All eyes are on the worldwide renewable power transition as an effort to curb local weather change, and there’s no time to waste on getting new tasks up and working. Maximizing the velocity of deployment and profitability of photo voltaic tasks is vital for builders to facilitate the expansion of our sustainable power infrastructure.
Credit score: Soligent
But, typical approaches for photo voltaic module procurement, a vital lynchpin in challenge growth, have remained caught prior to now. Most utility-scale patrons nonetheless depend on guide, offline processes that take weeks or months to match procurement choices, losing a whole bunch of hours throughout procurement, engineering, authorized and finance departments.
Gradual-moving processes are incongruent with the dynamic nature of module pricing. This market is unstable and may shift on a dime. As well as, challenge begin dates are notoriously difficult to forecast. Precisely predicting required module ship dates, even three months sooner or later, is troublesome, and 12-18 months is close to unattainable. When taking a look at utility-scale photo voltaic tasks, builders and IPPs usually assume probably the most environment friendly method to fight volatility is by bulk-buying modules (by aggregating a number of tasks) to realize economies of scale. Nonetheless, this couldn’t be farther from the reality. This business is continually evolving, and the majority shopping for technique leads to a whole bunch of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in lowered income, extra bills and missed expertise alternatives.
Essentially the most constant profitable technique is to optimize procurement for every particular person challenge. To do that successfully, patrons want instruments with real-time business perception to maintain up with the newest improvements and procure the highest-value modules. A knowledge-informed technique permits patrons to guage choices on a per-project foundation and seize the next lifetime challenge worth.
The present state of photo voltaic procurement: What’s driving bulk purchase attraction
To grasp why many builders and IPPs gravitate towards bulk shopping for, it’s essential to have a look at the present state of the photo voltaic business and its limitations. Shopping for modules usually entails manually contacting a handful of producers to collect costs and module data or hiring a advisor to run an RFP, maybe with an expanded pool. With the business’s dynamic nature, the quoted worth for in the future may shift the following. The outcomes are expensive; potential provide chain and availability points, schedule impacts, challenge design rework and having to restart guide knowledge assortment with the identical analog processes. To place it in perspective, shopping for modules in 2024 is rather a lot like reserving aircraft tickets within the ’80s, enjoying telephone tag with a number of organizations to get costs, and by the point you’ve checked out all of your choices, the data has in all probability modified considerably.
The photo voltaic business has gravitated towards bulk purchases as a result of patrons consider they are going to get a greater upfront worth for purchasing extra megawatts at a time. Typical business information has proven that economies of scale drive down product costs, which saves cash. But, the convoluted photo voltaic provide chain and pricing panorama complicates this. In a bulk purchase, procurement professionals garner modules for a number of tasks up entrance, usually months or years prematurely. From there, patrons are locked into bigger, longer commitments with larger challenge deposits and may face unexpected stock and storage prices. Shopping for in bulk forward of time additionally signifies that modules have to be saved accordingly till the challenge is able to launch, and warehouse house alone is chargeable for hundreds of thousands in extra capital. These hidden prices are vital however not often accounted for within the planning course of.
The constraints of shopping for in bulk
Credit score: PVpallet
Whereas bulk shopping for would possibly scale back the time wanted to purchase tools, this strategy entails monetary danger. No two photo voltaic tasks are the identical. If you happen to can not procure modules at exactly the proper time, the product may very well be of a less-than-ideal measurement, glass thickness, expertise, influence or different traits necessary for optimizing energy era. Buying one sort of expertise in bulk creates suboptimal product selections, resulting in decrease long-term challenge returns within the type of much less energy era.
Moreover, on the gigawatt-scale, a purchaser might make a a lot bigger and longer dedication that may very well be rendered outdated by the rollout of latest applied sciences. Have a look at TOPCon vs. mono-PERC: Mono-PERC panels have been the dominant PV modules for years, and buying a number of tasks would probably result in a bulk purchase upfront. When TOPCon hit the market, it proved extra environment friendly than mono-PERC. In consequence, patrons who bulk bought mono-PERC modules have been left with a suboptimal product and a technological drawback.
On the core of each photo voltaic challenge is the necessity to maximize energy era, a feat solely attainable with optimum and customised product selections.
Information-driven per-project purchases
Many patrons are strapped for time and lack the sources to tailor optimized purchases on a per-project foundation. Getting the most effective module deal on a challenge requires clear insights into nuances and area of interest challenge specificities. Actual-time knowledge insights are the one possible method to sustain with the quickly evolving market.
Digitizing utility-scale photo voltaic procurement provides patrons a bonus within the convoluted photo voltaic provide chain and pricing panorama. Receiving on the spot data-informed suggestions on merchandise and pricing retains patrons up-to-date on out there tools, additional enhancing customization for the precise challenge.
Information-driven insights additionally make approach for improved worth metrics. The photo voltaic business has traditionally used dollar-per-watt module pricing as the primary monetary metric utilized in decision-making. Whereas this supplies the upfront value for a module, it will probably’t give an correct image of its lifetime worth. With probably the most up-to-date business data, patrons can take module prices, set up prices, and the current worth of manufacturing income into consideration, all of that are attainable with Anza’s Efficient $/Watt metric.
The renewable power transition is accelerating, and to fulfill bold 2030 U.S. renewable power targets, the way in which the photo voltaic business approaches module procurement wants to alter. Leveraging knowledge analytics can guarantee optimum returns, which in flip helps builders entice funding and financing, and finally fosters the growth of latest photo voltaic initiatives. A brand new strategy to photo voltaic procurement will assist the photo voltaic business to stay resilient as we purpose to increase renewable power at a bigger scale.
Mike Corridor serves as Anza’s CEO. He started his renewable power profession in 2002 when he co-founded Borrego along with his brother, Aaron, and Chris Anderson. In 2021, Mike co-founded Anza with a purpose to assist IPPs and builders save time and improve income by enhancing entry to provide chain knowledge and analytics. In the present day, Mike’s focus is constructing Anza’s platform to assist your entire business obtain superior challenge outcomes.
