2022 Solar Industry Year in Review

By: Barry Cinnamon, CEO of Cinnamon Energy Systems

2022 was another year of strong, steady growth for the California rooftop solar and storage business. But solar opponents, particularly PG&E, worked hard behind the scenes to expand their monopoly on electricity generation and storage.

During 2022 Cinnamon Energy Systems actively participated in four protests opposing PG&E’s efforts to kill net metering: January in SF, June in SF (our entire company attended in their red “Don’t Tax The Sun” t-shirts), October in Sacramento, and December in SF. The California Solar and Storage Association (CALSSA) managed to prevent the implementation of a direct tax on rooftop solar, but PG&E successfully eliminated net metering. Bad for rooftop solar only but good for people adding batteries to their solar systems.

Although California’s government decided to eliminate net metering, they did allow PG&E to continue to raise electric rates to the tune of 14% in 2022. Rates will continue to rise at 10%+ for the foreseeable future. So the economics for new solar customers keeps improving as long as customers can interconnect under the current Net Metering 2 rate plan (which goes away on April 13, 2023). Future California electric rates will be favorably biased toward people with batteries.

Speaking of batteries, two new battery systems became widely available in 2022. SolarEdge started shipping their 10 kwh DC-coupled Home Battery in volume. This SolarEdge battery is one of the most cost-effective ways to add storage to a new solar system. FranklinWH started shipping their 13.6 kwh AC-coupled battery, which is a terrific add-on to existing solar systems.

As solar and battery systems have gotten more complicated, good system control software has become more important. Just like the computer industry, the big solar and battery companies do not always play well together when it comes to the software that connects their systems. Although the solar and battery hardware was robust, we had a tough time getting all the software pieces working properly. These issues are now resolved. The lesson learned is that the software coordinating solar and battery systems is critical — and beyond the capabilities of all but the largest and most well-funded companies. Hence our decision to work with SolarEdge, FranklinWH, LG, and Enphase.

The biggest surprise of 2022 was the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which extended the solar tax credits through 2032 and created a whole host of new incentives for electrifying homes, businesses, and transportation. The electrified future is clear, necessitating even more rooftop solar and storage to avoid skyrocketing utility electric rates.

All-in-all it was another steady growth year for CES. Our customers are generally very satisfied with their systems, contributing to our referral business. Because of our safety protocols, we experienced no serious injuries. And we are looking forward to a very busy 2023, especially as we strive to install as many systems as possible under net metering.