A Turning Point for New Jersey’s Solar Industry
by Justin Malecki, PhD, Analyst Next to California, New Jersey has the most active PV market in the US. Generous rebate programs in the past and aggressive policy goals combined with some of the highest electricity prices in the US have given rise to a thriving marketplace for commercial and industrial PV installations. However, this rapid growth has caused the state to recently overshoot its solar energy generation goals as mandated in New Jersey’s... [Read More...]
What The Flux?!
A Year Of Change in Ontario’s PV Marketplace With More Change To Come Justin Malecki, PhD, Research Analyst Stability, predictability, and transparency. These are three items on the Christmas wishlists of almost everyone involved in the solar photovoltaic market in Ontario. After a year that has been characterized by the incongruent combination of rapidly changing global market conditions, government policy attempting to adapt, and the uncertainty... [Read More...]
Get ready for a 2012 reality check: Current US solar policy will leave PV market short of solar industry’s expectations
Toronto (November 15, 2011): While the long-term market outlook for the US solar PV market is positive, 2012 will not offer suffering module manufacturers the reprieve they were hoping for. In their recently released US PV market forecast, ClearSky Advisors Inc. predicts installed volume will grow 7% to 1,628 MW in 2012. However, falling equipment prices – especially for PV modules – means that overall market value for 2012 will be flat or may... [Read More...]
The U.S. Market for PV Modules: Where Great Opportunity Meets Great Challenges
At Solar Power International (SPI), North America’s largest solar trade show, two divergent visions of the U.S. solar PV market competed for the limelight. The first was an optimistic perspective that highlighted strong historic growth and the tremendous future potential of solar electricity in the U.S. The second was a decidedly more pessimistic view that highlighted the powerful competitive force of high volume, low cost, tier one Chinese... [Read More...]
New Rules for Old Contract Applications
The OPA Announces FIT Review as PV Installation Costs Continue to Fall On October 31, the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) formally announced the commencement of what many in the Ontario renewable energy industry already knew was coming: a comprehensive review of the rules and rates governing the province’s Feed-In Tariff (FIT) program. Although no date was set for when the results of the review will be announced, the OPA indicated that the new... [Read More...]
SMA, enphase energy and Power-One fighting for dominance in Ontario installer market
Toronto, Ontario (September 30, 2011): Ontario’s inverter market is highly fragmented with enphase energy, SMA Solar Technology and Power-One leading the market according to a recent survey of Ontario installers performed by ClearSky Advisors. Overall, SMA Solar Technologies was the brand installers were most likely to recommend, but Power-One and enphase energy also rate highly among Ontario installers. That none of the players have a dominating... [Read More...]
Sharp has the Most Customers, but Conergy Captures Highest Share of Wallet in Ontario
Toronto, Ontario (September 29, 2011): A recent survey by ClearSky Advisors found that Sharp has maintained its market leading position among Ontario PV installers on some measures, but has lost ground to the competition on other measures. The survey, which took place in September 2011, analyzed brand satisfaction and buying behavior for module brands in Ontario. A similar study performed by ClearSky Advisors in January 2011, had found Sharp to... [Read More...]
What Does Ontario’s Provincial Election Mean for the Province’s Wind and Solar PV Industries?
Ask anyone involved in Ontario’s wind and solar PV markets about what keeps them up at night and the answer invariably includes political uncertainty. Indeed, a recent survey conducted by ClearSky Advisors of Ontario developers and installers bore this out: 98% of respondents indicated that political uncertainty was their biggest concern for future success of the industry in Ontario. This concern is the result of two simple truths: Policy is currently... [Read More...]
New England may be Bellwether for Future Success in Global PV Market
In the past, solar PV companies could find a niche in Germany or California and be considered a global player. Those days are over. Future success will likely come from many hard-fought local market share battles. Consider the solar PV market in New England. While it may not be the largest PV market, nor is it likely to be in the near future, its competitive landscape may prove to be indicative of what it will take to succeed in a changing global... [Read More...]
Economic Impacts of Solar PV Sector 2008-2018
The technologies and applications used to generate our electricity have a range of impacts. They affect our economy, our health, our environment, and our local innovation. For example, investment in coal creates cheap electricity but has expensive health and environmental impacts. On the other hand, investment in ... [Read More...]