SunPower says corporates interest means solar now ‘mainstream’

Leading US solar and energy systems manager SunPower says that solar owner is now becoming mainstream, a position that would be reinforced as large corporates install the technology to cut costs, and for company branding.

SunPower CEO Tom Werner, while delivering the company’s fourth quarter results on Tuesday in the US, said this corporate investment would be focused on large-scale investment – like Apple’s recent $US848 million solar project in California with First Solar, and would supplement state-mandated renewable energy targets.

“I think what will be an emerging trend … is large companies and typically multinational companies that will choose to go renewable because it’s in line with their company brand and beliefs as well as its economic,” Werner said.

He expects this – along with state-based renewable portfolio standards (targets), such as California’s which is about to be lifted to 50 per cent – to underpin the utility-scale market in the US.

“I think we’re seeing the mainstreaming of solar, and a transition, and business will be good.”

Werner was also positive about the distributed market, where SunPower has recently signed a collaborative agreement with battery storage player Sunverge, bought micro-inverter company SolarBridge, and purchased a stake in smart systems manager Tendril.

“We believe that the transformation (to distributed power) will be led by companies that can combine solar power with battery storage and energy management technologies into one integrated, collaborative and seamless ecosystem enabling customers to exercise an unprecedented level of control over their energy consumption patterns.”

In international markets, Werner said China – the world’s biggest energy market – “is absolutely on fire” and will be so for many years.

He also saw South Africa as a market that was long-term sustainable, and would grow as well because “solar just makes sense in South Africa. They need energy and its economic. Some of our best economics in the world are actually in South Africa.”