Solar - Energy Policy Analysis: A Conceptual Framework - page 115

allies. The environmental effects of utilizing solar technologies are sometimes subtle but, because
fewer resources are expended in the acquisition and utilization of silicon, the overall effect on
ecosystems of utilizing solar technologies is less than for other fuel sources.
To capture appreciable amounts of energy, solar photovoltaics require a large number of cells,
which can take up a considerable amount of space. A practical solution to this issue is to decen-
tralize their utilization by mounting the cells on existing rooftops, near electricity consumers,
thereby reducing the impact of space utilized while still allowing maximum exposure to the sun
and minimum electrical transmission distances. Of course, trees and bushes must be set back lest
they block sunlight from collectors, but this issue may be dealt with successfully through local
zoning ordinances. Of the various solar technologies, solar photovoltaic systems hold the greatest
promise for rapid market penetration utilizing recent innovations in financing, installation, and
ownership arrangements.
It takes about fourteen years to build a new 1,000 MWe nuclear plant in the United States
(Hamilton and Wengert 1980), but SunEdison built 260 MWe of solar photovoltaic generating
capacity in eight years (SunEdison 2011c), and Black Hills Energy acquired about 330 MWe of
customer-sited solar photovoltaic generating capacity in four years (Black Hills Energy 2010,
Exhibits 6 and 7). More than two-thirds of the installed capacity of customer-sited solar photovol-
taic capacity acquired by Black Hills Energy was in projects of less than ten kilowatts per project
(Black Hills Energy 2010, Exhibits 6 and 7). At these rates, it appears that decentralized solar
photovoltaic generating capacity can be installed in a fraction of the time it takes to construct new
central-station nuclear capacity. This means that at least 1,140 MWe of decentralized photovoltaic
generating capacity (and probably much more) can be installed in the time it takes to construct
1,000 MWe of nuclear generating capacity.
Pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, each state regulatory authority (e.g., public service
commission) and each unregulated electric utility (e.g., municipals and cooperatives) must consider
rulemaking for investor-owned utilities providing
net metering service to any electric consumer that the electric utility serves. For purposes of this
paragraph, the term “net metering service” means service to an electric consumer under which
electric energy generated by that electric consumer from an eligible on-site generating facility
and delivered to the local distribution facilities may be used to offset electric energy provided
by the electric utility to the electric consumer during the applicable billing period. (16 U.S.C.
2621[d][11] 2005)
Net metering is offered in forty-three states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico (NCSC and
IREC 2011). Some state legislatures have been slow to authorize, and some state regulatory au-
thorities slow to implement this mandate, or included regulatory provisions that resulted in higher
installation costs and increased the amount of time it took to receive interconnection approval for
solar photovoltaic installations (NREL 2009). Investor-owned electric utilities are significantly
more inclined to adopt decentralized generation technologies than cooperatives and other types
of public utilities (Carley 2009).
State or national legislation requiring effective implementation of net metering would prob-
ably do more for American energy independence than policy favoring any particular energy
fuel or technology, and at considerably less expense to the taxpayer. Legislation mandating that
usable rooftop space of greater than 1,000 square meters atop new buildings must be available
for installation of photovoltaic collectors would also be useful in stimulating greater use of this
environmentally benign energy technology with its low national security cost.