Tesla, It’s Here. Tesla has announced some major changes including the release of the long awaited $35k model (before incentives) and guided to almost half a million cars to be manufactured. That’s a lot of EVs. The result of the lower priced car is that the stores will be closed and all purchasing will be done online. This obviously impacts the plan to sell solar in the stores and maybe the idea is to also sell solar online. Installers tell me that they are doing well with Powerwall 2 but I don’t see how Tesla Energy will focus on keeping up with others on the solar side.
DIY, Retail Solar. Q4 last year was massive, all data pointed that way and Sunrun executed with 115MW installed in the quarter. The company also announced that it would go into Home Depot stores in 15 States, at the same time that Vivint Solar announced it would enter 200 Home Depot stores in 8 States. This comes after Tesla announced it was leaving the Home Depot channel last June. Now is the time for both companies to focus on the sales and financing strategies that turn solar companies into billion dollar revenue businesses while letting my team manufacturer and supply them the racking. We’ve got a wonderful factory in California ready to serve! (same goes for all of you!)
Solar Homes, In Texas. While everyone is looking at the California new home market opportunity from the solar mandate, other developers are going all in on the net zero construction trend. Award winning Whisper Valley in Texas is building 7,500 homes near Austin with solar coming as a standard install on every home. The good folks at Rocky Mountain Institute also tackle the topic of net zero homes in a post today.
Speaking To And Of Homeowners. Ever wonder what happens to the homeowner after you install solar? Make sure you are getting them involved with Solar Rights Alliance by having them opt in to join the group automatically. I interviewed Dave Rosenfeld, the executive director of SRA, about how this works and why it is so important. The episode is presented by UtilityAPI.com/Wakeup. Check out how you can get your customer’s meter data in minutes instead of weeks.
SolarWakeupLive.com. SWLB20 for 20% Off, 1 month out!
- CNBC: Tesla launches $35K Model 3 with shorter range, new interior
- Greentech Media: Sunrun Presents Another Record Quarter, with 115 Megawatts Installed in Q4
- Rocky Mountain Institute: Zero-Energy Homes
- Solar Power World: Francis Solar will add rooftop arrays to 7,500 homes in new Texas net zero community
- SolarWakeup Live! Podcast: The Solar Bill of Rights and Solar Rights Alliance with Dave Rosenfeld
- PV-Tech: India plans ‘huge step up’ with large solar-plus-storage tender
- GreenBiz: Utilities are starting to invest in big batteries instead of building new power plants
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann