Soltas Energy is in the right place at the right time. Last week, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) released its quarterly report on the U.S. solar market. Statistics in the report confirm the non-residential, PV installation segment of the industry – the segment Soltas Energy is in – is flourishing. 

According to the report, installations are up nearly 70%, Q2-2011 over Q2-2010. Of the total 1.75 GW of solar power slated to come online in 2011, half is in the non-residential category; again, the segment Soltas Energy is in. Employment is an important result of this growth.  The SEIA report notes that the industry added some 100,000 jobs since 2009 and most of those jobs, 60%, were created in the industrial and commercial segments of the industry. 

The growth figures are positive as are the employment figures in this report but most significant is the confirmation that the industry’s non-residential sector considers solar power viable, valuable and cost-effective. 

We believe we are in a great business because commercial customers see real value in solar power.  Also, panel performance will continue to improve and panel and BOS costs will continue to decline. As this happens, it is possible that Soltas Energy is going to be even more competitive with traditional utilities whose rates will continue to rise with the cost of fossil fuels. 

This purely economic outlook does not factor in the significant value of wholesale reductions in carbon emissions that will occur as a meaningful portion of the commercial-power market converts to renewable sources of energy, which includes solar power.