Read The 4 Solar Trends That Will Shape The Rooftop Solar Industry In 2014

* After the solar industry broke records in 2013, leading analysts agree that 2014 will be another record-breaking year for solar-PV. * But what will be the trends that shape this growth? Read the 4 trends that promise to only get bigger in 2014, according to UtilityDive. "1. Residential solar" * A rapidly increasing number of customers seem to love getting solar panels installed on their roof, without paying for the up-front costs. * Instead of paying all costs up-front, they sign a 20-year lease. And because the monthly lease payments are lower than what they save on their utility bill, customers start realizing net savings from day one. * In the past 2 years alone, 200,000 U.S. homes and businesses added rooftop solar. In 2013, California installed more rooftop solar systems than in the previous 30 years combined. * The rooftop solar industry has reached a tipping point. After experiencing steady growth to this point, the market may be well-positioned for a boom. "2. Financial innovation" * In 2013, solar companies continued to find innovative ways to finance their operations, at lower costs. * Solar companies entered the territory of "securitization": Just like mortgages, a pool of residential solar leases are bundled together. This package of leases is then sold to large investors, such as pension funds. * SolarCity closed a historic 54 million bond offering backed by customer contracts, and intends to raise another 200 million in securitized debt this year. * Other companies might follow, or find other sources of financing. Vivint Solar recently closed 540 million in funding from 2 undisclosed investors. And crowd-funding start-ups, like Mosaic and Abundance, offer individuals to finance solar projects. "3. Energy storage" * Energy storage seems to finally become a realistic, economical option. * The irregularity of solar power (only electricity when the sun shines), has limited the potential of solar-PV. But with recent developments in energy storage, we might see customer invest in a package deal of solar + energy storage. * SolarCity, again, announced last December to start offering power storage systems (simply said, "batteries") to commercial customers. "4. Utilities investing in solar" * Rooftop solar is a threat to electric utilities. Each customer that installs a solar system, means less electricity sales for the utility. * Utilities probably want to prevent becoming a "back-up" for when the sun doesn't shine and the battery is running out of stored electricity. * This is why some utilities have already shown a willingness to invest in distributed solar, either through unregulated subsidiaries or utility leasing programs. * For utilities, the ultimate question is: How to deal with all these trends? Resist rooftop solar as a threat and fight it in the policy arena? Or acknowledge it is a growth opportunity, and invest? Read more about the rise of solar-PV, here: Solar statistics: 0.5% of global electricity, 300% growth from 2010 to 2012. Big news in US solar industry: SolarCity allows individuals to invest in its projects USA: California installed more rooftop solar in 2013 than in previous 30 years combined Source: Utility Dive Link: Four solar trends to watch in 2014 Utility Dive. The post Read the 4 solar trends that will shape the rooftop solar industry in 2014 appeared first on Greenzone.