There are some solar installation costs we can’t control, such as the tariffs imposed on the industry this year. But when it comes to cutting soft costs, which now comprise more than half of the cost of a solar installation, installers have a valuable tool in their tool kits: remoteRead More

The use of augers and ground screws has been of interest in mounting solar systems for some time, and for the right sized job, they offer smaller solar contractors an opportunity to grow their business. Ground conditions For one, with smaller PV systems one may not need to spend moneyRead More

New codes and regulations are notorious for raising prices and halting innovation in industries, but the new rapid shutdown requirements facing the solar industry are having the opposite effect. Thanks to a coalition of manufacturers and interested parties across solar, the solutions being developed to meet NEC 2017 Module LevelRead More

There are more effective ways for the government to boost U.S.-based innovation and manufacturing without tariffs. Example: The Department of Energy’s American Made Challenge Solar Prize competition is awarding $3 million in prizes as well as support from the DOE’s robust U.S.-based network to help build business plans, prototypes andRead More

The Trump administration’s 30 percent tariff on imported solar panels represents a significant obstacle for the U.S. solar market. SEIA predicts that the tariffs could reduce this year’s domestic solar growth by 18 percent, and could lead to the loss of 23,000 jobs. But one game-changing innovation could give solarRead More

In a post-Trump Tariff world, optimizing current portfolios is crucial, not just for each project to hit its targets, but to continue to prove solar as a worthy investment and distributed resource. Luckily, this is easy to accomplish with a well-thought out operations and maintenance (O&M) plan. With more thanRead More

As of Q1 in 2018, there have been 1,023 MW of community solar projects installed across 26 of the 50 U.S. states, with another 3 GW of expansion projected over the coming years. One of the ways this gets easier is by helping Community Solar projects get off the groundRead More

SunLink started designing solar mounting systems in 2004 when the concept of commercial rooftop solar was novel. The first systems were custom designed for the particular application, because everything was new. Needless to say, these first arrays were inordinately expensive by today’s standards, but the success of those installations helpedRead More

According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)’s U.S. Solar Photovoltaic System Cost Benchmark Q1 2017 report, the installed cost of solar fell to record lows last year due to the continuing decline in PV module and inverter prices, higher module efficiency, and lower laborRead More

Delivery is everything in solar development. Delivery on-time or even ahead of schedule signals reliability to investors and paves the way for more builds, especially those needed at an accelerated pace due to impending, seasonal weather conditions or site takeovers when the original racking partner could not deliver the job.Read More