Kirk,<div><br></div><div>With all due respect, I'm going to employ the bull*hit detector on this customer's inquiry. He tells you that he wants the most efficient product available, or potentially available in the next 5 years, no matter the cost. He throws out the two industry leading commercialized, warrantable and bankable products as "not good enough." He says he's willing to be a beta site for some yet-as-undeveloped technology...</div>
<div><br></div><div><Cue image of John Belushi coughing into his hand, circa Animal House></div><div><br></div><div>You are speaking with the wrong person on this project, and need to politely, delicately and with great finesse go over his head to find the real decision maker if you are to have any hope in hell of closing this deal.</div>
<div><br></div><div>85kW at an installed cost of $6 per watt (a sweet deal for ultra-high efficiency cutting edge technology, but bear with me here) is over a half million dollars of investment. Precious few companies cut that kind of check without being lock-down rock-solid positive of the correctness of the business decision. Of course, there are countless numbers of ways that this decision is the right one, but cost-is-no-object power density is rarely one of them. As Peter points out, why are they focused on [cell? module? system?] efficiency, and not energy or return? </div>
<div><br></div><div>Sure, you might have hooked up with a Richard Branson who's willing to plunk down a handful of big bills just 'cause, whether or not it works and absolutely without regard of warranty or long term results. But it's rare that mere mortals such as you and I manage an audience with such folk. It's far more likely that you've come in contact with a mid-level visionary who likes to emphasize his importance by dealing in arm-waving big number broad strokes. Nothing wrong with that, and it's definitely a great entry. However, dollars to donuts as it comes closer to signing the contract the more the numbers have to pencil out. So either you go on the clock as a consultant to rub on the crystal ball and ultimately "prove" to the client he should hold onto his money for another couple years so module/cell/system efficiencies can go from miraculous to freakin'-miraculous, or you take a deep breath, dive in and do the calculations so you can show the people that matter that there's never been a better time to invest in renewable energy.</div>
<div><br></div><div><div>Of course, if I'm wrong about all this I should let you know that I've developed an 82% efficient PV module in my garage. I'm glad to send your customer my personal mailing address and when the check clears I will be eternally apologetic, contrite and owe you more than a few beers. </div>
</div><div><br></div><div>Peace,</div><div><br></div><div>Phil Undercuffler</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sat, Jul 17, 2010 at 12:56 PM, Kirk Herander, VSE <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:kirk@vtsolar.com">kirk@vtsolar.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
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<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">Hello,</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">I have been charged with the task by a corporate client to
do diligence in finding the most efficient PV out there which is commercially available,
or may be available in the next five years. They are not satisfied with the roughly
20% efficiency of Sanyo / Sunpower, for instance. They want the greatest power
density available and may be willing to serve as a beta test site for something
of highest efficiency, and money may not be an object. The roof footprint can accommodate
roughly 85KW of Sanyo 210’s as it looks today.</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">Any info you folks can provide would be greatly appreciated.
I basically need to write a white paper describing everything out there and the
pros and cons of each. It is possible I could hire a consultant (recommended by
or from our wrench list) to do this research for me if it feels right. I
imagine this type of analysis has been done before. Thanks in advance.</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">Kirk Herander</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">Vermont</span></font><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> Solar
Engineering</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">802.863.1202</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">NABCEP(tm) Certified Solar Installer</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">NYSERDA-eligible Installer</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">VT Solar Incentive Program Partner</span></font></p>
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