The residential solar market has changed, which means residential solar business models need to change too. Over the next few episodes of Power Forward! we’ll discuss some actionable strategies for restructuring your approach so that your solar installation business can be more resilient in the years ahead. To kick things off we’re zooming in on the concept of “repowering,” and how you can turn that into a profit center, with Travis Walker, our Director of Business Development at BayWa r.e, and Corey Garrison, CEO of SouthFace Solar & Electric in Arizona.

0:52 – What services should be offered by solar installer’s “service department”

3:32 – How to start pursuing solar repowering jobs

5:54 – How to sort a list of past customers for repowering potential

8:08 – The value of customer service agreements

9:01 – The economics of solar repowering: What’s my margin?

13:39 – Working with new (unhappy) customers with stranded systems

15:33 – Challenges or downsides to repowering jobs?

18:13 – Three ways to approach repowering as a line of business

22:16 – Hardware considerations when repowering.

BayWa r.e. https://us.baywa-re.com/en/

A quality solar installation starts with respecting your customer’s roof. Today on the Pitch, Rick Gentry and Ben Hedrick from QuickBOLT discuss common issues on the roof and advancements in solar mounting designs over the years. Then, they explain QuickBOLT's latest roof protection product: QuickPATCH.

0:21 - Overview of common problems seen on the roof

QuickBOLT: https://quickbolt.com/

Subscribe to Solar Builder (free): https://solarbuildermag.com/subscribe/

Relive this New Product Showcase session, live from the Hub stage at Intersolar & Energy Storage North America in San Diego! Solar Builder Editor-in-Chief Chris Crowell interviews three entrants in the New Product Showcase: 

- Dave Dong, Director Vertical Growth NAM, nVent, 

- Stephanie Choi Brookes, CMO, Emtel Energy USA 

- Cody Sellers, Business Development-Enterprise Solutions, GME Supply

nVent showcased the ERIFLEX FleXbus, an innovative solution for connecting large electrical installations, such as transformers, switchboards, and generators. This unique concept is an attractive alternative for connections up to 25 meters, and up to 50% quicker to install than busduct or wireway.  The highly flexible nVent ERIFLEX FleXbus utilizes single conductors per phase, eliminating the need for multiple cables and cable trays, consuming significantly less space. With no bending radius requirement and adaptability to various layouts, nVent ERIFLEX FleXbus streamlines installation in tight areas and enables connections to be made above ground that would otherwise require trenching. https://www.nvent.com/en-us/

Emtel Energy USA is pioneering electrostatic supercapacitor-based energy storage solutions that deliver high efficiency, long-duration performance, and enhanced safety—without relying on lithium. Their proprietary technology ensures stable energy retention and controlled release, making it an ideal alternative for a range of applications from a residential product that can hang on the wall inside (no thermal runaway risk) to utility-scale containers. https://emtelenergyusa.com/

GME Supply introduced their new Enterprise Solutions Platform, a private company website that allows your team to easily order Workwear, fall protection, safety footwear and PPE and more; plus an administrative dashboard that puts your company in control. https://www.gmesupply.com/

Domestic content is one of the most important topics in the solar industry, but what do solar contractors need to know about it right now? We go in-depth on the topic with David Dunlap, VP of product strategy at BayWa r.e.

0:48 - Has the Trump Administration changed the domestic content outlook?

BayWa r.e. https://us.baywa-re.com/en/

Subscribe to Solar Builder: https://solarbuildermag.com/subscribe/

Time is money, but so are the errors that result from working too fast. Today on The Pitch we’re chatting with Kamal Shah, CEO of SiteCapture, about how solar contractors can leverage technology to achieve efficient field operations without sacrificing quality.

Start your free trial of SiteCapture here: https://sitecapture.com/solar/?utm_campaign=5460234-Solar%20Builder%20Product%20of%20the%20Week%20-%20Jan%2025&utm_source=Solar%20Builder%20Magazine

Subscribe to Solar Builder: https://solarbuildermag.com/subscribe/

0:25 - Overview of SiteCapture

1:20 - How solar companies use the SiteCapture platform

3:50 - How can solar operations be "inefficient" in the field?

4:57 - Improving site photo documentation and review

6:40 - Solving TPO finance process headaches

8:48 - Quantifying efficiency improvements

9:43 - Three other handy features of SiteCapture

12:10 - How is SiteCapture using Artificial Intelligence?

We close out 2024 and look ahead to solar business in 2025 the way we always do with David Dunlap, VP of product strategy with BayWa r.e.

0:37 - Look back at key solar storylines from 2024

4:43 - Lasting takeaways from bankruptcies and financing shift?

7:17 - Expectations for residential solar market in 2025

16:31 - Product oversupply still an issue in 2025?

19:30 - How can/will the Trump administration change the IRA or ITC?

22:49 - Other tangible impacts on DG solar due to a change in administration?

24:07 - Final thoughts for solar installers in 2025

BayWa r.e. https://solar-distribution-us.baywa-re.com/

Subscribe to Solar Builder: https://solarbuildermag.com/subscribe/

This is an Audio Article from the Q4 2024 issue of Solar Builder Magazine. Editor-in-Chief Chris Crowell reads "Domestic Influence: Calculating the Unintended Consequences of the Domestic Content Tax Credit Adder in Small-Scale Solar."

0:01 - How Trump could influence this even more

0:58 - Explanation of the domestic content adder calculation

3:44 - Lopsided MLPE vs String calculations

7:21 - Overview of U.S. inverter & racking manufacturing

9:56 - Impact on residential solar / TPO financing

Read the Q4 issue of Solar Builder: https://digital.solarbuildermag.com/q4-2024/page-1

The Q4 Digital Magazine is sponsored by Generac: https://www.generac.com/dealers-installers/generac-installer-programs/pwrcell-installer/#form 

Subscribe to Solar Builder magazine (it's free!): https://solarbuildermag.com/subscribe/

Solar Builder's 2024 Project of the Year 101 kW to 1 MW is the Camino Real Mobile Estates in Lathrop, Calif.

Property owner Sansome Skyline Development tapped developer and EPC Solar Gain to install a 419 kW ground-mount solar system for the Camino Real Mobile Estates in Lathrop, California. Mobile homes don’t have enough rooftop space to make the economics of solar work, so the only feasible option was using a narrow but steep retention basin located next to the park.

Developer/EPC: Solar Gain

Full story: https://projects.solarbuildermag.com/camino-real-mobile-estates-2024-project-of-the-year-101kw-to-1mw/

All Projects of the Year: https://projects.solarbuildermag.com/

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Solar Builder's 2024 Project of the Year Over 10 MW is the Escalante Solar Project in Prewitt, N.M.

Escalante Solar was built by Gridworks across 1,714 acres on the site of the former 253 MW coal-fired Escalante Station in Prewitt, New Mexico, which was retired in 2020, as Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association continues to pursue its landmark Responsible Energy Plan.

Developer: Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Origis Energy

EPC/Installer: Gridworks Inc., Sacramento Drilling

Modules: Boviet

Inverters: Sungrow

Mounting/Racking: Array Technologies, Unimacts

Full story: https://projects.solarbuildermag.com/escalante-solar-2024-project-of-the-year-over-10mw/

All Projects of the Year: https://projects.solarbuildermag.com/

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Developer: Cincinnati Zoo

EPC/Installer: Melink, Terrasmart

Modules: VSUN

Inverters: CPS

Mounting/Racking: Terrasmart

Solar Builder's 2024 Project of the Year 1 MW to 10 MW is the the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden.

The zoo completed a 2.8 MW solar parking canopy in August 2024. This was the zoo's third solar system, having installed its first solar system in 2006 with a ground-mount system and then its second in 2011 with a solar carport. Overall, the zoo now has about 4.5 MW of solar capacity on its property.

Full story: https://projects.solarbuildermag.com/cincinnati-zoo-solar-carport-2024-project-of-the-year-1mw-to-10mw/

All Project of the Year Winners: https://projects.solarbuildermag.com/

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