This is your SolarWakeup for January 9th, 2020

The #Solar1000. I’ve been thinking about the 2020 prediction that I wanted to share since I’m already on the record with saying the residential solar market will grow more than 25% in 2020 even with the ITC stepdown. Looking at data yesterday, I think there is a great chance that more than 50 solar installers will break through 1,000 installs this year. I tweeted the prediction with a timestamp, so you can hold me to it. This is a big step for solar installers, it’s not just running a solar company but actually building a massive business. #waittosee

A SunShot Challenge. When it comes to government programs in the innovation space the SunShot program has been remarkably effective and successful. I can personally vouch that several solar companies exist today thanks to the early help from SunShot when ‘climate tech’ wasn’t something investors were funding. So it’s great to see what appears to be a similar effort get into the storage side of things. I hope the program calls me when they need reviewers once again.

Can We Deregulate? Virginia has a bill filed that would allow for retail energy choice for consumers, breaking off some of the monopoly power held by Dominion. This is likely a legislative long shot but the argument has long been made that neither party should continue to prop up an idea that hinders competition in a free market.

Request For Help. New Columbia Solar from DC lost one of their team members over the holidays. A single father that trained through community groups to be a core part of the solar installers business was tragically killed a few weeks ago. The company is asking the solar community to help raise funds for Tyshaun’s daughters. Thank you for your help. 

Opinion

Best, Yann