jhm
Well-Known Member
U.S. Solar Installations Decline, but 2015 Should Be a Record Year
Residential solar advancing 76% Q1 y/y, while utility installations are down. Commercial is also declining, but not as much as utility solar. SolarCity is a big contributor to residential solar. SolarCity also competes in commercial solar, like Walmart installations, but residential appears to be more profitable for them. Utility solar will get burnt badly by decline in ITC. It is very price sensitive, and its tendency to favor Q4 installs my reflect heightened sensitivity to tax issues, specifically ITC. Price sensitivity is lower in the residential segment. Commercial will benefit emensely from Powerpacks and other technologies. So in all, this seems to confirm my bias in favor of distributed solar over utility. SolarCity seems to be doing the right thing by staying out of utility solar.
Residential solar advancing 76% Q1 y/y, while utility installations are down. Commercial is also declining, but not as much as utility solar. SolarCity is a big contributor to residential solar. SolarCity also competes in commercial solar, like Walmart installations, but residential appears to be more profitable for them. Utility solar will get burnt badly by decline in ITC. It is very price sensitive, and its tendency to favor Q4 installs my reflect heightened sensitivity to tax issues, specifically ITC. Price sensitivity is lower in the residential segment. Commercial will benefit emensely from Powerpacks and other technologies. So in all, this seems to confirm my bias in favor of distributed solar over utility. SolarCity seems to be doing the right thing by staying out of utility solar.