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The Calm Before the Solar Storm
The Calm Before the Solar Storm
As solar installations accelerate, a need for new business models on both sides of the meter.
Virginia Lacy, Rocky Mountain Institute
May 27, 2013
If I told you that a New York Times article described growing homeowner interest in solar power, spurred in part by declining solar module prices, interest in clean energy, and a (somewhat uncertain) landscape of incentives, that would probably sound pretty familiar. It wouldn’t exactly be surprising news. But here’s what would: the article published more than 20 years ago, in 1991.
For decades, we’ve been hearing that a solar PV-powered electricity consumer revolution is coming. Lately, this “coming” solar revolution has been posting some impressive numbers; it’s moving more rapidly than ever.
Consider California. To date, about 150,000 distributed solar PV systems, totaling 1.5 GW, have been installed on homes and businesses in that state. Last year, U.S. utilities interconnected nearly 90,000 net-metered solar projects totaling almost 1.2 GW-ac, a 46-percent increase over 2011. In total, there are currently 3.5 GW of net-metered projects in the country, the capacity equivalent of 3.5 nuclear plants. This growth is due in part to third-party solar ownership and financing. SolarCity, the biggest player in that game, enjoyed 117-percent growth in installations from 2011 to 2012, and expects 2013 to be another 60 percent higher again than 2012.
These numbers are impressive, but take note: solar is no longer coming. Why? Because solar is here. It has officially arrived...
As solar installations accelerate, a need for new business models on both sides of the meter.
Virginia Lacy, Rocky Mountain Institute
May 27, 2013
If I told you that a New York Times article described growing homeowner interest in solar power, spurred in part by declining solar module prices, interest in clean energy, and a (somewhat uncertain) landscape of incentives, that would probably sound pretty familiar. It wouldn’t exactly be surprising news. But here’s what would: the article published more than 20 years ago, in 1991.
For decades, we’ve been hearing that a solar PV-powered electricity consumer revolution is coming. Lately, this “coming” solar revolution has been posting some impressive numbers; it’s moving more rapidly than ever.
Consider California. To date, about 150,000 distributed solar PV systems, totaling 1.5 GW, have been installed on homes and businesses in that state. Last year, U.S. utilities interconnected nearly 90,000 net-metered solar projects totaling almost 1.2 GW-ac, a 46-percent increase over 2011. In total, there are currently 3.5 GW of net-metered projects in the country, the capacity equivalent of 3.5 nuclear plants. This growth is due in part to third-party solar ownership and financing. SolarCity, the biggest player in that game, enjoyed 117-percent growth in installations from 2011 to 2012, and expects 2013 to be another 60 percent higher again than 2012.
These numbers are impressive, but take note: solar is no longer coming. Why? Because solar is here. It has officially arrived...
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/05/the-calm-before-the-solar-storm?cmpid=SolarNL-Tuesday-May28-2013
See also: "Disruptive Challenges: Financial Implications and Strategic Responses to a Changing Retail Electric Business" , Edison Electric Institute
http://www.eei.org/ourissues/finance/Documents/disruptivechallenges.pdf
“Net Energy Metering, Zero Net Energy and the Distributed Energy Resource Future: Adapting Electric Utility Business Models for the 21st Century.” , Rocky Mountain Institute
http://www.rmi.org/Content/Files/RMI_PGE_NEM_ZNE_DER_Adapting_Utility_Business_Models_for_the_21st__Century.pdf.pdf
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