In 2017, the top supplier of commercial solar energy in the United States released SunPower to

Commercial solar is the most fragmented segment of the U.
S.
solar market, with many companies involved in any single project
.

GTM, a U.
S.
market research firm, has released a U.
S.
commercial solar research report that aggregates data
from the top engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) providers, project developers, asset owners and other leading companies in the U.
S.
commercial solar market.
The resulting ranking shows the top 15 suppliers
in the U.
S.
commercial solar industry today.
These 15 companies were involved in half of all commercial solar capacity installed in
2017.

Among them, SunPower, Tesla and NRG Energy accounted for the top three, together accounting for nearly a quarter of the commercial solar market in 2017, each with more than 100 megawatts
deployed.

SunPower was a prominent leader in the direct install business and channel partner business, a major source
of SunPower's growth in 2017.
While SunPower does not carry out the actual installation for its commercial channel partners, it involves multiple steps in the development cycle, including customer-led generation, marketing, financing, and project design
.
This strategy allows SunPower to enter multiple segments of the commercial market, and its direct business is focused on large-scale projects (≥1 MW), while its channel partners target small and medium-sized commercial solar projects (<1 MW).

In addition to SunPower, Tesla also has a clear competitive advantage
.
Commercial solar accounted for 90% of its solar business structure, offsetting the decline in the residential solar business, and overall installed capacity increased by 2%
in 2017.

In addition, commercial solar projects from NRG and NextEra also doubled in 2017, thanks in large part to the development of
community solar.

GTM Research said: "In a fragmented industry, having more control over multiple steps in the value chain seems like a winning strategy
.
”