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An SREC program is an alternative to the [[feed-in tariff]] model popular in Europe. The key difference between the two models is the market-based mechanism that drives the value of the SRECs, and therefore the value of the subsidy for solar. In a feed-in tariff model, the government sets the value for the electricity produced by a solar facility. If the level is too high, too much solar power is built and the program is more costly. If the feed-in tariff is set too low, not enough solar power is built and the program is ineffective.
An SREC program is an alternative to the [[feed-in tariff]] model popular in Europe. The key difference between the two models is the market-based mechanism that drives the value of the SRECs, and therefore the value of the subsidy for solar. In a feed-in tariff model, the government sets the value for the electricity produced by a solar facility. If the level is too high, too much solar power is built and the program is more costly. If the feed-in tariff is set too low, not enough solar power is built and the program is ineffective.

====Power Purchase Agreement====
In 2006 investors began offering free solar panel installation in return for a 25 year contract, or [[Power Purchase Agreement]], to purchase electricity at a fixed price, normally set at or below current electric rates.<ref>[http://www.mmarenewableventures.com/Programs/Solar.html MMA Renewable Ventures Solar Energy Program]</ref><ref>[http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=49104 U.S. Retailers Save with Solar PV & Energy Efficiency]</ref> A 2008 report predicted that over 90% of commercial photovoltaics installed in the United States would be installed using a power purchase agreement by 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.greentechmedia.com/research/report/solar-power-services-how-ppas-are-changing-the-pv-value-chain |first1=Jon |last1=Guice |first2=John D.H. |last2=King |title=Solar Power Services: How PPAs are Changing the PV Value Chain |publisher=Green Tech Media |work=greentechmedia.com}} [http://fgamedia.org/faculty/afirouzi/ENGR600/lesson05/reading/Greentech%20Media%20-%20Solar%20Power%20Services%20Summary%20-%202008.pdf executive report]</ref> An [[innovative financing]] arrangement in [[Berkeley, California]], funded by grants from the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] and the [[Bay Area Air Quality Management District]], lends money to a homeowner for solar system, to be repaid via an additional tax assessment on the property which remains in place for 20 years. This allows installation of the solar system at "relatively little up-front cost to the property owner."<ref>[http://www.cityofberkeley.info/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=26580 Berkeley FIRST]. Retrieved October 14, 2010.</ref>


== Statistics ==
== Statistics ==

Revision as of 14:19, 6 January 2012

President Barack Obama addressed an audience of more than 450 people at the Nellis Solar Power Plant on May 27, 2009.
A view of solar panels installed in 2011 on the roof of Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command Headquarters, San Diego. The rooftop photovoltaic installation supports the Department of Defense's goal of increasing renewable energy sources to 25 percent of all energy consumed by the year 2025.

Solar power in the United States is an area of considerable activity and there are many utility-scale solar power plants. The largest solar power installation in the world is the Solar Energy Generating Systems facility in California, which has a total capacity of 354 megawatts (MW). Nevada Solar One is a solar thermal plant with a 64 MW generating capacity, located near Boulder City, Nevada. The Copper Mountain Solar Facility is a 48 MW photovoltaic solar power facility in Boulder City, Nevada. The DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center is a 25 MW photovoltaic solar power facility in DeSoto County, Florida.

The Desert Sunlight Project is a 550 MW solar power plant under construction in Riverside County, California, that will use thin-film solar photovoltaic modules made by First Solar.[1] The Topaz Solar Farm is a 550 MW photovoltaic power plant, being built in San Luis Obispo County, California.[2] The Blythe Solar Power Project is a 500 MW photovoltaic power station under construction in Riverside County, California. The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility is a 392 MW solar thermal power facility which is under construction in south-eastern California.[3] The Solana Generating Station is a 280 MW solar power plant which is under construction about 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Phoenix, Arizona. The Agua Caliente Solar Project is a 290 megawatt photovoltaic solar generating facility being built in Yuma County, Arizona. The California Valley Solar Ranch (CVSR) is a 250 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic power plant, which is being built by SunPower in the Carrizo Plain, northeast of California Valley.[4]

There are plans to build many other large solar plants in the United States. Governor Jerry Brown has signed legislation requiring California's utilities to obtain 33 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by the end of 2020.[5]

Availability

US annual average solar energy received by a latitude tilt photovoltaic cell (modeled).

Sunlight is by far the world's most abundant energy resource. A 1993 report by the DOE found that available domestic resources from solar, that would be theoretically accessible regardless of cost, represented 586,687 Quadrillion BTUs (Quads). Coal represented the second largest resource, a distant 38,147 Quads. The report stipulated that 95% of this potentially recoverable energy was from burning biomass. Predictions of how much solar power was economically feasible to collect amounted to 352 quads, compared with 5,266 quads from coal. The assumptions used in the report were based on a predicted 2010 price of a barrel of oil being $38.[6] The total annual energy consumption of the United States in 2007 was approximately 100 Quads,[7] less than 0.5% of that theoretically available from sunlight.

Growth

Solar energy deployment increased at a record pace in the United States and throughout the world in 2008, according to industry reports. The Solar Energy Industries Association's "2008 U.S. Solar Industry Year in Review" found that U.S. solar energy capacity increased by 17% in 2007, reaching the total equivalent of 8,775 megawatts (MW). The SEIA report tallies all types of solar energy, and in 2007 the United States installed 342 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) electric power, 139 thermal megawatts (MWth) of solar water heating, 762 MWth of pool heating, and 21 MWth of solar space heating and cooling.[8]

A report finds that solar power's contribution could grow to 10% of the nation's power needs by 2025. The report, prepared by research and publishing firm Clean Edge and the nonprofit Co-op America, projects nearly 2% of the nation's electricity coming from concentrating solar power systems, while solar photovoltaic systems will provide more than 8% of the nation's electricity. Those figures correlate to nearly 50,000 megawatts of solar photovoltaic systems and more than 6,600 megawatts of concentrating solar power.[9]

As noted in the report, solar power has been expanding rapidly in the past eight years, growing at an average pace of 40% per year. The cost per kilowatt-hour of solar photovoltaic systems has also been dropping, while electricity generated from fossil fuels is becoming more expensive. As a result, the report projects that solar power will reach cost parity with conventional power sources in many U.S. markets by 2015. But to reach the 10% goal, solar photovoltaic companies will also need to streamline installations and make solar power a "plug-and-play" technology, that is, it must be simple and straightforward to buy the components of the system, connect them together, and connect the system to the power grid.[9]

The report also places some of the responsibility with electric utilities, which will need to take advantage of the benefits of solar power, incorporate it into future "smart grid" technologies, and create new business models for building solar power capacity. The report also calls for establishing long-term extensions of today's investment and production tax credits, creating open standards for connecting solar power systems to the grid, and giving utilities the ability to include solar power in their rate base.[9]

According to a study by the Solar Energy Industries Association and GTM Research, 878 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic (PV) capacity and 78 MW of concentrating solar power (CSP) were installed in the U.S. in 2010, enough to power roughly 200,000 homes. In addition, more than 65,000 homes and businesses added solar water heating (SWH) or solar pool heating (SPH) systems. This was double the 435 MW installed in 2009 around the U.S.[10]

According to a 2011 survey conducted by independent polling firm Kelton Research, nine out of 10 Americans support the use and development of solar technology. Eight out of 10 respondents indicated that "the federal government should support solar manufacturing in the U.S. and should give federal subsidies for solar energy".[11]

Solar thermal power

The Holaniku at Keahole Point 2 MW concentrating parabolic trough solar power installation in Kona, Hawaii.
File:Fresnel reflectors ausra.jpg
Nevada Solar One's fresnel reflectors are not as efficient as parabolic mirrors but are much cheaper.

Existing plants

The U.S. pioneered solar tower and trough technologies. A number of different solar thermal technologies are in use in the U.S. The largest and oldest solar power plant in the world is the 354 MW SEGS thermal power plant, in California.[12] The 64 MW Nevada Solar One uses parabolic trough technology in one of the largest solar plants in the world.

The Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center is a hybrid 75-megawatt (MW) parabolic trough solar energy plant which is owned by Florida Power & Light Company (FPL). The solar plant is a component of the 3,705 MW Martin County Power Plant, which is currently the single largest fossil fuel burning power plant in the United States.[13] Completed at the end of 2010,[14] it is located in western Martin County, Florida, just north of Indiantown.

The 5 MW Kimberlina Solar Thermal Energy Plant demonstrates a fresnel reflector technology. Sierra SunTower is a 5 MW commercial concentrating solar power tower in Lancaster, California and is the only CSP tower facility operating in North America. The 1.5 MW Maricopa Solar is the first Dish Stirling power plant. The 2 MW Holaniku MicroCSP Solar Thermal Plant in Hawaii is the world's first MicroCSP power plant.

In mid-2010, the U.S. produces more than half of all solar thermal power in the world, although Spain has a rapidly increasing number of plants.

Under construction

The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility is a 392 megawatt (MW) solar power facility which is under construction. It will consist of three separate solar thermal power plants in south-eastern California. The facility will consist of fields of heliostat mirrors focusing solar energy on boilers located on centralized power towers. The first phase of the Ivanpah facility began construction in late 2010.[3]

The Solana Generating Station is a 280 MW solar power plant which is under construction near Gila Bend, Arizona, about 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Phoenix.

The Mojave Solar Park is a 280 MW solar thermal power facility under construction in the Mojave Desert in California, which should be completed in 2014. Abengoa has successfully secured a $1.2 billion loan guarantee from the US government for the project.[15]

The Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project is a 110 megawatt (MW) solar thermal power project currently under construction near Tonopah, about 190 miles (310 km) northwest of Las Vegas.[16]

Planned plants

The Rio Mesa Solar Project is a proposed 750 MW solar thermal power project in Riverside County, California. In December 2011, the California Energy Commission accepted the application for certification for the Rio Mesa Solar Electric Generating Facility.[17]

The Genesis Solar Energy Project is a proposed 250 MW solar thermal power station to be located in Riverside County, California. It will be of parabolic trough design, and the company involved is NextEra Energy Resources.[18]

Solar photovoltaic power

Prospects

The US photovoltaic market amounted to 440 megawatts peak in 2009. Of this, 372 MW were accounted for by plants with a peak output above 200 kilowatts each.[19] Current trends indicate that a large number of photovoltaic power plants will be built, particularly in the south and southwest areas, where there is ample land in the sunny deserts of California, Nevada and Arizona. Large properties are being bought there with the aim of building more utility-scale PV power plants.[19]

Cell makers

SolarWorld plant in Hillsboro, Oregon

New manufacturing facilities for solar cells and modules in Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, and Texas promise to add enough capacity to produce thousands of megawatts of solar devices per year within the next few years from 2008:[20]

In late September 2008, Sanyo Electric Company, Ltd. announced its decision to build a manufacturing plant for solar ingots and wafers (the building blocks for silicon solar cells) in Salem, Oregon. The plant will begin operating in October 2009 and will reach its full production capacity of 70 megawatts (MW) of solar wafers per year by April 2010.

In early October 2008, First Solar, Inc. broke ground on an expansion of its Perrysburg, Ohio, facility that will add enough capacity to produce another 57 MW per year of solar modules at the facility, bringing its total capacity to roughly 192 MW per year. The company expects to complete construction early next year and reach full production by mid-2010. And in mid-October 2008, SolarWorld AG opened a manufacturing plant in Hillsboro, Oregon, that is expected to produce 500 MW of solar cells per year when it reaches full production in 2011.

Production is also growing for manufacturers of flexible thin-film solar modules. Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD) — a manufacturer of thin-film modules deposited on flexible stainless steel — has announced plans to build a facility in Battle Creek, Michigan, that will produce 120 MW of solar modules per year. ECD will start construction in fall 2008, with production starting by the end of 2009. ECD has the option of doubling its production capacity in Battle Creek and has plans to reach 1,000 MW of annual production by 2012. Konarka Technologies, Inc. deposits its solar modules onto a flexible plastic substrate, and the company has just reopened a former Polaroid Corporation facility in New Bedford, Massachusetts, that has been converted into a production facility for Konarka's "Power Plastic" solar modules. Konarka expects the facility to reach its capacity to produce of 1,000 MW of solar modules per year by 2011. Both companies employ a roll-to-roll processing, similar to a newspaper printing press, for the manufacture of their solar modules. The manufacturing process offers the possibility of achieving high production capacities at a lower cost than most solar cell manufacturing plants.

HelioVolt Corporation opened a manufacturing facility in Austin, Texas, that will have an initial capacity to produce 20 MW of solar cells per year. Starting with solar "inks" developed at DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory that are deposited with ink jets, HelioVolt employs a proprietary "printing" process to produce solar cells consisting of thin films of copper indium gallium selenide, or CIGS. The technology won an R&D 100 Award in 2008 and it earned an Editor's Choice Award for Most Revolutionary Technology. HelioVolt's "FASST" reactive transfer printing process is 10–100 times faster than other CIGS production processes and can also be combined with vacuum evaporation or ultrasonic spray deposition techniques. At its new Austin manufacturing plant, HelioVolt plans to produce both solar modules and next-generation building-integrated solar products using its FASST process.

Large-scale PV facilities

Solar array at Nellis Air Force Base. These panels track the sun in one axis. Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Larry E. Reid Jr.

The Copper Mountain Solar Facility is a 48 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Boulder City, Nevada.[21] Sempra Generation constructed the plant in 2010. At its construction peak more than 350 workers were installing the 775,000 First Solar panels on the 380-acre (1.5 km2) site.[21]

The DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center is a photovoltaic solar power facility in Arcadia, DeSoto County, Florida owned by Florida Power & Light (FPL).[22] President Barack Obama attended the plant's commissioning on October 27, 2009.[23] It has a nameplate capacity of 25 megawatts (MW) DC[24] and produces an estimated 42,000 megawatt-hours (MW·h) of electricity per year.[25]

The 21 megawatt Blythe Photovoltaic Power Plant is the largest photovoltaic (PV) solar project in California. It is located in Blythe, California, in Riverside County about 200 miles (320 km) east of Los Angeles.[26] Commercial operation began in December 2009. Electricity generated by the power plant is being sold to Southern California Edison under a 20-year power purchase agreement.[26]

The Davidson County Solar Farm is a 17.2 megawatt solar power station located in the heart of North Carolina, near the community of Linwood. SunEdison built the array of photovoltaic panels, and Duke Energy buys all the output from the solar farm.[27]

The Nellis Solar Power Plant is located within Nellis Air Force Base in Clark County, Nevada, on the northeast side of Las Vegas. The Nellis solar energy system will generate in excess of 25 million kilowatt-hours (kW·h) of electricity annually and supply more than 25 percent of the power used at the base.[28] The system was inaugurated in a ceremony on December 17, 2007, with Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons activating full operation of the 14 megawatt (MW) array.[29][30]

Other operational PV power plants include:[31]

Under construction

The Desert Sunlight Project is a 550 MW solar power plant under construction in Riverside County, California, that will use thin-film solar photovoltaic modules made by First Solar.[1]

The Topaz Solar Farm is a 550 MW photovoltaic power plant, being built in San Luis Obispo County, California.[2]

The Blythe Solar Power Project is a 500 MW photovoltaic station under construction in Riverside County, California.

The Agua Caliente Solar Project is a 290 megawatt photovoltaic solar generating facility being built in Yuma County, Arizona.

The California Valley Solar Ranch (CVSR) is a 250 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic power plant, which is being built by SunPower in the Carrizo Plain, northeast of California Valley.[32]

The 230 MW Antelope Valley Solar Ranch is a First Solar photovoltaic project which is under construction in the Antelope Valley area of the Western Mojave Desert, and due to be completed in 2013.[33]

The Mesquite Solar project is a photovoltaic solar power plant being built in Arlington, Maricopa County, Arizona, owned by Sempra Generation.[34] Phase 1 will have a nameplate capacity of 150 megawatts.[35]

The 60 MW Pflugerville Solar Farm is under construction and will use 400,000 solar panels.[36]

Planned PV plants

The Amargosa Farm Road Solar Project is a proposed 500 megawatt (MW) solar power plant in Nye County, Nevada. The plant is expected online by 2014.[37]

The 300 MW Sonoran Solar Project in Arizona, is a photovoltaic solar power plant which is being planned by a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar granted approval for the project in December 2011.[38]

The Centinela Solar Energy Project is an approved 275 megawatt solar power plant to be located on 2,067 acres of previously disturbed private land near El Centro, California. The project would support at least 367 jobs, generate more than $30 million in tax revenue over the life of the project, and deliver enough electricity to power about 82,500 homes.[39]

SolarStrong is SolarCity's five-year plan to build more than $1 billion in solar photovoltaic projects for privatized military housing communities across the United States. SolarCity plans to work with the country's leading privatized military housing developers to install, own and operate rooftop solar installations and provide solar electricity at a lower cost than utility power. SolarStrong is ultimately expected to create up to 300 megawatts of solar generation capacity that could provide power to as many as 120,000 military housing units, making it the largest residential photovoltaic project in American history. In November 2011, SolarCity and Bank of America Merrill Lynch announced that they have agreed to terms on financing for SolarStrong.[40]

Incentives

Main articles: Building-integrated photovoltaic, net metering, and Feed-in Tariff

A complete list of incentives is maintained at the Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy (DSIRE) (see external link).

Most are grid connected and use net metering laws to allow use of electricity in the evening that was generated during the daytime. New Jersey leads the nation with the least restrictive net metering law,[41] while California leads in total number of homes which have solar panels installed. Many were installed because of the million solar roof initiative.[42]

Federal

The federal tax credit for solar was extended for eight years as part of the financial bail out bill, H.R. 1424, until the end of 2016. It was estimated this will create 440,000 jobs, 28 gigawatts of solar power, and lead to a $300 billion market for solar panels. This estimate did not take into account the removal of the $2,000 cap on residential tax credits at the end of 2008.[43]

  • A 30% tax credit is available for residential and commercial installations.[44][45] For 2009 and 2010 this is a 30% grant, not a tax credit, for installations begun before the end of 2010 and completed before the end of 2016, thus making it available to those not paying federal tax, such as schools, local governments, and non-profit organizations.

Solar America Initiative

Barack Obama looking at solar panels at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Feb. 17, 2009.

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) announced on September 29, 2008 that it will invest $17.6 million, subject to annual appropriations, in six company-led, early-stage photovoltaic (PV) projects under the Solar America Initiative's "PV Incubator" funding opportunity. The "PV Incubator" project is designed to fund prototype PV components and systems with the goal of moving them through the commercialization process by 2010. The 2008 award will be the second funding opportunity released under the PV Incubator project. With the cost share from industry, which will be at least 20%, up to $35.4 million will be invested in these projects. The projects will run for 18 months, and will be subcontracted through DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Most of the projects will receive up to $3 million in funding, with the exception of Solasta and Spire Semiconductor, which will receive up to $2.6 million and $2.97 million, respectively. Massachusetts-based 1366 Technologies will develop a new cell architecture for low-cost, multi-crystalline silicon cells, which will enhance cell performance through improved light-trapping texturing and grooves for self-aligned metallization fingers. California's Innovalight will useink-jet printing to transfer their "silicon ink" onto thin-crystalline silicon wafers to produce high-efficiency, low-cost solar cells and modules. Skyline Solar, also in California, will develop an integrated, lightweight, single-axis tracked system that reflects and concentrates sunlight over 10 times onto silicon cells. Solasta, in Massachusetts, is working on a novel cell design that increases currents and lowers the materials cost. Solexel, another California-based company, will commercialize a disruptive, 3D high-efficiency mono-crystalline silicon cell technology that dramatically reduces manufacturing cost per watt. Finally, Spire Semiconductor in New Hampshire will develop three-junction tandem solar cells that better optimize the optical properties of their device layers; the company is targeting cell efficiencies over 42% using a low-cost manufacturing method.

The PV Incubator project is part of the Solar America Initiative, which aims to make solar energy cost-competitive with conventional forms of electricity by 2015 (grid parity).[46] The Solar America Initiative (SAI)[47] is a part of the Federal Advanced Energy Initiative to accelerate the development of advanced photovoltaic materials with the goal of making it cost-competitive with grid electricity by 2015 (grid parity).

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technology Program (SETP) will achieve the goals of the SAI through partnerships and strategic alliances by focusing primarily on four areas:

  • Market Transformation — activities that address marketplace barriers and offer the opportunity for market expansion
  • Device and Process Proof of Concept — R&D activities addressing novel devices or processes with potentially significant performance or cost advantages
  • Component Prototype and Pilot-Scale Production — R&D activities emphasizing development of prototype PV components or systems produced at pilot-scale with demonstrated cost, reliability, or performance advantages
  • System Development and Manufacturing — collaborative R&D activities among industry and university partners to develop and improve solar energy technologies

The Solar America Showcases activity is part of the Solar America Initiative (SAI), and preference is given to large-scale, highly visible, highly replicable installations that involve cutting-edge solar technologies or novel applications of solar.[48]

States and local

The 104kW solar highway along the interchange of Interstate 5 and Interstate 205 near Tualatin, Oregon in December 2008.
  • Governor Jerry Brown has signed legislation requiring California's utilities to get 33 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by the end of 2020.[5]
  • The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed solar incentives of up to $6,000 for homeowners and up to $10,000 for businesses.[49] Applications for the program began on July 1, 2008.[50]
  • Berkeley initiated a revolutionary program where homeowners are able to add the cost of solar panels to their property tax assessment, and pay for them out of their electricity cost savings.[51] In 2009, more than a dozen states passed legislation allowing property tax financing. In all, 27 states offer loans for solar projects.[52]
  • The California Solar Initiative has set a goal to create 3,000 megawatts of new, solar-produced electricity by 2016.
  • New Hampshire has a $6,000 residential rebate program for up to 50% of system cost for systems less than 5 kWp installed on or after July 1, 2008.[53]

Feed-in Tariff

California has enacted a Feed-in Tariff.[54][55] Washington state has a feed-in tariff of 15 ₡/kWh which increases to 54 ₡/kWh if components are manufactured in the state.[56] Hawaii and Michigan are also considering feed in tariffs.

In 2010, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) ruled that states were unable to implement above-market feed-in tariffs because setting wholesale electricity rates was pre-empted by the Federal Power Act (FPA).[57]

Solar Renewable Energy Certificates

In recent years, states that have passed Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) or Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) laws have relied on the use of Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) to meet state requirements. This is done by adding a specific solar carve-out to the state Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). The first SREC program was developed in 2004 by the state of New Jersey and has since expanded to several other states, including Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.[58]

An SREC program is an alternative to the feed-in tariff model popular in Europe. The key difference between the two models is the market-based mechanism that drives the value of the SRECs, and therefore the value of the subsidy for solar. In a feed-in tariff model, the government sets the value for the electricity produced by a solar facility. If the level is too high, too much solar power is built and the program is more costly. If the feed-in tariff is set too low, not enough solar power is built and the program is ineffective.

Power Purchase Agreement

In 2006 investors began offering free solar panel installation in return for a 25 year contract, or Power Purchase Agreement, to purchase electricity at a fixed price, normally set at or below current electric rates.[59][60] A 2008 report predicted that over 90% of commercial photovoltaics installed in the United States would be installed using a power purchase agreement by 2009.[61] An innovative financing arrangement in Berkeley, California, funded by grants from the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, lends money to a homeowner for solar system, to be repaid via an additional tax assessment on the property which remains in place for 20 years. This allows installation of the solar system at "relatively little up-front cost to the property owner."[62]

Statistics

Solar thermal power (CSP)

US Grid-Connected CSP Capacity (MW)[63]
No Jurisdiction 2009
United States 431
1 California 364
2 Nevada 64
3 Hawaii 2
4 Arizona 1

Photovoltaics

US Grid-Connected PV Capacity (MW)[64][65][66][67]
No Jurisdiction 2010 2009 2008 2007
United States 2,152.5 1,255.7 791.7 474.8
1 California 1,021.7 768.0 528.3 328.8
2 New Jersey 259.9 127.5 70.2 43.6
3 Colorado 121.1 59.1 35.7 14.6
4 Arizona 109.8 46.2 25.3 18.9
5 Nevada 104.7 36.4 34.2 18.8
6 Florida 73.5 38.7 3.0 2.0
7 Pennsylvania 54.8 7.3 3.9 0.9
8 New York 55.5 33.9 21.9 15.4
9 Hawaii 44.7 26.2 13.5 4.5
10 New Mexico 43.3 2.4 1.0 0.5
11 North Carolina 40.0 12.5 4.7 0.7
12 Massachusetts 38.2 17.7 7.5 4.6
13 Texas 34.5 8.6 4.4 3.2
14 Connecticut 24.6 19.7 8.8 2.8
15 Oregon 23.9 14.0 7.7 2.8
16 Ohio 20.7 2.0 1.4 1.0
17 Illinois 15.5 4.5 2.8 2.2
18 Maryland 10.9 5.6 3.1 0.7
19 Wisconsin 8.7 5.3 3.1 1.4
20 Washington 8.0 5.2 3.7 1.9
21 Delaware 5.6 3.2 1.8 1.2
22 Tennessee 4.7 0.9 0.4 0.4
23 D.C. 4.5 1.0 0.7 0.5
24 Minnesota 3.6 1.9 1.0 0.5
25 Vermont 2.9 1.7 1.1 0.7
26 Virginia 2.8 0.8 0.2 0.2
27 Michigan 2.6 0.7 0.4 0.4
28 Utah 2.1 0.6 0.2 0.2
29 New Hampshire 2.0 0.7 0.1 0.1
30 Georgia 1.8 0.2 <0.1 <0.1
31 Arkansas 1.0 0.2 <0.1 <0.1
32 Missouri 0.7 0.2 <0.1 <0.1
33 Montana 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.5
34 Rhode Island 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6
35 Indiana 0.5 0.3 <0.1 <0.1
36 Alabama 0.4 0.2 <0.1 <0.1
37 Idaho 0.4 0.2 <0.1 <0.1
38 Maine 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2
39 Mississippi 0.3 0.1 <0.1 <0.1
40 Kentucky 0.2 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1
41 Louisiana 0.2 0.2 <0.1 <0.1
42 Nebraska 0.2 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1
43 South Carolina 0.2 0.1 <0.1 <0.1
44 Wyoming 0.2 0.1 <0.1 <0.1

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "DOE Closes on Four Major Solar Projects". Renewable Energy World. 30 September 2011.
  2. ^ a b Steve Leone (7 December 2011). "Billionaire Buffett Bets on Solar Energy". Renewable Energy World.
  3. ^ a b Steven Mufson. Solar power project in Mojave Desert gets $1.4 billion boost from stimulus funds Washington Post, February 23, 2010.
  4. ^ "NRG Energy Completes Acquisition of 250-Megawatt California Valley Solar Ranch from SunPower". MarketWatch. 30 September 2011.
  5. ^ a b David R. Baker (April 12, 2011). "Brown signs law requiring 33% renewable energy". San Francisco Chronicle.
  6. ^ Table 1. Accessible Resources, regardless of cost
  7. ^ Annual Energy Outlook 2009 with Projections to 2030
  8. ^ Solar Energy Grew at a Record Pace in 2008
  9. ^ a b c Study: Solar Power Could Provide 10% of U.S. Electricity by 2025 June 25, 2008 retrieved 25 June 2009
  10. ^ Arizona Solar Power Doubled Solar Capacity in 2010
  11. ^ Steve Leone (1 November 2011). "Survey Says ... 9 in 10 Americans Want More Solar Energy". RenewableEnergyWorld.
  12. ^ SEGS III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII & IX
  13. ^ "The World's Largest Power Plants". industcards. 2009-02-21. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
  14. ^ Mouawad, Jad (March 4, 2010). "The Newest Hybrid Model". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-03-09.
  15. ^ "US government backs Abengoa's solar project with $1.2 billion loan guarantee". Energy Efficiency News. 19 September 2011.
  16. ^ "DOE Finalizes $737 Million Loan Guarantee to Tonopah Solar Energy for Nevada Project" (Press release). Loan Programs Office (LPO), Dept. of Energy (DOE). September 28, 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2011. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  17. ^ "CEC begins review for Rio Mesa". Power Engineering. 15 December 2011.
  18. ^ Top 6 Utility-scale Fast-tracked Solar Projects Renewable Energy World, September 1, 2010.
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External links

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