54.3 F
San Diego
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
-Advertisement-

Lower Costs Contribute to Bright Outlook for Solar Industry

San Diego’s adaption of residential solar energy systems was so great last year it blew through a goal it wasn’t supposed to reach for another four years.

“As of the beginning of this year, we’re all booked up for the rebates,” said Terry Clapham, distributed generation manager for the California Center for Sustainable Energy. “The goal was exceeded so now we’re putting people on a waiting list.”

CCSE, the agency that administers the state’s Solar Initiative, and distributes rebates from both the federal and state governments, said last year that San Diego had 126 megawatts of solar capacity installed or pending, and nearing its 10-year projected goal.

But with more solar companies promoting the economic benefits from the systems and offering easy financing plans, the region obviously achieved its install goal, and continues adding to its numbers.

“Business is good,” says Ken Justo, chief executive of ASI Hastings Heating Air and Solar in San Diego. “We started the solar division with a couple of guys two years ago, and we’re much bigger today,” (declining to reveal the number of workers it has).

‘Reduce Before You Produce’

In many cases, ASI advises customers on a variety of ways to reduce energy usage before installing photovoltaic solar panels, Justo said. “Our approach is to reduce before you produce.”

San Diego’s better than average adoption of solar energy systems is being driven by two major factors: reduced permitting costs, and lower cost on materials, says Clapham.

Also, financing plans to pay for the systems are more accessible, he said. Before the recession, homeowners paid for the systems by home equity loans. But with credit availability limited after the financial crisis, the industry responded with leasing and power purchase agreements that allow buyers to obtain systems without up-front costs, Clapham said.

Thanks to its size and climate, California leads the nation by far in terms of installed solar. At the end of last year, CCSI said the state reached 1 gigawatt of solar capacity or 1,000 megawatts. One megawatt is enough to power 750 to 1,000 homes.

The same CCSI report ranked the cities with the largest solar capacities, with San Diego having 51.3 megawatts, just behind San Jose with 54.6 megawatts.

In terms of installed units, there were 13,341 solar systems operating in the San Diego region as of the end of May, with another 833 systems reserved for rebates, Clapham said.

Steep Adoption Curve

Nationally, the solar adoption curve is also steep. The Solar Energy Industries Association, the Washington, D.C. trade group, said at the end of 2012, a total of 7.7 gigawatts (or 7,700 megawatts) of solar was operating in the nation, up 600 percent from 2008.

Kristina Peterson, chief executive at Carlsbad-based Greenwood Biosar, said her firm is seeing increased business as more entities realize the benefits of solar.

The firm, a subsidiary of Greece-based Aktor, generally works with commercial developers designing and building ground-mounted solar projects ranging in size of 1 to 30 megawatts.

“These are companies that understand the PV market, and want to own and operate their projects,” Peterson said. “We’re an EPC company, meaning we do the engineering, the procurement and construction of the systems.”

A longtime veteran executive in the solar industry, Peterson says the solar generation “makes perfect sense.”

“The great thing about solar is that there’s no fixed price risk and no fuel availability risk,” she said. “The systems require low maintenance and they sit out there benignly and work.”

The industry is also generating lots of well-paying jobs, Peterson said. “It’s a much faster install and it’s jobs now.”

According to a recent report from the Solar Foundation, as of the end of last year, the U.S. solar industry employed 119,000 people, up 13 percent from 2011. California led the nation with the highest number, about 43,700 jobs, the report said.

-Advertisement-

Featured Articles

Oberon Eyes Europe for Renewable DME

Leaders of Influence in Law 2024

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-

Related Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-