The future of solar lies beyond the panel
Ralf Elias
Chief Product Officer & Executive Vice President
Since the world first began to confront the realities of climate change, our relationship with energy has been rapidly shifting. A growing focus on the climate and cost-of-living crisis, coupled with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and increasing supply chain pressures, has highlighted the fragility of centralized, fossil-based energy sources. Around the world, freedom from these traditional energy sources is top-of-mind, and as energy costs continue to climb, people are looking for alternatives that provide financial savings, energy security, and climate stability.
As a leader in the solar industry, we are already helping to deliver the tools to transition away from a fossil-fuel based economy. While not all countries and communities have the ability to support hydro or wind power, most countries have much more photovoltaic potential than their current electricity demand requires. Every household that can support solar panels should be able to do so if they wish.
At Maxeon, we have been engineering and manufacturing the high-efficiency solar panels that capture this energy for over 35 years. While we know that well-made panels are the foundation of the global solar industry, as a business, we need to go further to empower more people to produce their own energy and contribute to positive change.
From the Roof into the Home
The release of our 40-year warranty on our Maxeon Line solar panels at the start of the year was a foundational step in beginning this process. Giving consumers panels that can reliably supply them, their home, and their families with green energy for a generation is crucial if we are to unleash solar’s potential. However, many of the challenges consumers face when going into solar lay in the buying journey and system experience.
That’s why, in the run-up to Intersolar Europe 2022, we announced SunPower One, a new solution aimed at simplifying the adoption of clean energy and addressing some of the key pain points customers face. What does this mean? Reaping the benefits of solar power can now be as easy as flipping a light switch, and in turn, accelerating the clean energy transition.
Going Beyond the Panel
We view our industry-leading solar panels as a “door-opener” for customers, the first step in their journey towards energy independence. Through this door lies an opportunity to guide consumers through a multi-generational relationship with their energy, and we are delivering this through an open, flexible ecosystem of category-leading partners. SunPower One is the first step in this journey. More than a fragmented system of clean energy components, it is an integrated home energy management solution. It reimagines the consumer experience, keeping homeowners informed with actionable energy insights within their households that help lower energy costs and emissions. Over time, through artificial intelligence, it learns about a homeowner's pattern of electricity consumption and can identify categories of devices or appliances. With this contextual information, it suggests tips to use them more efficiently, like using them during periods of high solar production or switching them off when electricity prices are high.
At launch, Maxeon's SunPower One experience will be exclusively available with Maxeon's new SunPower Reserve all-in-one storage offering. Over time, Maxeon's SunPower One ecosystem will grow and incorporate additional products in categories like electric vehicle charging, as well as software integrations and value-added services designed to expand the customer experience.
At Maxeon, we believe we have a responsibility to play a bigger role in the clean energy transition, because of our panel leadership, our channel reach, and our lack of “technology debt.” This great advantage means we have the freedom to think outside the box and leverage next-generation technologies to accelerate the democratization of energy production.
We are eager to welcome new partnerships with category leaders across the industry that will help empower our end-customers to drive more energy savings.
Our Changing Relationship with Energy
Powering Positive ChangeTM around the world, as we enter an age of renewed intensity in the Net Zero transition, will rely on providing customers the tools they need to become energy independent. Residential energy solutions are a key piece of the puzzle, but we cannot do it alone; policy interventions such as the UK government’s decision to reduce VAT on domestic solar panel installations and the council of the European Union’s directive allowing for as much as 0% VAT on solar panels, need to be replicated around the world to drive direct attention towards the need for and advantages of solar. Measures from the recent RePowerEU strategy from the European Commission, such as the European Rooftop Solar Initiative, which would see rooftop solar becoming legally binding on certain buildings symbolise the kind of ambition which is needed.
Solar is critical when it comes to reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, and gaining energy security and independence. We believe doing everything we can to improve access to this genuinely revolutionary technology and in turn, altering the customer experience so that the barriers to enjoying the value of solar are withdrawn and change the world.