SolarWakeup
SolarWakeup is a U.S. solar industry media company that publishes a daily email newsletter for solar installers, developers, IPPs/EPCs, and tax equity financiers, complemented by a Buyer's Group for solar module group purchasing, consulting, and founder speaking engagements. Founded in 2015 by Yann Brandt, the company operates from Florida with 1-10 employees.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What SolarWakeup does
SolarWakeup is a U.S. solar industry media company that publishes a daily email newsletter, branded as "The Most Influential Newsletter In Solar," serving solar installers, developers, IPPs/EPCs, tax equity financiers, and other solar professionals who require curated intelligence on regulatory developments, project execution, M&A, supply chain, and policy. The company was founded in 2015 by Yann Brandt and operates from Lauderdale By The Sea, Florida, with a headcount of 1-10 employees. Its core technology is a digital newsletter and website platform, supplemented by the SolarWakeup Live podcast distributed via Apple Podcasts and social channels on Twitter/X, Facebook, and LinkedIn. The content archive contains over 992 pages of daily posts, indicating consistent multi-year publication.
The business generates revenue across four streams: a free daily newsletter (with subscription mechanism), a Buyer's Group group purchasing program that aggregates buyer demand for negotiated pricing on solar modules (including REC, N-Peak, and Alpha products), founder-led consulting and marketing services for solar industry participants, and paid speaking engagements at cleantech events. Adjacent offerings include the Solar Module Index (a survey-based benchmarking tool), Q&A submission services, and The Solar Pledge advocacy campaign supporting net-metering and the 30% solar investment tax credit. The company's go-to-market is community-led: reader forwarding, social sharing, podcast subscribers, and in-person conference participation drive audience growth, while monetization is opportunistic across advertising, group purchasing commissions, professional services, and speaking fees.
The business is founder-owned and operated with no disclosed institutional funding, parent company, or external investment. Operating geographies are U.S.-focused, with contact and mailing presence in Florida. No revenue figures, customer counts, transaction volumes, or employee growth trends are disclosed in the available data.
SolarWakeup firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SolarWakeup
- Legal name
- SolarWakeup
- Website
- https://solarwakeup.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- SolarWakeup is a U.S. solar industry media company that publishes a daily email newsletter for solar installers, developers, IPPs/EPCs, and tax equity financiers, complemented by a Buyer's Group for solar module group purchasing, consulting, and founder speaking engagements. Founded in 2015 by Yann Brandt, the company operates from Florida with 1-10 employees.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SolarWakeup industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Solar Industry Media & Market Intelligence
- NAICS
- Information (51)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Solar Design, Engineering & Performance Software (PV Modeling, Digital Twins, Monitoring) (EUAMABAH)
Keywords
Where SolarWakeup is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
SolarWakeup business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Newsletter Subscription: The primary product is a daily email newsletter providing solar industry news, analysis, and opinion. The newsletter appears to be free with premium or sponsored content elements, and includes a subscribe mechanism for readers.
- Buyer's Group Purchasing: A group purchasing program that aggregates buyer demand to negotiate better pricing on solar modules and equipment. The Rate Sheet document references pricing for REC Modules and other solar products.
- Consulting Services: Professional consulting services for corporate meetings providing commentary on regulatory and political decisions affecting the solar industry.
- Marketing Services: Marketing services and marketing reports offered to solar industry participants.
- Speaking Engagements: Yann Brandt provides speaking services at cleantech events and corporate meetings, discussing current news and events in solar, providing behind-the-scenes insights on topics driving industry news.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Multi-year contract | Buyer's Group pricing for solar modules |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
SolarWakeup product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SolarWakeup publishes a daily email newsletter delivering curated solar industry news, original reporting, and editorial opinion to solar professionals across the United States. The company supplements the newsletter with a podcast (SolarWakeup Live), a Buyer's Group for aggregated procurement of solar modules (REC, N-Peak, Alpha), consulting and marketing services, and paid speaking engagements by founder Yann Brandt at cleantech industry events.
Product overview
SolarWakeup is a solar industry media company offering a suite of information products centered around its daily newsletter, which is described as the most influential newsletter in the solar sector. The company provides complementary services including a Buyer's Group for group purchasing of solar modules, consulting and marketing services, speaking engagements with founder Yann Brandt, and advocacy through The Solar Pledge initiative. The product portfolio is organized as a unified newsletter-centric platform with add-on services for industry professionals seeking solar market intelligence, purchasing advantages, and professional development opportunities.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- SolarWakeup Daily Newsletter Daily email newsletter delivering curated solar industry news, original reporting, and editorial opinion covering policy, market trends, project development, supply chain, M&A, and technology developments. Targeted at solar industry professionals including developers, installers, manufacturers, and investors.
- Buyer's Group
Companies that use SolarWakeup
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
SolarWakeup technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
SolarWakeup partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
SolarWakeup competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- PV-Tech: PV-Tech provides solar PV technology, project, and market news to a global solar audience. It overlaps directly with SolarWakeup's coverage of supply chain, project development, and policy, and is cited in SolarWakeup's daily rundowns.
- Solar Power World: Solar Power World is a trade publication focused on solar installation, contracting, and project news. It targets a similar installer and EPC readership and covers complementary topics like module, inverter, and racking products referenced in SolarWakeup's Buyer's Group.
- Utility Dive: Utility Dive covers the US utility and power sector with strong solar and storage beats. It competes for the same IPP/EPC and policy-reader audience as SolarWakeup and is among the most frequently cited sources in SolarWakeup's newsletter.
- PV-Magazine: PV-Magazine is a leading global solar industry publication offering daily news, opinion, and technical analysis. It directly competes with SolarWakeup as a daily-read destination for solar professionals and is regularly cited in SolarWakeup's own newsletter.
- Canary Media: Canary Media covers the clean energy transition including solar, storage, and grid topics. It competes for the same policy- and market-aware clean energy professional readers and is cited in SolarWakeup's daily newsletter.
- Energy Storage News: Energy Storage News is a dedicated publication covering battery storage markets, policy, and projects. It serves an overlapping audience of IPPs, EPCs, and developers that SolarWakeup targets, particularly around the storage/solar crossover.
- Axios Pro (Energy & Climate): Axios's energy and climate coverage, including its Pro newsletters, provides smart-briefing style daily news for energy and policy professionals. It overlaps with SolarWakeup's daily rundown format and audience, and is cited in SolarWakeup's own newsletters.
- Solar Builder Magazine: Solar Builder covers solar construction, project financing, and installer business topics. It serves the same installer/contractor audience as SolarWakeup and overlaps on project pipeline, supply chain, and policy coverage.
Broad incumbents
- Wood Mackenzie: Wood Mackenzie provides research, data, and consulting across energy including solar markets and policy. It competes for the same institutional reader and advisory spend as SolarWakeup's consulting and policy analysis offerings, but at much larger scale.
- Bloomberg New Energy Finance: BloombergNEF provides subscription research, data, and analysis across renewables including solar. It targets a broader and more institutional audience than SolarWakeup but competes for the same tax equity, IPP, and policy intelligence wallet.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
SolarWakeup social profiles
Digital presenceSolarWakeup financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SolarWakeup leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
SolarWakeup funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SolarWakeup M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SolarWakeup
What does SolarWakeup do?
SolarWakeup publishes a daily email newsletter delivering curated solar industry news, original reporting, and editorial opinion to solar professionals across the United States. The company supplements the newsletter with a podcast (SolarWakeup Live), a Buyer's Group for aggregated procurement of solar modules (REC, N-Peak, Alpha), consulting and marketing services, and paid speaking engagements by founder Yann Brandt at cleantech industry events.
Is SolarWakeup a public or private company?
SolarWakeup is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was SolarWakeup founded?
SolarWakeup was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is SolarWakeup based?
SolarWakeup is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does SolarWakeup make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Newsletter Subscription is the primary driver. The others are buyer's Group Purchasing, consulting Services, marketing Services and speaking Engagements.
Who are SolarWakeup's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are PV-Tech, Solar Power World, Utility Dive, PV-Magazine, Canary Media, Energy Storage News, Axios Pro (Energy & Climate) and Solar Builder Magazine. Broad incumbents are Wood Mackenzie and Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
Does SolarWakeup have an API?
No public API is recorded for SolarWakeup.
What industry is SolarWakeup in?
SolarWakeup's product category is Solar Industry Media & Market Intelligence. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUAMABAH, Solar Design, Engineering & Performance Software (PV Modeling, Digital Twins, Monitoring). Its NAICS code is 51 and its SIC code is 7370.