Green Options » Danny Kennedy

More Sunshine Falling than Rain on the Parade of PV across Spain

Danny Kennedy — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:29:03 +0000

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Hail – the Return of the Sun

There’s been a lot of negativity around the solar space in recent weeks because it has been hard going for some companies. And I don’t want to belittle their pain – manufacturers have big stockpiles and if they’re publically listed their share price is down; project developers can’t get bank finance or government cash fast enough, despite the stimulus; and installers may be seeing some consumer sentiment dropping in places.

But please don’t think that’s all she wrote. The future of photovoltaics is bright as the sun!

Just for one example of how serious a contender PV is becoming, consider Spain. Right now that beautiful country is copping a lot of blame because of changes in the incentive structure that have led to a major drop in solar sales there, large and small. Indeed, little old Spain is being held responsible for most of the oversupply currently being experienced by the PV manufacturing industry, which I think could be seen differently…

Even in Recession, Future of Solar Power is Bright

Danny Kennedy — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 22:51:51 +0000

San Francisco has been host to some big solar industry events this month, especially the Intersolar North America conference. In the middle of a recession, it is hard to walk the halls of a trade show of an industry dominated by manufacturers and not feel some pain. And it has been tough – industry revenues are forecast to be down 40% this year. But hopefully most of these players know that what doesn’t kill them, makes them stronger.

While some analysts are still down on the sector, and in some cases for good reasons of too much capital in the wrong places, most are bullish for next year. Some forecast 60% growth for 2011 and beyond. Certainly our experience is that there’s a lot of residential consumers out there that still want to go solar as a great way to save themselves money.

Rampant Opportunity In The Midst Of A Recession

Danny Kennedy — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:00:35 +0000

Editor’s Note: The is a guest contribution by Danny Kennedy, President of Sungevity. This is part of a series from the CEO’s of major solar companies. You can follow the complete series here.

Sometimes it is hard to contemplate what a good news story our industry – solar sales and installation – and the broader clean energy economy really represents. I was reminded on Monday at the graduation ceremony for the Oakland Green Collar Jobs Corps.

» See also: Canvassers for solar energy and energy efficiency
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In short, forty diverse, young and not-so-young people graduated from a tough, practical 30 week training course to be job-ready for work in the solar, weatherization and green construction sectors. 8 of them were not able to attend their own graduation, which had the Mayor and the great and good of the East Bay present because they already had jobs!

That is a big deal given that at this time something like 25 – 40% of union electricians in the area are going without work. It speaks to the excellence of their training, their own caliber, and the fact that green collar jobs are hot jobs even in a recession. And cities like Oakland are leading the way out of it with programs like this, which, at a very human level mean a lot to the people involved. They are also important for the whole economy.

Yesterday, I heard someone from the government-backed California Clean Energy Fund say that a clean energy company employs 4 – 5 people more than a non-green company, for every unit of production. And of those jobs created in solar, most are in the community – not short-term construction gigs or heartless factory jobs - but service positions selling systems, installing them on roofs, or maintaining them in other ways.

Obama, the Arnold Schwarzenegger, and everyone on down has been talking about green-collar jobs and workforce development, which is great. There’s a lot more they can do to support the kinds of job creation that are possible with the clean energy economy but I won’t try to tell you just what they should be doing in DC and Sacramento right now with various bills being debated.

But I do want to point out that at the end of the day, people are the limiting factor on the success of the solar industry. It is not just about the hardware. It’s about employees that sell, install and service the solar systems that will make our business’ succeed and grow and spread the sunshine of solar electricity. We have to train more of them for all the functions required to get this great technology onto the rooftops of middle America.

I look forward to the time when there are too many Green Collar Jobs cohorts coming out of various programs nationwide to go to them all. That’s when we’ll know we’re winning! Shine on!

Photo Courtesy greenforall.org via Flickr under Creative Commons License.

PV Oversupply is Good For Solar Customers & Planet Earth

Danny Kennedy — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:05:28 +0000

Editor’s Note: The is a guest contribution by Danny Kennedy, President of Sungevity. This is the fourth post in a series from the CEO’s of major solar companies. You can follow the complete series here.

Like a tide turning, there’s a big shift happening in the solar market that many people aren’t really seeing because they’re bobbing about on an ocean of opportunity. The implications are huge in terms of who will get capital and attention in the industry, and the trend should lift all boats and take this solution to climate change further than before.