elljay, "Railroad Stake" 15/05/17 via pixabay
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Lyndon Rive: the CEO of SolarCity. Although you couldn't be blamed for not thinking that looking at him, he forgoes tailored suits and ties in favor of simple, loose-fitting button downs. With somewhat mousy features, Rive becomes impassioned talking about his duties with SolarCity. His South African roots become apparent when he speaks, he moved from the region to start his first business when he was 17. Today he works to expand SolarCity in high potential areas, such as Nevada.
He touts the economic and environmental benefits of conversion to solar power.
"[Solar City] will make it possible for many Las Vegas area homeowners to install solar panels for free and pay less for solar electricity than they pay for electricity from the local utility" - SolarCity
He's not wrong about that: the niche Nevada holds allows residents to sell off excess energy generated for extra cash. The model falls apart if the megawatt per hour decreases, however. Rive's company has been hurt by the Nevada Public Utilities Commission's decision to raise rates for homes that have installed solar panels. Rive claims that these new rates will "take the value of these systems by half", making them near impossible to pay off (20:11, Video).
Rive blames NV Energy, Nevada's utility monopoly. Pinpointing their lack of hold in the solar industry, he understands why they might want to muscle SolarCity out of the mark by making them nonviable with new price increases. "They'd be big fans of solar that they own" (21:14, Video). He's not alone in thinking this way: New York Times journalist and author Jacques Leslie also believes that these rates are an attempt to help NV Energy expand, backing up his claims slightly. Nevada residents already on solar energy also share in this theory, accusing NV Energy of benefiting financially from this development.
The Public Utilities Commission vehemently disagrees, stating that accusations of unjust influence in their decision are outrageous.
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