Tag Archives: utility future


 Green Power Revolution
 Grinds Forward,
 An Unstoppable Glacier

Environment, Politics, Solar, Utilities, Wind, , ,

Webster’s defines revolution as “a sudden, radical or complete change.”  The ongoing revolution in the United States electric utility industry fits that definition to a T. The changes have been unbelievably quick (at least by company standards, if not by activists’ desires), and the long-term impacts are going to be both radical and complete. Importantly, particularly in today’s political climate, I would add that the transition is unstoppable—like the inexorable forward advance of a glacier.

What got me thinking about this were two short news releases from the National Electrical Manufacturers Association earlier this week regarding shipments of LEDs during the third quarter of 2016 (the latest data it has available). In one, NEMA said that shipments of A-type LEDs (the most commonly used bulb for residential applications) topped 30 percent of the total for the first time, continuing a surge that has seen its market share climb from essentially zero just two years ago.

In the second, NEMA pointed out that it had added so-called T-LEDs to its statistics tracking shipments of the linear fluorescent tubes (marketed largely as T5, T8 and T12, which denote their diameter in eighths of an inch) that dominate the commercial and big box retail markets.  In the third quarter, NEMA said, T-LEDs accounted from 12.8 percent of all shipments in this category—almost double the 1st quarter results, the first time NEMA even included the segment in its quarterly report. As with the A-line LEDs, sales of T-LEDs were essentially nonexistent in 2014.

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 Green Power Revolution
 Grinds Forward,
 An Unstoppable Glacier →

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Solar + Storage
 Will Soon Be
 The Best Option

Distributed Generation, Environment, Solar, Utilities, ,

In a little-noticed report last month, Deutsche Bank’s markets research team walked through recent developments in the solar and storage industries and offered several bold predictions with enormous ramifications for the U.S. utility industry.

For starters, the company projected that by the end of 2016 total installed solar PV capacity could hit 47,000 megawatts (dc), with more than half of that being built in the next two years. Specifically, Deutsche Bank (DB) forecasts annual installations this year will total 12,000 MW and then jump to 16,000 MW in 2016. By comparison, just 10 years ago there was essentially no installed PV capacity in the U.S. The DB report, Crossing the Chasm, can be found here.

Out of this total, DB estimates that at least 20,000 MW, and perhaps as much as 30,000 MW, will be distributed generation. The push toward rooftop solar, whether on commercial or residential facilities, is expected to be so strong, DB added, that it will largely cushion the blow from the scheduled 2017 step-down of the investment tax credit (ITC). That year, the company said, new PV installations should still top 11,000 MW—easily topping any previous 12 months save the projected 2015-2016 boom years.

DBSolarForecast

And these aren’t just forecasts. San Francisco-based Pacific Gas & Electric Company announced this week that it now has 150,000 solar-using customers spread across its California service territory—with 45,000 of those being added in 2014 alone. On average, the company said, it is now connecting about 4,000 new solar customers every month.

The rationale for the solar surge is easy to understand, DB continued—it all comes down to economics.

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 Will Soon Be
 The Best Option →

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GMP-NRG Partnership
 Looks To Create
 New Utility Model

Utilities, ,

Just weeks after announcing plans to build an innovative solar/storage project in Rutland, VT, Green Mountain Power is at it again. On Tuesday, the company—whose motto is to be the “best small utility in America’’—unveiled a partnership with NRG Energy that may be the first step toward creating a new utility business model for the future—one that embraces distributed generation and customer involvement.

The GMP-NRG partnership will focus initially on Rutland as well, but the companies have much bigger goals in mind once the 2015 rollout is completed, planning to expand throughout the Green Mountain state and serve, in essence, as a template for the electric utility of the future.

NRGGMPGraphic

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 Looks To Create
 New Utility Model →

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