Introduction to utility scale solar 

Over the years, more U.S. utilities are moving from brown to green power. These are strong indications of how utilities approach solar and clean energy. Retail costs are only relevant for distributed solar. For utility-scale must compete from wholesale not retail prices to make more financial sense to consumers. It’’s crossed a threshold where it is more economical  on a wholesale price than conventional sources of power. 

Green is the new brown fuel 

And as prices and new contracts decrease, it can easily compete with the depressed cost of gas generation. Utility-scale solar is one of the cheapest form of electricity generation due to its  consistent prices. Unlike fossil fuel generation, volatile fuel markets rule its industry. As the result of this cost advantage, utilities areprocuring large-scale solar from or developing it themselves.About 10 GW of utility-scale solar went online last year. Half of that was driven by renewable energy mandates. This includes more than 2 GW that resulted in voluntary procurement by utilities. Voluntary procurement excludes scenarios where businesses are buying power from renewable energy projects. These arrangements keep the increasing number of corporations with 100% renewable energy goals as customers. 

Large-scale solar growing pains 

Not all interest in solar is not limited to investor-owned utilities. Utilities aren’t the fondest of all mechanisms of procurement. As it has gone from obscurity to becoming a big driver of utility-scale solar, the Public Utilities Regulatory Power Act of 1978 (PURPA) has inspired particularly heated resistance. Utility arguments against PURPA have centered on cost while some state regulators expressed that their utilities are being forced to buy large amounts of power that don’t need. Customer-sited solar that utilities like are the ones they own. In fact, utilities as geographically distinct sought to expand programs that allow them to own rooftop solar and deploy it on their customer’s homes. This keeps utilities in the game and allows them to design systems that provide greater visibility into grid operations. The best compromise for utilities and customers who want solar is community solar. It offers cheap power due to economies of scale,  allows renters and homeowners who do not have suitable roofs to contract with power from solar, and it gives utilities a way stay in the game while providing their customers with what that they want.

Community solar is taking off and estimates to be 436 MW of community solar installed in 36 states. With the increasing deployment of solar generation due to prices dropping we’re moving away from the alternative energy phase. Solar meets more than 10% of electricity demand in California. As the penetration levels of solar increase, so do  technical obstacles that need to be resolved. Rethinking the operation of the grid is vital. 

If you want to move into the future and join the solar revolution, or if you want to find out what solar panels are right for you, go to HahaSmart.com and try our price checker tool. You can see how much a system will cost, and how much you can save over the next 20 years. For more information relating to going solar, don't forget to visit our solar blog section for more handy guides and articles.