US Solar Power: Getting a Major Boost in 2010!

Wednesday, 13 October 2010 20:37

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The Solar Power International conference and trade show at the Los Angeles Convention Center has attracted 1,100 exhibitors, including big global companies, such as Sharp, LG, Sanyo, 3M, DuPontabout, and 27,000 people. Announcements of new products and deals are being made. Ken Salazar, Interior Secretary, is expected to arrive today to talk about the efforts of the Obama administration for generating large-scale production of renewable energy on public lands.

There is a lot of excitement at the event, and it’s for a good reason. The solar electric industry in the US, including both concentrating solar power (CSP) installations and photovoltaic (PV), could achieve a milestone by installation of a gigawatt of new capacity this year, which is sufficient power for 200,000 homes, and it’s double the capacity installed in the previous year.

Rhone Resch, the president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), which is responsible for organizing the event with the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA), addressed the gathering.

He said that the world we live in today is one where children can be born in a solar hospital, get their education in a solar school, and enter a solar college.

No other form of electric generation is experiencing the same growth as solar in the US, albeit of a very small base: Less than 1% electricity generated in the US is solar powered. However, according to a new report from the GTM and SEIA Research projects, despite the slow economy, solar electric power capacity equalling 944 megawatts (866 MW of PV and 79 MW of CSP) will be installed in the country.  That’s the conservative forecast. According to a higher-end forecast the increase capacity will equal 1.13 gigawatt's.

In any case, an increase of more than 100% will take place over the 441 megawatts of solar electric capacity installed last year. There are two fundamental reasons for this growth:

Firstly, electricity generation from solar energy is becoming less expensive–whether by using photovoltaic panels, or CSP/solar thermal. Electricity generation from solar energy still costs more than the generation from natural gas or wind. However, the gap is narrowing and in the opinion of some it’s about to disappear.

Secondly, US has a public policy that is solar-friendly and stable. While the Congress did not pass the climate legislation, it has provided an investment tax credit for renewable energy that will be available through 2016. Renewable electricity standards have been enacted by twenty-eight states.