SPI was a whirlwind! We visited with several clients over the span of the event, spent some time with industry leaders at the Future PV Roundtable, checked out some of the new technology on display, and even tried to have some fun! The venue was huge, but the weather was great, so we took advantage of the tables outside the event for some meetings. It was well-attended, and we had a hard time getting around to see everyone we wanted. Sorry if we missed you!

Some key takeaways were that module and tracker companies are more and more focused on bi-facial technology. We expect to see more of this trend as better certainty of bifacial production can be realized. First Solar series 6 modules were everywhere as well, it seemed, through their new Ecosystem initiative.

We also are seeing more and more interesting software out there – some of these guys had booths as big as the module companies, and about half of startup alley was filled with various technologies we can use to make fields better, faster, and cheaper! Of course, storage was a big topic, but we’re still not seeing compelling commercial/utility-scale options. The primary strategy for now is to distribute the batteries at the load side, rather than build huge battery farms at utility fields.

We’re sharing some photos of the show and us having some fun below. Greentech Media had a nice article featuring some of the newest tech, which you can read below as well, covering car chargers, modules, inverters, and batteries. Check it out!