Another question is where do you see solar going over the next five-ten years? You know, you’re obviously part of the SPI, and you are now building tech, and putting even more into it. Some people have the opinion that solar is done after the tax credits go and then some people have the opinion that solar is just getting started. So, I’m curious about your outlook. You have been in the solar game since 2010. You are close to the ground. You are out there hitting the doors. So, what’s your outlook on solar?
Major Growth
Yeah, well, I am super optimistic overall. We know we’re in a disruptive industry. We’ve seen the growth, right? Disruptive is a word that gets used a lot when it comes to solar. But, it’s just this type of growth, right? We see it with certain products. Like when the first cars came out, or microwaves. You look at the thing that’s neat about solar is we are part of these types of products. Not only are we a disruptive industry ourselves, but we’re part of two other very disruptive industries that are supercharging our disruption. So, electric cars right I think everybody knows if they don’t know yet I don’t know how you know we look at Tesla and nobody thinks I mean it’s literally more valuable than some at some points depending on where the stock market’s at, then you know the second and third companies combined.
Where Is The Energy Going To Come From?
You look at electric vehicles and that you talk about how much energy it’s going to take to transfer all the transportation from combustion engines to electric vehicles is going to require a lot more electricity, they say. I think Elon Musk said just a few years ago that it’ll actually mean we’ll need about an extra 30 percent of electricity generated when we transfer our entire transportation fleet to electric vehicles over the next 10 or 15 years. So, where is the energy going to come from? Are we going to build more coal plants? You know, stuff like that can’t just be created. So, what are we going to do? You have electric cars that are helping our industry and then you also have batteries.
Preparedness
The need to go off the grid with emergency preparedness, but also it’s becoming more financially viable. And in some situations, like the virtual power plant. we created the first of its kind in the world. As those continue to become a thing, one part of the story I didn’t tell is there’s now a hundred million dollars more of those virtual power plants being built in California by this guy that bought our commercial division. So, he’s doing six more of those in California. As stuff like that becomes more available you’ll be able to have homeowners that actually have a battery in their home and now they can actually send power back to the grid and get paid for it. So, I think in a lot of areas you’ll start to see stuff like that happen.
So, we have disruptive technology and battery cars, electric cars, and solar. I think we’re here to stay. But, as far as the tax credit, you know I always start off with the easy one which is, that power rates are going up by five percent ish every year. Half the time you know we’re 26 percent and that thing’s going up in the next three years like half of that bridge is already. We already have the gap taken care of just from power rates increasing as far as the financial viability of it. You have soft costs like finance fees are going to have to come down. Stuff like that. People will tighten their belts as we get closer to that. Then who knows if it will ever go away. It just keeps getting extended just like you know you have the oil subsidies have been extended for 60, or 70 years. So, why can’t solar? Especially, for how many jobs we’re creating.
