The Energy Show

Copyright 2019, The Energy Show - Barry Cinnamon

As I record this radio show the temperature in San Jose is already over 100 degrees. So this week’s show is not just about the future hazards of global warming, but the fact that extreme climate change has already arrived.

I know that a hot day in San Jose is just a reflection of the weather - not proof of climate change. Weather is what you see outside on any particular day. Climate is the average of the weather over a period of time. When we talk about global warming, we are talking about changes in long term averages of daily weather. So a cold streak in March does not negate the fact that global warming is happening, no more than a hot day in San Jose is definitive proof that the planet is heating up.

Some people have reasons to believe that the earth is really not warming, that this warming is not caused by CO2, or that this CO2 is not caused by humans. Nevertheless, both short term and long term worldwide average temperatures have increased, and 97% of climate scientists believe that this warming is caused by CO2 in the atmosphere.

These temperature changes are not just academic; many locations around the U.S. have already exceeded a 2 degree C temperature rise. The Washington Post analyzed more than a century of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration temperature data in the lower 48 states. They found that more than 1 in 10 Americans — 34 million people — are living in rapidly heating regions. 71 counties have already hit the 2 degree C mark. In LA County the average temperature rise was 2.3 C, Silicon Valley was 2 C, NYC was 2.2 C, and my home town in New Jersey was 2 C.

Although a few good things will come from higher temperatures (more farming in Alaska, etc.), the overall impact will drastically affect our society. Sea levels are rising, cities will have to move inland, warmer and more acidic sea water will reduce fishing, hot areas will become uninhabitable, weather will become more severe ... the list goes on.

Once we acknowledge this problem, there are only two sensible actions: ADAPT to these global warming changes and MITIGATE the causes of worldwide warming. Please tune in to this week’s Energy Show for details of the extreme climate change we are already experiencing, as well as the actions that we can take.

Copyright 2019, The Energy Show, Barry Cinnamon

From time immemorial, the fuels that have powered human development have been governed by economics. The cheaper and more available fuels were, the more they were used. And as humanity evolves, we use more and more fuel to meet our energy requirements. We have transitioned from wood to coal to oil to nuclear to gasoline to natural gas -- and now to wind and solar, supplemented by batteries.

More recently in human history, subsidies have been used to encourage the development of new these fuel sources. Nuclear power was (and still is) subsidized by the U.S. government. Hydraulic fracturing (fracking), carbon capture and sequestration (so that we can continue to burn coal with lower emissions), hydrogen production and distribution, and synthetic fuels from biological sources have all been heavily subsidized. And there would not be a viable solar and battery storage industry without significant R&D from government sources.

When I reflect on these past subsidies -- without exception — every single one mentioned above is still heavily subsidized by both federal and state governments. These subsidies do not only include direct R&D dollars, but also include incentives such as the solar investment tax credit, wind production tax credit, and oil/gas drilling depletion allowance.

But once a new fuel gains production scale and widespread adoption, favorable economics outweigh even large subsidies. We are in such a transition now as clean and cheap wind, solar and battery storage are replacing coal and natural gas fueled electricity To learn more about the economics of fossil fuels and the market forces that are transitioning our world to new energy sources, please tune in to this week’s Energy Show.

copyright 2019, The Energy Show - Barry Cinnamon

Entrepreneurs are the job engine in the United States. Many of the companies founded by today’s entrepreneurs have products or services addressing environmental needs. New technologies almost always gain traction through the work of stubborn entrepreneurs, including solar, wind, electric vehicles and energy storage.

Public policies that encourage these new technologies are critical to their success in the market. Without policies such as the solar investment tax credit, net metering, renewable portfolio standards and the wind production tax credit, the solar and wind industries would be a fraction of their current size.  And when these new technologies gain traction with customer economics better than previous energy technologies, adoption of these new technologies accelerates. Just look at how wind, solar and batteries are surpassing fossil fuel energy sources.

These public policies generally do not sprout spontaneously from the minds of politicians. Instead, they are suggested, developed and advocated by public policy organizations. And when it comes to environmental policies for entrepreneurial companies, Environmental Entrepreneurs, or E2, is one of the leading voices. E2’s members have founded or funded more than 2,500 companies, created over 600,000 jobs, and managed over $100 billion in venture and private equity capital.

Please listen to this week’s Energy Show as we engage with Bob Keefe, E2’s Executive Director, to learn about the genesis of E2, their successes working at the intersection of jobs, economy and the environment; and their plans for the future.

Copyright 2019 - The Energy Show, Barry Cinnamon

Copyright 2019 - The Energy Show, Barry Cinnamon

Unless you have rooftop solar, you’re probably incredibly unhappy about rising electric bills. This misery is even worse for commercial customers since -- in addition to energy charges (billed on a kilowatt-hour basis) -- they also pay for peak demand charges (billed on the maximum kilowatt demand each month).

For example, let’s say your business uses industrial equipment and a variety of office equipment. Your company uses 50,000 kwh of energy per month; at a rate of $0.15/kwh, your electric bill is $7,500 per month. In addition, your peak demand may be 300 kilowatts in a typical month; at a peak demand rate of $20 per kilowatt, you also pay $6,000 in demand charges every month.

As a conscientious and generous employer, you decide to install 20 EV chargers in your parking lot so your employees can charge up their cars while at work. Each employee may charge up their car with about 10 kwh per day — or $1.50 worth of electricity each, or $600 for all employees each month. A nice employee perk, and not too expensive. However, since 20 employees plug in their cars at about the same time every morning, and each charger draws about 5kw, your extra electricity peak demand will be 100 kw, or an extra $2,000 per month. Ouch!

So for many commercial customers, peak demand charges are a bigger cost than energy charges. Ordinary rooftop solar systems may not have a big impact on demand charges. However, batteries or special control systems in conjunction with rooftop solar can significantly reduce these demand charges.

To learn how your company can reduce peak demand charges, listen to this week’s Energy Show as we speak with John Powers with Extensible Energy. Extensible Energy has software that helps commercial solar buildings to use electricity intelligently and reduce peak demand charges.

Copyright 2019 - The Energy Show, Barry Cinnamon

Copyright 2019 - The Energy Show, Barry Cinnamon

30% of the costs of a solar or battery storage system are paid for with the Solar Investment Tax credit. The Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) is the biggest renewable energy incentive in the country, and helps make solar affordable for just about every business or homeowner in the U.S. with a sunny rooftop. The solar ITC has been around for almost ten years – but 2019 is the last year that it is in full effect.

The solar ITC steps down to 26% in 2020, 22% in 2021 and zero for residential systems in 2022. As in year’s past, there will be a big rush to get systems installed before the end of the year – and even a bigger rush at the end of this year since systems will effectively be 4% more expensive on January 1, 2020.

Moreover, California’s public utilities have put their foot on the solar + battery storage accelerator with upcoming Public Safety Power Shutoff announcements. The 30% tax credit fully applies to battery storage systems used for backup power as long as the battery is charged by solar at least 75% of the time. Businesses and homeowners are realizing that a clean, renewable, and quiet solar + battery backup system is more reliable and cost effective than traditional built-in gas and diesel generating systems.

The solar ITC is a straightforward credit (not deduction) on your business or personal tax return, and is not affected by the alternative minimum tax. Other incentives, such as business equipment depreciation, can also be combined with the solar ITC – in many cases cutting the total cost by 50% or more. To learn more about how your home or business can leverage the Solar Investment Tax Credit for both energy and backup power, tune in to this week’s Energy Show.

Copyright 2019 - The Energy Show, Barry Cinnamon

PG&E, our local utility in Silicon Valley, caused a number of wildfires — including the recent Camp fire that destroyed the town of Paradise, killed 86 people and destroyed over 13,000 homes.The primary reason for this and other similar fires is that PG&E skimped on power line maintenance while enjoying record profits. Now they are bankrupt (again), and are scrambling to deal with the upcoming wild fire season.

Public Safety Power Shutoffs may happen far from fire danger areas. And these shutoffs could last for 48 hours or longer. So anyone relying on electricity for the necessities of life must prepare for an extended outage. Unfortunately, their recommendations ignore the cleanest, cheapest and safest backup power solution – solar and battery storage. Instead, PG&E recommends gas generators and stockpiling several days of fuel. Dumb idea to store all this extra fuel in fire-prone areas. Not to mention the challenges of connecting, starting and operating a gas generator safely.

Here is the letter that PG&E sent to my home:

Given the growing threat of extreme weather, we want all of our customers to be prepared for power outages. If elevated weather conditions, including potential fire risk, threaten a portion of the electric system serving your community, it will be necessary for us to turn off electricity in the interest of public safety. This is called a Public Safety Power Shutoff. We know how much our customers rely on electric service and want to work together to help you prepare for power outages.

A Public Safety Power Shutoff could impact any of our more than 5 million electric customers, including your home or business. Because elevated weather conditions can last several hours or days, we suggest preparing for outages that could last longer than 48 hours. Electric backup generators can keep the lights on, help appliances stay running, preserve perishable foods, and power essential equipment and electronics during a power outage.

Generators can also pose safety hazards, so it is important to understand how to safely operate your generator before an emergency occurs. This means doing regular safety checks and being sure you have enough fuel to last a few days.

As you can see from their letter above, PG&E recommends a gas generator for backup power (remember, the “G” in their name stands for “GAS”). No mention at all about using a cleaner, cheaper, quieter and safer battery backup system. Simple reason: they don’t want you to install solar or batteries since that reduces their revenue and profits. And if you buy an automatic natural gas generator they’ll make even more money selling you natural gas.

So Listen up to this week’s Energy Show as we discuss your options for dealing with these Public Safety Power Shutoffs — as well as considerations for selecting the best battery backup system to protect you and your family during these outages.

Copyright 2019 - The Energy Show, Barry Cinnamon

The United States is a representative democracy. Citizens vote for politicians who, theoretically, advocate for their needs: things like better healthcare, lower taxes, cleaner air, and new technologies such as solar. But one cannot check off the “solar” box on a voting ballot. Instead, we have to vote for elected officials whom we trust will work on solar policy on our behalf.

Vote Solar was founded in 2002 by Adam Browning and David Hochschild to bring solar into the mainstream by helping to shape solar policy. Among the policy wins that Vote Solar has achieved includes incentives (tax credits and rebates), modernizing our electric grid, expanding access to solar and storage technologies across all economic sectors, and advocating for solar + storage friendly electric rates.

Polls across the U.S. show that solar and renewable energy rate 90% and higher in the minds of voters . The challenge is turning that latent voting power into actual political power. Please Listen Up to this week’s Energy Show as Adam Browning, Vote Solar’s Executive Director, explains how their advocacy efforts have achieved so many solar wins to date — along with the hard work we all have ahead of us as we make solar a mainstream energy source throughout the U.S.

Copyright 2019 - The Energy Show, Barry Cinnamon