The solar power industry is an ever-changing place. The technology march is aggressive, and sometimes the victims are the biggest players in the world. And it wasn’t so long ago, that we here at pv magazine lamented the passing of the Powerhouse solar shingle dream.
But maybe we sang too soon?
RGS Energy announced last week that it had collected $36 million in “new written reservations since our last announcement” for its Powerhouse Solar Shingle. The company coupled this announcement with a notification that Revere Plastic Systems – a subcomponent manufacturer of the solar shingle – has “dedicated resources required to support up to $138 million in estimated annual Powerhouse revenue”.
RGS released preliminary pricing in May of this year. The company’s modeling suggests that the Solar Shingle, when part of a new roof installation, is cheaper than a standard solar power installation – and is almost half the cost of a Tesla Solar Roof.
If the $36 million in reservations are based on the $2.80/W price, it would represent just over 12 MW of product. If the $4.15/W price, then closer to 8.7 MW of product.
And though the product isn’t officially available yet, RGS Energy recently put an installation video online of their 2.0 Powerhouse product being installed that gives a glimpse of the final product as the form factor is very similar.
An analysis by pv magazine suggested that a standard solar power system, integrated at time of construction, would move toward $1/W pricing. However, homeowners have shown a propensity to pay for premium aesthetics over performance. Research suggests 40% of us look at aesthetics first, then check what our neighbors are doing, and only then run the economics.
Edit: 1:46 PM – added panel wattage ratings
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
This product doesn’t look that pleasing.
What do you think of the look of standard solar panels?