SEPA calls for utility and solar industries to work together for increased solar capacity by 2016

In conjunction with the start of Solar Power International 2008, and in
the shadow of the economic downturn, the Solar Electric Power
Association appealed to the U.S. electrics utility and solar industries
to come together and work towards meeting an aggressive solar electric
capacity growth forecast.

“With the United States’ growing electricity consumption and the need for climate change solutions, the utility and solar industries must work together to find innovative win-win business scenarios that result in significant investments in solar
power,” said Julia Hamm, SEPA Executive Director. “In the years to come, we need an economically-driven solar business environment in which utilities, solar companies, and electricity consumers find mutual financial benefits from the
capacity, energy, and environmental solutions offered by solar electricity.”

Before the recent economic crisis in the U.S., analysts foresaw a more than thirty-fold increase in solar capacity between 2009 and 2016. If this solar deployment came to fruition, it would represent more than 60 billion kilowatt hours of solar generation, 440,000 permanent jobs, and around $230 billion in investments and associated economic development benefits.

The new solar electric capacity will come from different large-scale power plants which include photovoltaics, concentration of solar thermal electric, and distributed photovoltaic rooftop systems for both the residential and commercial divisions.