DOE Secretary, Senate Majority Leader Tout Solar's Benefits
LAS VEGAS, NV – Calling solar "critical to the United States" when it comes to meeting its future carbon reduction goals, Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz today delivered the keynote address at Solar Power International (SPI), the largest solar trade show in America, co-sponsored by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). "Cost reduction, as we have seen dramatically in solar energy, is very much a part of shaping our clean energy future," Moniz said. "We've seen costs of modules decline by nearly 80 percent.
Rethinking Standby & Fixed Cost Charges: Regulatory and Rate Design Pathways to Deeper Solar PV Cost Reductions
Utilities have taken on the practice of applying standby and fixed cost charges specific to solar PV for customers choosing to go solar as a means to recover costs resulting from net energy metering (NEM). These charges are not the most efficient or best means for utilities to recover costs and this report finds that an integrated approach that includes the items below will allow for both effective utility cost recovery and minimal impact on the U.S. PV market.
How Much Do Local Regulations Matter? Exploring the Impact of Permitting and Local Regulatory Processes on PV Prices in the United States
While PV modules and other hardware costs have dropped significantly over recent years, non-hardware soft costs have also fallen, but not nearly as sharply. This research report, authored by experts from Yale University, Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin and the US Department of Energy, focuses on the impacts of city-level permitting and other regulatory processes on residential PV prices in the US. Key Findings:
Lazard's Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis - v.8.0
Lazard's Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis has been published since 2008. With their latest edition, Lazard shows that Wind and Solar PV continue to become cost-competitive.
Solar Market Insight Report 2014 Q2
U.S. Solar Market Insight™ is a collaboration between the Solar Energy Industries Association® (SEIA®) and GTM Research that brings high-quality, solar-specific analysis and forecasts to industry professionals in the form of quarterly and annual reports. Released September 4, 2014.
Strategies for Mitigating the Reduction in Economic Value of Variable Generation with Increasing Penetration Levels
Looking at 4 variable generation technologies (wind, single-axis tracking PV, CSP with no storage, & CSP with thermal energy storage), the authors look at the benefits of mitigation measures. In particular, the authors are looking at specific mitigation measures to first find those measures that provide an increase to the value of variable generation technologies and then seeks to determine whether such mitigation measures are themselves economically attractive. Some of the conclusions the authors come to:
Lighting the Way: The Top Ten States that Helped Drive America's Solar Energy Boom in 2013
This 51-page report from Environment Illinois and the Frontier Group examines solar deployment at the state level and finds that strong solar policies have driven deployment growth in the top solar states. The report highlights the ability of other states to follow these successes by implementing similar policies.
Solar Market Insight Report 2014 Q1
U.S. Solar Market Insight™ is a collaboration between the Solar Energy Industries Association® (SEIA®) and GTM Research that brings high-quality, solar-specific analysis and forecasts to industry professionals in the form of quarterly and annual reports. Released May 29, 2014.
Report Details Opportunities for Advanced Electronics as PV Penetration Increases
With a projected growth rate of 300% in the US over the next four years, distributed solar presents a number of challenges to the current distribution grid. This report from GTM Research details the new power electronics equipment used to address these challenges and provides descriptions of key markets, financing activity in the sector and state level market forecasting.
International Energy Agency Releases PVPS Annual Report
The International Energy Agency has released its Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme (PVPS) Annual Report 2013, detailing solar market conditions and updating installation data for each of the 29 member countries. The report also provides updates on several joint tasks undertaken by the committee.