Sunrun is crushing Tesla in the solar energy sales business

Sunrun is now the leading installer of residential rooftop solar panels in the U.S.

Last year, the company overtook Tesla, which got into the solar business after it acquired SolarCity. Since then, the company’s position as top solar installer has slid to second place.

Sunrun deployed 296 megawatts of solar in the first nine months of 2019 compared to the 119 megawatts deployed by Tesla in that same period.

Tesla also deployed 54 megawatts in the last three months of 2019. This number is overshadowed by the 115-118 megawatts projections from Sunrun in that same period.

Sunrun is marketing its products as a relief system for blackouts and a stressed-out grid — and it seems to be working.

The U.S electrical grid has seen better days. Certainly brighter ones.

Last fall, PG&E shut off power to hundreds of thousands of its customers in an attempt to prevent its electric lines from sparking more deadly wildfires, in what is believed to be the largest such pre-emptive blackout ever.

Sunrun says its battery sales ballooned last October when the shutoffs peaked.

The company also published a report that showed how its customers who lost grid power were able to keep the lights on for up to five or six days straight.

“When the grid goes down, everything shuts down with it,” said Anne Hoskins, chief policy officer at Sunrun in a statement. “But when you have the batteries and the solar panels and the inverters, we’re able to essentially create a little microgrid for the house so that the house can continue to receive solar power during the day. And then solar power can be stored in the battery as well, that could then be used in the evening when it’s dark.”