Due to a new agreement, Hanwha Q Cells will provide up to 135 MW of its solar modules to Sunrun in 2016. The agreement that was signed previously was for quite a bit less, but Sunrun apparently wanted much more for the coming months. The modules from Hanwha will be produced in South Korea and Malaysia.
“We are pleased to have access to a steady supply of high quality modules from an industry leader like Hanwha Q CELLS. Sunrun is committed to providing simple, affordable solar to homeowners and creating a great customer experience. This agreement will enable us to continue doing so in the coming year,” explained Paul Winnowski, Sunrun’s CEO.
In November of 2015, it was reported that Sunrun had acquired over 100,000 customers, so it appears that the company is doing quite well. If that wasn’t impressive enough, the company was also working on growing its warehouse space by adding 7 new locations.
A December press release stated that Sunrun was planning to hire about 800 workers at a new Denver location. This event was noteworthy enough that even John Hickenlooper, Colorado’s governor, remarked upon it, “Colorado is thrilled to be home to Sunrun’s new corporate office. Colorado’s forward-thinking energy policies and talented workforce will support the company’s creation of new jobs and savings for homeowners while diversifying the state’s energy economy.”
Sunrun was founded in 2007 and offers solar power as a service, which many customers like because the solar panel operation is taken care of and the provider handles the tax credits and presumably passes them on to the customer. Customers also have the option of choosing a system with no or very little upfront cost. This is attractive to some because they don’t have the funds to spend on installing their own home solar power system, and can’t easily get a loan.
It will be very interesting to see what happens with solar as service, because the cost of a home solar power system has been decreasing steadily to the point where more and more homeowners may actually have the money to buy their own systems outright.
If solar panels drop in price another 40% over the next few years, the cost of a home solar power system would obviously be even more feasible. On the other hand, there are many people who place a priority on convenience and Sunrun handles the details that some don’t want to manage.
