Add news
News Every Day |

Residential solar is struggling. One company's add-on is helping it hit 1 million installations.

  • Sunrun, the largest home solar installer, is pushing battery storage amid a downturn in the market.
  • High interest rates and policy changes in California are slowing demand for residential solar.
  • US homeowners will install 14% less solar power in 2024 than the previous year.

The residential solar company Sunrun this month hit some milestones in what's otherwise been a bleak year for the industry.

The company on Tuesday said it had 1 million residential solar customers and accounted for one in five home solar systems installed across the country. On a recent earnings call, Sunrun's CEO Mary Powell also said the company was selling a record amount of battery storage. More than half of new US sales in the latest quarter included solar and battery storage — what the company calls an "attachment rate." That figure is up from 12% a year ago.

Still, the company isn't immune from a major slowdown in home solar sales. The slump was enough to force a competitor, SunPower, to file for bankruptcy protection this month. SunPower cited a combination of high interest rates and a policy change in California, the country's largest solar market. The company was also highly leveraged and struggled to raise more capital after some financial-reporting errors.

In June, analysts at Wood Mackenzie forecast that homeowners nationwide will install 14% less solar power in 2024 than they did in 2023, marking the first time the market has contracted in five years. Zoë Gaston, a principal analyst on Wood Mackenzie's US distributed solar team, said the drop will likely be even larger following the exits of SunPower and another top installer, Titan Solar, from the industry.

Driving the downturn is a new "net-metering" policy in California, where homeowners are getting paid less for sending electricity to the grid. The analysts estimate that California's market will contract by 40% this year, following a mad dash to install solar before those changes took effect in April 2023.

High interest rates aren't helping either. Most homeowners finance their solar systems with a lease or a loan from companies like Sunrun. Higher rates on those long-term leases and loans mean less money saved on monthly utility bills, making solar less appealing.

"The days of easy money and low interest rates provided a lot of stimulus for demand," Brett Castelli, a clean-energy equity analyst at Morningstar, told Business Insider.

Those days are over, he added, so some residential solar companies are focusing less on growth and more on cash flow after operating in the red.

Powell told Business Insider that Sunrun had been focusing on boosting cash and a "battery-first" strategy in order to weather the solar-market headwinds. Sunrun is aiming for $200 million to $500 million in cash flow this year; historically it's been negative.

She described the residential solar market this year as "distorted" because of the massive run-up in demand last year in California. But she speculated that it would adjust and then grow by at least 10% a year.

"Utilities don't have a solution for the future," Powell said, adding that customers are paying more for power but reliability is getting worse. "That creates a systemic demand for solar and battery storage."

Powell said regulators were pushing utilities to leverage residential renewable energy to stabilize the grid during periods of high demand, while homeowners want to have backup power as outages become more frequent because of extreme weather.

Powell pointed to Sunrun's pilot projects in Texas, California, and Puerto Rico, where the company is monitoring its customers' stored solar power and sending it to the grid in times of high demand. Customers get paid for the energy, while Sunrun is paid for dispatching the batteries. In Maryland, Sunrun has partnered with three owners of electric Ford F-150s who charge at home to test how EV batteries can serve as back-up power.

Castelli agreed with Powell's prediction that residential solar will grow in the long term, pointing to rising utility rates, the falling costs of equipment, and the likelihood of lower interest rates. But if states follow California's lead by making it less lucrative for homeowners to send electricity to the grid, demand could slow.

"The bottom line is the rooftop-solar industry needs to become more efficient," Castelli said. "The US has by far the highest cost for rooftop solar in the world. Through these changes and headwinds, companies are going out of business, and that's making the industry more efficient."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Москва

Суд удовлетворил иск Евгения Петросяна о выселении дочери из московской квартиры

Реклама
Top 6 nutrition questions men should ask themselves after 40

To maintain health and remain full of energy, men will be helped by this

Man arrested in San Leandro BART station stabbing

When will Liverpool lift the Premier League trophy?

DOGE’s mass federal workforce cuts may cost taxpayers $135 billion this fiscal year alone

New York lawmakers are moving to shut down Elon Musk’s Tesla sales across the EV-friendly state

Ria.city
Реклама
  • ИП Попов А.П.
  • ИНН: 602715631406
Ревматолог: "29 апреля 2024 в г.Колумбус запущена квота"

Каждый человек с больными суставами имеет право получить...






Реклама
  • ИП Попов А.П.
  • ИНН: 602715631406
Ревматолог: "29 апреля 2024 в г.Колумбус запущена квота"

Каждый человек с больными суставами имеет право получить...


Реклама
  • ИП Попов А.П.
  • ИНН: 602715631406
Ревматолог: "29 апреля 2024 в г.Колумбус запущена квота"

Каждый человек с больными суставами имеет право получить...

Read also

Iranian sex toy smuggler allowed to stay in Britain after claiming his X-rated enterprise would see him jailed back home

Dear Abby: I don’t want to report them, but their house is too foul for kids

Bloke shows off his sparkly bling house with huge Chanel signs & disco curtains – even the smoke alarm’s glittery

News, articles, comments, with a minute-by-minute update, now on Today24.pro

News Every Day

New York lawmakers are moving to shut down Elon Musk’s Tesla sales across the EV-friendly state

Today24.pro — latest news 24/7. You can add your news instantly now — here


News Every Day

DOGE’s mass federal workforce cuts may cost taxpayers $135 billion this fiscal year alone



Sports today


Новости тенниса
WTA

Чемпионка двух ТБШ Виктория Азаренко покинет топ-50 рейтинга WTA



Спорт в России и мире
Москва

Akon: легенда возвращается! Концерт в Москве уже этим летом



All sports news today





Sports in Russia today

Москва

Akon: легенда возвращается! Концерт в Москве уже этим летом


Новости России

Game News

Microsoft Recall finally launches for AI PC users, along with some other new features, almost one year after Copilot+ was announced


Реклама
Top 6 nutrition questions men should ask themselves after 40

To maintain health and remain full of energy, men will be helped by this

Реклама
Top 6 nutrition questions men should ask themselves after 40

To maintain health and remain full of energy, men will be helped by this

Russian.city


Москва

«АвтоВАЗ» представил заинтересованной публике свой перспективный электрокар


Губернаторы России
Сергей Собянин

Вылетные магистрали Москвы станут современнее и функциональнее — Сергей Собянин


Новый жилой район в 30 мин от центра Симферополя — ЖК «Республика»

Документальный фильм, снятый в Алтайском крае, покажут в эфире телеканала "Матч"

В Москве прошел чемпионат России по грэпплингу среди студентов

«Одни из любимых»: звезда «Глухаря» Котлярский назвал лучшие фильмы о войне


В Москве прошел чемпионат России по грэпплингу среди студентов

Жанна Агузарова тихо живет в Москве

В Москве прошел чемпионат России по грэпплингу среди студентов

"Тест показал, что я беременна". Валентина Иванова подогрела слухи о том, что ждёт ребёнка от Тимати


Александрова достигла четвертьфинала на турнире WTA 1000

Бублик о победе над Рублевым: он лучше меня во всем, но я творец, художник

Чемпионка двух ТБШ Виктория Азаренко покинет топ-50 рейтинга WTA

Россиянка Александрова вышла в четвертый круг теннисного турнира WTA в Мадриде


Реклама
The most beautiful beach towns with cheap living

A huge number of people around the world dream of one day breaking out of the daily routine


Ответственность за Родину, готовность и желание действовать: Сергей Кириенко рассказал об эмоциях участников марафона Знание.Первые

Технологическое сотрудничество России и АСЕАН: новые горизонты для бизнеса и инноваций

Россия в 2024 году осталась четвертой экономикой мира

В 2025 году Отделение СФР по Москве и Московской области оплатило больничные и декретные 2 400 индивидуальным предпринимателям


Певец Михайлов вспомнил, что в детстве мечтал о велосипеде

Специалисты смоленского филиала ПАО «Россети Центр» передали частицу Вечного огня на мемориал в Смоленской области.

Матвиенко: З/п молодого учителя не хватает на жизнь, конкуренция растет

Собянин рассказал о модернизации службы скорой помощи


Репортаж с HI-TECH BUILDING 2025: что интересного по автоматизации?

За прошедшие сутки в России произошло 246 ДТП

«Звучит Победная Весна!» в Колонном зале Дома Союзов

Более четырех тысяч декоративных элементов установят в Москве ко Дню Победы



Путин в России и мире
Реклама
Top 6 nutrition questions men should ask themselves after 40

To maintain health and remain full of energy, men will be helped by this



Реклама
The most beautiful beach towns with cheap living

A huge number of people around the world dream of one day breaking out of the daily routine





Реклама
The most beautiful beach towns with cheap living

A huge number of people around the world dream of one day breaking out of the daily routine

Персональные новости Russian.city
Алсу

Ян Абрамов. Сила мужчины в его любви к своим детям и их матери. Ян Абрамов и Алсу вместе поставили красивую точку



News Every Day

Man arrested in San Leandro BART station stabbing




Friends of Today24

Музыкальные новости

Персональные новости