Making solar power a significant part of the world’s energy mix requires more than kilowatt-scale installations on residential rooftops. It needs utility scale solar farms that can contribute tens or hundreds of megawatts to meet peak energy demand while generating billions in economic development and thousands of local jobs.
Offers Quick Deployment without Significant Transmission Costs
Solar PV is ideal for wholesale distributed generation projects. Sited at a distribution level near load centers, solar farms can be quickly deployed since they do not require lengthy permitting and construction of costly transmission lines, facilitating a faster, simpler interconnection process. See how.
Boosts Local Economic Development
As illustrated by Applied's fab2farm™ solar deployment model, utility scale solar PV can provide a powerful economic engine creating green technology jobs and a significant local development corridor. Unlike other power generation sources, a significant share of solar PV investments dollars stays in the community.
Price Competitive for Peak Electricity Demand
Solar PV has a generation profile that closely matches peak summer load. Implemented at utility scale, solar PV is already cost competitive with traditional peak generation sources in areas with high insolation and high peak costs. Within 10 years, Solar PV is expected to be cost competitive in most regions of the U.S. Read more.
Easily Scalable
Solar PV is a manufactured energy, meaning there is a predictable cost decline as manufacturing volume and efficiency go up. Greater scale drives lower cost, and lower cost increases demand. In addition, technology innovations will continue to drive advances in light conversion efficiency, as well as enhancement in installation and maintenance techniques.
Eliminates Fuel Price Uncertainty
Unlike fossil fuels, solar PV provides cost predictability since the "fuel" is free and immune to pricing volatility such as that present in the natural gas market. In addition, utility scale solar power generation can become a carbon hedge against stricter environmental standards or taxes in the future.
