Probably True Solar Stories

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On the next Probably True Solar Stories, you’ll hear a live storytelling about two solar pros who decide to get married at a solar conference in Las Vegas. But when the wedding gets unexpectedly interrupted, the solar industry comes to the rescue.

Watch the live video performance here:
https://youtu.be/YyhWQi1d2ZE

True Solar Takeaways

• RE+ is the largest annual U.S. solar and renewable energy conference. It's held in various locations every year.
• Abby Hopper is the head of SEIA, the leading U.S. solar industry advocacy organization, and she was at this live reading and had that line.
• Solar Power International (SPI) was the old name for RE plus. 
• Dean Solon is the founder and former CEO of Shoals Technology. Every year, Shoals throws a huge party at RE+. As the saying goes, what happens at the Shoals party stays at the Shoals party. 
• BOS. stands for "Balance of Systems"
• NEC stands for the National Electric Code
• Vegas has had blackouts, but not during a solar conference. However, air conditioners running on high during a heatwave have caused blackouts.
• Load flexibility is complicated. Read this. 
• EPC stands for Engineering, Procurement, and Construction. They're basically the solar installers.
• Solar developers can hire EPCs or sometimes they have their own EPC division.
• PE stands for Professional Engineer. 
• AHJ stands for Authorities Having Jurisdiction. They're the various local organizations that deal with permitting for solar installations, large and small.
• KW stands for Kilowatts and kWh stands for Kilowatt-hours. Here's the difference.
• Interconnection is a difficult process of connecting solar projects to the grid.

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On the next Probably True Solar Stories, we conclude our limited series, "The Solar Heist, or How I Got Into the Solar Business." It's about two neighbors who unexpectedly form an odd friendship and work to uncover a solar energy crime syndicate. But arresting the syndicate’s leader turns out to be more complicated than they expected.

Previous Solar Heist episodes:
Listen to Part 1 here.
Listen to Part 2 here.
Listen to Part 3 here.
Listen to Part 4 here.
Listen to Part 5 here.
Listen to Part 6 here.
Listen to Part 7 here.
Listen to Part 8 here.
Listen to Part 9 here.
Listen to Part 10 here.

True Solar Takeaways (Spoilers!)

• Yes, there is a Department of Energy unit called the Office of Intelligence and Counter Intelligence. Look it up.
• No, the Department of the Interior does not have a DFM--a Defence of Fossil Fuels intelligence agency. As not as far as I know, the DFM is fiction, but... you never know.
• Solar projects are often built on landfills because solar projects built on landfills, brownfields, and superfund zones get a bonus 10% investment tax credit.
• Energy is and always will be a part of politics, war, and corruption.  There's a reason that the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet patrols the Arabian Peninsula...Follow the money. 
• The Italian mafia has invested in solar projects in the past, but the existence of a modern solar money laundering syndicate is 100% fiction... as far as I know.

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On the next Probably True Solar Stories, we continue with Part 10 of "The Solar Heist" series. Mrs. Prout returns to Mazz and Charlie’s house to give them a warning. But Mazz and Charlie are already in Chico. Despite her efforts, it’s just bad timing for Sylvia, and really, for everyone...

If you missed any of the previous Solar Heist episodes:
Listen to Parts 1-6 here.
Listen to Part 7 here.
Listen to Part 8 here.
Listen to Part 9 here.

True Solar Takeaways (Careful! Spoilers!)

• Building solar projects on landfills or brownfields can be extra profitable for solar developers and owners. Under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), solar projects built on these and other distressed properties will receive a bonus 10% investment tax credit. The standard tax credit is 30%, so the solar project could receive a 40% investment tax credit, plus other bonus tax credits.
• The U.S. Department of Energy does have a unit called the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence. According to its website: "The Office protects vital national security information and technologies, representing intellectual property of incalculable value. Our distinctive contribution to national security is the ability to leverage the Energy Department’s unmatched scientific and technological expertise in support of policymakers as well as national security missions in defense, homeland security, cyber security, intelligence, and energy security."
• I completely made up The Defence of Fossil Minerals (The "DFM") agency.  At the same time, I wouldn't be surprised if the Department of the Interior had an intelligence agency that protects the interests of fuel and minerals on public lands.

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On the next Probably True Solar Stories, "The Solar Heist" series continues. Charlie goes to Chico, California to hunt for "CATs," --certain awful things--buried at a landfill that’s about to become a new solar farm. Meanwhile, Mazz tries to calmly educate the solar farm’s opponents without doing ... certain awful things.

To catch up with the previous episodes:

• Listen to  Parts 1-6 here.
• Listen to Part 7 here.
• Listen to Part 8 here.

True Solar Takeaways

• As part of the solar project development process, solar project developers have to get approvals from authorities having jurisdiction, better known as the AHJs.
• The AHJs vary from county to county, but it's often the zoning board or planning commission.
• Zoning boards and planning commissions deliberate about their solar project approvals during public meetings that are often attended by residents who are concerned about the solar projects' effects on the land, agriculture, land value, and public health, as well as the environmental waste after the project's end-of-life.
• Here are some FAQs dramatized in this episode:
  • Do solar panels or projects cause cancer? No. Read this.
  • Do solar projects decrease land value? Not in Texas, a conservative state. Read this. There was also a recent NREL study that showed that solar projects had a negligible impact. 
  • Are mysterious activist groups spreading misinformation about solar?  Yes. Read this article. Are they backed by fossil fuel interests? Seems like it. 

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• Support the show by visiting the merch store and buying a tee shirt!
• Learn how sponsors can be a part of Probably True Solar Stories and tell their own creative stories. 
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On the next Probably True Solar Stories, Sylvia Prout, the widow of Richard Prout, visits Mazz and Charlie looking for answers about her husband's apparent murder. After some intense questioning and bourbon Irish coffees, Sylvia asks Mazz and Charlie for a favor that they can't refuse.

If you missed the earlier episodes with Richard Prout, listen to episodes 3, 4, 5, and 6. 

True Solar Takeaways

• PTO is a common utility solar acronym for Permission to Operate. It's the final go-ahead from the utility following inspections and approvals, allowing the solar system to legally and safely feed solar electricity back into the grid.
• Utility solar projects are increasingly facing local opposition, slowing down the development and construction. Often, these concerns are due to misinformation about solar project impacts, as well as concerns about preserving land for agriculture.  This article from NPR highlights these solar project challenges.

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• Visit ProbablyTrueSolar.com to sign up for the newsletter to learn about new episodes and live solar storytelling events.
• Support the show by visiting the merch store and buying a tee shirt!
• Learn how sponsors can be a part of Probably True Solar Stories and tell their own creative stories. 
• Follow @SolarFred and/or @ProbTrueSolar on Twitter to discuss episodes
• Don't forget to:
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On the next episode of Probably True Solar Stories, we continue with  Part 7 of The Solar Heist, or How I Got Into the Solar Business. When an intruder breaks in and holds a gun to the head of Mazz's wife, Mazz, Charlie, and Beth come to the rescue. But doing so risks blowing Charlie's cover and the entire DOE intelligence operation.

Listen to the previous episode here: The Solar Heist, Part 6: Trust
Listen to all six previous chapters in a single episode here: The Solar Heist, Parts 1-6

True Solar Takeaways

• The Department of Energy has a special intelligence division called the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence (OIC). 
• Energy is always connected to money and politics.

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• Visit ProbablyTrueSolar.com to sign up for the newsletter to learn about new episodes and live solar storytelling events.
• Support the show by visiting the merch store and buying a tee shirt!
• Learn how sponsors can be a part of Probably True Solar Stories and tell their own creative stories. 
• Follow @SolarFred and/or @ProbTrueSolar on Twitter to discuss episodes
• Don't forget to:
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Welcome, solar fiction fans to the Season 3 preview of Probably True Solar Stories!

Last season's theme was "Solar Noir." For Season 3, it's a presidential election year, so our stories are going to explore politics and the #EnergyDeepState. Listen to this episode to hear about the next ten solar stories.  

• Note: The first five episodes will mark the conclusion of "The Solar Heist, or How I Got Into The Solar Business."
•  Listen to The Solar Heist, Part 6 to refresh your memory about last season's cliffhanger.
• If you're brand new to the podcast, listen to The Solar Heist, Parts 1-6 here to get caught up and ready for Part 7. You'll enjoy the twists and turns.

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• Visit ProbablyTrueSolar.com to sign up for the newsletter to learn about new episodes and live solar storytelling events.
• Support the show by visiting the merch store and buying a tee shirt!
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On the next Probably True Solar Stories, twenty homes on the same cul de sac decide to go solar on the day after a Halloween night blackout. It’s a simple story, but when a young reporter looks into it, he gets the Halloween scoop of his short lifetime.

True Solar Takeaways

• Going solar is "contagious." That is, several studies have shown that when one person in a neighborhood goes solar, nearby homes follow.
• Blackouts often happen during a heatwave when energy-intensive air conditioning overwhelms the grid.
• In 2023, most solar homes need to add batteries to be cost-effective and to get a payback in 7 to 10 years.
• Whole-home backup is expensive and rare. Most of the time, solar + storage systems are tied to batteries with a critical loads panel. 
• This critical loads subpanel will automatically switch on when there's a blackout. This panel is designed to keep on lights, the internet, the refrigerator, and other critical loads during a grid outage.
• When switching from off-grid to on-grid power--or visa-versa-- there may be a brief interruption of service. Most of the time, the switch is seamless.
• Turning on air conditioning, EV charging, and other high-intensity appliances will quickly drain a home battery's capacity. That's why air conditioners are rarely included in the critical loads panel. 
• Listen to last year's Halloween story called, "We didn't know our solar house was haunted until we got a text from the ghost.

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For those solar fiction fans who prefer the longer formats, we've combined all six episodes of "The Solar Heist" into a single two-hour version, including chapter headings.

Two neighbors meet unexpectedly at an Oakland, California coffee shop specializing in dark, rich coffee. Mazz owns a trucking business by day and is a thief at night. Charlie is a solar project developer by day and a guy with an international solar problem that can only be solved by Mazz. As the two grow to be friends, Mazz realizes that Charlie may also have a dangerous side gig that jeopardizes their friendship and their lives...

True Solar Takeaways

• The solar installation industry is made up of residential, commercial, and utility-scale installers. 
• There's a U.S. law against importing solar panels made with forced labor.
• Some solar developers hire quality assurance companies to monitor the supply chains and factories.
• All solar installations, regardless of size, can now receive a  U.S. 30% tax credit. Big developers can also receive other tax incentives.
• Chinese solar panels still have import tariffs, as of 2022.
• "Procurement" means sourcing, purchasing, and delivering equipment.
• Generally, large solar asset owners hire an experienced solar developer to take care of building the product. The solar developer may in turn hire an "EPC," which stands for engineering, procurement, and construction.
• Large-scale developers typically only buy solar panels that are on a "Tier 1" list that's sold by Bloomberg. Even if the Tier 1 solar manufacturer is financially sound and honors the warranty, if you have a huge project, the replacement time and cost will be huge. 
• With the passage of the IRA (Inflation Reduction Act of 2022), all solar projects, regardless of size, receive a 30% Investment Tax Credit (ITC) if they pay prevailing wages.
• Solar projects that are built on landfills, brownfields, and EPA superfund sites can get bonus ITCs.
• AHJ (Authorities Having Jurisdiction) are the permitting authorities that review and approve the building of solar projects
• See all The True Solar Takeaways in the show notes of the original episodes:
  • Part 1
  • Part 2
  • Part 3
  • Part 4
  • Part 5
  • Part 6  

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• Visit ProbablyTrueSolar.com to sign up for the newsletter to learn about new episodes and live solar storytelling events.
• Support the show by visiting the merch store and buying a tee shirt!
• Learn how sponsors can be a part of Probably True Solar Stories and tell their own creative stories. 
• Follow @SolarFred and/or @ProbTrueSolar on Twitter to discuss episodes
• Don't forget to:
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Today's Probably True Solar Stories mini-story is about one solar installer's expectations. It's also tangentially about a moose...

("The Story Behind the Solar Panel" is a new Prbably True Solar Stories mini-story series that is supported by sponsors. The stories are still fun and original fictional solar stories, but they're shorter and written in collaboration with the episode's sponsors.)

True Solar Takeaways

• Learn more about Maxeon Solar Technologies' solar panels.
• If you're a solar installer, learn about Maxeon's partner program.
• Visit Maxeon's booth at RE+ in Las Vegas at Booth 3368.

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• Visit ProbablyTrueSolar.com to sign up for the newsletter to learn about new episodes and live solar storytelling events.
• Support the show by visiting the merch store and buying a tee shirt!
• Learn how sponsors can be a part of Probably True Solar Stories and tell their own creative stories. 
• Follow @SolarFred and/or @ProbTrueSolar on Twitter to discuss episodes
• Don't forget to:
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  • Rate
  • Review, and 
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