Inverter companies like Enphase are getting more involved with batteries and battery companies like Panasonic and Tesla are working with inverter manufacturers to offer full system setups aligned with NEC requirements. The result is easier system choices for contractors.
Solar marketing in 2021 should include actually teaching prospects using videos (beyond just telling), campaigns that include the word “free” because it can reduce acquisition cost by up to 40%, and paying for ads on all social media platforms to create a larger customer base.
PV Mag’s roundup of product announcements includes: Panasonic’s new EverVolt solar module is ready to ship, ESS has launched its Energy Center for large commercial installs, Sunnova has come to DC, and Richardson Electronics now has SiC diode modules.
Commoditization pressure and its impact on pricing continue to be a drag on scaling in the solar industry and there is no consensus in the industry about what to do about it (specialization? adding services? product expansion?). A major culprit is the failure of OEMs to invest in brand differentiation.
5 reasons people who qualify for solar opt-out: misconceptions it is too pricey, bias against the aesthetic, fear of unscrupulous installers, false info that it kills jobs in America, the mistaken assumption that their HOA will block it (which often can’t, according to DSIRE).
Upcoming trends in the solar panel cleaning sector: the wet segment will grow exponentially due to high efficiency, the autonomous market will grow due to increased dependency on machine learning/AI, and manual cleaning will hold steady because of precision and effectiveness.
In the spring of 2021, NREL’s SolarAPP hopes to revolutionize solar permitting by offering an online permitting portal that eligible res solar and storage projects can use to obtain instant permits. AHJs and installers alike will have a streamlined, low cost solution to the chronic permitting issue.
To retrofit existing PV system equipment for monitoring make sure you have the right IT infrastructure for a reliable connection whether it is via hardwire or WiFi/wireless, can retrieve data at any point, and are using hardware-agnostic platforms. See the article for some product recs.
FIMER will be pairing its UNO-DM-PLUS-Q-US and PVS-60-TL-US string inverters for res and C&I with the APsmart PVRSE from APsystems. FIMER’s inverters will now meet mandatory rapid shutdown regulatory requirements for US grid connection.
Renewables now make up 24% of US available installed generating capacity. The mix of all renewables is projected to add 59,308MW of net new generating capacity to the US total by Dec 2023 while the net new capacity from non renewables will drop 15,400MW.