Comments on: A growing solar industry confronts a dwindling subsidy 2020 Trends in Solar https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2020/01/a-growing-solar-industry-confronts-a-dwindling-subsidy/ Covering the world of solar power technology, development and installation. Wed, 30 Dec 2020 16:08:58 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2 By: Craig Harrigan https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2020/01/a-growing-solar-industry-confronts-a-dwindling-subsidy/#comment-99508 Wed, 30 Dec 2020 16:08:58 +0000 https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/?p=88774#comment-99508 There needs to be an open and frank discussion about the future of utility power. The utility is a monolith in a 21st century world. If the utilities were run more like the way we run the interstate highway system it would be a gigantic boon for the US economy. We need to rethink the role of the corporate electric utility in the United States.

]]> By: Solarman https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2020/01/a-growing-solar-industry-confronts-a-dwindling-subsidy/#comment-80155 Fri, 10 Jan 2020 00:14:32 +0000 https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/?p=88774#comment-80155 ““Anything that has what essentially amounts to a 30% discount, that’s extremely helpful,” said Blake Jones, co-founder and co-owner of Namasté Solar, in a story previously written on the ITC for Solar Power World. “I think there would still be customers that would go solar without the 30% tax credit, but there’s no doubt that the market would be smaller [without the ITC].””

The cost for solar PV has dropped something like 95% since ‘just’ 2010. What ever the status quo electric utility does like the push for net billing over net metering, the formation of a TOU rate spiking program and tiered electricity use rates, based on “predicted” blocks of power used per day. All of this will dilute the value of solar PV to the individual home owner. In the business sector, the utility treats businesses different than residential ratepayers. Demand fees can become up to 60% of the cost of electricity, cooling and packing plants come to mind. It is these fees that will drive businesses to install solar PV and energy storage as a way to decrease operating overhead.

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