Originally posted on Solar Power World.

Industry experts in solar production risk kWh Analytics, DNV GL, PV Evolution Labs, Borrego Solar, Clean Power Research, Heliolytics, Clean Energy Associates, Strata Solar, Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables, and SunPower have partnered to publish the new ‘Solar Risk Assessment: 2019’ report to advance the solar industry.

Below is their letter introducing the report:

 

“In God we trust, all others must bring data.” – American Statistician W. Edwards Deming

Rarely does a single investment yield both significant social and financial benefit. In this way, solar is unique: this rapidly growing asset class offers the promise of substantial returns on investment in both.

While the financial community is—rightfully—focused on newly emergent risks of this asset class, such as managing the merchant tail and basis risk, it’s important that the financial community remain vigilant on the question of solar production risk.

Over the past few years, it’s become in vogue for financial investors and pundits alike to publicly dismiss the possibility of a solar power plant underperforming, with remarks like, “The sun will always shine,” and “Panels always work because they have no moving parts.” Success breeds complacency, and complacency breeds failure.

We are among the industry’s leading experts on the measurement and management of solar production risk, cumulatively representing hundreds of years of experience in our respective fields. Each of us are risk specialists with in-depth data on a specific element of solar production risk.

Rather than publishing “yet another” opinion, we are committed to letting the data speak for itself. Designed intentionally for a non-technical financial community, this report will be refreshed every year to provide investors with the latest insights on the evolution of solar generation risk.

Fundamentally, it is our hope that this report will serve as a guide for investors who recognize the importance of allowing data-based insights to inform the deployment of capital. We look forward to the shared work of advancing our solar industry.

 

Risk Management

kWh Analytics

Richard Matsui, Chief Executive Officer

 

Independent Engineer

DNV GL

Jackson Moore, Head of Solar North America

 

Lab Testing

PV Evolution Labs

Jenya Meydbray, Chief Executive Officer

 

Distributed Solar O&M

Borrego Solar

Phillip Stephenson, Vice President of O&M

 

Irradiance Forecasts

Clean Power Research

Skip Dise, Vice President of PM

 

Aerial Imagery

Heliolytics

Rob Andrews, Chief Executive Officer

 

Factory Audit

Clean Energy Associates

Andy Klump, Chief Executive Officer

 

DG Utility O&M

Strata Solar

Mike Loeser, Senior Director O&M

 

O&M Market

Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables

Michelle Davis, Senior Analyst

 

Utility-Scale O&M

SunPower

Erik Knutson, Director of Utility Operations

 

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Learn More: www.kwhanalytics.com/SolarRiskAssessment