Problem With Battery Manufacturing. As T1 buys Kore Power, I’ll repeat something I have been saying for several years. The supply chain with storage is different at the first step compared to solar. Storage cells start degrading the very first day they come off the assembly line and solar cells & modules do not. This means that it will require just in time manufacturing and huge backlogs in order to keep the plant running. This is the inherent advantage that the auto OEMs have because there’s a dual use to the cell manufacturing (with scale) and the Chinese mega-suppliers that are also providing the cells to the box integrators. Much like solar, there will be significant consolidation in the supply chain but also a de-coupling of the vertical integration of the one-stop shop nature.
Too Many Suppliers. The residential market has been struggling with many things in recent years and losing the cash tax credit means that we have to confront one big reality. There are too many choices in the vendor landscape. Distributors that bankroll the project cashflows take their piece of the value but more importantly, having too many companies on the shelves means that the supplier landscape is riddled with mediocrity. The residential racking segment took care of itself with the consolidation at the hands of Enstall but the inverter market needs to shrink. I’m saying this as an advocate for the homeowner that really has little say to what gets installed and if they end up with a small supplier, or a newly launched product, they get stuck holding the bag later on. I’m personally affected by an orphaned system with a legacy supplier. I’m highlighting a launch today that probably means little to homeowners and isn’t changing the landscape one way or the other by being available. Installers and distributors need to shrink the menu of products to create a healthier marketplace, just my two cents.
- Engineering.com: China’s CATL moves sodium-ion batteries from pilot projects to commercial deployment
- Electric: T1 Energy buys KORE Power to cash in on the AI power boom
- PV-Magazine: Sol-Ark introduces new 12 kW hybrid inverter for North American residential solar market
- Bloomberg: LS Power Said to Near Deal for EDF’s American Renewables Arm
- Axios: Sobering numbers on data centers’ resource needs
- Reuters: China’s solar majors charge into batteries as panel sales falter
- Solar Builder: Ampacity expands solar tracker installation program
- PV-Tech: Boralex shareholders approve Brookfield acquisition
- Canary Media: NYC’s big, clean power line is officially up and running
Opinion
Best, Yann