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With Solar, U.S. Rooftops Could Provide Nearly Half Of Nation’s Power

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has almost doubled its previous estimate of the total U.S. technical potential for rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and has found that U.S. building rooftops could generate close to 40% of national electricity sales.

NREL says its analysts have used detailed light detection and ranging data for 128 cities nationwide, along with improved data analysis methods and simulation tools, to update its estimate. The analysis appears in a new report that quantifies how much energy could be generated if PV systems were installed on all suitable roof areas in the continental U.S.

The analysis reveals a technical potential of 1,118 GW of capacity and 1,432 TWh of annual energy generation - equivalent to 39% of the nation’s electricity sales. That is significantly greater than that of a previous NREL analysis, which estimated 664 GW of installed capacity and 800 TWh of annual energy generation.

Analysts attribute the new findings to increases in module power density, improved estimation of building suitability, higher estimates of the total number of buildings and improvements in PV performance simulation tools.

“This report is the culmination of a three-year research effort and represents a significant advancement in our understanding of the potential for rooftop PV to contribute to meeting U.S. electricity demand,” explains Robert Margolis, NREL senior energy analyst and co-author of the report.

Within the 128 cities studied, the researchers found that 83% of small buildings have a suitable location for PV installation, but only 26% of those buildings’ total rooftop area is suitable for development. Because of the sheer number of this class of building across the country, however, small buildings actually provide the greatest combined technical potential. Altogether, NREL says small building rooftops could accommodate up to 731 GW of PV capacity and generate 926 TWh per year of PV energy - approximately 65% of the country’s total rooftop technical potential.

Medium and large buildings have a total installed capacity potential of 386 GW and energy generation potential of 506 TWh per year - approximately 35% of the total technical potential of rooftop PV.

“An accurate estimate of PV’s technical potential is a critical input in the development of regional deployment plans,” says Pieter Gagnon, an engineering analyst of solar policy and technoeconomics at NREL and lead author of the report. “Armed with this new data, municipalities, utilities, solar energy researchers and other stakeholders will have a much-improved starting point for PV research and policymaking, both regionally and nationwide.”

“It is important to note that this report only estimates the potential from existing, suitable rooftops and does not consider the immense potential of ground-mounted PV,” adds Margolis. “Actual generation from PV in urban areas could exceed these estimates by installing systems on less suitable roof space, by mounting PV on canopies over open spaces such as parking lots or by integrating PV into building facades. Further, the results are sensitive to assumptions about module performance, which are expected to continue improving over time.”

NREL says its work was supported by funding from the Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in support of its SunShot Initiative, a collaborative national effort to make solar energy fully cost-competitive with traditional energy sources before the end of the decade. Through SunShot, the department supports efforts by private companies, universities and national laboratories to drive down the cost of solar electricity to $0.06/kWh.

The full report, titled “Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic Technical Potential in the United States: A Detailed Assessment,” is available on the NREL website.

 

Yingli Solar Settles Antitrust Lawsuit With Solyndra

China-based Yingli Solar has reached a $7.5 million settlement agreement with the now-bankrupt U.S. solar company Solyndra.

California-based thin-film PV module maker Solyndra, which had received a controversial loan guarantee from the U.S. government, declared bankruptcy in 2011. About a year later, the manufacturer filed a lawsuit against Yingli, Trina Solar and Suntech, claiming the Chinese companies “conspired” to destroy Solyndra by flooding the U.S. market with low-cost solar modules.

In a press release, Yingli Solar says it and its U.S. subsidiary, Yingli Green Energy Americas, settled the anti-trust and unfair-trade practice lawsuit. According to the agreement, Yingli will make an immediate payment of $7.5 million to Solyndra, and the lawsuit against Yingli will be dismissed. Furthermore, if Yingli or any of its affiliates’ total solar panel sales to the U.S. and Canada equals or exceeds 800 MW in a single calendar year between 2016 and 2018, Yingli will make an additional one-time payment of $10 million to Solyndra.

“While we continue to reject Solyndra’s claims as baseless, our team is satisfied with the settlement’s terms, and we are pleased to conclude litigation,” comments Liansheng Miao, chairman and CEO of Yingli. “Looking forward, we will remain focused on our mission to bring Yingli’s high-performing PV technology to communities across the Americas that are eager to adopt affordable clean energy.”

This deal follows a $45 million settlement reached in November 2015 between Solyndra and Trina Solar.

 

U.S. Midwest Is Home To 569,000 Clean Energy Jobs

Nearly 569,000 people work in clean energy throughout the Midwest, according to a comprehensive analysis unveiled by Chicago-based Clean Energy Trust (CET) and the national nonpartisan business group Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2). Clean energy jobs throughout the region are expected to grow by more than 4% over the next year - and even more with the right policies in place.

The analysis - available at CleanJobsMidwest.com - is based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and a survey of thousands of businesses across the region conducted by BW Research Partners. According to CET and E2, the Clean Jobs Midwest report provides detailed breakdowns of clean energy jobs not available previously - including job totals for every county, congressional district and state legislative district in the 12-state Midwestern region of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

“Clean energy is a dynamic sector and central to economic growth in the Midwest,” says Erik Birkerts, CEO of CET. “Smart public policy will further accelerate the clean energy sector’s growth, which means thousands of new jobs created across the region.”

The report says the energy-efficiency sector is by far the largest clean energy employer in the Midwest, with more than 423,000 people working in areas such as high-efficiency lighting, Energy Star appliance manufacturing and high-efficiency HVAC services to reduce wasted energy. However, it also finds that nearly 70,000 people work in renewable energy, including 31,000 in solar and 27,000 in wind.

Other key findings include the following:

• More than 64,000 Midwesterners work in advanced transportation, with another 7,000 employed in the clean fuels industry;
• Over the next year, about 25,000 new jobs are expected to be created in the Midwest’s clean energy sector;
• Illinois, Ohio and Michigan are the top three states for clean energy jobs in the Midwest; and
• Small businesses drive the Midwestern clean energy economy. More than three-quarters of clean energy workers are employed by firms with fewer than 50 employees.

“The Midwest is a central hub of America’s clean energy jobs market. Other regions may attract more attention, but there’s no doubt the Midwest is a force in its own right,” says Philip Jordan, vice president and principal at BW Research Partnership.

According to Ohio Advanced Energy Economy, the report ranks Ohio No. 1 in the Midwest for solar sector employment, with over 7,500 jobs - up almost 58% from last year. This is in contrast to a 56% decline in wind power jobs. The group says a key contributor to the decline is Ohio’s current wind turbine setback policy and its negative impact on wind energy development. Despite this challenge for the wind industry, Ohio businesses project that Ohio’s clean energy workforce overall will grow by 4.9%, adding almost 5,000 jobs in the next year.

In 2014, Ohio legislators and Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, approved S.B.310, a law that halted the state’s renewable portfolio standard.

“Given the ongoing freeze on Ohio’s clean energy standards, the growth in clean energy jobs is clear evidence that Ohio companies are competing well in the booming national and international markets for clean energy products and services,” says Ted Ford, president and CEO of Ohio Advanced Energy Economy. “Imagine what kind of growth we would see if Ohio embraced clean energy as part of a diverse energy portfolio.”

 

Colo. Regulators Reject Xcel’s Community Solar Settlement

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has denied Xcel Energy’s proposed settlement agreement with three community solar developers.

In February, Xcel announced a deal with Clean Energy Collective, Community Energy Inc. and SunShare under which the utility would have added up to 60 MW of new community solar garden (CSG) capacity in Colorado through its Solar*Rewards Community program this year. The compromise came after claims that Xcel wasn’t doing enough to further community solar in the state, and the companies filed the settlement agreement with the CPUC.

In a press release, the CPUC claims the settlement was not in the public interest because the agreement was inconsistent with certain statutes, commission rules and previous decisions, and it was likely to raise the cost of renewable energy to customers.

According to the commission, Xcel had previously declared the three developers as the winning bidders of the utility’s 2015 competitive solicitation for CSG resources. The CPUC says that under the terms of the proposed settlement, Xcel would pay a rate of $0.03/kWh for the renewable energy credits (RECs) produced by the CSGs instead of the bid prices offered in response to the 2015 request for proposals.

In rejecting the settlement, the CPUC adds that questions about the nature of the negotiations and the single, higher REC price made it unlikely that the settlement would result in cost-effective implementation of CSGs. Advisory staff estimated that the settlement would increase the cost of the development of solar gardens by hundreds of thousands of dollars per facility, the commission adds.

“Rather than utilize the commission-approved competitive process, the parties filed a settlement that is not in the public interest,” says CPUC Chairman Joshua Epel.

The CPUC notes that it directed Xcel in 2014 to acquire between 19.5 MW and 90 MW of CSGs by the end of 2016, and its rejection of the proposed settlement does not alter that authorization.

Mark Stutz, a spokesperson for Xcel Energy, says the utility is “disappointed by the decision.”

Tim Braun, a spokesperson for Clean Energy Collective, adds, “We are quite surprised by the CPUC’s ruling.”

“At first blush, we believe the CPUC didn’t understand the process or net effect of the components of the settlement agreement, particularly with regard to the balance between a revised credit calculation and REC pricing, the result of which would actually be a net consumer benefit,” Braun continues.