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U.S. Utilities Advance Solar Projects

by Ben Block on August 1, 2008
Solar PVSeveral major U.S. utility companies may accelerate plans to integrate solar power into their electricity mix following a fact-finding trip to Germany.

Twenty-three electric utilities were represented on the trip to Germany, the world's leading producer and installer of photovoltaic (PV) solar cells. All of them may now advance solar projects in the United States, a trip leader said, further expanding a growing solar market.

"Every single utility would decrease the time they said it would be before solar would be a significant part of their utility mix," said Julia Hamm, the executive director of the Solar Electric Power Association, which organized the trip, covered some participants' travel expenses, and conducted a poll on solar power upon the trip's conclusion.

The tour was an opportunity for utility executives and managers to speak with German utilities and address concerns about how expanded solar energy may affect grid reliability. The trip, which took place in June, was summarized in a Solar Electric Power Association report [PDF] released last week.

Roy Kuga, vice president of Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), said his concerns about distribution were put at ease, although the intermittent nature of solar energy may still be problematic. "In a country where solar radiation is sub-par compared to many parts of the U.S., I have to hand it to the progressiveness and commitment [Germany] made to solar," he said. "Their technology advances will later help us."

In Germany, a feed-in-tariff law [PDF] requires utilities to pay customers a fixed rate for any renewable energy they feed into the grid, such as solar power generated from rooftop PV panels. While the policy sets the cost of renewable energy higher than traditional energy sources, the price decreases over time.

Mainly due to these fixed rates, Germany is home to nearly half the world's installed solar cell capacity. About 1,300 megawatts (MW) of new PV capacity was installed in 2007, bringing the country's total to more than 3,830 MW.

In the United States, solar PV is growing. The country ranks fourth for total capacity, with at least 450 MW installed. An assortment of rebates, grants, and low-interest loans is scattered across the states.

Utilities represented on the tour included two of the largest U.S. utility companies, Southern Company and Duke Energy. Represented utilities also included Southern California Edison and PG&E, the U.S. utilities with the most installed MW of solar power and the most overall solar capacity, respectively.

This year, utilities have already announced plans to expand rooftop PV capacity. In June, Duke Energy proposed a $100 million expansion of solar panels on 850 buildings in North Carolina. Southern California Edison plans to install 250 MW of distributed capacity over 65 million square feet (19.8 million square meters) of roofs in the next five years. PG&E plans to help California meet the state's goal of 3,000 MW of customer-installed solar power by 2017. "In the upcoming months, we should expect to hear more from PG&E activities in this area," Kuga said.

Several of the utilities on the tour were less experienced with solar power installation. "Half the utilities on the trip really had done nothing or little [solar installation]," Hamm said. "It was a complete eye-opener for them."

Jim White, a senior energy services engineer with a Washington state public utility, said he was most impressed with Germany's efficient methods of solar installation. For instance, when a PV system is set up, a new electric panel is placed inside homes with a separate meter for solar energy. "It's plug-in and play, literally. You buy a solar panel and put it on your roof...drop down two wires and call the electric utility," White said. "It's an order of magnitude faster than where we are today."

Ben Block is a staff writer with the Worldwatch Institute. He can be reached at bblock@worldwatch.org.

For permission to reprint this article, please contact Julia Tier at jtier@worldwatch.org.

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It's great to see energy

Submitted by bille on December 19, 2008 - 11:46am.
It's great to see energy companies really embracing ideas like Solar, Wind, and (gasp) Nuclear. Refreshing since the big auto makers seem to only give superficial attention to alternative fuel / electric cars. I know this may be a bit controversial for this audience, but I really think we need to remove the shackles on nuclear. It does have an environmental impact, but much, much smaller than coal, gas-fired, etc. Solar and Wind have promise, but can't meet all the needs today. == bill
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Every state across the

Submitted by Ron Phillips on August 2, 2008 - 5:42am.
Every state across the country should not hesitate to immediately implement a plan of action and a type of legislation termed Renewable Energy Payments or REP's. The policy behind REP's has been called "the world's best renewable energy law". It has proven to promote the fastest, cheapest, and widest growth of renewable energy. Its core principles are: 1. access to the power grid, 2. long-term guaranteed prices, and 3. no limit to the amount of renewable energy that can be sold to the utility companies. STATE LEADERSHIP In the US, energy policy is set at the national and state levels. Recognizing that our Federal Government is doing far too little to promote renewable energy, every state government needs to take leadership. ENERGY INDEPENDENCE The US consumes 25% of the world's oil, but only has 3% of the world's oil reserves. Our national and state economies are overly dependent on oil. Developing our own renewable energy breaks our dependence on Middle East and other foreign oil, thereby increasing our energy security. Renewables will help to solve global warming, and create millions of new well-paid jobs. MORE THAN ENOUGH Every state has more than enough renewable energy from the sun, wind, water, biomass and/or heat from the earth, to meet their needs. Renewable energy can be used for heating, cooling, electricity, and as fuel for machinery and transportation. FREE & CLEAN Once the investments are made to buy, install and maintain solar panels, wind turbines, etc., the actual "fuel" is free and ongoing. Compared to the costs related to fossil fuels-extraction, production, transport, pollution, illnesses, and wars-clean renewable energy is cheap. While fossil fuels pollute the environment and cause global warming, renewable energy is clean. MOST EFFECTIVE LAW The most effective legislation to stimulate a rapid transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy has been pioneered in Germany. This has made Germany the world leader in the production of solar panels, creating 234,000 jobs. In the 1980s the US had an 80% share of the solar panel market; today we have 25%. The German legislation is so effective that over 45 other countries, states and provinces have adopted similar laws with great success. We must remember Germany has the same number of peak sun hours (3) per day as southern Canada. Most states receive an annual average of twice this amount of solar resource per day. HOW IT WORKS This legislation encourages people and groups to install solar panels, wind generators, etc. to produce energy and sell it to their power company at a price guaranteed for 15 to 20 years. People are eager to install this equipment, as they will recoup their investment in about 9 years and have a steady stream of income after that. This increased demand creates jobs, conserves fossil fuels, and lowers greenhouse gas emissions-Germany is on track to meet its reduced CO2 emissions targets three years early. BRING IT HOME This simple idea that is producing astonishing results elsewhere has received little attention in the USA. It can help states reach their CO2 reduction targets, and their goals to have a percentage of their energy come from renewables by a set date. Climate chaos, escalating fuel prices, and wars show us that we need to switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy. We have the technology, know-how, and resources. Now we need leadership from our state government. WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE We can all be innovative leaders in renewable energy. With REP's we can do the most to help our country make a rapid transition from fossil fuels to clean renewable energy. By being a leader in clean renewable energy, we will create many thousands of well-paid jobs, improve public health, and help stop global warming. By reducing our dependence on imported fuels, we will keep the revenues of the energy industry within each state and increase our national security. PLAN OF ACTION With Decentralized Renewable Energy we create: Efficiency - Renewable energy can be produced right where it's used, so almost nothing is wasted. Security - Currently, accessible renewable resources can deliver six times more energy than all the people on this planet use every day. Investment - Governments should support future technology that has the capacity to solve energy problems with clean, affordable energy for everyone. Ecology - Most renewable-energy fuels produce no emissions. The quicker we switch, the quicker we can stabilize our climate and prevent catastrophes. Independence - Renewable-energy technology produces energy in diverse, small-scale ways, allowing energy independence for everyone, everywhere. Cost - Renewable-energy fuels are free. The sun and wind do not increase their price, and technology will become cheaper as the market grows. As a result, our valuable water supplies are left to meet other needs. Economic Growth - Renewable energy provides stable fuel prices while creating a large number of high-skilled jobs in many sectors. The benefits are spread throughout society. Similar legislation is being introduced in Washington, DC, Florida and Michigan.
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