Real Goods Solar, Inc. (RGSE) Wows Investors – Here’s Why
Real Goods Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGSE) shares tripled in less than one hour after the markets opened today. The reason? The solar company announced an exclusive domestic and international license agreement with The Dow Chemical Company for the POWERHOUSE solar shingles system, an innovative and aesthetically pleasing solar shingle system developed by Dow that has been deployed on more than 1,000 homes.
RGS will lead all commercial activities for the product, including supply chain management, marketing, sales, installation and warranty.
RGS and Dow anticipate UL product certification during the first quarter of 2018 and are taking pre-orders in advance of final written certification. RGS plans to begin sales and installation of POWERHOUSE™ 3.0 solar shingles immediately thereafter.
RGS Energy CEO Dennis Lacey commented, "This enhanced POWERHOUSE™ 3.0 system comes at an opportune time [...] At an increasing rate, goals and targets are being set for renewable energy. Some localities are mandating solar for new build homes. Customers also increasingly want their solar installations to be an aesthetic and technical improvement integrated with a home renovation, rather than a hefty module that is bolted onto their rooftop. POWERHOUSE™ 3.0 solar shingles fulfills this need. We have been the POWERHOUSE™ solar shingles official warranty service provider since 2015. Given this familiarity with Dow and POWERHOUSE™ solar shingles, we are in a unique position to commercialize POWERHOUSE™ 3.0 solar shingles."
Kirk Thompson, Business Director of Dow Solar, noted, "We are very pleased to partner with RGS Energy for the commercialization of our POWERHOUSE™ 3.0 product [...] We believe that RGS is well positioned to optimize the market potential for POWERHOUSE™ 3.0 solar shingles system. The design of POWERHOUSE™ 3.0 solar shingles addresses the critical requirements of customers and installers and achieves a price point that will be very competitive."
The POWERHOUSE™ product is well-suited for homeowners needing to replace their roofs. With a typical asphalt roof lasting 20 to 25 years, RGS estimates that annually there are approximately 5 million homes needing new roofs in the United States. Outside of the U.S., the exclusive license allows RGS to market the product internationally. According to BBC Research, the global market for BIPV will grow at a 12.2% CAGR from $2.5 billion in 2016 to $4.3 billion by 2021.
Real Goods Solar is a residential and commercial solar energy engineering, procurement, and construction company. It offers turnkey services, including design, procurement, permitting, build-out, grid connection, financing referrals, and warranty and customer satisfaction activities.
