Solar Across America

Against the backdrop of the expiration of the federal incentive for solar installation–an extension of which has been voted down in the Senate a grand total of four times now–the amount of solar interest still visible in the states is perhaps surprising. Not that we would want it any other way, but those who are pursuing solar even as it becomes less attractive financially deserve a special nod.
Let’s take a quick look at projects going on across the country, from a variety of sources. In Florida, a developer is offering solar systems included with the purchase of a home. The state has been taking steps to ensure the future of solar by mandating increased production of renewable energy, noted recently in Business Week: “The governor signed a major energy bill, part of which directed utility regulators to draft rules for increased renewable energy production…[it] doesn’t specify the 20 percent [Governor] Crist was looking for, but he believes that goal is still something the state should attempt.”

Moving up, the largest solar farm east of Nevada is going to be installed in an unlikely home, the coal town of Nesquehoning, PA. The $65 million, 10.6-megawatt facility “will generate enough electricity to power 1,450 homes and eliminate more than 320,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions…within 30 years of operation.”

Let’s skip across the country, now, and look at Oregon, where the rainy state is pioneering solar collection along an interstate. The I-5, to be precise. While the project is in its baby stages, the planners predict that by the end of 2008, “the row of solar panels about 5 feet wide and two football fields long will begin generating enough electricity to Portland General Electric’s grid to provide 28 percent of the energy needed to power lights at the interchange at night.” The Transportation Department will be paying a standard commercial rate for the energy, which is made so affordable my state and federal tax credits (I do wonder how the expiration of the federal tax credit at the end of 2008 will affect the growth of this installation). And next year, the department wants to elicit proposals for enough solar projects to provide about 4.5% of its annual electric needs. Also in Oregon, the retail chain Kohl’s has announced it will convert almost half of its stores in the state to solar.

This is just a sampling of what’s going on nation-wide. While commercial construction of solar projects has slowed way down, and will likely not pick up full steam again until after the federal tax credit is renewed, the viability of this technology–its ease and efficacy–will keep drawing supporters.