FINDING SOLAR-POWER STATS
Forwarded message from
[ Subject: Finding solar-power stats
[ From:
[ Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2004
ASK UMBRA
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She's Got Sol and She's Super Bad
On finding solar-power stats
By Umbra Fisk
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Q. Dear Umbra,
Are there any statistics that show what percentage of
solar power is generated state by state, and which states
are more solar-friendly? Also, do power companies give
out any figures on how much energy they buy back from
home solar producers?
Thanks from Los Angeles, Calif.
A. Dearest Los Angeles,
Life is great. As your researcher, I get paid to find
previously obscure (to me) gems like today's favorite
website: the Energy Information Administration,
http://www.eia.doe.gov/
an entire government agency dedicated to answering your
question. Isn't that just so 1977?
[Caption] Not made in the shade.
Photo: National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
I hunted around a bit and I think you'll be able to get
pretty far with this website. It contains charts, tables,
graphs, and maps that record, compare, and contrast all
sorts of energy information. Narratives for each state
http://www.dsireusa.org/
describe the renewables incentives therein. Apparently
the site once had national maps of solar power plants,
but they have been removed for security reasons; now
there are fun energy-potential maps instead (like this
one)
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/page/solarphotv/photovoltaics2.gif
that show the resources waiting to be harvested.
A little background for the general readership on the
second half of your query: Homeowners who install solar
panels and connect them to the utility grid are often
able to "sell" excess electricity back to their utility.
("Selling" is actually something of a misnomer, as no
money typically changes hands; read on to understand why
not.) If Comrade Ivanoff's home solar system meets all of
his power needs and then some, the extra flows back into
the city electric pool. That's how it works in Washington
state, at any rate (ha ha). This is known as "net
metering" because the meter itself will show the net
difference between electricity used and electricity
generated at the home. Let's say Ivanoff's solar system
produces more energy than he uses during summer days. His
meter will actually run backward as his electricity feeds
into the grid. At night, however, he's in the habit of
taking multiple hot baths and leaving the refrigerator
open, so the meter will run forward again. A typical
meter reader sees only the net use. It is unlikely that
the utility would actually pay Comrade Ivanoff if he
generates more than he uses over the course of a year,
although this depends upon the utility. In Washington,
residents can arrange net metering for solar, micro
hydro, fuel cells, and wind-power generators of 25
kilowatts or less.
Unless a utility intentionally tracks customer
electricity generation via special electric meters
installed at each home, it will have only an educated
guess as to the number of kilowatt-hours of energy
brought in through net metering. A one-kilowatt system
should generate about 1,200 kWh per year in Seattle. If
Seattle has three net-metering arrangements (which the
friendly Seattle Utility Guy suggested was the case),
some simple math will get you your number.
You don't say why you wish to find this information, but
if your question eventually becomes focused on a
particular region of the country, a few phone calls to
local utilities should give you ballpark figures.
Voltaically,
Umbra
Yours is to wonder why, hers is to answer (or try).
Please send Umbra any nagging question pertaining to the
environment.
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- - - - - - -
Umbra Fisk is Grist Research Associate II, Hardcover and
Periodicals Unit, floors 2B-4B.
http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2004/09/16/states/?source=daily
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