Solar Projects Raise the Bar

With the continued decline in PV prices, solar installations are on the rise across the U.S. Solar power produced roughly 0.235 quadrillion BTUs (quads) in 2012, a jump from 0.158 quads in 2011, finds the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Coupled with government incentives for renewables, organizations are beginning to think big about solar projects.

Massachusetts – How much power does a 3 MWp (maximum power output) solar array generate? Enough to power a significant portion of Scituate, MA, and its nearly 18,000 residents.

The array is comprised of 10,560 solar panels and five inverters. Together with the 1.5 MWp wind turbine project, Scituate is the first town in the Commonwealth that is 100% powered by renewable energy.

The panels are situated on a capped landfill, one of 328 in the state that has been transformed into a site of power generation.

“We are excited to turn yet another landfill into an clean energy generation asset and productive financial holding,” says Lori Ribeiro, director of business development New England of Gehrlicher Solar America, a project investor.

Los Angeles – With 1 billion square feet of rooftop space and more than 300 days of sunshine, Los Angeles is poised to become a leading city for solar. It recently launched a 141,600 kW installation on a multi-family building in San Fernando Valley.

The project is the first for the Los Angeles Feed-in Tariff (FiT), the largest rooftop solar program in the nation.

To encourage clean energy, participating business are offered a 20-year contract to sell the solar energy they produce to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power at a set price.

FiT’s goal is to reach 150 mW of solar across the LA skyline and secure $500 million in private investments that will encourage economic growth.

Solar Provider Group, the company leading the multi-family installation, has already invested more than $1 million in Los Angeles since the project launch.