Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA)

The Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) is an educational nonprofit working to facilitate the electric power industry’s smart transition to a clean and modern energy future through education, research, standards and collaboration.

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Brenda Chew's picture
Brenda Chew
Director Smart Electric Power Alliance

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Brenda is a Director  at SEPA and has focused much of her time investigating the proliferation and integration of resources along the grid. She covers a range of topics including integrated...

  • Member since 2019
  • 5 items added with 5,371 views

Publication

2019 Utility Solar Market Snapshot

Posted to Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) in the Utility Management Group

image credit: Smart Electric Power Alliance

  • Sep 10, 2019 3:30 pm GMT
  • 1416 views

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In 2018 the solar market grew by 20.1% in total capacity, with explosive growth in emerging markets. SEPA’s Utility Survey, representing 74% of all customer accounts, provides the data for this annual must-read report, giving insight into the national market, industry trends, and regulation.

Key Findings:

  • In 2018 the solar market grew by 20.1% in total capacity
  • Florida and Texas, as well as other emerging markets, saw tremendous growth
  • Utility-supply capacity flourished compared to other markets
  • 20 states and the District of Columbia now have community solar policies

What’s in the Report

  • US solar rankings and deployment data by utility type and market segment
  • Net metering updates and PURPA developments
  • Trends in customer choice and utility programs including community solar, green tariffs, and solar incentive programs
  • Analysis of flexible solar through a discussion of solar paired with other technologies

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Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA)
The Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) is an educational nonprofit working to facilitate the electric power industry’s smart transition to a clean and modern energy future through education, research, standards and collaboration.
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Thank Brenda for the Post!

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Matt Chester's picture
Matt Chester on Sep 10, 2019

In 2018 the solar market grew by 20.1% in total capacity

This is pretty encouraging given the uncertainty that was created with tariffs, trade wars, etc. Do you provide insights into what those numbers might have looked like without those factors?

Thorkil Soee's picture
Thorkil Soee on Sep 16, 2019

But

We need power 24-7 also at nighttime and even at a cloudy day.

Matt Chester's picture
Matt Chester on Sep 16, 2019

That's why solar is only going to be one of the bevy of solutions, not to mention rapidly advancing energy storage that will be able to deploy energy (generated by solar or by other clean sources) when it's needed

Roger Arnold's picture
Roger Arnold on Oct 14, 2019

A 20.1% growth in total installed capacity sounds good, but I believe that's for the global market. Globally, the total installed solar capacity is small. That makes it easy to show a large percentage increase, year on year. More concerning is that the growth in California, Germany, and China, where the installed base of solar is higher, the rate of growth is significantly lower. Worse still, Bloomberg report tha in the first half of 2019, global investment was down rather sharply. The growth curve is still upward, since very little capacity is being retired. But it seems to be curving downward.

The more intermittent renewables contribute to the grid, the more expensive it is to accommodate them. It's hard to solve the problem, in part because wind and solar advocates are so insistent that it doesn't exist.

Matt Chester's picture
Matt Chester on Oct 15, 2019

The more intermittent renewables contribute to the grid, the more expensive it is to accommodate them. It's hard to solve the problem.

Would you then say part of the solution is slowing the integration of renewables, or are you just saying that we need to be more thoughtful in how/when/where?

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