Solar power in Vermont
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Solar power in Vermont provides almost 11% of the state's in-state electricity production as of 2018.[1] A 2009 study indicated that distributed solar on rooftops can provide 18% of all electricity used in Vermont.[2] A 2012 estimate suggests that a typical 5 kW system costing $25,000 before credits and utility savings will pay for itself in 10 years, and generate a profit of $34,956 over the rest of its 25-year life.[3]
Net metering is available for up to at least 500 kW generation, but is capped at 15% of utilities peak demand. Excess generation is rolled over each month but is lost once each year. Group net metering is also allowed.[4] Vermont is given an A for net metering and a C for interconnection.[5] A feed-in tariff was created in 2009, but is limited to 50 MW and is fully subscribed. The cap increases by 5 to 10 MW/year starting in 2013 until it reaches 127.5 MW in 2022. It is available for solar, wind, methane, and biomass.[6][7] Seven solar projects are receiving payments, of $0.30/kWh, for 25 years.[8]
Installed capacity[edit]
| Grid-Connected PV Capacity (MW)[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Capacity | Change | % Change | |||||||||
| 2007 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 40% | |||||||||
| 2008 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 57% | |||||||||
| 2009 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 55% | |||||||||
| 2010 | 3.9 | 2.2 | 129% | |||||||||
| 2011 | 11.7 | 7.8 | 200% | |||||||||
| 2012 | 28.0 | 16.3 | 139% | |||||||||
| 2013 | 41.5 | 13.6 | 49% | |||||||||
| 2014 | 64 | 22.5 | 54% | |||||||||
| 2015 | 107 | 43 | 67% | |||||||||
| 2016 | 185 | 78 | 73% | |||||||||
| 2017 | 220 | 35 | 19% | |||||||||
| 2018 | 302 | 82 | 37% | |||||||||
| 2019 | 355 | 53 | 18% | |||||||||
| 2020 | 379 | 24 | 7% | |||||||||
| 2021 | 397.6 | 18.6 | % | |||||||||
| 2022 | 417 | 19.4 | % | |||||||||
Solar farms[edit]
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In 2012, Vermont had five solar arrays of at least 1 MW, the 2.2 MW SunGen Sharon 1 in Sharon.[20] the 2.1 MW concentrating photovoltaics array installed in July 2011 in South Burlington,[21][22] the 1.5 MW photovoltaic array also in South Burlington installed in October 2011,[23] the 1 MW photovoltaic array in Ferrisburgh,[24] and the 2 MW Williamstown Solar Project.[25]
As of 2019, Green Mountain Power (GMP) has further constructed several solar arrays as large as 5 MW.[26] In 2015, the 20 MW Coolidge solar farm near Ludlow was opposed by GMP, which claimed that there was no need for such utility-scale solar in the state.[27] The farm was completed by NextEra Energy at the end of 2018.[28]
Generation[edit]
Using data available from the U.S. Energy Information Agency's Electric Power Annual 2017[29] and "Electric Power Monthly Data Browser",[30][31][32][33] the following table summarizes Vermonts’s solar energy posture.
| Year | Facilities | Summer capacity (MW) | Electric energy (GWh or M kWh) | Capacity factor | Yearly growth of generating capacity | Yearly growth of produced energy | % of VT renewable electric energy | % of VT generated electric energy | % of U.S. Solar electric energy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 34 | 98.7 | 143 | 0.165 | 33% | 44.4% | 6.09% | 6.07% | 0.27% |
| 2017 | 31 | 74.2 | 99 | 0.152 | 13% | 67.8% | 4.64% | 4.62% | 0.19% |
| 2016 | 65.7 | 59 | 0.103 | 118% | 23% | 3.10% | 3.08% | 0.16% | |
| 2015 | 32.4 | 48 | 0.169 | 7% | 100% | 2.4% | 2.42% | 0.19% | |
| 2014 | 30.2 | 24 | .091 | 41% | 2.10% | 0.34% | 0.13% |
Capacity factor for each year was computed from the end-of-year summer capacity. 2017 data is from Electric Power Monthly and is subject to change.
A small-scale 15KW installation at a homestead in middle Vermont generated 19,480 kWh of electrical energy at a Capacity Factor of 0.15. The homestead was sending energy to the utility when it was produced and taking energy from the utility when needed. Overall, the homestead consumed 80% of its generation and sold the remaining 20% to the utility. The generation profile is shown in the chart.
Beginning with the 2014 data year, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has estimated the distributed solar-photovoltaic generation and distributed solar-photovoltaic capacity.[34] These non-utility-scale appraisals evaluate that Vermont generated the following amounts of additional solar energy:
| Year | Summer capacity (MW) | Electric energy (GWh or M kWh) |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 102.3 | 130 |
| 2017 | 90.3 | 111 |
| 2016 | 59.8 | 76 |
| 2015 | 49.9 | 48 |
| 2014 | 27.9 | 33 |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Solar Spotlight - Vermont" (PDF). www.seia.org. June 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
- ^ Witkin, Jim (October 30, 2009). "Report Argues for a Decentralized System of Renewable Power Generation". Green Blog.
- ^ "Guide to Vermont Home Solar Incentives, Rebates, and Tax Credits". Solar Power Rocks.
- ^ Vermont Net Metering Archived 2012-05-10 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Freeing the grid Archived 2012-06-16 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Standard Offer Program Archived 2012-07-27 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Standard Offer for Qualifying SPEED Resources Archived 2012-05-27 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Monthly Production Archived 2012-07-27 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Sherwood, Larry (August 2012). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2011" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 6, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
- ^ Sherwood, Larry (June 2011). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2010" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Retrieved June 29, 2011.
- ^ Sherwood, Larry (July 2010). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2009" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 25, 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
- ^ Sherwood, Larry (July 2009). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2008" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 23, 2009. Retrieved July 24, 2010.
- ^ Sherwood, Larry (August 2008). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2007" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 22, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ US Solar Market Insight Report Archived 2012-04-18 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Sherwood, Larry (July 2009). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2008" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 23, 2009. Retrieved July 24, 2010.
- ^ Sherwood, Larry (July 2012). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2012" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). p. 16. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
- ^ Sherwood, Larry (July 2014). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2013" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ^ "Vermont Solar" SEIA
- ^ "PV Watts". NREL. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
- ^ "Talmage Solar Engineering, Inc. Unveils Largest Smart Array in North America". Business Wire. July 31, 2012.
- ^ Griset, Todd (July 28, 2011). "Vermont's largest solar array compared to California's". Energy Policy Update.
- ^ "Site #316 Production Report | AllEarth Renewables Energy Production Report". www.allearthrenewables.com.
- ^ "Military Invests in Solar at Vermont National Guard Base". Archived from the original on July 26, 2012.
- ^ "Ferrisburgh Solar Farm". Archived from the original on March 27, 2012.
- ^ "Williamstown solar array to be among state's biggest". Rutland Herald. July 31, 2012. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013.
- ^ Bill Opalka (January 28, 2019). "Vermont solar storage projects aim to lower costs during peak demand". Vermont Journal.
- ^ Polhamus, Mike (December 6, 2015). "20-megawatt solar project needed, developers' report says". VTDigger.
- ^ Sharon Huntley (October 17, 2018). "Coolidge Solar Project on schedule and expected to go live in December". Vermont Journal.
- ^ "Electric Power Annual State Data". 1990-2017 Existing Name Plate and Summer Capacity by Energy Source and State. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
- ^ "Table 1.17B". Electric Power Monthly Data Browser. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
- ^ "Report 1.14". Electric Power Monthly Data Browser. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
- ^ "Report 1.13". Electric Power Monthly Data Browser. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
- ^ "Report 1.6". Electric Power Monthly Data Browser. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
- ^ "Electric Power Annual". Retrieved June 17, 2017.
- ^ "Electric Power Monthly (February 2018 with data for December 2017) - Table 1.17.B. Net Generation from Solar Photovoltaic" (PDF). Electric Power Monthly. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
- ^ "Electric Power Monthly (February 2018 with data for December 2017) - Table 6.2.B. Net Capacity from Solar Photovoltaic" (PDF). Electric Power Monthly. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
External links[edit]
