May 08 2008

Solar: Distributed vs. Utility Scale

Katie Fehrenbacher of Earth2Tech wrote a very helpful piece today looking at the pros and cons of distributed solar vs. utility scale solar.

Her story was driven by a keynote speech given by PG&E's Roy Kuga during the Berkeley-Stanford Cleantech Conference Series.

It's fairly common to look at these two approaches as competing and I am glad that she's been able to look at this objectively. Both approaches are extremely complimentary and we'll need both to meet our future energy needs and address climate change. There probably will not be a silver bullet when it comes to solar technologies.

One interesting point to add on to her piece is the idea that there is also a middle play, which combines photovoltaic technology (PV) at a utility scale.  Last year we signed deals with GreenVolts for two MW and Cleantech America for 5 MW.  These companies use PV technology and site relatively small utility scale projects closer to urban populations, thereby cutting down on distribution costs and land use needs.  There are others out there, like OptiSolar, who are looking to do similar projects, but with thin film technology.

With so many new technologies and such a pressing need, it will be a very interesting space to watch over the next few years, when the utility scale projects are projected to come online.

Posted by: Keely Wachs | Comments (0) digg delicioussend to a friendprint entry

 

Categories

Energy , Environment , Solar , Transmission

Leave a comment


E-mail this post


Your Name:
Your Friend's Email:

Subscribe to Blog rssIcon

> Go

Recent Comments

  • This is being rather generous to Lutz. 1. The "Volt", in no small part, will be targeted as a product to people who care about energy and environmental issues. These people don't embrace Lutz' antideluvian concepts of rejecting science. How responsible is it for a GM executive to be rejecting the science? 2. As well, Lutz didn't exactly sound too enthusiastic about the Volt itself. 3. And, GM public communications has 'defended' Lutz in rather absurd ways. -A Siegel
    > view entry


  • This article is right on - small businesses have a huge role to play in sustainability. Not only do they add up in aggregate, but many small businesses operate in industries that can have a significant environmental impact depending on the exact practices, like dry cleaners, auto repair shops, etc. Green is also starting to affect the bottom line more and more, customers are increasingly voting with their feet for more sustainable businesses as can be seen from the growth of sites like http://www.ecovian.com. This is also a huge opportunity for small businesses to leapfrog their bigger brothers by being more agile in adopting these measures. -Emily
    > view entry


  • Great entry, Katie. Love the level of detail you managed to get in there! Probably won't be able to compete with coal and oil any time the next decade, but definitely a great technology to look into! Keep it up :) -Rune (Norway)
    > view entry


Recent Posts