When we asked the solar installers in the RE+ audience to raise their hands if their sales numbers fell short of what they originally forecasted for the year, everyone raised their hands. High interest rates have led to a 5-10% drop in residential solar sales this year compared to 2022 (Ohm Analytics). However, analysts are predicting (and the rest of us are praying) the market will turn around next year. In order to take advantage of this rebound, solar businesses need to survive and prepare accordingly.
That’s why we teamed up with SunCast to put on a panel at RE+ 2023 to share strategies to help you ride through this trough of the solarcoaster.
The special event was moderated by Scott Nguyen, CEO of Bodhi. Our panelists were:
- Stan Pipkin, CEO at Lighthouse Solar
- Rachel Finn, Commercial Finance Specialist at CED Greentech
If you missed us in Las Vegas, don’t worry. Below, you’ll find one key takeaway from each panelist, as well as a full recording of the event.
Rachel Finn, CED Greentech — “There are more and more financiers who are bringing on leases as a part of their offerings, especially in California. The installers I’ve talked to who are actually growing are all utilizing leases or PPAs. And part of the reason is that these can be presented as a bill swap, which is what a lot of sales people are more comfortable with.”
Stan Pipkin, Lighthouse Solar — "Residential has been the backbone of our business for a long time, but now we really think about it as a three legged stool: Residential, commercial, and service. What we’re finding this year is that the stack is more weighted toward commercial, and service has radically grown. We’ve also found that they’re intermingling — we’ll get a residential and service lead at the same time, like an orphaned customer that also wants a battery.”
To learn more, watch the recording of the panel below:
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