It's a watershed time for solar: the U.S. now has 10 gigawatts (GW) of installed solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity, a milestone that puts the U.S. in an exclusive 10GW solar PV club with Germany, Italy, and China, NPD Solarbuzz reported in its North America PV Market Quarterly. Not only is there an astonishing 28 GW of PV and concentrated solar power (CSP) projects currently under construction or in development in the U.S., but cumulative installed solar PV is expected to increase an additional 80% over the next 18 months and exceed 17 GW by the end of 2014. Furthermore, roughly 1.8GW of new solar PV capacity has already been installed this year.
A combination of declining prices, increasing demand, unflinching Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), and improved permitting and regulation is fueling this rise. But now, through a bevy of bold new solar deals, utilities are "getting in front of the change and preparing their businesses for continued success," according to Julia Hamm, President and CEO of Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA).
Take a look and see what these U.S. utilities are doing in the solar space:
1. NV ENERGY AND THE GROWTH OF ITS SOLAR PORTFOLIO
In July, Apple Inc. announced it will partner with NV Energy to build a 18-megawatt solar power plant for its data center in North Nevada, east of Reno. The project—NV Energy’s first all-renewable plant designed for a data center—officially kicks off NV Energy’s Green Energy Program, which partners with residential and commercial consumers to customize renewable power solutions.
With projects like these, the Nevada-based NV Energy boasts one of the fastest growing solar portfolios. Between 2011 and 2012, NV Energy jumped from being the 17th-ranked solar-developing U.S. utility to being the fifth, according to the annual survey conducted by SEPA, released in May. In 2012, the utility brought 100 megawatts of utility solar online.
So what’s driving the utility's solar-friendly initiatives? A supportive political and regulatory environment, Bobby Hollis, NV Energy’s Executive of Renewable Energy, told Utility Dive. “We see more state support for financing and permitting, so [completing a solar project] is a two-year process rather than a five-year process,” Hollis said.
2. UTILITIES GET A GRIP ON DISTRIBUTED SOLAR
In June, Duke Energy Corp. increased its equity investment in Clean Power Finance’s $42 million equity round thereby joining the rank of investors such as Google Ventures and Morgan Stanley. The San Francisco-based Clean Power develops online financing for residential solar units and in April, also secured the backing of Edison International and two undisclosed utility holding companies in a $37 million equity round.
Other utility holding companies are buying solar units outright. In May, NextEra Energy Inc., the nation’s largest solar and wind generator, bought Smart Energy Capital, a distributed generation solar development and finance start-up in New York. Meanwhile, Edison International is seeking FERC approval to buy the Chicago-based SoCore Energy LLC, which aims to meet the solar needs of retailers, REITs and industrial customers.
3. GEORGIA POWER SETS SOLAR EXAMPLE
Even before Georgia's Public Service Commission (PSC) voted Thursday to make Georgia Power add 525MW of solar power to its generation fleet by 2016, the utility already earned praise from SEPA for its Advanced Solar Initiative launched in March.
Through the program, Georgia Power will acquire 45MW of solar capacity through distributed generation and 60MW through competitive RFP in 2013 and 2014. Approved by the Georgia PSC in November 2012, the program allows for a total of 210MW of solar power through long-term contracts, nudging stronger collaboration with the solar industry and with no impact on customer rates.
"[...] This type of solar progress from a conservative utility with low retail rates and wholesale power costs serves as a strong example for other utilities wanting to expand solar without upward rate pressure for customers," SEPA CEO Julia Hamm said..
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