rooftop solar

Distributed Wind Energy | Earth Wise

March 17, 2023 By EarthWise 1 Comment

When we think about wind power, we are usually talking about increasingly giant windfarms – either on land or offshore – that produce power on a utility scale. But there is also distributed wind energy, which refers to wind technologies in locations that directly support individuals, communities, and businesses.

Distributed wind can be so-called behind-the-meter applications that directly offset retail electricity usage much as rooftop solar installations do. It can also be front-of-the-meter applications where the wind turbines are connected to the electricity distribution system and supplies energy on a community scale. Distributed wind installations can range from a several-hundred-watt little turbine that powers telecommunications equipment to a 10-megawatt community-scale energy facility. As of 2020, there were nearly 90,000 distributed wind turbines in the U.S. with a total capacity of about 1 GW.

A study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated the potential for distributed wind energy in the U.S. According to the new analysis, the country has the ability to profitably provide nearly 1,400 GW of distributed wind energy capacity.

Entire regions of the country have abundant potential. The regions with the best economic prospects have a combination of high-quality wind, relatively high electricity rates, and good siting availability. Overall, the Midwest and Heartland regions had the highest potential especially within agricultural land.

Realizing this outcome for distributed wind will require improved financing and performance to lower costs, relaxation of siting requirement to open up more land for wind development, and continued investment tax credits and the use of net metering.

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U.S. has potential for 1,400 GW distributed wind energy, NREL finds

Photo, posted January 3, 2009, courtesy of skyseeker via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Rooftop Solar Taking Off In China | Earth Wise

August 11, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The total amount of solar power generating capacity in the world has been growing rapidly. In 2008, there was a total of only 15 gigawatts installed world-wide. By 2012, the total was 100 gigawatts. As of this spring, there is now 1 terawatt – that’s 1,000 gigawatts – of solar power installed in the world. About a third of that total is in China, and solar power is really booming there.

Estimates are that China will install 108 gigawatts of solar capacity this year, which is about double the amount installed in 2021. Much of the growth in solar in China is in the form of rooftop solar, as opposed to utility-scale solar farms.

China is aiming to have 50% of new factory rooftops carry solar installations by 2025. By the end of next year, China’s National Energy Bureau is aiming for solar panels to cover 50% of rooftops on party and government buildings, 40% of schools, hospitals, and other public buildings, 30% of industrial and commercial buildings, and 20% of rural homes. This new initiative will drive China’s installed solar capacity to impressive levels in the coming years.

After China, the leading installers of solar energy capacity are the European Union, the United States, and Japan.

These figures are for generating capacity. What ultimately matters is solar’s share of total electricity consumption. In China and the EU, solar provides over 6% of the electricity used. In the US, that figure is about 3.5%. In Germany and Australia, solar power provides 10% of electricity needs. All these numbers will continue to go up rapidly as solar installations grow.

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China Sees Rooftop Solar Take Off as New Policies Bolster Growth

Photo, posted June 17, 2022, courtesy of Nguyễn Mỹ Hoa via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

30 Million Solar Homes | Earth Wise

March 29, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A national coalition made up of more than 230 organizations has launched an initiative called the 30 Million Solar Homes campaign. The goal is to add enough rooftop and community solar energy to power 30 million homes across the U.S. over the next five years. That would be the equivalent of one in four American households.

The major focus of the 30 Million Solar Homes initiative is to rapidly and massively scale programs that help low-income families benefit from solar power. The coalition lists 15 federal policy initiatives including making solar tax incentives more equitable, providing more reliable low-income energy assistance through solar energy, supplementing low-income weatherization assistance with solar energy, and specifically funding solar projects in marginalized communities.

The federal government spends billions of dollars every year to help families to pay their energy costs, but these efforts only serve less than a fifth of the eligible population. Funding rooftop and community solar access for these households would provide long-term financial relief and reduce the need for annual energy bill assistance.

The more than 230 organizations in the coalition represent organizations focused on energy equity, climate, business, environment, faith, and public health. The coalition estimates that executing the plan would create three million good-paying jobs, lower energy bills by at least $20 billion a year, and reduce total annual greenhouse gas emissions by 1.5%.

Over the coming months, the campaign will seek to educate lawmakers and the Biden-Harris Administration about the benefits of distributed solar energy. The vision outlined by the coalition is an ambitious one to say the least.

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30 Million Solar Homes

Supporters of 30MSH

Photo, posted May 20, 2009, courtesy of Solar Trade Association via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Community Solar With Storage In New York | Earth Wise

November 16, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Community solar allows members of a community to share the benefits of solar power even if they cannot or prefer not to install solar panels on their own property. There are several models for how community solar works, but all of them allow members to benefit from solar power being generated by an offsite solar array by effectively allocating a portion of its output to them. In any event, community solar can save money on electric bills and allow people to make use of renewable energy for their needs.

A next step in the evolution of a decentralized energy system is incorporating energy storage into community solar projects. The first one of these in New York State has now been completed in Yorktown Heights in Westchester County. The project consists of 557kW of rooftop solar in the form of nearly 1,500 solar panels paired with 490kW of four-hour Tesla Powerpack battery energy storage. The system is expected to provide 150 participants with approximately 10% savings on their monthly electric bills over 25 years, as well as providing power to 12 Tesla electric vehicle charging stations.

The project was funded by NYSERDA, under its Retail Energy Storage Incentive program, which currently includes 50 community solar-storage paired projects across New York State that are expected to be installed in the next two to three years.

New York has been actively promoting community projects in support of goals announced by Governor Andrew Cuomo to install 6,000MW of solar in the state by 2025 and 3,000MW of energy storage by 2030.

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