This Looks Like a Job for Solar
Here’s another strong case for more solar photovoltaics: Last week’s 30-state heat wave caused record-breaking demand spikes in three regional transmission systems, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. New York State is currently considering a bill that could realize around 5 GW of solar PV — providing competitive resources that can help the state reliably meet peak demand.
From Current.com, 7/26/11
Here’s another strong case for more solar photovoltaics: Last week’s 30-state heat wave caused record-breaking demand spikes in three regional transmission systems, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. New York’s Independent System Operator came close — only 74 megawatts away from a 2006 record.
That record demand comes at an enormous cost. As power providers ramp up all the dirty, fossil-based “spinning reserve” capacity they have available, electricity prices shoot through the roof. In PJM, a transmission organization that covers the mid-Atlantic and some surrounding states, wholesale prices jumped to nearly 35 cents a kilowatt-hour. Today, the cost of solar electricity ranges anywhere from 12 cents to 30 cents per kilowatt hour — in some cases, potentially a third of what it costs to meet peak demand with conventional resources.
New York State is currently considering a bill that could realize around 5 GW of solar PV — providing competitive resources that can help the state reliably meet peak demand, explained Rosalind Jackson of Vote Solar to Climate Progress. Read the entire article here.
