Category: Industry
Notes from The Market Research Underground: Do You Feel It? The Future of DG Solar Is at Hand
Sonder Agency
The strongest and most trusted solar brand is actually a group of solar workers — the small to medium independent installers have always been, and are still, the face of the solar industry to people. This has remained true despite the residential solar lease and despite the rise of multi-megawatt (utility-scale) solar deployment. It has… Read more
A Maturing Solar Market Ripens Toward String Inverters, but With Central Architecture
Sonder Agency
Until very recently, the vital ingredient to launch and grow a market for solar energy in the United States has been the same: government support. Few people know that better than Allan Gregg, CTO of inverter manufacturer Sungrow USA. “I’ve been doing this for 37 years, and for all of that time it has always… Read more
Nevada PUC Approves Net Metering Rules Expected to Reboot the State’s Rooftop Solar Industry
Sonder Agency
The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) unanimously approved a draft order on Friday that establishes new rules and regulations for how net-metered solar customers will be compensated in the state, bringing an end to nearly two years of policy debate. “Sometimes the best way to move forward is to take a step back, adjust direction, and… Read more
World Energy Demand to Plateau from 2030, Says Report
Sonder Agency
Energy efficiency will improve faster than global economic growth due to the rapid electrification of the world’s energy system, leading to a plateau in energy demand from 2030. Read more
5 Ways to Take 100% Renewable Energy From Dream to Mainstream
Sonder Agency
At the Intersolar conference in San Francisco this year, I opened a presentation on new solar and storage business models by highlighting recent milestones for the industry: The United States now has an impressive 44.7 gigawatts of operating solar systems, solar became the No. 1 source of new electricity in 2016, and in April 2017,… Read more
The Labor Market, The Energy Market, and America’s Future
Sonder Agency
Unemployment rose slightly in August, Hurricane Harvey dealt a blow to Texas oil refineries and an international trade dispute threatens to hurt solar jobs. Is there a silver lining to cloudy labor and energy news? A new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the US added only 156,000 jobs in August, missing… Read more
The 6 Countries Leading on Renewable Energy, But Could Improve on Incentives, Regulatory Support
Sonder Agency
Recently released heat maps from Sustainable Energy for All identify countries and regions where improvements would increase the share of renewables in the global energy mix to 36 percent of total final energy consumption by 2030. Read more
Questions Shaping the Future of Energy Storage in New York
Sonder Agency
When New York kicked off its Reforming the Energy Vision process, it jumped to the front of the pack of states reinventing their electrical networks. Several years in, the multi-stakeholder process has established some market mechanisms to facilitate distributed energy. It has initiated new ways for utilities to earn profit, to get away from the… Read more