2020:A fresh start

I wouldn’t call myself superstitious… just a little-stitious. I don’t like odd numbers, and I never open an umbrella indoors. That’s why I’m really excited for 2020. A nice round, even number. Last year just felt weird and full of obstacles.

In 2019, we saw bifacial modules get a tariff exemption, then have that exemption revoked, and then have the exemption court-enforced. An extension to the ITC looked likely — but then the White House excluded solar and storage from its year-end tax plan. Although many municipalities have passed 100% renewable energy requirements, more than a few utilities spent 2019 fighting against solar customer rights. Let’s look forward to better solar progress this year — 2020 is a fresh start in a new decade.

In this issue, we tried our best to provide an outlook for the next year in our solar trends section, but things change so rapidly that it proved to be a difficult task. I rewrote my trend on solar panel pricing three times, and I hope its words still ring true once the magazine reaches mailboxes. That’s why you can always find the most timely news and analysis in the industry on our website and on social media. Some 2020 developments we’re following that we hope you’ll join us in discussing online: California’s rooftop solar mandate, more storage adoption in the residential market, the Section 201 tariff midterm review and so much more. But for now, check out our hand-picked top trending topics on pg. 51 to kick off the new year.

The Solar Power World team will be out and about this year at industry events, so be sure to say hey when you see us! We’ll be at the revamped Intersolar North America show and NABCEP’s Continuing Education Conference before joining everyone at SPI. Soon we’ll be getting into Top Solar Contractors season, and we’re excited for another great year hearing everyone’s accomplishments. There’s so much to look forward to in 2020!

Superstitious or not, I’m crossing my fingers for a calm, prosperous year in solar. Knock on wood. SPW

Kelly Pickerel
Editor in Chief
kpickerel@wtwhmedia.com