Epho and Solgen: Is this the solar market consolidation Australia had to have?

Two of Australia’s leading commercial solar companies have been snapped up by AGL Energy, in a move that offers both a major endorsement of the booming C&I PV market and the latest sign of a period of consolidation driven by the increasingly tough operating conditions that have been dogging the sector.

As RenewEconomy reported on Tuesday, AGL announced separate deals to buy Solgen Energy Group and Epho in the gen-tailer’s second major push into the rooftop solar market as it plays catch-up on Australia’s rapid transition to distributed renewables.

Australia’s commercial solar market is running hot at the moment, as more and more corporations make commitments and firm plans to source part of all of their energy needs from low-cost and zero emissions renewables.

Despite being the rooftop solar segment hardest hit by the Covid-19 global pandemic, the C&I market still managed to notch up record annual volume of 540MW in 2020, according to industry analysts SunWiz, and a new monthly volume record of 70MW in December.

In among all that record activity, Solgen and Epho have both distinguished themselves: Solgen closing out 2020 as the number one provider by volume; and Epho with its massive Aldi solar rollout and the commissioning of its first “urban solar plant” using its Bright Thinkers Power Station technology.

But behind the record volumes and building corporate solar momentum, 2020 was a tough year for some, including one of Australia’s leading solar commercial solar contracting companies, Todae Solar.

To read the original version of this story on RenewEconomy sister site One Step Off The Grid, please click here.