Solar industry celebrates milestone with one million solar installations
The U.S. solar industry has hit a major milestone with one million solar installations nationwide, an achievement that took 40 years, but rapid growth should lead to a doubling of installations to two million in just two years, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).
Approximately one percent of U.S. electricity generation is supplied by solar energy, but SEIA said that solar accounted for nearly 30 percent of new capacity in 2015.
Today, the one million U.S. solar installations, whether on rooftops of homeowners and businesses or on massive solar farms, provide enough electricity to power the entire state of Pennsylvania, according to a recent report from the George Washington University Solar Institute.
Lower costs, a federal investment tax credit and a push for cleaner energy are all creating an environment that is conducive for the growth of solar energy.
“When you see rock bottom natural gas prices and you see solar being able to hold its own in the electricity market, that is due to the substantial drop in cost in putting a solar installation together,” Dan Whitten, vice president of communications at SEIA, recently told Daily Energy Insider.
The cost of solar panel installations has declined by more than 70 percent over the past 10 years as more efficient panels were developed.
The most significant recent development for solar is arguably the extension in 2015 of the 30 percent federal investment tax credit until 2019 for both commercial developers and homeowners. The tax credit will decline to 26 percent in 2020 and 22 percent in 2021.
The SEIA sees the investment tax credit as providing long-term stability to the industry and potentially adding billions of dollars in new investments in solar.
Tax credits aside, consumers feel a civic responsibility when it comes to using cleaner fuel, Whitten said.
“I think there is a sensibility among Americans that they want to be more self-sufficient in how they produce their energy, they want to produce cleaner energy and they certainly want it to be affordable. Solar provides all that and it fuels the economy and creates jobs,” Whitten said.
The Solar Institute reported that there are 209,000 solar industry jobs in the United States, with that number expected to double to 420,000 by 2021.
While Whitten said that a strong case exists for continued growth for solar, net energy metering at the state level poses a challenge. Net energy metering allows consumers generating electricity with solar panels in most states to sell back their excess power to the grid. The conflict over the issue surrounds determining what the appropriate price of that electricity should be, with some electric utilities paying wholesale rates for solar power while consumers demand retail rates.
“We’re very active in the states making sure that people can get a fair rate of return on their solar investment,” Whitten said.
SEIA, which includes 1,000 member companies, is eager to participate in a Federal Trade Commission workshop this summer on competition and consumer protection issues in solar energy. The workshop on June 21 in Washington, D.C., will focus on several hot-button topics, including technological innovations, net metering laws, and regulations and competition among solar distributed generation and regulated utilities.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to talk about all the things we’re doing in consumer protection, from standardized contracts to residential guides that help homeowners navigate through the purchasing process,” Whitten said. “It’s essential to us that people understand that there are resources available to them that can help them make smart buying decisions and our companies are all in on ensuring that the transaction is as transparent and smooth as possible.”
