Solar Energy Highlights Flexibility of RES

By Will Nissen, Fellow, January 30, 2012 at 4:00 pm

Minnesota will never be completely powered by solar energy. And if it were possible, I for one would not want to see our forests and farmlands covered in an endless sea of solar panels. But as part of a package of renewable energy sources that can fuel Minnesota, solar can play a key role.

Solar energy can be implemented in unique circumstances that other forms of power generation cannot achieve, particularly in an urban setting. Cities are rife with empty rooftops of all kinds that could house solar panels to power the house, building, factory or warehouse below.

Schools in Minnesota have built photovoltaic solar panels on rooftops to help offset energy costs and potentially sell energy back to the grid during summer recesses. In the private sector, Swedish-based retailer IKEA recently announced that it would build a 1.2-megawatt solar array, Minnesota’s largest installation, on the roof of its Bloomington retail store near the Mall of America.

Solar energy, no matter where it is located, also maximizes the electricity it generates at times close to peak demand hours of the day. This has led some companies to consider pairing solar panels with wind turbines, which tend to produce more energy at night when energy demand is lowest, to more reliably integrate these energy sources into the grid.

Despite this progress, and although solar installations have risen dramatically in Minnesota over the past few years, low electricity rates and the relatively high upfront costs of installing solar panels have kept this renewable energy source at bay in the state. But thanks to the flexibility of the Renewable Energy Standards (RES) passed in 2007, which require utilities to produce 25% of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2025, that’s OK.

The RES don’t dictate how much of any particular renewable energy source utilities need to utilize. They simply say get to 25% by 2025 and let the utilities, companies and innovators determine the most effective, efficient and feasible way to get there. In other words, RES set the goal and let free market competition do the dirty work.

In my opinion, letting government set the basic goals, providing industry with a little push, is much more effective than public micro-management of innovation and development. Germany, for example, artificially incentivized the use of solar power specifically through heavy subsidies, but may end up regretting that decision. In Minnesota, solar can play as little or as large a part of the package of renewable energy sources that is necessary.

Posted in Economic Development | Related Topics: Energy  Solar energy