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| Hunt project manager Mike Carbine looks over a solar panel at Burton Lumber in Salt Lake City Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2013. Burton Lumber recently finished installing 4.5 acres of solar panels, the largest local privately owned solar project in Utah, which falls within the governors 10-year Energy Plan. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News |
Just in the second quarter of this year, another 832 megawatts of solar photovoltaic power were installed in the United States, a 15 percent increase over the first few months of 2013.
It puts the country on track to have a record year for solar power, with 9,400 megawatts of solar energy installed. One megawatt is generally enough to supply power to 500 homes.
A Provo conference last month described solar as the "new Utah gold rush," predicting tax breaks and government rebates will help propel solar to rise "brightly" on Utah's energy horizon.
Owning solar can help the personal and business wallet, with the residential tax credits that are offered, state-sponsored incentives for bigger projects and Rocky Mountain Power throwing more than $1 million at community-based solar projects as well as throwing funding behind smaller business ventures. There are also federal cushions that can ultimately reimburse a solar power system owner as much as 60 percent of the costs over time.
Solar has also become an investors and inventors game. The U.S. Department of Energy boasts it is linked to more patents than any organization in the world, and installation costs have been shaved by 30 percent over the past four years, which adds to solar's appeal.
Nationally, some big projects and spectacular new technology full of promises have come and gone. Solyndra was one, touting equipment that didn't have to track the sun and technology that would accomplish solar power generation that had never done before.
After $535 million in loan guarantees by the U.S. Department of Energy and an FBI raid, the company went bankrupt, prompting a political scandal and criminal probe.
Other unique projects, like Nevada Solar One, became a success. Situated on the southwest fringe of Boulder City, the 75-megawatt field of 760 parabolic troughs is one of just a few concentrating solar power, or solar thermal plants in the country. Another one, Crescent Dunes Solar, is under construction in Nevada.
In Utah, major solar projects have been slow to catch on, although a nearly $9 million Department of Defense solar field in Tooele County is poised to be operational soon.
The inventor of the PowerDish technology, Infinia, declared bankruptcy in September, but the lead contractor on the project is following it through to completion, said depot spokeswoman Kathy Anderson.
Utah, ranked among the top seven states in the country by the Energy Department for its solar potential, has 10 megawatts of installed solar energy capacity, with most of that on site generation for homes and businesses.
Over the years, Utah's share of big projects have been announced, but currently, IKEA has the largest commercial solar system in the state on its store in Draper, generating 1 megawatt of power. Just last month, the largest Utah-based, local and privately owned roof-mounted solar project came online at Burton Lumber in Salt Lake City, featuring 2,676 solar modules that will produce 6.42 kilowatts of power.
Utah has three "solar zones" of nearly 19,000 acres designated by the U.S. Department of Interior as solar hot spots for utility-scale projects that will have the benefit of expedited permitting and project approval, but as of yet, no applications for projects have been received, according to Utah BLM officials.
In Iron County, a proposed 100-megawatt project announced two years ago is on hold, according to Iron County Commissioner Alma Adams. The waiting on securing power purchase agreements and other details essential to make the deal a success.
Source: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865592846/New-solar-projects-in-Utah-nation-poised-to-come-online.html
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