LANSING – Rooftop solar generation costs are nearly twice as high as large- or utility-scale installations and utility-scale projects emit about 50 percent less carbon emissions than an equivalent amount of rooftop capacity, a study has found.

The study was prepared for and commissioned by a solar group, First Solar, with support Edison Electric Institute, which represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies.

The report was welcomed by Citizens for Michigan’s Energy Future, which represents Consumers Energy and DTE Energy in Michigan. On Monday, Consumers Energy officially launched its community solar program, which and the Public Service Commission tentatively approved in May.

The Consumers project, called Solar Gardens, essentially allows participants to purchase subscriptions to the garden and receive a bill credit for 25 years based on the amount of electricity generated by the solar installation. The company is looking at potentially siting the project at Grand Valley State University and Western Michigan University.

“As Michigan transitions its energy grid away from coal, it is critically important that our Legislature is aware of – and our utilities are able to implement – the most cost-effective sources available to offer Michiganders the greatest benefit,” Kelly Rossman-McKinney, spokesperson for Citizens for Michigan’s Energy Future, said in a statement. “The Brattle Report found that utility-scale solar is much more efficient and better suited to help achieve Michigan’s clean power needs.”

Specifically, the study released Tuesday compared the cost of 300 megawatts of utility-scale solar versus an equivalent level of five-kilowatt rooftop-solar installations. The benefits of the larger utility-scale installations are credited to economies of scale and greater electric output achieved through ideal panel placement and tracking capability, the study said.

To add solar capacity with the greatest benefit at the lowest overall cost, it is necessary to recognize the differences between utility-scale solar and rooftop solar, the report suggested.

“By directly comparing the costs and benefits of (solar) deployed in equal amounts of residential- and utility-scale systems based on utility-supplied data, the Brattle study provides a key contribution to the policy discussion about (solar) and should be essential reading for regulators and other policy makers,” said Frank Graves, Brattle principal and leader of the firm’s utilities practice.

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Author: Staff Writer
Source: Gongwer News Service
Date: 8/18/2015