Wholesale Distributed Generation 'Set To Crank' In California

AOL Energy

Growth in California’s solar market will be driven by demand for wholesale distributed generation, as utilities shift away from central power stations to rooftop installations of one megawatt or less, said the executive director of a leading clean power consultancy.

Craig Lewis from the Clean Coalition told the PHOTON Solar Electric Utility Conference in San Francisco that he had been advising the California governor on his 20 GW of additional renewables by 2020. Lewis compared installation rates between California and Germany: in 2011 Germans installed an additional 7.5 GW and while California added around 40 0MW. Last year, the US had an installed solar capacity of 3 GW, versus 18 GW in Germany.