The way that energy is generated and consumed around the world is undergoing rapid change, bringing with it a growing instability in supply. While there are many worst-case scenarios in the world of crisis management, an energy-related failure ranks among the most frequent and most damaging, and yet it remains one of the least prepared for.
The world is a really noisy place. It can be incredibly challenging to deliver messaging to your customers that gets their attention and gets results. Your best chance is to personalize your communication and engage customers at the individual level at every touch point. The right approach to personalization is good for both you AND your customer, helping you become a trusted purveyor of useful, relevant content. While email is one of the most impactful and cost-effective channels for personalizing your messaging to customers, the same level of personalization can be applied across all channels and initiatives. This is great news, because now more than ever, utilities need to connect with customers on a more meaningful level. Personalization is a strategic imperative.
Like every innovation, residential solar PV is making its way through the technology adoption lifecycle. The ‘chasm’, or gap between the early adopters and early majority customers, is where most new technologies fail and where countless companies die. Except for Hawaii, every solar market in the U.S. is still tapping into the ‘innovator’ and ‘early adopter’ population. Even in California, residential solar has yet to ‘cross the chasm’ and reach mainstream consumers.
2017 was one of the most exciting years yet for energy storage, as several markets saw formative policy developments, interesting business models materialize and a rush of corporate merger and acquisition activity. A total of 1.4 gigawatts and 2.3 gigawatt-hours of energy storage was deployed globally in 2017, with Australia taking the pole position in terms of power capacity at 246 MW, while the U.S. market led the world in terms of energy capacity at 431 MWh.
GTM Research has aggregated data from the top EPCs, project developers, asset owners, and other leading companies in the U.S. commercial solar market. The resulting ranking shows the biggest players in today’s downstream U.S. commercial solar industry. These 15 companies were involved in half of all commercial solar capacity installed in 2017, regardless of their participation along the value chain.
