By Barry Cinnamon
Predicting
the future is easy; getting the exact timing is very hard — especially with all
the emerging technologies and requirements facing the solar and storage
industry.
So
this year I’m giving myself a whole decade to get these behind-the-meter energy
system predictions mostly right.
1.Storage
will be standard with solar....
Solar-only
installations will become the exception rather than the rule. Changes with net
metering, unreliable utility power, lower battery costs, grid-services
capabilities and energy management features will drive customers toward
selecting more full-service solar and storage offerings. By necessity, the
skill set of solar contractors will expand to backup panel and communications
cable wiring, as well as complicated commissioning and configuration
procedures. Timeframe: now, accelerating over the next five years.
2. ...Which means new cost metrics will be
needed
For 20+ years, the solar industry has been measuring costs based
on dollar-per-watt capacity and dollar-per-kilowatt-hour generation. But adding
batteries to a PV system increases the cost and confuses the energy savings
calculations. I’m waiting for the gurus at NREL and LBNL to figure these new
metrics out.
For the rest of the story visit: https:10-rooftop-solar-and-storage-predictions-for-decade