SolarCity Product Can Increase Generation On Flat Roofs Up To 50%

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By Jeff Siegel

scty934While solar bears and short-mongers celebrated the 8% dip in SolarCity (NASDAQ:SCTY) yesterday, opportunists are sniffing around for another buying opportunity. Especially those who didn’t take my advice to load up after the stock fell below $50 back in March. What a bargain that was!

In any event, SCTY took it on the chin yesterday, and I suspect there will continue to be some ebbs and flows in the near-term. Long-term, however, SCTY remains a solid play on the growth of solar in the United States.

It’s also worth noting that SCTY has just unveiled a new solar mounting product called ZS Peak. It basically allows installers to install systems on flat roofs in half the time it takes today. And according to reps from SolarCity, this new product can increase generation capacity on flat roof buildings by 20 to 50 percent per building.

ZS Peak makes it possible for far more businesses, schools and other organizations to install solar power on their buildings and immediately pay less for solar electricity than they pay for utility power, and will significantly expand the addressable market for commercial solar.

It’s this kind of innovation that continues to put SolarCity ahead of the curve, and it’s also one of the reasons I remain bullish on the stock.

My very conservative price target on SCTY for 2014 is $75. Other price targets include the following:

  • Goldman Sachs: $85
  • Deutsche Bank: $90
  • Credit Suisse: $97

Full Disclosure: I currently own shares of SCTY.

To a new way of life and a new generation of wealth…

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Jeff Siegel is Editor of Energy and Capital, where this article was first published.

1 COMMENT

  1. This is nothing new. Several racking companies already offer this type of East West orientation design.
    I have several concerns with this type solar mounting solution. First of all, by mounting the modules in an East West orientation the modules would unfortunately be avoiding exposure the peak available sunshine which is available at solar noon.This peak power production can only be best taken advantage of when the solar modules are oriented in a Southerly direction.
    Second by adding more modules to the available roof space in such a fashion, you are also increasing the project’s costs. More modules more cost.
    In my opinion, a much better, lower cost solution would be to use bifacial solar technology such as new Hyper X 2 bifacial solar panels. With Hyper X 2, the modules produce power from both the from and back of the module so there is no need to increase the number of modules or cost, in order to produce more power.
    These bifacial modules use a clear glass on glass design so the light that passes through the glass and onto the commercial roof is reflected back onto the rear double sided solar cells. A 20% reflected backside boost can increase their 340 watt solar module’s output by up to 408 watts without the need for additional solar modules.
    Hyper X 2 solar offers a better PTC to STC ratio “Real World” performance according to the California Energy Commission’s performance rating listings than over 100 of SunPower’s solar panel models.
    Hyper X 2 solar modules are less than a 1/4 inch thick. and offer sturdy glass on glass construction with no aluminum frames, so there’s nothing to corrode and no module grounding is needed. And they offer a very high 92.88% PTC to STC ratio. Hyper X 2 also offers a heat busting -0.31%/degree C temperature coefficient for better performance in warm/hot climates. And when it comes to aesthetics, nothing even comes close to Hyper X 2’s glass on glass, see through, frameless construction.
    With N-type mono-crystalline bifacial cells for double sided power production, up to a 21.5% efficiency rating, superior aesthetics, and a far more competitive price. And if you really want racking with an East West orientation, Hyper X 2 higher performance solar modules are available as an East West orientation installation.

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