Probably True Solar Stories

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Two teenagers are having a private moment in the hills above a utility substation when suddenly they happen upon a terrorist intent on bringing down their local grid. Will the teens escape and defeat the terrorist? Yes, but only with the help of some very modern and very real solar and smart electric resources.

True Solar Takeaways

• Terrorists have been attempting to disrupt the grid by firing rifle shots at the transformers of utility substations. Here are some news clips about these incidents:
  • FBI thwarts neo-Nazi plot to attack Baltimore Gas & Electric substations, ‘completely destroy’ city 
  • Mass power outage in North Carolina caused by gunfire, repairs could take days
  • Attacking the grid
• Yes, indeed. There is a "Smart Summon" mode on your Tesla, but you need to be close by. Behold. 
• The smart homes of the future are here, not in the future. There are many, many companies that offer app connections that can control just about anything in your house through wifi and smart plugs, including the coffee maker, the TV,  lights, stereos, and of course garage door openers. Pretty much everything. 
• If you've only installed solar on your roof, you will generally not be able to use the solar generation, even if the blackout occurs when the sun is shining. That's because your solar power will back feed into the grid and endanger the line-people who are fixing transmission wires, so your inverter will cut off your solar production. There are a few inverters that will "island" and route power to your home and not the grid. Check with your installer.
• If you want your solar power to back you up, day or night, you'll need to install a battery. However, whole home backup is rare--and expensive. Instead, you can tell your solar+battery installer about the "critical loads" that will be available during a blackout, and he'll configure your battery to keep those things running. Typically, it's the lights, refrigerator, and other small appliances. The size of your battery will partly determine how many hours those things will stay on. Of course, the more things you use during a blackout, the fewer hours of backup battery usage you'll have. Also, if you include high-intensity loads like air conditioning or a pool pump, you'll quickly use up your battery power in very few hours.

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On the next Probably True  Solar Stories, a semi-sweet retired teacher gets inspired by Greta Thunberg to advocate for solar energy. But when her neighbors make excuses for not getting a solar quote, she starts a radical social media campaign that almost gets her arrested by the local sheriff... who happens to be her grandson.

True Solar Takeaways

• This story is fiction, but Greta Thunberg is very real and a true climate action activist. You can follow her on Twitter and on Instagram, and you can follow her campaign here. 
• Here's a link to her "How Dare You" speech. 
• Here's a link to her "Blah, blah, blah" speech, which includes "words that sound great, but led to no action."
• It's very, very simple to get a solar quote today. You can search the web for solar installers in your area, but please compare prices. Get three estimates and compare online reviews. As The Naked Solar Lady says in this story, if solar doesn't make financial sense for you, don't do it.  At least you now know what it costs today and you'll be able to benchmark for another set of solar quotes in another year or two. It just takes an hour of your time. And if it does work, what are you waiting for?
• There are also several websites that will compare three online quotes for you after inputting some information about your home and energy usage. 
• While it's true that solar does not work by itself at night, that's okay. Almost every solar home remains connected to the local grid to keep the lights and fridge on at night.
• Despite some recent blackouts and brownouts in California and Texas, the grid rarely goes down. In 2018, the latest data available, the entire U.S. grid was up and running 94% of the time, but that's in specific areas. Your utility may be more stable than others. If you're concerned about being without power for a few hours or, at most, a day or two, then you can install batteries with your solar panels.
• Batteries have other advantages besides rarely used backup power. In certain places like California, Hawaii, and other states, batteries can be used to save more money by storing your extra solar power for use later when evening and nighttime utility rates are higher. As mentioned earlier, get three solar+battery quotes from three qualified and well-reviewed installers. They'll let you know if installing a battery makes financial sense for you.  Perhaps it makes sense to only install a small battery that will be programmed for energy savings and not backup power. 

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After almost being shot by a crime syndicate enforcer, Charlie and Mazz go to confront Richard Prout about who really owns the utility solar project. But Richard won’t talk. Worse, he attempts a daring escape that frustrates the hell out of Mazz and Charlie and attempts to split them apart.

True Solar Takeaways

• Brownfields and landfills are ideal locations for utility solar projects because they're near grid infrastructure. 
• Brownfields and landfills are also ideal because they typically qualify for a bonus 10%  investment tax credit (ITC.) The standard solar investment tax credit is 30%.
• Ownership of a solar project is complicated. Often, the solar project developer is leasing the land from a landowner, but sometimes the land is bought. Also, as with many corporations, a solar project can have numerous investors who collect revenue from the solar power generated and sold to a utility, plus benefit from tax credits and other tax incentives.
• This story is fiction, but there has been at least one incident of the Italian mafia owning solar projects. 

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Season 2's theme is "Solar Noir," and we start off with a darkly comedic Part 4 of our Solar Heist series.  (Catch up to Parts 1-3 here.)  In Part 4, Mazz and Charlie are forced by Richard Prout, a crime syndicate boss, to dig up some CATs  (Certain Awful Things) under Charlie's solar project, which used to be a landfill.  As Charlie and Mazz dig, an unexpected visitor arrives to give Charlie a dangerous pop quiz. Will Charlie pass the test?

True Solar Takeaways

• Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) solar project owners receive a 30% investment tax credit (ITC) from the IRS.
• If a solar project is built on a former landfill and a disadvantaged community, the owner can get a 20% bonus tax credit. In fact, under certain conditions, the IRA includes a delicious and profitable layer cake of bonus tax credits that could pay for up to 70% of the upfront cost of building a solar project. 
• FYI: A tax credit is like an IRS gift card that can be used towards paying owed taxes. Consequently, banks and other profitable companies love to invest in solar projects because the tax credits can reduce their IRS tax bills, often by millions of dollars.  
• Solar project owners also make money by selling their generated solar power to utilities. Utilities pay the solar owner 3 to 5 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) generated over a long-term contract, typically 25 to 30 years.
• Learn more about solar tax credits.

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We're back for Season 2 of Probably True Solar Stories. This season, the theme is "Solar Noir." You know, like film noir, except our twisted thrillers, murder, mysteries, and petty crime stories will all have something to do with solar energy.   

Why solar noir? Well, when I look at today's hit TV shows and films, many are thrillers and murder mysteries. And since our main goal for creating the podcast is to get solar into mainstream pop culture, there's no reason why fictional solar stories can't also be thrillers, murder mysteries--and even dragon stories. 

As long as you don't mind a few vague spoilers about the next 10 episodes, listen now to Season 2's Solar Noir preview!

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In preparation for launching Season 2 of Probably True Solar Stories, we've combined all three parts of "The Solar Heist, or How I Got Into the Solar Business" into a single 53-minute episode.

Two neighbors meet unexpectedly at an Oakland, California coffee shop that specializes 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.

After a somewhat successful solar panel heist, the two neighbors become friends. Inspired by Charlie, Mazz opens a legitimate residential solar business while Charlie builds his large-scale solar project. But when Mazz unexpectedly sees that Charlie is working for an underworld acquaintance, Mazz realizes that Charlie may be more of a threat than a friend.

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.
• After the writing of this story, it was reported that the U.S. government has confiscated gigawatts (GWs) of solar panel shipments. 
• 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.
• The solar industry is filled with acronyms and jargon. 
• AHJ (Authorities Having Jurisdiction) are the permitting authorities that review and approve the building of solar projects
• PTO (Permission to Operate) is the official utility permission to start generating solar power on the utility's grid. 
• PUC (or in California, the CPUC) stands for Public Utility Commission. The PUC regulates utilities and approves or modifies utility rates and sets policies for a state's public utilities.
• Single Axis Trackers (SATs) are used in most large solar projects today. 
• Solar project owners are paid by utilities for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) generated by the solar farm. 
•  Solar project owners don't always own the land. Landowners often lease their land and receive a steady revenue stream for 30 years.

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In the next episode of Probably True Solar Stories, we continue the story of two neighbors who are part of the solar industry. Charlie is a large-scale utility solar developer while Mazz is a medium-scale thief who successfully "liberated" Charlie's solar panel shipment from a U.S. customs warehouse in Part 1 and Part 2.

Now,  in Part 3, it's a year later. Mazz has invested in a home solar company and trying to go legit. Meanwhile, Charlie's big solar project is almost complete... but there's a complication. Somebody knows about the solar panel heist. And that somebody now wants a favor that Charlie and Mazz can't refuse.

True Solar Takeaways

• With the passage of the IRA (Inflation Reduction Act of 2022), all solar projects, regardless of size, receive a 30% Investment Tax Credit (ITC).
• Solar projects that are built on landfills, brownfields, and EPA superfund sites receive an extra 10% bonus ITC. There are other ITC bonuses that could net the solar owner as much as 70%. 
• The solar industry is filled with acronyms and jargon. 
• AHJ (Authorities Having Jurisdiction) are the permitting authorities that review and approve the building of solar projects
• PTO (Permission to Operate) is the official utility permission to start generating solar power on the utility's grid. 
• PUC (or in California, the CPUC) stands for Public Utility Commission. The PUC regulates utilities and approves or modifies utility rates and sets policies for a state's public utilities.
• 20% efficient solar panels are considered high efficiency and cost more. Efficiency means that solar panel converts 20% of the sunlight that hits it into electricity. That means that 80% of the power gets reflected. So, the higher the efficiency, the more solar you'll generate with fewer panels. High-efficiency panels are more expensive than panels in the 17% range, but they produce more energy on small rooftops and reduce the number of panels needed.
• Single Axis Trackers (SATs) are used in most large solar projects today. Like high-efficiency panels, they're more expensive than fixed-tilt racks. But because they automatically track the sun throughout the day, they generate more power.
• Solar project owners are paid by utilities for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) generated by the solar farm. So their goal is to keep projects online and pumping out as much solar in a day for 30 years or longer.  There are maintenance costs, but if a project is well maintained, it's a very steady revenue stream. That's why they often use trackers with high-efficiency solar panels. So, even a tiny boost of 2% efficiency can generate more power--and more profits over a 30-year contract.
•  Solar project owners don't always own the land. Landowners often lease their land to solar developers and receive a steady and predictable revenue stream for 30 years.

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Gather around the fireplace, solar friends. Pull up a seat at the bar. On the next, Probably True Solar Stories, we're going to tell the first-ever solar fable. It's a fairytale. A hero's journey sort of thing. With a Texas accent. (Forgive me in advance.)

This story may be a familiar one to people inside and outside the solar industry.  It's about a young, ambitious solar installer who seeks her fortune to be the most successful solar installer in all the land.  And like many fables, our ambitious installer meets a wise guide--or in this case, a wise couple--who teaches her about The Solar Way, a solar-inspired guide to living life on The Solar Coaster. Will our fable have a happy ending? Let's find out.

True Solar Takeaways

This episode doesn't have many solar facts about the solar industry. The main takeaway is that the solar biz is difficult. It has so many ups and downs and policy twists and turns that people have called it "The Solar Coaster." 

The people riding the solar coaster can get discouraged, including me. To help smooth out the ups and downs, I've read a lot of philosophies, but mostly Taoism and Stoicism. For this fable, I turned some of my philosophical learnings into "The Solar Way." 

The Solar Way's main points are:

• Be warm. Shine like the sun.
• Let go of broken solar panels. 
• Be interconnected. 
• The sun rises every day. Be as consistent.
• The sun sets every day. This too shall pass. 

If you're interested in learning more about Taoism and Stoicism, here are a  few audio and text resources:

• The Daily Stoic. Through his website, podcast, and books, Ryan Holiday offers modern insights through ancient Stoic wisdom. Although the Stoic philosophy is very old, Holiday keeps it simple and relevant to the way people live today.  Check out his free daily podcast and daily email. Of course, his books are a great resource, as well.
•  The Tao of Daily Life by Derik Lin is a well-deserved bestseller. It teaches the principles of Taoism through the classic Taoist and Buddhist fables. Although the stories are still set in ancient China, Lin translates these stories in a way that is very accessible for our modern world. Then he cites a passage from the Tao te Ching and explains the wisdom behind each story. This book and other David Lin books are also available in audio and digital forms.
• Happy: Why More or Less Everything is Absolutely Fine by Derren Brown. You may know Derren Brown as an international illusionist, but he's also a professed Stoic. Happy is his easy-to-read guide to happiness using examples from his shows, his illusions, and from his own life. He often cites Stoic texts, but it's not a book about Stoicism. Check out his many YouTube videos to see his stage performances and British TV shows. Brown also has two shows on Netflix. They're always entertaining and educational. They offer tips for how we can stop our minds from tricking us... or at least how we can become aware of the trickery. 

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In this episode of Probably True Solar Stories, a feisty senior citizen is determined to haggle with a solar salesman to buy the solar system of her dreams. But her haggling plans fall through when an honest salesperson refuses to sell an installation at any price. Can they find the solar win-win?

True Solar Takeaways

• Not every home is a good fit for solar. 
• The home may have too many trees or other obstacles that block the sun--and solar production. The home may need a new roof. The home's wiring or service panel may need an upgrade. A good installer will make an evaluation and let you know these things in advance of signing a contract.  You can always make these upgrades and go solar in the future. 
• Solar installed on North-facing roofs will generate very little solar power...unless you live in Australia. Then it's perfect. For the U.S. and Europe, a South-facing roof is ideal. West and East are okay, and in some cases, may be better. Your solar installer should design the best system based on your roof and many factors.   
• To find a good installer, get a referral from a friend who's already gone solar.
• Even with a friend's referral, always check out solar installer reviews on the internet. Yelp, Google Reviews, Angie's List, and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) will usually reveal the bad and good installers.
• After reading reviews and doing your homework, always get at least three quotes. You'll learn something about solar and your home's electricity usage with every quote.
• Beware of the installer's utility inflation rate when a proposal estimates your payback period and ROI. No one can predict utility rate inflation over the next 25 years. Just because your bill went up 10% for two years in a row does not mean it will go up 10% every year for the next 25 years.  
• You can find more buying tips on the internet. The most important thing is to get at least three quotes and compare them. If you're confused, ask the installer questions. If they get frustrated or pressure you to just sign without understanding the proposal, costs, and payback period, walk away. 
• If you're not familiar with computers and the internet, find someone who is. Shopping for solar is complicated. You can't properly shop for a solar installer from ads in the yellow pages, no matter what special discounts are promised. 
• If you can't go solar, your state may have community solar programs that allow you to go solar by "subscribing" to a large solar farm in your area. Search Google for "community solar in YOUR STATE" to learn about the available programs. 

Hope that helps!

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There's a new superhero in town. His name is Solar Man, and he's here to help the world, but not in the way you might think. To defeat his arch-nemesis,  Solar Man reluctantly decides to join the Ultra League of Super Defenders,  a band of superheroes that are beyond the law.  But will Solar Man be able to show his Super Solar strengths and pass the audition?

True Solar Takeaways

• The U.S. solar industry installs the equivalent of a residential solar installation every 60 seconds. 
• All solar projects require some type of local permitting and utility connection ("interconnection") approvals.
• Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs) are the catch-all name for the county, city, and utility approval bodies that oversee solar permitting.
• A "PE" is a licensed Professional Engineer. Some AHJs require their review of a solar installation design. Some don't. 
• Sadly, there are no national standards or building codes for installing solar on a home, business, or utility-size project. Each county, city, and state has its own special rules, regulations, codes, and official requirements. 
• As a result of different permitting codes and standards, solar's installation and interconnection processes can get slowed down. Local differences also increase the costs and time to install solar.
• AHJs and utilities can also be slow to approve projects due to the increasing number of solar projects being installed. AHJ staff need to be updated on the latest solar and battery products and new technologies.

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