Special Bd. of Aldermen — 08/06/2019 Page 12
Alderman Laws
Thank you and speaking of technology, it tells us that 18 months from now there is going to be cheaper or
smaller solar panels right?
Mr. Hasselbeck It tells us that about computers.
Alderman Laws
Ok but it has nothing to do with this technology?
Mr. Hasselbeck It actually doesn't.
Alderman Laws
Is it upgradable if there is new technology that comes out?
Mr. Hasselbeck Sure, awesome question. So I’ve been in the PV Industry for 12 years which actually makes
me like really old for the PV Industry so that’s kind of cool. But in that timeframe we certainly have, don’t get me
wrong, we have seen significant improvement in that technology. But not a huge quantity, nothing like More’s
Law on efficiency of the panel. That efficiency has gone up, certainly from roughly you know 12 to 13%, 10 plus
years ago; to now we are seeing 18 to 19%. But the biggest driver of this explosion in solar energy that we
have experienced in New Hampshire and Nationally is not increases in efficiency, it is reductions in
manufacturing cost. So as that demand has gone up, what we have seen is the manufacturers have ramped up
to meet that demand, significantly reducing the cost.
So while the technology has improved, that has not been the biggest driver there, it is additional manufacturing
capacity and lower costs there. So the solar panels themselves, as Dan mentioned, you know they have a 25
year warranty and a 40 year lifespan. There is very little reasoning from what we’ve seen to update those
panels. You know these things are going to pay for themselves in a few years and then you are just getting free
electricity. And what we would see and this is now me speculating a little bit, but | do expect to see some
improvements in the inverter technology.
So if we think about the system, the solar panels are kind of dumb; it is glass, aluminum and silicon just sitting
there. You know electrons are hopping up and down making power. The brains of the operations is within that
inverter. So | certainly expect, during the lifetime of these systems, to see improvements in that inverter
technology which basically allows them to interact more intelligently with the utility grid; things like demand
response. In those cases the inverters are actually quite easy to swap out. So you don’t have to touch any of
that work on the roof and in 10 or 15 or 20 years if we wanted to improve our inverter technology, that would be
a very easy change.
Mr. Weeks And | will just note, you will see the financials in a moment, we do model a full replacement of the
inverters on each of these systems mid-way through the system life. We just assume that is an expense you
will have at some point during the system life, so we have included that in the financial model.
