Part 3: The Solar Heist, or How I Got into the Solar Business: The Favor

Probably True Solar Stories

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 ofte

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