u.s. solar market insight 2014

Thanks to the recent (and forthcoming) wave of solar YieldCos, it has become a seller’s market for *good* solar projects. On this session, we bring together originators and developers to discuss what makes a good project, where opportunities still lie, and how YieldCos have impacted project M&A in the U.S.

Moderator: Terry Grant, Managing Director, Marathon Capital

Third-party financing has grown to dominate the U.S. residential solar market, but the share of systems that are leased is expected to peak this year. New and existing players are still growing with both leases and loans. This panel will address questions such as: What are the key differences between the loan products available now, and is the addressable market big enough for new entrants in the industry? Is the shift towards cash sales being driven by consumer preferences or by the availability and marketing of various financial products? How big of a role will PACE play in the market?

Moderator: Nicole Litvak, Solar Analyst, GTM Research

The optimism for the inevitability of mainstream solar energy is dependent on the continued improvement of solar economics, especially in an environment of receding incentives. Historic system cost reductions have been primarily driven by large declines in hardware costs, but as the hardware vendor margins tighten, solar companies must explore new and potentially radical shifts in system design and the installation process. In this GTM Research presentation, Director of Solar Research MJ Shiao walks through the landscape incremental improvements and potentially disruptive technologies and what they mean for the PV systems of tomorrow.

With the bulk of solar cell and module manufacturing concentrated in China, a large majority of U.S. demand is sensitive to supply strategy decisions of Chinese manufactures following preliminary results of the latest U.S.-China trade case. Will there be a build out of U.S. manufacturing facilities? Can non-Chinese suppliers continue to gain more traction in the U.S. market? Will new supply strategies influence technological innovation entering the U.S. market? What will module prices be in 2015?

Moderator: Jade Jones, Solar Analyst, GTM Research

In the midst of current industry consolidation and extreme price pressure, are PV inverters just another commodity component, subject only to minimum quality and price concerns, or are there opportunities for truly differentiated PV power electronic solutions? Panelists weigh in on the current state of the inverter supply landscape and what to expect from leading inverter suppliers in the coming year.

Moderator: MJ Shiao, Director, Solar Research, GTM Research

Moderator: Eric Wesoff, Editor-in-Chief, Greentech Media

Historic cost and performance improvements in solar have come from traditional technologies and well-known processes, optimizing the module and other hardware materials. Yet, sometimes disruptive technologies, such as microinverters or integrated mounting, can shift total system costs and as a result, the prevailing philosophies in the industry. With traditional hardware costs at historic lows and a hazy roadmap for future cost reductions, new technologies promise to show stepwise improvements to the PV system value proposition, if only given a chance. In this session, panelists show the challenges for non-traditional solutions and the prospects for disruptive technologies to ultimately create a more cost competitive solar future.

Moderator: Shyam Mehta, Lead Upstream Solar Analyst, GTM Research

Much of the solar industry continues to focus on questions of technology or complex financing mechanisms, but engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firms provide the critical step from turning traditional and new PV concepts into reality. In this session, leading EPCs discuss ongoing challenges of a highly competitive landscape, their view on technology trends, best practices and their ability to continue driving down costs in the industry.

Moderator: MJ Shiao, Director, Solar Research, GTM Research