Solar Power Projects Get The Green Light

Solar power projects in the US are set to get a major boost as the large utility companies aim to muscle in on the market.

After a fact finding mission to the world leader in solar energy - Germany - 23 electric utility companies may now invest in solar projects around the United States, expanding an already fast growing domestic solar market.

"Every single utility would decrease the time they said it would be before solar would be a significant part of their utility mix," said Julia Hamm, the executive director of the Solar Electric Power Association.

"Half the utilities on the trip really had done nothing or little," Hamm said. "It was a complete eye-opener for them."

After exchanging ideas and worries, Roy Kuga, vice president of Pacific Gas & Electric said his concerns about various solar power projects that are planned were eased. "In a country where solar radiation is sub-par compared to many parts of the U.S., I have to hand it to the progressiveness and commitment Germany has made to solar," he said. "Their technology advances will later help us."

A feed-in-tariff law in Germany has accelerated growth immeasurably. This law requires utility companies to pay customers a fixed rate for any renewable energy they feed into the grid.

Mainly due to these fixed rates, Germany is the world leader and home to nearly half the world's installed solar cell capacity.

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However, it is now fighting back with some great solar power projects of its own and there is no reason why it can't reclaim its position at the top of the pile. The US now ranks in the top 4 for total capacity.

Utilities represented on the tour included two of the largest U.S. utility companies, Southern Company and Duke Energy. Represented utilities also included Southern California Edison and PG&E, the U.S. utilities with the most installed MW of solar power and the most overall solar capacity, respectively.

"In the upcoming months, we should expect to hear more from PG&E activities in this area," Kuga said.

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