Solar Photovoltaic Installer SolarCity

#SolarCity (SCTY) installs solar photovoltaic systems in homes, businesses and government buildings.  I recently purchased shares in this company so I’m not unbiased, but the story is still interesting.  Here’s their company website.  

The company was founded in 2006 by Elon Musk, yes the same man who started a company that later became PayPal.  When PayPal was sold to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002, Musk owned 11.7% of the company.  He’s rolled that wealth into other ventures like Tesla Motors, SpaceX and SolarCity. 

Renewable energy systems have always suffered on the economic front from the high upfront cost of installation.  SolarCity financing changed that by allowing customers to lease their system with no money down.  SolarCity owns and maintains the system; the business or homeowner pays for the energy they use, frequently at a lower rate than their currently utility bill. 

On October 11^th, while announcing their earnings, SolarCity said they installed 78 MW during the 3^rd quarter of 2013.  This is up from the previously estimated 72 MW for this period.  Guidance for the full year continued at 278 MW.  

However, the real news in that announcement was the guidance for 2014.  SolarCity now anticipates installing between 475 MW and 525 MW of capacity in 2014 – a 70-90% increase over 2013.  No surprise – the stock jumped over 20% in trading that day. 

Now this doesn’t mean the future is unbelievably bright for SolarCity.  They will face changes to the federal investment tax credits in 2016, continuing challenges in financing the installations they’re making and ongoing competition from others in the industry.  They will also face the view of some that they may be a good company, but the price run up has made them a bad investment right now. 

But isn’t it great, after all this time, to be realistically talking about solar electric playing a key role in our nation’s energy mix?

Snickerdoodles

Over the years, I've had a lot of requests for my cookie recipes, not to mention the cookies themselves. I'm not sure I understand the fascination with snickerdoodles -- it's a sugar cookie after all -- but it's frequently the first cookie people grab. Here you go:

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons sugar (raw cane sugar from Trader Joe's)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 375.

Stir together the dry stuff (flour, soda, cream of tartar and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt).

Beat butter until its creamy, then add regular sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, milk and vanilla and beat well. Add all the dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Form dough into balls and then roll in combination of raw cane sugar and cinnamon. Place balls onto cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 8-10 minutes until light golden brown. Move to racks for cooling.

I've typically been able to get about 2 dozen real-sized cookies from this recipe.

French Silk Pie

I've given you the pie crust recipe, now you need something to put in it.  This is seriously sweet, but how can you go wrong with sugar, butter, eggs and chocolate.

1 cup sugar
¾ cup butter
3 squares (3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled)
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs
1 9” baked pie crust

In a small mixer bowl cream sugar and butter about 4 minutes or till fluffy. Stir in cooled chocolate and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on medium speed of mixer after each addition and scraping side of bowl constantly. You will see the mixture get lighter after each additional egg. You want a very smooth/silky feel to the mixture. Turn into baked pie crust. Chill several hours or overnight until set.

Pie Crust

This is an easy recipe for a pie crust.  You don't need a rolling pin, you'll be pressing it into the pie tin.  Use it for your favorite dessert or main dist.

1 cup + 1 tablespoon flour

1 stick of butter

1 tablespoon cold water

Melt butter in microwave.  Add to flour and stir.  Add one or two tablespoons of water.  (You want pliable dough).  Knead briefly to capture all the flour. 

Press pie crust into a standard 8” pie tin.  Be sure to make crust thin and even along bottom and edges. 

If pie calls for a baked crust, preheat oven to 425º.  Puncture crust along bottom and sides so steam can escape.  Bake crust for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Kickstarter -- Aqualibrium

Aqualibrium is a project seeking crowd-source funding on Kickstarter.

This project definitely has a lot of the right features that typically has me reaching for the credit card:.

• Grow fresh organic produce anywhere
• Teaching the next generation where our food comes from
• Entertainment watching fish and plants grow.

So why haven't I jumped?  

Am I nervous that my not quite green thumb will show through?   I'll admit, I've killed bonsai plants that survived for years before they met me?

Does the thought of buying fish and reminding myself to feed them give me pause?

Or does the promise of an easy-to-assemble kit with grow lights and doors sound a little too good?

Frankly, it's probably a combination of these.  Fortunately, my hesitation is not universal.  As of October 8th, Aqualibrium has 374 backers and has raised over $92,000 toward their goal of $108,000.  With their funding, they plan to buy the dies needed for their unique indoor gardens.  

It's an interesting plan and would be fascinating to watch fish and plants in an indoor ecosystem.

Dusty Baker out at Cincinnati -- What about the Mariners

The Cincinnati Reds released Dusty Baker as manager today because he just didn't take them far enough in the playoffs.  Wow.  :)

He's been with the Reds for 6 seasons, taking them to a 509-463 record.  The last two years have been 90+ win seasons.  And they're firing him because it wasn't enough.  I guess that's how the other half lives.

As a Mariner's fan, I think he would be a great fit.  The Mariners need a manager who will either have unquestioned credibility or an ability to establish a generational connection with all their young kids.  Baker certainly fits the first criteria.

Recently resigned manager Eric Wedge wasn't the reason the Mariners lost so many games this year and he may or may not have been able to take them to the next level in 2014.  But with Wedge gone, the Mariners need to plan for next year and getting Dusty Baker in the fold would be a great first step.

They Buried the Lead

After viewing a nice interview between Bill Gates and David Rubenstein of Harvard that you'll find here, I realized that everyone publishing the interview completely buried the lead.

All the announcements talked about Gates acknowledging that the key sequence CTRL-ALT-DELETE, was a mistake.  They shouldn't have required that sequence to start up a computer.

That was the most important thing they got out of a nearly hour-long interview.  Really?

Personally, I was much more interested in the evolution of the intense, driven 20-something computer software fanatic into a 50-something self-effacing philanthropist.  You hear stories from the man who casually refers to his friends Warren, Paul and Steve and how those real-life tales changed his life and the lives we all lead.

You seen the consistent playful byplay Gates had with Rubenstein and it brings a previously unsuspected humanity to the myth that time and wealth helped create.