG&E and California in terms of energy controversies. When I read this book and two others this year (The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations by Daniel Yergin and Climate Wars: The Fight for Survival as the World Overheats by Gwynne Dyer) I noticed how much of a political challenge it is to engage in the energy transition. The story of energy and survival is a really gripping, powerful, challenging story. I hope Solar Today can contribute to the conversation in a constructive, pragmatic, motivational way. 



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    Kat Friedrich
    Editor in Chief
    ASES
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    Original Message


  • 24.  RE: What do you think is going to be important for the U.S. solar industry in 2023?

    Posted 02-12-2023 05:13 PM
    Edited by Timothy Mcbride 02-12-2023 05:57 PM

    Bottom line.  Every homeowner, every business owner, every single electrical user in the USA.  The topic will be can Solar eliminate my current electric bill and what will it cost me to make this happen  Solar-wise ?  Once PV local efficiency reaches a point to where load appliance, electronics match game over for every current non-solar electrical generator  utility on earth. People will make their own power from then on eternally with the SUN directly overhead omnipresently. 



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    Timothy Mcbride
    CEO/Owner
    Sol-Era R & D
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    Original Message