After taking a moment to recover, I wanted to be sure to report back on some of the exciting happenings coming out of Intersolar North America 2014. I had a great time out in San Francisco attending one of the solar industry’s biggest events, visiting the Merritt Group California crew, and satisfying my Mission burrito craving (a story for another day).

The tradeshow floor was buzzing this year with an onslaught of product and company news. Hot on the agenda this go-around was storage, storage, storage. Come to think of it, the topic was big last year too, and has been an area to watch for some time now. There’s a lot of innovation going on in this space (see GigaOm’s coverage of the topic) and while I heard a lot of excitement, a handful of realists tempered the buzz by hinting at price-point and other challenges to overcome before widespread adoption.

Aside from the number of racking, component, cell, module, and system technologies on display…near and dear to my heart, of course, was the world of PV inverters. I was on hand at client SolarMax’s booth (pictured) where they were displaying their latest central and string solutions. One of the issues top of mind at the show for many inverter companies is the impact of NEC 2014, which you can read more about in Solar Power World, for example.

It’s great to see the US solar industry advancing and attention to renewables growing in general. At this rapid pace of change, I look forward to all the innovation that will occur between now and the next big show in October, Solar Power International. Will I see you there?