Why 2015 Will Be the Year of Solar Energy

Whether you realize it or not, solar energy is becoming a more and more important part of our energy future. In 2013, 29 percent of new electricity-generating capacity in the U.S. was solar energy, and so far in 2014, 36 percent of new capacity is solar. Falling costs and improving technology will drive wider adoption, and 2015 could be a tipping point, bringing the solar industry to new parts of the country. The Year Solar Caught On in the U.S. 2014 has been the start of consumers and utilities alike understanding the positive impact solar can make. GTM Research expects about 6.5 GW of solar energy to be installed in the U.S. in 2014, enough to power nearly 1.1 million homes. But over half of those installations fall in a relatively small area in California and Arizona, so this isn't a nationwide trend -- yet. And 2015 Is a Tipping Point It's possible that 2015 will be the first year in which over half of new electricity generation capacity in the U.S. will come from solar. It's also likely that the industry will start to solve its intermittency issue, installing energy storage in a growing percentage of homes that decide to go solar. Both would be big milestones for the industry. The potential growth for the solar industry isn't measured in billions of dollars, it's measured in trillions, and in 2015 we'll begin to see the industry's leaders take a larger role in our overall energy future and spread their wings across the country. Like it or not, solar energy is coming to a town near you.

New Report Shows Residential Solar in Colorado Up 30%

Demonstrating continued support for clean, renewable energy, residential solar installations in Colorado in Q3 were up more than 30 percent over the same period last year, according to the new quarterly report from GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). The Solar Market Insight Report found that as of Q3 2014 more than 20,000 Colorado homes have "gone solar," along with more than 1,500 Colorado businesses. "Time and time again, Coloradans have demonstrated their commitment to clean, renewable solar energy and exercised their right to choose their energy source," said Rhone Resch, president and CEO of SEIA. "In the past year, the cost of solar in Colorado has fallen 17 percent - largely due to smart and effective public policies, such as the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), Net Energy Metering (NEM) and Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS)." In 2013, $233 million was invested in Colorado to install solar on homes and businesses, and there are more than 327 solar companies at work throughout the value chain in the state, employing 3,600 Coloradoans. The 376 MW of solar energy currently installed in Colorado ranks the state 8th in the country in installed solar capacity. There is enough solar energy installed in the state to power 68,600 homes. Nationwide, the solar industry employs 143,000 Americans and pumps nearly billion a year into the U.S. economy. But solar also benefits the environment. "The 17,500 megawatts of solar energy currently installed across the United States can generate enough pollution-free electricity to displace 20 billion pounds of coal or 2.2 billion gallons of gasoline," Resch added. "That's the equivalent of removing 4.3 million passenger cars from our roads and highways. Every 3 minutes of every single day, the U.S. solar industry is helping to fight the battle against damaging carbon emissions by flipping the switch on another completed solar project."

Environmental Group Calls On Colorado To Aim Higher To Achieve More Aggressive Solar Growth

Colorado could get 20% of its energy from solar power by 2025. That's according to a new report by Environment Colorado Research and Policy Center, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the state's air, water and open spaces. Kim Stevens, campaign director of the Denver-based advocacy group, says it is a lofty goal, given that solar power is currently less than 1% of electricity generation nationwide. Still, she maintains the solar increase is both possible and necessary. "We are feeling the effects of the changing climate - with drought and wildfires - and last year, we saw historic flooding," Stevens says. "Scientists say it will become more severe. We have the solution here, which is solar power. We know we can do more." AET Energy_id1092 The report authors cited statistics from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) noting that Colorado has more than 500,000 residential and commercial rooftops that could host solar panels. Also according to NREL, the sunny state has the technical potential to meet its energy needs 360 times over. At the end of 2013, Colorado was the eighth-ranked state in total installed solar capacity. Adding to these positives, the price of solar has decreased, and the public's favorable opinion of solar has increased. That means, the report indicated, the obstacles to increasing solar power are systemic and political. Efforts to go solar have been pushed back by forces ranging from powerful fossil fuel interests, to local governments that have not made it easier for homeowners to install solar, to utilities not fully participating in solar efforts. "The technology is there," Stevens says. "We just need the policies to get the ball rolling and carve the way for solar." The report recommends that the state, municipalities and utilities should maintain strong net-metering programs, promote community solar and virtual net-metering, facilitate third-party sales of solar power for solar leasing programs, and invest in a more intelligent electric grid that will enable distributed solar to play a larger role. Also, the report says, the U.S. federal government should commit to a baseline goal of obtaining at least 10% of the nation's electricity from solar energy by 2030. The government should do this by continuing to install solar on government buildings and also by building solar on public lands. The government should also strengthen and finalize the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Power Plan, which proposes to cut carbon pollution from power plants 30% from 2005 levels. There are many different tools that can help states attain carbon reduction goals, Stevens says. "Here in Colorado, the huge solar potential would help us to get our state more than halfway to the benchmark that the EPA sets." Stevens acknowledges that November was an interesting time to release the report because there was no relevant pending legislation that might move the state toward the solar or the Clean Power Plan goals. Still, Environment Colorado hopes legislators will take note. "We are trying to get the state government to commit to this goal," she says. Environment Colorado has been working with small business owners, local elected officials, farmers and ranchers to call on state officials. "We have been doing the groundwork," Stevens says. "The next step is working with the governor's office and with the legislature." The report, "Star Power: The Growing Role of Solar Energy in Colorado," by Judee Burr and Lindsey Hallock, from the Santa Barbara, Calif.-based research firm Frontier Group; and Rob Sargent from Environment America, a group of state-based environmental advocacy organizations, is available here.

Colorado PUC rejects Xcel Solar Connect plan over competition concerns

Xcel Energy's bid to create a premium solar energy program — potentially in competition with solar installers — was rejected Monday by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. Under the proposed Solar Connect program, customers would pay Xcel, the state's largest electricity provider, a premium on their bills to support solar projects. The company said this would enable those who can't have solar panels on their roofs to support solar energy. "We are disappointed with the commission's decision today," the company said in a statement. "We thought that Solar Connect could bring a solar product to consumers in Colorado that do not currently have the option to install solar panels." In a filing, the PUC staff recommended rejecting the program, saying Solar Connect would "have an unfair competitive advantage" over home rooftop solar and community solar garden programs. PUC chairman Josh Epel said Monday that the commission has to make sure that solar proposals are "in harmony and not in conflict." Solar industry executives and advocates had also voiced concerns about Solar Connect. "We applaud the PUC decision," said Rebecca Cantwell, executive director of the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association. "We think they got it right. Solar Connect as proposed just had too many unresolved issues."

New study anticipates rapid solar energy growth in Colorado

According to a new report just released by The Environment Colorado Research & Policy Center, Colorado should build on the recent growth in solar energy by setting a goal of obtaining at least 20 percent of its electricity from solar power by 2025. Colorado currently sits seventh in the nation in solar power generation. The report states that the United States now has enough solar electric capacity installed to power more than 3.2 million homes, and that the amount of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in the U.S. has tripled in the past two years. To reach the goal of Colorado generating 20 percent of its electricity via solar by 2025, solar PV installations would have to continue to increase at least 30 percent annually between now and 2025. If the past is any sign, Colorado should have no problem reaching its goal. Between 2010 and 2013, solar capacity in Colorado increased at an annual rate of 44 percent. The report also urges the federal government to commit to a baseline goal of obtaining at least 10 percent of the nation’s electricity via solar by 2030. Here are the top reasons why Colorado must increase its solar energy use, according to the report: Producing 20 percent of its electricity from clean, solar power would reduce Colorado’s global warming pollution by more than 7 million metric tons in 2025—the equivalent of taking 1.6 million cars off the road. Expanding solar energy will also reduce emissions of pollutants that contribute to the formation of smog and soot and threaten public health, especially children. Obtaining 20 percent of Colorado’s electricity from solar energy would reduce water consumption from power plants dramatically by using a life-cycle assessment. Solar energy creates local, clean energy jobs that can’t be outsourced. 3,600 Coloradoans worked in the solar industry in 2013.

The world’s largest solar power plant is now online

The world’s largest solar power plant is up and running in California, with the completion of Topaz, a 550 megawatt plant; the Topaz solar project completed its final 40-megawatt (AC) phase, making history not only as the first 500-megawatt plus solar farm to come on-line in the U.S. but also as the largest solar plant on-line in the world. This is a $2.5 billion project, with construction that began two years ago. The owner is MidAmerican Solar, a Pheonix, Arizona-based subsidiary of MidAmerican Renewables. Topaz is described by MidAmerican Solar as a 550-megawatt photovoltaic power plant. The developer for the project is listed as First Solar, discussing on its website the project that will produce sufficient electricity to power 160,000 average California homes. Topaz is located in San Luis Obispo County, California, on the northwestern corner of the Carrisa Plains. First Solar said that site was chosen after considerations regarding available solar resource, proximity to existing electrical transmission lines, current land use, and environmental sensitivities. They said that Topaz is sited on largely “non-prime,” actively tilled agricultural land that has “limited productivity.” At the northwestern edge of the Carrisa Plains, added First Solar, Topaz is more than six miles from the more sensitive habitats in the Carrizo Plain National Monument. According to fact sheet notes from MidAmerican Solar, the Topaz project is being built on previously disturbed agricultural land with a minimally impervious surface that allows for natural drainage and low-impact development and has the best solar insolation in Pacific Gas and Electric’s service territory. The Topaz project is designed to function as productive grassland habitat for native plants and animals while being used for passive farming of the sun’s energy. Water used during construction is primarily for dust control. During operation, the panels do not require washing and vegetation is maintained to help with dust control. “As of today,” wrote Eric Wesoff on November 24 in Greentech Media, “the project has installed 9 million solar panels across 9.5 square miles in San Luis Obispo County on California’s Carrizo Plain. Construction began in 2012 and was expected to be complete in early 2015—so call this an on-time delivery.” Engadget said that “It’s an impressive feat that should power 160,000 homes on Pacific Gas and Electric’s grid.”