Posted Tuesday, December 13, 2016

3 Hot Trends in the Solar Power Industry

Whether it’s solar power panel technology, new solar energy mandates coming from the government, or simply a new way of looking at the industry we know and love, Urban Solar is your trusted resource for what is current in all things residential solar. For this weeks blog, we’re showcasing three hot trends in the solar power industry. These are three unique phenomena related to solar power, and we think they’re worth taking notice of.

Hot Trend #1: US laws are shifting policy risk from federal to state and municipal jurisdictions

Because of the federal ITC extension, policy risk in 2016 is going from the federal to the state and municipal levels. This means more accountability for the end customer, resulting in more closely-monitored power usage schedules.

Hot Trend #2: U.S. commercial solar remains inconsistent

According to a recent briefing, 2016 will not be the year that the non-residential solar sector solves its finance and debt problems. Because of the ITC extension, there’s no real rush to complete bigger projects. So, save a few unique projects, solar developers may choose to refocus on scaling residential and utility solar.

Hot Trend #3: PV module component prices continue to fall

Even though this drop in price for PV module components was anticipated, this trend is turning out to be more drastic than initially expected. Even granting this, tight supply-demand levels and certain geopolitical factors (like import/export tariffs) mean that drops in price will not exactly match expected cost reductions.

However the solar power industry shakes out this coming year, Urban Solar is ready to meet consumer demands for highly efficient solar power solutions for residential and commercial buildings. Curious about putting solar on your structure? Call or e-mail us today and let’s get to work on that free energy assessment.