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http://seekingalpha.com/article/3319...aining-support

U.S. Rooftop Solar Is Rapidly Gaining Support
Jul. 12, 2015 11:17 PM ET | 1 comment | Includes: NRG, SCTY, VSLR

Disclosure: I am/we are long SCTY. (More...)
Summary

Rooftop solar is too hard for the government to ignore given the industry's superior ability to fulfill multiple government priorities, including job creation and GHG emission reductions.
The Obama administration has increasingly been throwing its weight behind rooftop solar, introducing huge solar job training programs and more recently announcing a lower/middle income rooftop solar initiative.
While the rooftop solar industry will have to continue growing rapidly to maintain/increase governmental support, rapid growth should not be a problem for the industry.

The U.S. rooftop solar industry has truly gained momentum over the past few years. During this time period, rooftop solar has transformed from an exceedingly niche part of the energy landscape to a major focal point of the energy industry. While rooftop solar still accounts for a tiny percentage of total U.S. energy generation, its future potential makes it particularly unique. The mainstream's awareness and acceptance of rooftop solar also seems to be increasing dramatically, which is great for the industry as awareness has typically been one of its largest problems.

The idea of rooftop solar is even starting to penetrate the highest levels of government, with President Obama recently coming out with many pro rooftop solar initiatives. The most recent initiative, which is targeted at lower/middle income households, has goals such as installing 300 MW of solar PV for federally subsidized housing regions. This type of governmental support is great news for the rooftop solar PV industry as it will help open up previously inaccessible markets. The middle and lower income households just so happen to make up for the vast majority of households, so opening up more of these markets is great news for rooftop solar companies like SolarCity (NASDAQ:SCTY) or Vivint (NYSE:VSLR) Solar.
Increasing Support

By taking into consideration the benefits of distributed generation, it only makes sense why political support for rooftop solar is growing. However, the sheer job creation that rooftop solar provides may be an even larger incentive of political support. As rooftop solar is perhaps the most labor-intensive segment in solar, or any other energy industry for that matter, it is only natural that the government will have an inclination towards rooftop solar. In fact, the solar industry added jobs at 10 times the pace of the broader economy in 2014, which also translates into more jobs created than the enormous oil and gas extraction industries combined.

Most of this growth is disproportionately attributed to rooftop solar, which makes this solar segment a natural focal point for the government. Given how job creation regularly ranks as one of the, if not the, most important metrics of the government, it is not surprising to see the levels of support rapidly rising for rooftop solar. In fact, President Obama plans "to train 75,000 new solar workers by 2020." Such an influx of skilled solar laborers would undoubtedly benefit rooftop solar companies like SolarCity and Vivint Solar, as these companies will likely have to pay less for labor given such an increase in labor supply.

These companies would also be able to save on training costs given that the government will be training these workers. The more money the government puts into solar worker training and other pro rooftop solar initiatives, the more both itself and the rooftop solar industry will benefit. Rooftop solar companies get the benefit of a widening addressable market and cheaper labor, while the government benefits from a decline in unemployment rates and GHG emissions. This relationship between the rooftop solar industry and the government will likely gain steam moving forward as these symbiotic advantages become increasingly apparent........