Solar Power International Powers On

Photo courtesy of Solar Energy Association International (SEIA)

BLOG_Greetings fellow Sustainable Manufacturer Network members and readers! Where has the time gone? It seems like only yesterday that I was reporting on Solar Power International (SPI) from sunny Las Vegas, and now my thoughts turn to what we’ve learned one year later at the 2015 show in Anaheim, Calif., Sept. 14 – 17. The Anaheim Convention Center played host to this year’s big event.

Speaking of big, this facility is home to one of the largest, city-owned, roof-mounted solar energy systems in North America–topping out at 2.4 megawatts (MW) (7,908 solar modules).

SPI is the largest annual solar conference in North America, featuring unrivaled programming from industry leaders, and exhibition space where high-tech and human interaction converge. More than 600 companies shared the latest technologies and services.

California couldn’t be a more fitting place to gather for this year’s SPI. More than 2,000 solar companies here serve the industry, employing more than 55,000 people. California leads the nation with more than 10 GW of solar electric capacity. The state also ranked No. 1 last year in new deployment, with more than 4,000 MW installed.

Vice President Biden Keynotes

A last-minute surprise at this year’s SPI was the attendance and keynote by Vice President Joe Biden, marking the first time a sitting U.S. vice president delivered remarks at a solar power conference in North America. Despite the many onlooker chants of “Run, Joe, run,” the cat’s not out of the bag yet on whether Biden will enter the 2016 Presidential race. However, he did reiterate his support for the solar investment tax credit (ITC) extension and voiced opposition to the current $5 billion annual tax credit to the oil industry. The vice president added that half of the oil tax credit would cover the renewable tax credit extension.

Midnight December 31^st, 2016 marks the end of the current 30 percent federal renewable energy ITC that began back in 2008.  The ITC has led to a 20-fold increase in solar power growth and an 86 percent job growth. In fact, last year the solar industry added jobs 10 times faster than the rest of the economy. If the current 30 percent ITC is not extended, it drops to 10 percent for commercial projects and the residential incentive is eliminated.

Notably, Biden announced a $120 million competitive grant program to further support solar energy development and use. The program is aimed at scaling up clean energy in 24 states across the country, targeting greater access to solar energy, and supporting efforts to continue solar energy cost reductions.

This is a welcome contribution, with industry forecasters projecting a boom through the end of 2016. But what happens after that? These same forecasters see a major slowdown if the ITC policy extension is not extended–something even VP Biden couldn’t shed light on.

Battery of Technology Innovations

In addition to the ITC policy, much emphasis was placed on the use of battery storage and integration of sophisticated controllers.

Energy storage quickly is becoming a driving force of conversations surrounding the future of solar design. This was very evident with the recent hype in the news at the unveiling of the Tesla battery storage system and the number of vendors in attendance providing their version of a solution for reducing demand charges. There is little disagreement that storage will have a sizeable impact on the way we generate and consume electricity. But questions remain, specifically on integrating energy storage with solar PV systems.

Battery energy storage requires sophisticated controls, not only to ensure proper and efficient interaction between the batteries and the solar PV system, but also to allow safe and effective integration into the electrical grid. As storage technology continues to evolve, the future looks bright for solar to have a bigger impact, especially if it is used for peak shaving and demand reduction.

Similar to last year’s trend, trackers, solar structures, and operation and maintenance systems were a mainstay. It just goes to show that the solar industry continues striving to improve how we generate, support, and maintain solar PV in hopes of making it faster and more affordable for all to choose cleaner energy.

The last year has been an exciting time in our industry with extraordinary growth. As we make arrangements for heading back to SPI in Vegas next year, all eyes will be on the Presidential election and whether the new blood will breed new policy for the solar industry – necessary as the old one expires.

No one really knows what lies ahead. Advocating for a renewed solar policy is a roll of the dice, but well worth the reward! Without favorable legislative policies, the solar industry will be challenged to maintain its current progressive pace. All the more reason to attend again next year – see you in Vegas!