Renewable energy vs. the electric grid - Solar, Wind and Land: Conflicts in Renewable Energy Development - page 166

all customers who installed solar energy systems on their properties after
that date would also be required to sign a document acknowledging that
such fees could increase at any point in the future. 85 Because this particular
provision creates tremendous uncertainty for those contemplating solar
energy in Arizona, it is likely to have a chilling effect on distributed solar
energy development in that state.
As this topic was heading into publication, several more states in the
United States appeared poised to consider proposals to modify their net
metering programs or to impose fees or taxes on solar energy users in the
near future. 86 Given the inevitable tension between net metering and tradi-
tional utility funding mechanisms, political conflicts between utilities and
the renewable energy sector seem unlikely to disappear anytime soon.
Renewables and the future of the electric grid
In spite of all of the challenges described in this chapter, there is reason
to believe that human ingenuity and determination will ultimately enable
society to overcome present conflicts between grids and renewable energy.
For example, 78 percent of the electricity consumed annually in the United
States is used in the 28 states that border the coasts. 87 Relatively little new
transmission infrastructure would be needed to deliver electricity from
offshore wind energy projects off those states' coastlines to urban centers. A
greater focus on offshore wind energy in the United States could thus reduce
the need for additional transmission capacity to deliver power from wind
farms in remote interior regions to coastal cities. Some private investors
have even shown interest in helping to fund the development of offshore
transmission facilities to help support this strategy. The Atlantic Wind
Connection project—a proposed transmission “backbone” of of the coast
of the eastern United States—counts the Internet giant Google as one of its
major financial backers. 88
Further advancements in energy storage technologies, which are discussed
in more detail in Chapter 9 , could also eventually do much to ease the current
tension between renewables and utilities. Innovations allowing owners of
solar or wind energy systems to cheaply store excess power generated during
sunny or windy times could help mitigate grid load balancing problems
resulting from the intermittent nature of those resources. Affordable energy
storage could also make having a connection to the electric grid less crucial
or even unnecessary for many households and businesses.
Until these sorts of technological innovations become available, policy
innovations can do much in their own right to prevent grid-related
constraints from unduly hampering the renewable energy movement.
Policymakers can greatly assist the global sustainable energy transition by
developing policies that are well tailored to the unique transmission and
distribution challenges associated with renewables. More policies akin to
the open season programs and interstate compact arrangements described