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Companies are surprisingly good at avoiding opportunities they're not familiar with. If it is actually profitable for them already, but they're not doing it, th

by mcv 4y ago

Companies are surprisingly good at avoiding opportunities they're not familiar with. If it is actually profitable for them already, but they're not doing it, then a law mandating it may still be a good idea.

passwordoops 4y ago
Recall that Texas of all places leads the US in renewables integration. It's definitely not because of mandates, it's because their environment makes wind and solar profitable for the energy companies... Provided there's no major winter storms to break their back up generation
gruez 4y ago
>Companies are surprisingly good at avoiding opportunities they're not familiar with They don't need to. In the sunnier parts of the US, it's common for companies to install solar panels for free, in exchange for a cut of the generated revenue. >If it is actually profitable for them already, but they're not doing it, That's why I specifically mentioned risk in my previous comment. For instance, generating 10%/year ROI today might sound good, but if there aren't any price guarantees from the government it's possible that might drop to 1-2% a few years later. I'm not sure what the regulatory regime/economics for the solar industry France is like, but absent any evidence to the contrary I'm inclined to believe that there isn't free money lying around that companies are passing up.
- wlesieutre 4y ago
  Note that some of the "generated revenue" is not from selling the generated power but from selling Renewable Energy Credits, which allow power companies to claim your solar as part of their energy generation mix. So it might not be economical purely on a power generation basis, the government is giving renewables a boost with energy portfolio requirements. No idea if France has a similar system in place. https://www.epa.gov/green-power-markets/renewable-energy-certificates-recs https://www.epa.gov/green-power-markets/renewable-energy-cer...

by mcv 4y ago

passwordoops 4y ago

Recall that Texas of all places leads the US in renewables integration. It's definitely not because of mandates, it's because their environment makes wind and solar profitable for the energy companies... Provided there's no major winter storms to break their back up generation

gruez 4y ago

>Companies are surprisingly good at avoiding opportunities they're not familiar with They don't need to. In the sunnier parts of the US, it's common for companies to install solar panels for free, in exchange for a cut of the generated revenue. >If it is actually profitable for them already, but they're not doing it, That's why I specifically mentioned risk in my previous comment. For instance, generating 10%/year ROI today might sound good, but if there aren't any price guarantees from the government it's possible that might drop to 1-2% a few years later. I'm not sure what the regulatory regime/economics for the solar industry France is like, but absent any evidence to the contrary I'm inclined to believe that there isn't free money lying around that companies are passing up.

wlesieutre 4y ago
Note that some of the "generated revenue" is not from selling the generated power but from selling Renewable Energy Credits, which allow power companies to claim your solar as part of their energy generation mix. So it might not be economical purely on a power generation basis, the government is giving renewables a boost with energy portfolio requirements. No idea if France has a similar system in place. https://www.epa.gov/green-power-markets/renewable-energy-certificates-recs https://www.epa.gov/green-power-markets/renewable-energy-cer...