Bloomberg Analysts Predicts California Home Solar Battery Sales Could Quadruple in 2020

Financialnewsmedia.com Market Commentary

PALM BEACH,  Fla., Aug. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BloombergNEF has predicted that at least 50,000 California homes will install storage systems in 2020. That figure would quadruple the total from 2019. The forecast came on the heels of a year of record-breaking growth for home solar storage in the U.S, due to the increase need for blackout protection and utility rate hedging. Mentioned in today's commentary: NeoVolta (OTCQB: NEOV), Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), Generac (NYSE: GNRC) and SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR).

While the Covid-19 pandemic has likely delayed home storage installations statewide, the demand forces are still there. Bloomberg cited California's catastrophic power shutdowns in 2019, and the adoption of "time of use" utilities pricing, as key motivators for the increased demand.

As the forecast pointed out, more than a million California homes already had solar panels when the year began. That number is projected to grow dramatically going forward: As of January 1, 2020, the state requires new home construction to be equipped with solar. Regardless of the Covid-19 situation, home construction will continue and the solar mandate will translate to about 100,000 new solar installations each year. The financial and energy resilience advantages of storage, combined with a California rebate program and federal investment tax credit, will likely persuade many of these home buyers to add a battery.

With solar storage on the verge of going mainstream in California homes, the following companies are among the most active in the industry: NeoVolta, Tesla, Generac and SunPower.

NeoVolta (OTCQB: NEOV) – NeoVolta, which recently began trading and is around $2.85 per share, is the only pure-play energy storage company on this list. This San Diego based manufacturer's NV14 system was named one of Solar Power World's Top Solar Storage Products of 2019 for its high capacity (14.4 kWh) and lithium iron phosphate chemistry, which is safer, cleaner, and longer-lasting than ordinary lithium ion battery chemistries. The NV14's capacity is expandable to 24.0 kWh with the optional NV24 add-on—without the expense of a second inverter. The company recently announced that the state of California approved its 24 kWh product for a consumer rebate of up to $6,000.