DOE Loan Programs Office Director Jigar Shah explains why net metering policy reform was delayed in markets like California.
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Shah: Existing grid capacity can handle load growth through 2034–2035
“The amount of load growth that we can handle, within the actual system that we've already paid for is gargantuan. It can easily take us through probably 2034, 20 35, right? Which, by which time we think nuclear will be more cost effective, enhanced geothermal …”
Opinion
Shah: Every energy hard tech success required massive government support
“I don't think there's a single success story in hard tech not one in the energy space that didn't involve massive government involvement, right? Not one.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Shah: California's NEM 3.0 lacks a transparent battery compensation mechanism
“They did the NEMM three point O piece, but there's no transparent way of getting paid for your battery piece.”
Opinion
Shah: Residential solar loan securitization model has a short shelf life
“The game of just putting dumb solar in people's houses, you know, providing them a loan, right? Making money on that loan, right? And it's a securitization story, right? So you get debt from Wall Street, and then you own the equity slice, and then you try real…”
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Shah: Warehouse rooftop solar may be cheaper net-net than utility-scale solar
“And so, and when you look at, you know, interconnection cues from utility-scale solar and that kind of stuff, it may actually end up being net-net cheaper to put solar on these four-acre warehouse rooftops than to put it in the middle of a field.”
Insight
Shah: Zero-backfeed VPPs bypass utility permission hurdles by only offsetting load
“And so if you make a simplifying assumption, which is that no one is backfeeding anything into the grid. Right? Right? That the batteries you know, basically use case here is to make your home go off grid. Right? Sort of an energy efficiency play. So your home…”