After having spent nearly five months in the capital of the United States, I suddenly realized that I hadn’t seen any solar panels on rooftops or facades. This observation cannot be proof that there are none - there likely are some – and, besides, it’s hard to spot rooftop-mounted panels in a city with tall buildings. But I haven’t seen any on normal houses with inclined roofs either. DC is definitely no Germany. By my personal, Northwest European standards, Washington enjoys plenty of sun. And data confirm that Washington has more potential per square meter than also the sunnier parts Germany [7]. So, why is solar-PV so dominantly absent here?
In 2008 some 200 kW of solar-PV capacity was installed in the District of Columbia, bringing the total to 700 kW [1]. The average grid-connected residential PV installation in the US had grown from 2.5 kW in 1999 to 4.9 kW in 2008 [1]. So, there must be around 200 installations in DC…somewhere. That isn’t a lot and, hence, it’s not strange that I haven’t seen any. And those high buildings downtown do not hide many from pedestrians’ eyes, either.
Until now, solar-PV in Washington must have been a hobby for those who could spare something extra for the environment’s sake, or for the thrill of the technology or being energy independent. No serious incentives have been in place for Washingtonians to install solar panels, and an adequate contracting process for supplying excess solar energy to the grid has been lacking [6].
But things seem to be changing. Only recently, in 2008 and 2009, local government moved forward and put in place more serious regulation. In October 2008, the Clean and Affordable Energy Act (CAEA) amended the renewable portfolio standard (RPS), requiring utilities that supply Washingtonians to have at least 20% renewable energy in its electricity sourcing portfolio in 2020, including 0.4 % solar [2]. In 2009 a rebate scheme was opened for distributed solar and wind installations [2]. Under this program, there will be $ 2 million available each year from 2009 to 2012. The aim is to support at least 100 installations per year. The scheme is budget neutral to the city government, as it is paid by a surcharge on natural gas and electricity consumer bills. This budget neutrality is a success factor that the scheme has in common with the successful German feed-in system. However, a second success factor was not copied: the rebate scheme is not open-ended. The sum is limited to $ 2 million per year, which appeared to be way too little to meet the demand. Only two months after the program was opened, the city had to close it for the year, because the applications had exceeded the allotted funding [3].
The incentives program allows $3/W for the first 3 kW installed capacity, $2/W for the next 7 kW and $1/W for the next 10 kW. With an average system size of 4.9 kW, the subsidy is $ 12,800 per system. With the apparent demand for the subsidy, can we safely expect full use of the yearly $ 2 million over the next years? In that case, assuming people don’t install systems when they can’t get a rebate, we could see around 150 systems added in the District each year. So, solar systems will expand quickly, but it might take a while for those beautiful blue panels to claim their presence in views of Washington.
In addition to the incentives program, there’s a net metering regulation, allowing a PV owner to supply excess electricity to the grid and let his meter spin backward. The utility only charges the net energy delivered over a billing period. And then there’s a 30% federal tax credit for consumers who install solar electric systems [2]. (I should calculate if the stimuli make a financially compelling case for buying a PV-system.)
In 2020 solar power should generate 0.4 % of DC’s electricity. Taking current electricity consumption in DC buildings as the baseline, which is 11.4 billion kWh per year, 0.4% would amount to 46 million kWh [4]. This would require 30 MW of installed solar PV capacity, which is 43 times the present day total. With the rebate program adding 0.7 MW a year, the target is not going to be met. However, this likely is too linear a projection for 2020. Anticipating higher fossil fuel prices, maybe some price on carbon and cost reductions in solar PV, the future looks brighter. But 0.4%?! Come on…
The most famous DC solar panels are ones that aren't there anymore. Jimmy Carter installed a set of solar water heaters (not PV) on the White House's West Wing in 1979, but Ronald Reagan later removed them. They are on a Unity College cafetaria in Maine now, but out of service. Under Bush jr., in 2003, a modest PV system was installed on the White House's maintenance building. Photo credit: www.whitehousemuseum.org
[1] Larry Sherwood, “US Solar Market Trends 2008,” Interstate Renewable Energy Council, July 2009
[2] http://www.dsireusa.org
[3] http://www.mdv-seia.org/dc_news.html
[4] District Department of the Environment, “District of Columbia Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory – 2006 Calendar Year Baseline.”
[5] http://www.solar4power.com/solar-power-insolation-window.html
[6] Washington Post, 2/11/2007, "Going solar isn't easy in the District.
[7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insolation
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