Selling Solar

What are the barriers to diffusion? How are they overcome, and by whom? These are the essential questions that 'Selling Solar' answers. To do so, the author explores the compelling, but often over-looked literature on innovation diffusion.

First Published in 2009. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The solar industry is expanding at rapid pace - almost fifty percent annually since the year 2000, and with this growth has come tremendous opportunity for those who are prepared to take advantage of it. While basic selling skills like prospecting, making good presentations, and closing techniques are foundational in any selling environment, the solar industry demands a unique set of competencies and abilities if you want to become a top performer. Having spent thousands of hours working for solar companies of various sizes, this book shares the lessons and best practices author, Daniel Howson, has gained as a door-to-door lead generator, a sales consultant, a supervisor, a leader, a manager, and a pioneer for solar power in a number of markets around the country. Discover: - Why selecting the right company to work for is critical to your success - What consumers are really looking for when they choose solar - How to build trust and credibility quickly and reliably - The secrets for delivering compelling solar presentations - How to deliver the benefits of solar to clients This book is not simply a "how to" book, although you will learn the tools and methods you need to sell solar effectively. Just as importantly it is a complete guide to developing the skills, knowledge, and mindset that are critically important to leading a successful career in solar. The solar industry is changing the world and by reading this book you can become a big part of it, building the sales skills to be a top performer, deepening your knowledge, and preparing for a future powered by the sun.

This book evaluates off-grid solar electrification in Africa by examining how political, economic, institutional, and social forces shape the adoption of off-grid solar technologies, including how issues of energy injustice are manifested at different levels and spaces. The book takes a historical, contemporary, and projective outlook using case studies from pre- and ongoing electrification communities in non-Western countries such as Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal, Malawi, Tanzania, and Nigeria. Beyond the diverse nature of these countries in terms of their geographical location in West, East, and Southern Africa, each offers a different experience in terms of colonial history, economic and institutional infrastructure, social and cultural context, and level of adoption of off-grid solar technologies. Notably, the book contributes to the off-grid solar and energy justice scholarship in low-income non-Western contexts. It examines various approaches to energy justice and does so by engaging with Western and non-Western philosophical notions of the concept. It takes into consideration the major principles of Ubuntu philosophy with the adoption of off-grid solar technologies, hence enriching the energy justice framework. Finally, the book interrogates the degree to which the social mission that catalysed the expansion of the off-grid solar sector is being undermined by broader structural dynamics of the capital investment upon which it is reliant. It also argues that the ascendance of off-grid solar electrification in Africa is transformative in that it enables millions of people without access to or facing uncertainties linked to centralised grid energy to have access to basic energy services.

Solar power has come of age. Not only has it become one of the key alternatives to fossil fuels, it can now be deployed in a way that makes a viable business with a financial profit. This book shows industry professionals and students how to do just that. Solarnomics describes the economics of building and operating a solar power plant today and provides a window into a future in which several technologies collaborate, and in which all participants in the electricity grid become smarter at scheduling both the supply and demand for electric power to give humanity a future that is sustainable, both environmentally and economically. The book shows how to estimate costs and revenues, how to tweak the design of a project to improve profitability, how to calculate return on investment, how to assess and deal with risk, how to raise capital, how to combine solar with batteries to make a hybrid microgrid, and how to be prepared for future developments in the evolving smart electricity grid. Solarnomics will enable professionals in the solar industry to assess the potential profitability of a proposed solar project, and it will enable students to add an extra dimension to their understanding of sustainability.

The bestselling alternative energy reference book in North America—now in an updated edition Want to take advantage of solar power in your home? Whether you’re looking to save on your energy costs by adding a few solar components or you want to build a solar-powered house from the ground up, Solar Power For Dummies, 2nd Edition takes the mystery out of this energy source and shows you how to put it to work for you! This new edition gives you hands-on tips and techniques for making your home more energy-efficient though solar power—and helping the planet at the same time. Plus, you’ll get all the latest information on changes to federal, state, and local regulations, laws, and tax incentives that seek to make solar-power adoption more feasible. Expanded coverage of the technology that underpins full-scale solar-power systems for the home New small- and mid-sized solar products, projects, and applications Rik DeGunther is a design engineer who started his own energy consulting firm Featuring ten of the easiest and cheapest DIY solar projects, Solar Power For Dummies, 2nd Edition is the fun and easy way to meet your energy needs with this clean power source!