Summary
As noted in this source article, the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) recently released its market analysis entitled “2008 Top Ten Utility Solar Integration Rankings” in a report highlighting the utilities in the U.S. with significant solar power portfolios and noting the increased collaboration of the U.S. electric utility and solar energy industries.
Analysis
As noted in this source article, the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) recently released its market analysis entitled “2008 Top Ten Utility Solar Integration Rankings” in a report highlighting the utilities in the U.S. with significant solar power portfolios and noting the increased collaboration of the U.S. electric utility and solar energy industries. This report indicates that the utility segment is finally undergoing a major investment in solar, as technology and cost factors improve, leading many utilities to double the amount of solar power in their portfolio in just the past year. The overall installed solar capacity of the top ten ranked utilities rose from 711 megawatts to 882 megawatts (MW), equivalent to 25 percent growth.
Overall, 92 utilities participated in this year’s survey, an increase of more than 80 percent compared to last year, showing that the utility industry’s interest in solar energy has been elevated, mainly due to more aggressive renewable energy portfolio standards (RPS) in U.S. states and possibly at the federal level. Other driving forces which are spurring utilities to develop more solar power resources include the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), which would generate a ceiling on carbon emissions for utilities as well as a tradable carbon credit system, and the integration of relatively untested large amounts of centralized intermittent solar power on the U.S. power grid.
Based on the SEPA market analysis report, prior to the economic downturn, analysts had predicted a 30-fold increase in solar capacity between 2009 and 2016, which would generate 440,000 green jobs and over $230 billion in investments and associated economic development. As the solar energy industry moves in that direction, it is developing both localized (or distributed) and centralized installations owned by an array of strategic market players. Interestingly enough, this year’s report shows that 2008 solar power growth came almost entirely from thousands of localized generation projects, supported by a combination of federal, state and utility tax credits, as opposed to capital-intensive centralized power plants that require mult-million dollar bank loans. However, this trend began before the announcement of the $3.9 billion Recovery Act funding for a national smart grid system that will alleviate the stain associated with large numbers of centralized renewable energy power sources across the country, among other benefits. Furthermore, SEPA anticipates that in future years centralized solar electric plants will become more common, as is happening in Arizona. In this case, large-scale solar projects will require better coordination with grid integration systems so that the energy is utilized effectively and in a timely manner, in contrast to many problematic disconnected wind energy projects in recent years.
New innovative business models are emerging from organizations such as SEPA, utilities, and turn-key solar farm equipment manufacturers. For instance, Applied Materials is championing a strategy which calls for locally-sited solar panel factories to be built by a solar module manufacturer using their thin-film PV panel SunFab production line, which is being geared towards utility-owned solar farms. Since electricity generation would be placed for distribution near load centers, a solar farm may be quickly deployed without extensive, costly transmission lines. Several utilities such as Duke Energy are paying businesses and residences for use of their roofs to install and generate solar power, which lessens the need for solar farms and large capital investments into expensive concentrating solar power (CSP). This particular model is more appropriate for less sunny regions of the country such as the northeast and southeast, where it is being implemented for evaluation.
According to the SEPA study, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), based in San Francisco, California, was the most solar integrated utility in 2008, interconnecting 85 MW of new capacity. What’s more, this value encompasses over 44 percent of all utilities surveyed. Southern California Edison (SCE) and San Diego Gas & Electric were ranked second and third, respectively. SCE was ranked first on a cumulative solar megawatt basis, followed by PG&E and NV Energy, a Nevada utility. Another category of cumulative watts per customer, indicated that the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPU) ranked first, followed by the Port of Oakland, and SCE. Actually, the SFPUC and the Port of Oakland are not typical electrical utilities, serving residential and commercial customers but rather entities that procure electricity for community and port accounts. A glaring result of the study was that nine of the Top Ten utilities are from California and Hawaii in terms of total solar watts per customer.
The unregulated power utility known as Salt River Project (SRP), which is nearly the most predominant in Arizona, was unranked in all categories; however, Arizona Public Service (APS) was ranked sixth in total solar energy capacity developed in 2008 with 3.56 MW and eighth for cumulative solar assets of 10.6 MW. As a result, SRP has recently started a partnership with Stirling Energy Systems to enhance its own RPS using CSP technology, which is only located in western states. In addition, Tucson Electric Power was ranked sixth with 4.9 MW in terms of cumulative power being supplied by solar resources with respect to the utility-side of the meter through 2008. The full SEPA market analysis report may be accessed at this site.
In other developments across Arizona, the University of Arizona (U of A) in Tucson, has received a major boost from the Recovery Act to build a solar research program. It was awarded a $15 million stimulus grant for five years for an Energy Frontier Research Center to enhance the conversion of solar energy to electricity using hybrid inorganic-organic materials. Leading by example, the campus will have 500 kW of solar power constructed on building rooftops and for its Olympic-size 600,000 gallon Student Recreation Center pool. In addition, the campus has committed to constructing all new buildings with Silver LEED building certification. A new environmental sustainability program has been created for educating students and greening the campus as well.
Moreover, The U of A has established a Solar Technology Institute and is collaborating with Global Solar, also in Tucson, concerning innovative copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-films solar cell research in conjunction with flexible substrates to broaden the reach of commercial applications. Global Solar recently achieved a record of 15.45 percent energy-conversion efficiency for CIGS solar cells, as confirmed at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden, Colorado.
Analyses are solely the work of the authors and have not been edited or endorsed by GLG.
