Generac Makes Major Move Into Solar Market With Addition of Battery Storage System

For many of its 61 years, Generac Power Systems, Waukesha, WI, was known as a dominant manufacturer of home standby generators, and more recently in investment circles for the explosive growth of its stock price, which is up approximately +140% year-over-year (YOY) from Aug. 2019.

Over the past year, the company has been diversifying from its legacy generator business into clean energy solutions. Earlier this month, Generac’s Aaron Jagdfeld, president and CEO, told Jim Cramer, host of CNBC’s Mad Money television show, that a big megatrend now transforming the utility business is homeowners’ desire to produce their own power independently because of the increasing number of power outages.

Jagfeld said on the show that Generac spent more than $100 million to acquire Neurio Technology, a manufacturer of home energy management systems, and Pika Energy Inc., a manufacturer of energy storate systems, and used the technology in these acquisitions to build out a new clean energy solutions focus.

In Sept. 2019, the company announced its move into solar with a “complete ecosystem of new energy storage and management products.” The products that it rolled out last year at a major solar industry trade show, Solar Power International, included the PWRcell Storage System, a solar storage system that offers 8kW of continuous power; the PWRview Home Energy Monitor, an app that offers homeowners app-base monitoring of their energy usage; the SnapRs rapid-shutdown device; and the PV Link Substring Optimizer, which is designed to help contractors install solar arrays more efficiently.

In June 2020, the company also launched PWRzone, that it promotes as being a faster way to install photovoltaic systems because its uses fewer complex components than other solar systems on the market.

 “We saw an opportunity to simplify and improve a complex system for installers and homeowners alike,” said Russ Minick, chief marketing officer for Generac, in the press release. “PWRzone creates a cost savings for the installer and a power savings to the system owner. As the clean energy market grows, PWRzone will enable installers to tackle more installations and allow more homeowners to harness clean energy to power their homes and lives.”

Generac also recently announced several marketing and distribution agreements with distributors and installers of these products, including deal with Momentum Solar, South Plainfield, NJ, said to be the largest privately-owned residential solar installer in the United States, to install the PWRcell products. It also now has a distribution deal with BayWar.e. Solar Systems, Santa Fe, NM, to sell the PWRcell battery system and energy storage products to its nationwide network of residential solar contractors.