Electrical engineer Mouli Vaidyanathan is getting national traction with his SolarPod modular solar panels. His company, Mouli Engineering, has installed systems in 33 states. Vaidyanathan became a solar entrepreneur nearly a decade ago after losing a job in the technology industry during the Great Recession. His installations require no bolting to the roof. The small-scale, plug-in modules are available at Menards, Northern Tool and Mysolarpod.com. He spoke recently about solar's future and his company.
Q: Minnesota's Ten K Solar suspended operations in May due to manufacturing-cost issues. Does solar not work in Minnesota?
A: Solar does work in Minnesota. Minnesota can generate [a lot] of solar power. In a typical home this can be 15 to 25 percent of electricity per year. The issue with solar is that it is not easily predictable from one day to another. However, it is very predictable over a year or even two-year cycle. The economics for solar are favorable today. Thanks to global demand, the economy of scale has pushed prices down. The payback is five to 10 years depending on where you live and electricity rates.
Q: So, the problem is that small solar-array manufacturers are at a disadvantage?
A: The top 10 solar-panel manufacturers in the world have more than 5,000 megawatts [MW] each of manufacturing capacity per year. Solar-panel manufacturing is all about scale. That means massive factories with large investments of capital. Single-digit megawatt manufacturing capacity … cannot compete in this market.
Q: Where are these huge solar-cell manufacturers located?
A: Most are in East Asia. They account for the majority of supply. Some come from Germany, and a smaller sum from the U.S.
Q: You have been a critic for years of the Made in Minnesota tax subsidy to Minnesota solar manufacturers. Why?