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Energy Gang

Inside Amazon's Drone-Based Solar Installation Service

Energy Gang

Wood Mackenzie

Tech News, Environment, Sustainability, Innovation, Renewable Energy, Technology, Alternative Energy, Energy, News, Cleantech, Wind Energy, Business, Climate Change, Solar Energy

4.61.3K Ratings

🗓️ 1 April 2016

⏱️ 20 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Amazon upended book publishers and brick-and-mortar retailers. Is it about to upend solar installers too? Two months ago, GTM researchers stumbled upon a patent filed by Amazon for a drone-based solar installation system. After an extended investigation, we've confirmed that the company is working on the technology as part of its broader drone-based package delivery service. Amazon already has FAA approval to pilot the drones, and plans to roll out the service within two years. If Amazon is successful, drone-based solar installation could completely change the way consumers buy solar. In this episode, we'll outline how the service will work and what impact it may have on the installation business. This podcast is part of GTM's premium service, Squared. Enjoy this week's episode for free. Sign up for Squared to hear more in-depth analysis every week. (If you're still reading this, please note the publish date: April 1.) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This is the Interchange, a weekly conversation about the changing business of energy and clean tech from

0:13.0

GTM squared. This week we have a very special unveiling. Is Amazon about to

0:19.7

completely change the rooftop solar business. We have an investigation from

0:23.6

GTM research and GTM editorial that we're going to tell you about. I am

0:28.2

GTM managing editor Stephen Lacey in Boston. Also in Boston is my co-host, our senior VP, Shale Khan. Hey Shale, how are you?

0:35.6

I'm great Stephen, super excited for this episode. Yeah, we've been working on this for a

0:39.8

while. Also with us back again for a second time on the interchange. It's our director of solar research,

0:45.8

M.J. Hey, M.J. Hey, Stephen, hey Shale. So we have been pretty excited to bring you this

0:51.3

podcast all week.

0:53.0

MJ Shale and I have been pretty hard at work confirming

0:56.8

different pieces of this story,

0:58.8

putting in all these pieces together,

1:00.5

and we think we've put together a pretty complete picture of a

1:03.7

groundbreaking new solar service from Amazon and I'll let Shale tell you a little bit

1:08.4

about that. Before we get into it I just want to remind Energy Gang listeners who are listening to this,

1:15.0

that we record this podcast every week for GTM squared.

1:19.6

And if you're a GTM square, you will get in-depth conversations on a variety of topics that are shaping

1:27.8

the clean tech industry.

1:29.5

We have a lot of fun of this show and we think that we offer a lot of value add with these conversations.

1:35.2

So to find out more about GTM squared that will get you all sorts of discounts and premium editorial products go to GTM squared.com.

1:49.2

So Shale let's start from the beginning.

1:51.5

Your team uncovered this story completely randomly recently and we've been working as a small team internally to try to figure out what it means for solar. So what isazon up to right so let's start with the

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