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The largest solar conference in the U.S. came to a close and one unanimous observation by everyone who attended was: Renewable Energy is here to stay. Over 20,000 people attended Solar Power International 2009 in Anaheim, California, which by census data is 3,000 more than the full time population of Chaffee County. The enormous exposition hall housed well over 1,000 booths ranging from simple tables to 1,500 square foot exhibits all jockeying for their position in this highly competitive industry. The enthusiasm from both the attendees and exhibitors made the event a completely worthwhile trip.
Having attended conferences and expos in the RE industry since 2004, I was amazed to see the changes that have transpired in such a relatively short period of time. The standard dress code even 4 years ago was a flannel shirt and your cleanest Carhartt pants. This year it was a full suit and tie event. The RE industry finally has a solid presence and investors and business people alike are becoming intrigued. Many of the attendees represented the large commercial and industrial scale projects that are a far stretch from where the industry was 5 years ago. These projects range in the 10 to over 50 million dollar range and overshadow anything we see here in Chaffee County. Nevertheless, there is no silver bullet for the future of energy in the world and every watt counts, even on the smallest roofs. Local distributed energy is still the best approach for energy independence and the best way for homeowners to take advantage of the emerging technology. Calculating just the RE systems here in Chaffee County we save over 40,000 kwh of consumed energy every month! Hats off to everyone who has joined the movement.
The foremost question I have been asked since I returned from Anaheim is, “What is the next biggest thing coming?” I am sorry to say that I did not see any Solar Paints or groundbreaking Nano Technology but there are still great advances made everyday. Module manufacture, SunPower is still making the most efficient modules on the market which is a great accomplishment for a US based company in an industry dominated by the Europe and Asia markets. SMA, the German powerhouse of inverter companies, is still making exceptional inverters with even more options coming in 2010. Even more exciting is their recent announcement that they will be building their first manufacturing facility in the U.S. just up the road in Denver. Enphase Energy who hit the ground running nearly two years ago with their micro inverters sold over 100,000 in 2009 and has become a topic of conversation for dealers and installers at all levels of the industry. And as expected, Chinese module manufacturing has exploded with hundreds of companies proudly displaying their +/- 200 watt modules which, for the life of me, I could not tell one from the other.
One thing that stood out in my mind most of all was how many options are available now to the installers and end user. The industry as a whole has become “smarter” and there are so many smaller innovations that decrease the installation time, improve aesthetics of the system, and increase overall performance while still maintaining the downward trend of overall cost. In particular, PV system monitoring has become a very popular and affordable option which allows the end-user to insure they are getting the best return on their investment. Even Apple has made an “app” to monitor your system on your iphone from anywhere in the world. Check out one of our local monitoring systems on the Sangre De Cristo Electric PV system in Buena Vista.
Overall, Solar Power International 2009 was an exciting event and I am excited to get back on the roof and continue the RE movement here in Chaffee County. Although some financial incentives will shrink it is exciting to see panel prices decrease as well and the industry become more resilient and stable. We all look forward to the day when RE becomes self sufficient and is commonplace in every household. With over 80 local systems operating here in Chaffee County, it is proof that the movement has begun.
Tim:
Wow! Thanks for the update from the conference and for the column here. As a curious future RE user, I am interested in how the industry is changing and what new technologies are on the horizon. One of the issues that has kept me and many others from pulling the trigger is the fear of being left behind by continuing advances in technology. Being the guy who has an Apple II in a world full of iBooks, or iPhones for that matter. So for that reason I really like being told what is just over the horizon.
Thanks