2357 Utility and State Market Trends: Past, Present and Future

Tuesday, October 18, 2011: 3:30 PM
C144/145 (Dallas Convention Center)
Becky Campbell, P.E. , Research, Solar Electric Power Association, Washington, DC
Larry Sherwood , Solar America Board for Codes and Standards / Sherwood Associates, Boulder, CO
As the U.S. solar market continues to expand, project development continues to diversify by technology, size, geography, and market segment.  PV project development is becoming more evident along the Eastern and Central regions of the country, as demonstrated through diversification in the leading solar states and utilities.  Although installations in all sectors are growing, PV projects are shifting from a distributed generation- dominated market to include centralized project development.  Large concentrating solar power (CSP) projects are beginning to influence top ranked states and utilities for the first time in 20 years.  Utility ownership has increased more than 200% to 188 MW in the past year, which is expected to continue with announcements totaling over 900 MW over the next five years.  Solar water heating installations are also growing and diversifying, though not as quickly as solar electric installations. The speakers in this session will discuss recent U.S. deployment trends at the state, regional, and utility levels and the audience will leave this session with an understanding of how the markets have changed between 2003 and 2010 and how they are likely to change in 2011 and subsequent years.