By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

[caption id="attachment_9936" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] The sun slowly starts its global domination.[/caption] Look out, wind - solar is about to catch you. That's the headline from Frost & Sullivan's recent analysis Global Power Industry Outlook, 2018, which posits that solar will surpass wind in global energy capacity starting in 2020, making it the fourth largest source of energy generation behind coal, gas and hydro. Less than a year ago, solar surpassed nuclear energy to reach fifth place. The report says increased battery energy storage capabilities, surges in merger and acquisition activities, and disruptive energy start-ups are the primary reasons the renewable energy sector is seeing this surge - and solar has, so far, been the primary beneficiary of this energy capacity expansion. The report also predicts that $2.2 trillion will be invested in new energy capacity through 2021, including more than $600 billion in the solar sector alone. "To navigate through current trends and challenges, organizations must start embracing business models that enhance operational and process efficiency while reducing costs," said said Vasanth Krishnan, Energy & Environment Analyst at Frost & Sullivan. "Adopting disruptive digital solutions that focus on consumer needs will bring the organization closer to technological and efficiency transformation." The report also highlights several other global energy sector trends, including:

The 3D's of Power – Decarbonization, Decentralization, Digitalization – continue to be underlying factors determining the global power market landscape;

The residential battery storage market will be the fastest growing in 2018 driven largely by the surge in the behind-the-meter residential deployments in the US, Germany, and Australia;

"Analyzing long-term scenarios and defining positioning strategies should be key focus areas for industry participants in the long term," noted Krishnan. "Also, as the renewable and distributed energy markets mature, a large installed capacity of equipment will need to be serviced, offering attractive growth prospects within the operations and maintenance sector." For access to the executive summary, click here.

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Water wet. Pope Catholic. Businesses are trying to fight climate change. Go figure. According to Deloitte's eighth annual Energy Resources Report, businesses and consumers are moving forward to create what it calls a "virtuous cycle" of sustainability, including moving to cleaner energy sources like solar. But the study also finds what instinct might tell you from watching American behavior over the past 30 years - businesses are leading the charge, and the people are following. The survey questioned more than 1,500 residential consumers and 600 businesses on their energy use patterns and found that "is leading many businesses to develop and deploy new tools for monitoring and reducing energy consumption, evolve their energy management policies and practices, explore expanding their use of renewable energy sources, and integrate their resource management programs more closely with their operations." Study authors also found 7 in 10 businesses say their customers expect them to get at least some of their energy from renewable sources, with 48% of them saying they are actively trying to do so. And even more telling was this statistic: 21% of the businesses say they are trying to green their energy consumption as a result of demands from business partners. That's why it's so important to have businesses like Target and Walmart at the top of the Solar Energy Industries Association's Solar Means Business report every year - with their extensive supply chains that extend throughout the world, decisions at the corporate level have real-world effects throughout the entire supply chain. And that influence isn't limited to supply chain partners. The authors write:

Residential consumers, particularly younger ones, seem increasingly keen on using clean energy sources in general, and on expanding the use of wind and solar power more specifically.

Such findings aren't entirely a surprise to long-term solar industry observers, but it does provide some data to support those who say the clean energy revolution is only just beginning and will continue to grow for the foreseeable future. Read the full report below. [pdf-embedder url="http://www.solarwakeup.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Deloitte-Resources-Survey-20181261.pdf" title="Deloitte Resources Survey 20181261"]

Mainstream Climate Discussions. American Progress held its annual CAP ideas conference. One of the panels included Tom Steyer and Governor Inslee moderated by Axios’ Amy Harder. The entire discussion is available to view but we have your bullet point recap. Inslee has been seen and heard on the national stage selling the climate change opportunity and a carbon fee to solve the problem. Steyer was a bit more wonky, shocking I know. His commentary included a desire for more community solar and the actions he is supporting to increase the RPS in Arizona and Nevada.

Quality, Fast and Cheap. With over 10GW of solar going up every years in the US alone, including more than 200,000 homes, we have to create some introspection about the quality of asset we leave behind. Driving the price down upfront gets more solar in the ground but if the asset doesn’t last 25 or more years, solar is at risk of losing investor confidence in the long term. For residential that also means installing systems that keep the roof watertight for the duration of the life of the asset. I hear too many stories about installations done without quality racking systems with no regard for the quality homeowner’s roof. You can do it the cheap way to cut corners but if you do, you are going to get caught. So just do it the quality way which will make you more money with happy customers providing referrals.

Where Are The Jobs? In the case of Illinois, they are fast approaching. As I prepare for SolarWakeup Live! Chicago, every company I talk to is in the process of hiring and training personnel for all sorts of jobs. On the other hand, MA is losing jobs by adding demand charges to its customers and slowing the market down. In an economy of full employment, we are seeing amazing pay scales for solar professionals that make achieving prevailing wages possible and hopefully track with the diversity in the State. Solar can and should be a market of diversity and inclusivity.

Thermal And Efficiency. A new podcast from solar guru Barry Cinnamon with a solar thermal topic. Last week I announced the formation of the SolarWakeup residential solar advisory council and I’ve spoken to many of you. (You can still join, just send me an email). One of the interesting ideas is that solar installers are adding solar thermal and efficiency to help with savings. What unique tricks are you using to close deals?

Opinion

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Have a great day!
Yann

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: David Roberts, aka Dr. Vox, penned an article that essentially spent 1,000 words arguing for and against California's "all three-story houses must have solar" ruling, only to end up with a shruggy emoji to say, "Who knows how it will go?"

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent What Happened: David Roberts, aka Dr. Vox, penned an article that essentially spent 1,000 words arguing for and against California's "all three-story houses must have solar" ruling, only to end up with a shruggy emoji to say, "Who knows how it will go?"

Since the article itself offers little in the way of serious argument (it's a wordy listicle), I want to focus instead on the media blitz that has produced pieces like this.

It will be interesting to see when it comes out - and it will - who is behind the slew of negative coverage of the decision.

SolarWakeup’s View:  For whatever reason, the California Energy Commission's decision to require all new three-story (or fewer) homes to have solar on them has unleashed something of an unexpected backlash, even in unexpected places. It even showed up at the Center for American Progress panel on climate change that I wrote about earlier, when Amy Harder asked climate activist Mustafa Ali if the California ruling would be a good idea for the low-income communities with which he works (he said it depends on the structure of the law). Leaving aside the fact it only applies to new homes, what the heck was the point of the question? Couldn't everyone benefit from lower electricity bills? And see, that's the kind of digression on which opponents of the ruling, who are currently lurking around just out of sight but who are pushing this anti-solar narrative nevertheless, want solar advocates to focus. It's like a blitz in the NFL: the goal is to overwhelm the blocking scheme with so many pass rushers that the one person they should be focused on gets through to sack the quarterback. I believe the current anti-solar blitz, focusing on the California ruling, is designed to distract from how revolutionary and visionary the idea is and how it could become more prevalent across the country if the California ruling succeeds (which it will) in lowering carbon emissions and making life healthier for the state's citizens. So let's not get distracted, OK, Dr. Vox? I know you just want to help, but allowing yourself to be distracted by the big shiny bauble the anti-solar crowd is waving in your face is NOT helpful. More: California will require solar panels on all new homes. That’s not necessarily a good thing. (Editor's note: It's almost UNIVERSALLY a good thing.) Panel Says We Will Win The Climate Change Battle (Their Mouths To Universe’s Ears)