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RISING UTILITY BILLS ARE HURTING AMERICANS
A recent poll surveying Americans' thoughts on rising utility bills showed concern across the political spectrum for the increasing utility costs. Even though consumers aren't happy about the rising utility costs, about 60% of those surveyed were unaware of the state entities in charge of regulating energy utilities. These energy regulators that are unknown to many Americans, have continued to approve increasing utility costs in order to upgrade existing infrastructure.
SOLARBACK IS PAYING LANDLORDS
Solarback talked to BizWeekly about how its ESG focused business model is impacting the South Florida market. Solarback is helping property owners accomplish an increase in cash flow through their rooftops being leased, reduced utility costs for tenants, and an overall improvement in property appeal via sustainability-focused upgrades.
AI'S IMPACT ON CLIMATE CHANGE
The continuing increase in demand for generative AI is leading to indirect environmental impacts. Data Centers are needed to store intensive AI models that perform complex calculations. In order to keep the models performing at baseline levels, data centers use a cooling liquid to maintain cool temperatures for the hardware the models use. As a result of the increased demand for AI models, the data centers require an increase in the amount of water from the facilities in which they are physically stored.
DUMP DUKE ENERGY
Last year's rate hike, finalized by Duke Energy, is predicted to raise base rates by $262 million over the next three years. The city of St. Petersburg in Florida is nearing the end of their agreement with Duke; some citizens are hoping to "Dump Duke" and switch a city-run utility instead.
UTILITY COMPANY PROFITABILITY
A new proposed bill in the House would limit the shareholder profitability for utility companies to the same yield a 10-year treasury note would return. The proposed bill would still allow for rate hikes; however, the reasons for rate hikes would be meticulously judged.
TRANSPARENCY IN THE PSC
The PSC, Public Service Commission, has been likened to a "Black Box" by Florida Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz. The lack of transparency in approving or disapproving rate increase requests is proving to be an issue to those under the utilities servicing areas.
SOLAR VS CLIMATE CHANGE
According to a new study done, solar energy could help to mitigate the damaging effects of climate change. Geospatial data mining and artificial intelligence were used to estimate the impact of putting solar on 200,000 square kilometers of rooftop space.
FPL RAISING RATES
FPL has just issued a request to the Florida PSC (Public Service Commission) to raise rates their customer base by about $9 billion. The largest rate increase request in U.S. history.
SOLARBACK EXPLAINS ENERGY RATES
We created a document to explain the circumstances of why FPL has issued a rate increase request. This document helps elaborate on several nuances, detailing how the new rate increase will affect existing customers. The document further details how Solarback can step in to help commercial property owners in such an uncertain time.
BY THE TIME
During last night’s Super Bowl, Los Angeles viewers saw a regional ad by Science Moms, a nonpartisan group of climate scientists who are also mothers, warning about the urgent climate crisis. Titled “By the Time,” the ad parallels the rapid growth of young girls with the shrinking window for climate action, urging donations for LA wildfire victims. A Science Moms spokesperson told ADWEEK they expected 11 million viewers, with focus groups showing a 25% increase in climate action support. The New York Times named it one of the best Super Bowl ads, calling it well-intentioned but slightly clunky.
2024 WILL BE THE HOTTEST YEAR ON RECORD
2024 was the hottest year on record with numerous metrics telling the same story. Climate change has caused Earth's average temperature to increase beyond 1.5° C of what it was in the pre-industrial era, leading to increased frequencies of natural disasters.
SOLAR IN THE BIG APPLE
Like Solarback, NYC has brought about a plan to use unutilized roof space to construct rooftop solar farms. This plan will generate massive amounts of energy and alleviate the pull on the aging grid. Furthermore, the City of Yes for Carbon Neutrality projects would expediate harmful emissions and provide a healthier living environment.
RISE IN Q3 FOR SOLAR
Year-after-year, solar has seen an increase in the number of utility-scale projects being added in the US. Total solar deployment is expected to increase to a cumulative total of 450 GW by the start of 2030.
SOLAR HELPING LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES
The commercial rooftops in low-income areas were studied to find out how much potential solar power they are missing out on. With the use of artificial intelligence and satellite imagery, the researchers deemed that even with battery storage that would increase the total costs of the installations, it would still be practical in “almost two-thirds" of the areas. The commercial building owners could help tap into the economies of scale offered by providing solar to lower-income residents.
BEACH CLEANUP
In honor of Global Recycling Day, Solarback organized a beach cleanup in partnership with the nonprofit Changing Lives of Boca Raton. Changing Lives focus on helping homeless individuals by providing essential resources and support to aid in their transition to self-sufficiency.
ENVIRONMENTAL DIRECTIONS
Radio interview by Nancy Pearlman with Solarback CEO, Joshua Schuster on KBPK. Don't miss this captivating radio interview on KBPK featuring Joshua Schuster, CEO of Solarback, as he discusses sustainable solutions for a brighter future.
REIT AND SOLAR DEVELOPMENT
The formation of REITs can help aid the drive for solar development among the US thanks to favorable conditions like existing infrastructure, optimal solar-generation conditions, buildings passing performance standards, further dependence on electricity, and the high likelihood of offsetting energy costs. REITs can choose to delve into new territory by helping develop rooftop community solar projects that aid the building and not just the tenant.
SOLAR AND WAREHOUSES
With billions of square feet available atop warehouse roofs, putting solar on those roofs could generate enough electricity to replace 112.7 million metric tons of greenhouse gases produced by other non-renewable sources. Warehouses going solar can also help the community fight against outages and disruptions by reducing the need for new transmission infrastructures and sharing excess power produced.
NREL STUDY
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL, provides an outlook into the future of Solar as it is expected to skyrocket to 45% energy usage in the US by 2050. The study delves into three scenarios with solar: “a baseline case using current policies and trends, a decarbonization scenario in which the current electric power system is 95% decarbonized by 2035 and 100% by 2050, and a decarbonization-plus electrification scenario in which the electric grid grows significantly in scale to power the electrification of buildings, transportation, and industry.
SOLAR ON THE RISE
The rate in going solar is on the rise as evidenced by the fact that the US is producing 10 times more power in 2022 than in 2012. It makes sense as to why people are going solar because of the numerous benefits like reducing dependence on fossil fuels, saving land, and even enhancing resilience against natural disasters. It has never been easier to go solar with the rise of solar happening in areas where public policies are being enacted to support the switch to solar like the Inflation Reduction Act, Investment Tax Credits, renewable energy credits, and countless others.
BISNOW
Inspiration can strike at any time or place. For Joshua Schuster, who has developed approximately $2B in mostly vertical commercial real estate in six states over the past decade, the eureka moment came while he was walking across a crowded parking lot to a grocery store under the hot South Florida sun.
TheStreet | C-Suite Advisors
Millions of Americans now work from home on a daily basis, after a temporary adaptation to a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic became a permanent trend. That’s given many people a reprieve from traffic and commuting but has affected a wide range of industries, from podcasts to dry cleaning—and, of course, commercial real estate has been one of the hardest hit.
South Florida Business Journal
Solarback LLC transforms underutilized commercial rooftops into a valuable source of long-term passive revenue for property owners and management companies. By enabling landlords to lease their empty roof areas, Solarback offers an opportunity to generate solar energy and profits, while lowering monthly carrying costs and offering subsidies for roof recovery, replacement and/or repairs.
ENERGIES MAGAZINE
The Urgent Case For Change: The Civic Duty of Impact Investing In The Face Of Climate Devastation. The world is at a critical juncture, as Robert Frost eloquently wrote about “two roads diverging in a yellow wood.” Sadly, we cannot travel both. While cutting 41 million trees per day there is little forest left to tread, and the only thing yellow is our pollution filled skies.