Solar energy company Semper Solaris hits out at SDG&E

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) – Skywriting News decorated the skies over San Diego County on Memorial Day with the words: ‘The Wizard of Oz with his witch and his broom and then we say we surrender to SDG&E,’ according to Kelly Shawhan, former captain of the Marine Corps and founder of the solar energy company Semper Solaris.

Shawhan said the solar industry has seen declining sales since the April 2023 implementation of new California solar regulations, which made solar power less affordable for homeowners.

“Who is eliminating the photovoltaic industry? It’s not like we’re some old gas-polluting industry they want to get rid of, like coal-fired power plants. We are sunny; we are ecological,” Shawhan emphasized.

“It’s completely rational. SDG&E is not going to give up and SDG&E cannot be fired,” added John Almond, CEO of Semper Solaris.

The skywriting campaign generated hundreds of thousands of new impressions for Semper Solaris, but CEO John Almond described it as a guttural response to the fact that his industry was in danger.

“Have you ever been in a situation where you were just being bullied and you couldn’t do anything about it and you just wanted to fight back? That’s how we feel,” Almond said.

According to the California Solar Association, 17,000 people in the industry have been laid off since California regulators and the governor accepted the new rules.

“We wrote signs in the sky and put up some banners to get people’s blood pumping and remind people what was going on,” Almond explained.

In response, SDG&E released a statement saying: “Solar plays a critical role in helping California achieve its ambitious energy transition goals by 2045. Through initiatives and partnerships, SDG&E remains committed to expanding renewable energy infrastructure and supporting a greener, more sustainable future “.