Who’s installing the systems?

The largest systems are being installed by utilities. Washington’s Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility, located in Kittitas County, has the capacity to generate up to 273 megawatts of electricity from its 149 wind turbines — enough to power nearly 80,000 homes. With 2,723 solar panels, it is one of the largest utility-scale solar demonstration projects in the Pacific Northwest, rated at 500 kilowatts. It also provides much of the facility’s on-site energy needs.

The Teanaway Solar Reserve received a permit for a 75-megawatt PV plant 90 miles east of Seattle and is the largest Washington project in planning that has been made public.

Public entities — low-income housing facilities, schools, defense installations and other public buildings — often receive grants to install solar systems. State-funded new construction projects, especially schools, have LEED, Built-Green or similar sustainability commitments.

State regulations require that all major facility projects of public agencies that receive any state funding in their capital budgets pursue LEED certification. Thus, efforts to improve green construction are motivating the installation of some commercial renewable systems in Washington.

The state-funded Community Solar program is also generating some systems up to 75 kilowatts.

In states like California and New Jersey, private commercial building owners are installing solar systems because the cost of electricity is high and there are government incentives that make the installation of these systems a financial slam dunk. As the commercial real estate market recovers, building owners should be looking at solar power options, as the market continues to evolve rapidly and it becomes more cost-effective to install those systems.

The largest market segment in Western Washington is residential. The reasons individual homeowners install solar or wind turbine systems range from the belief that “it’s the right thing to do,” or they are tired of paying money to a utility when they can produce their own power and receive credits for excess production. This program is called Net Metering and customers can zero out their electrical bill annually.

Others look at it as a “cool technology” that differentiates their property from others. Some see it as a definite added value for their home; others are hurrying to buy before incentives run out. The most recent reason is to supply additional power for a car-charging station.

What’s in the future?

We expect to see at least three new manufacturers of modules and/or grid-tied inverters in Washington by the end of 2012. That increased production and competition will drive prices down, making the state’s Made in Washington Production Incentive easier to attain and make PV systems even more affordable.

Western Washington is a good solar resource and as the market changes — electricity costs continue to rise and solar systems become more cost-effective — many old assumptions about the costs and benefits of alternative energy will no longer be valid. When they take the time to review it, commercial building owners, public entities and homeowners will likely find many benefits for installing clean renewable energy systems.