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posted by janrinok on Wednesday August 10 2016, @03:50PM   Printer-friendly
from the let-the-sun-shine dept.

electrek says:

Tesla CEO Elon Musk was on SolarCity's conference call for its second quarter financial results today, which is unusual for the Chairman, but understandable considering the impending deal for Tesla to acquire the solar installer. During the call, Musk announced that SolarCity will unveil a "solar roof" as opposed to "solar modules on a roof".

[...] The CEO [Lyndon Rive] explained that it will open up a new market for the company. Rive added that there are 5 million new roofs installed every year in the US and if your roof is about to need to be replaced, you don't want to invest in solar panels to install on it since you are about to take it down, but if the solar panels are the roof and you need to redo it anyway, there's no reason not to go with a power-generating roof. Musk sees a "huge" market for the roofs nearing their end of life.

[...] Based on the comments from Musk and Rive's announcement that two products will be unveiled by the end of the year, it looks like SolarCity is about to unveil 2 solar products, one for existing roofs and one integrated with the roof. They plan to manufacture those modules at SolarCity upcoming 1 GW factory in Buffalo. Peter Rive, SolarCity's CTO, said that the company now plans for the module assembly line to start producing in Q2 2017.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that:

SolarCity Corp. is facing near-term roadblocks as installations slow and the pending acquisition by Tesla Motors Inc. hinders its financing efforts. For billionaire Elon Musk, the long-term picture is more significant, as he rolls out more products and services that will make the biggest U.S. rooftop solar company a key part of his energy strategy.

[...] "Because of the Tesla Motors acquisition proposal, we experienced greater-than-usual delays in closing new project financing commitments," Chief Executive Officer Lyndon Rive said in the statement [on Tuesday, Aug 9].

[...] SolarCity's net loss in the second quarter widened to $55.5 million, or 56 cents a share, from $22.4 million, or 23 cents, a year earlier. Excluding some items, the loss was $2.32, less than the $2.53 average of 11 analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales rose to $185.8 million from $102.8 million.

In the meantime, SolarCity is developing a roofing product that will incorporate photovoltaic capabilities. Musk said it would appeal to homeowners who don't like the look of rooftop systems, as well as people with aging roofs.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 10 2016, @08:35PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 10 2016, @08:35PM (#386377)

    > In Europe, where they are not only common, but in some place you get a higher price for the electricity you sell to the grid with them.

    Really? I sure can't find evidence of that in google.

    Namely neither of these two claims:
    (a) Solar roofs are common in europe
    (b) Net metering from solar roofs get higher rates than regular solar panels (why would they even do that?)

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by bob_super on Wednesday August 10 2016, @09:34PM

    by bob_super (1357) on Wednesday August 10 2016, @09:34PM (#386395)

    I guess you need to travel. Integrated panels are clearly not the majority in Europe, but you see them often enough that it's not something to write home about. Wouldn't use "uncommon", and of course definitely not the "new idea" that TFS seems to imply.

    And you get almost twice as much cash for your integrated panels in France:
    http://www.cre.fr/operateurs/producteurs/obligations-d-achat/consulter-le-tableau-des-tarifs-en-vigueur-2016 [www.cre.fr]
    I'm guessing it's to encourage people to pay extra to get a system that doesn't spoil the view. The French are pretty picky about the overall look of the place from far away (clamping down on the ugly roadside ads in recent years, but tagging and dog shit are still everywhere).
    There might also be something about how some of the sunniest areas regularly see 80MPH gusts of wind, making the roof-panel gap a potential problem, but that's speculation on my part.