SparkNotes: November Resources & Opportunities

Hello Spark community,

We’re back with another issue of SparkNotes, with some new and relevant links that we enjoyed and think developers will find helpful. As always, here’s the spreadsheet that many of you come here for.

Since our last issue, we had a blast meeting many of you in person at RE+ conferences this fall. We also co-authored a blog post for Build In Climate about the role of AI in our sector, which garnered over 1,000 views and was featured in several other publications. Spark also got a shoutout during a workshop at the Bezos Earth Fund!

Thank you to all of those that tested out SolarGPT during its private beta period. SolarGPT is a Q&A chatbot that has been trained on over 100 pieces of legislation, including the IRA and state incentive documents. We have been learning a lot through the kinds of questions that the community is asking on the platform about permitting, policies, incentives, and more — which informs Spark’s product roadmap.

Related Links

• DOE Releases Updated FAQs, User Guide as Application Window Nears for Renewable Energy ITC Low-Income Community Bonus Program (NovoCo)

• Request for Information: Transmission System Interconnection Roadmap Draft (DOE)

• 50 States of Solar: Q3 2023 Report (DSIRE)

• Low-income communities bonus credit application assistance (CohnReznick) 

• U.S. Solar Photovoltaic System and Energy Storage Cost Benchmarks, With Minimum Sustainable Price Analysis: Q1 2023 (NREL)

Opportunities from our Community

Please reply if you’d like to learn more about anything below, and reach out to share an opportunity for your company.

• Development checklists for your new and existing markets: We are working with financiers and buyers of assets to compile checklists for data rooms, and using technology to scrape and aggregate data at scale to identify development requirements and more — thereby reducing your site analysis and preparation from weeks down to minutes. If you’re interested in learning more or being an early tester of this product, please reply with your markets (states) or counties of interest and we can get you set up

• One developer with several projects in their pipeline (with domestic content) is looking for advice and credit buyer references

• One tax credit marketplace looking for buyers of tax credits

• A private fund management capital with 30+ years of experience in the environmental commodity markets is helping developers monetize RECs in mainland US as well as Puerto Rico