An analysis of GlobalData’s Solar Power Influencer Platform, which tracks more than 100 leading experts in solar power and their discussions pertaining to the emerging trends, pain areas, new fields of innovation and other popular areas on Twitter, has revealed Arik Ring, expert energy consultant in solar and clean technology, as the top influencer during the first quarter (Q1) of 2020.

Tor Valenza, founder and CEO of UnThink Solar, was ranked second among the industry experts with an influencer score of 73, followed by Dr.Thomas Hillig, founder of THEnergy with an influencer score 60.

The US emerged as the most mentioned country among influencer conversations on solar power as solar surpassed natural gas and wind to become the leading source of new US electric generating capacity last year, at nearly 40% of the market, as the residential market regained its stride. However, the COVID-19 outbreak is now threating the project schedules in this booming solar industry with disruptions to supplies of components and labour shortages.

Among influencer discussions, #solar, #renewableenergy, #cleanenergy, #energystorage and #wind emerged as most popular trends on solar power.

First Solar is the most discussed company among influencer discussions in Q1 2020, followed by Tesla and JinkoSolar. The discussions about First Solar company were largely led by company’s fourth-quarter results where it incurred a loss of US$59m. The company is also believed to sub-contract its engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services to third party.