Apparently the community solar market, accounting for 37% of annual non-res solar in 2020, will hit peak capacity in the next few years but with current incentives becoming fully allocated as those projects come online, the market’s decline will begin in 2023 if programs and incentives are not expanded.
SunPower’s rebranded energy storage offering, SunVault Storage system, is assessed by EnergySage for the layperson. They discuss battery size for power and capacity (13 kWh or 26 kWh, both with a power rating of 6.8 kW), depth of discharge, and roundtrip efficiency. They also look at warranties and cost.
3 industry experts address the current issues and future topics around solar project financing in this Suncast podcast. They discuss actual worth of a project, define bankability, compare and contrast p50 and p90, look at the relationship between adjustments on the financial model and overall project outcome, and point to the right data for forecasting valuations.
SPW continues their 10 year anniversary celebration of their Top Contractors list by rolling out interviews with honoree companies. These include Tron Solar, Core Development Group, Stateline Solar, Aegis Renewable Energy, and Lightwave Solar. Interviewees make market predictions and talk about their industry experiences and memories.
Two developments in private equity regarding climate tech: Brookfield Asset Management closed $7 billion for its Global Transition Fund to scale clean energy and assist carbon-intensive industries in reducing emissions. Also, private equity giant TPG has $5.4 billion in round 1 of its TPG Rise Climate fund focusing on energy, agriculture, and transport.
Two indie testing labs, PV Evolution Labs and Renewable Energy Testing Center, have put out their new module scorecards. Rigorous extended testing (beyond IEC 61215 certification requirements) was performed regarding thermal cycling, damp heat, mechanical stress, PID, LID, backsheet durability, thresher matrix, and PAN performance.
SunPower is partnering with Wallbox, manufacturer of home EV charger Pulsar Plus, to streamline solar and/or storage + charger install. SunPower will be the preferred provider for solar+storage and Wallbox EV charger installations and vice versa. SunPower will also assess users’ homes and electrical systems to ensure compatibility with EV charging tech.
Energy storage in America and globally is booming. Companies in the industry raised $9.6 billion in corporate funding from 41 deals during the first 6 months of 2021, led by Northvolt as the biggest single recipient of VC investment. $5 billion of it was raised in Q1. This is a massive leap up from the first half of 2020 which saw $716 million.
In this webinar CED Greentech and Enel X delve into growing an installer business with EV charging. They discuss how it increases customer lifetime project value, look at best practices for value-engineering it into a solar project, address tapping federal and state incentives to lower costs and touch on regulatory issues and building codes.
The DOE Director of Loan Program Office says that the US must up its game around climate solution related investments and go from $200 billion a year to $1 trillion annually to reach climate targets and achieve Biden’s projected goals. One culprit is that there is not enough knowledge about project dev outside of solar and wind.