As the Section 201 trade case cast an ominous shadow over the U.S. solar industry, I went into Intersolar North America with my ears open and my notepad ready. I was determined to soak up as much information as I could from manufacturers, advocates and solar industry leaders.
Taking place this year at the Moscone Center in downtown San Francisco on July 11–13, Intersolar is one of the largest networking events in the North American solar PV sector. The show provides buyers, EPCs (such as Inovateus) and others a unique opportunity to sit down face-to-face with manufacturers, distributors, service partners, and other domestic and international market influencers.
For this year’s show, the key objectives for my meetings focused on module availability, energy storage options, current projects and new opportunities.
With the outcome of the Section 201 “Suniva” trade case still a few months away, those of us developing and building projects are feeling the effects of the pending ruling first hand. Limited market availability of modules is causing the kind of low supply volumes in the distribution channel that we typically do not experience until the end-of-year/Q4 rush.
During the show, my colleague Adam Raifsnider and I had a chance to sit down with Frank Andorka of PV Magazine to discuss the pending trade case and its effects on the current market. Here’s one of my quotes that Frank used in his “Suniva effect” article.
“It’s hard to bid on projects right now because of the uncertainty of what module prices will be for next year. We’ve seen a lot of people at [Intersolar North America] who have these projects they are ready to develop. Any deal signed here, though, has to come with a big asterisk, saying ‘these prices are subject to change depending on the Section 201 trade case.’”
Partly because of Inovateus’ new distribution agreement with Tesla, my interest level in the energy storage sector has gone up exponentially, so the numerous storage technologies and system options displayed at the show nourished my curiosity. From residential to commercial/industrial to utility scale, the number and range of storage solutions offered by vendors exhibiting in the co-located Electrical Energy Storage (EES) expo has continued to expand. Given the sights and sounds surrounding the booths of storage providers from small start-ups to established industrial companies to iconic global brands like Mercedes Benz as well as the recent numerous announcements of megawatts of new projects to be deployed, it’s safe to say that storage is more than just a buzzword and is here to stay.
Despite some potential market turbulence on the horizon such as the Section 201 ruling and the still-unclear renewables policies of the Trump administration, it was obvious from this year’s attendance and the positive energy surrounding the show that the U.S. solar industry continues to boom. Intersolar provides a great platform for Inovateus and other EPCs to visit with partners and customers and discuss current projects as well as those moving through our pipeline.
Next up on the show calendar, Solar Power International in Las Vegas in September—hope to see you there!
By Jefferson Gerwig, procurement manager, Inovateus Solar
