Everyone Loves Solar. A new University of Maryland poll shows us once again that solar is popular, 75% of Americans support development of solar farms in their community. 87% for Democrats and 66% for Republicans. That’s as good of a bipartisan issue as you can find, especially in today’s DC.
A Manufacturing Conference. In 2012, the keynote at SPI said the US was a beneficiary in development, finance and structuring of solar deployment made possible by the lowering of costs of solar modules. Modules cost about $1/watt then, down from $4/watt. Every since, we’ve chased the elusive solar manufacturing complex here at home. Now we have a conference focused on manufacturing, that’s pretty good!
You Make A Battery, They Make A Battery. With the inventory of brands making residential storage boxes, you have to imagine the competition to get into the installers and distributors is fairly stiff. Distributors care about the following in my experience, cost of the product compared to other options, terms provided by the manufacturer for the inventory and pull through by the installer. With cost of capital at a multi-decade high, this is going to put some real pressure on the balance sheets of the manufacturers of these boxes and likely cause many of them to go direct, which is a challenge for shipping costs, credit and gaining share one installer at a time. The real benefit is options create competition for the long tail, my favorite segment of solar installer!
Managing Installer Cash Flow. Interest rates are the highest in 22 years, increasing solar financing costs and softening consumer demand for loan products. Businesses are feeling the pain of strained cash flows, labor costs and profitability pressures. Palmetto, a B2B technology company accelerating the adoption of clean energy, has announced a new partnership offering for solar installers to help stabilize cash flows and grow faster in today’s market. Built on top of Palmetto’s Clean Energy Operating Platform, this is a comprehensive suite of tools and services enabling installers to streamline operations, optimize performance, and increase profitability. Visit https://www.palmetto.com/finance or contact capital@palmetto.com for more.
- Washington Post: Americans don’t hate living near solar and wind farms as much as you might think
- PV-Tech: US manufacturing boom under spotlight at PV CellTech USA
- PV-Magazine: APsystems releases AC-coupled residential battery charger
- Utility Dive: An optimal clean energy procurement strategy? Google and others are working on it.
- Bloomberg: Africa’s Biggest Fund Manager to Grow Green Energy Book Beyond $854 Million
- Axios: Paris targets need big private climate spending boost – IMF
- Reuters: Texas grid seeks more power capacity to avoid winter shortages
- Renewable Energy World: AI-powered electricity demand forecasting company raises $20M
- New York Times: In Shipping, a Push to Slash Emissions by Harnessing the Wind
Opinion
Best, Yann