Solar power in Vermont

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Solar panels at Middlebury College
U.S. solar potential

Solar power in the U.S. state of Vermont provides almost 11% of the state's in-state electricity production as of 2018.[1] A 2009 study indicated that distributed solar on rooftops can provide 18% of all electricity used in Vermont.[2] A 2012 estimate suggests that a typical 5 kW system costing $25,000 before credits and utility savings will pay for itself in 10 years, and generate a profit of $34,956 over the rest of its 25-year life.[3]

Net metering is available for up to at least 500 kW generation, but is capped at 15% of utilities peak demand. Excess generation is rolled over each month but is lost once each year. Group net metering is also allowed.[4] Vermont is given an A for net metering and a C for interconnection.[5] A feed-in tariff was created in 2009, but is limited to 50 MW and is fully subscribed. The cap increases by 5 to 10 MW/year starting in 2013 until it reaches 127.5 MW in 2022. It is available for solar, wind, methane, and biomass.[6][7] Seven solar projects are receiving payments, of $0.30/kWh, for 25 years.[8]

Installed capacity

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Vermont solar power
Grid-Connected PV Capacity (MW)[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]
Year Capacity Change % Change
2007 0.7 0.2 40%
2008 1.1 0.4 57%
2009 1.7 0.6 55%
2010 3.9 2.2 129%
2011 11.7 7.8 200%
2012 28.0 16.3 139%
2013 41.5 13.6 49%
2014 64 22.5 54%
2015 107 43 67%
2016 185 78 73%
2017 220 35 19%
2018 302 82 37%
2019 355 53 18%
2020 379 24 7%
2021 397.6 18.6 4.9%
2022 417 19.4 4.8%

Solar farms

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See also: List of power stations in Vermont § Solar
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Source: NREL[19]

In 2012, Vermont had five solar arrays of at least 1 MW, the 2.2 MW SunGen Sharon 1 in Sharon.[20] the 2.1 MW concentrating photovoltaics array installed in July 2011 in South Burlington,[21][22] the 1.5 MW photovoltaic array also in South Burlington installed in October 2011,[23] the 1 MW photovoltaic array in Ferrisburgh,[24] and the 2 MW Williamstown Solar Project.[25]

As of 2019, Green Mountain Power (GMP) has further constructed several solar arrays as large as 5 MW.[26] In 2015, the 20 MW Coolidge solar farm near Ludlow was opposed by GMP, which claimed that there was no need for such utility-scale solar in the state.[27] The farm was completed by NextEra Energy at the end of 2018.[28]

Generation

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Using data available from the U.S. Energy Information Agency's Electric Power Annual 2017[29] and "Electric Power Monthly Data Browser",[30][31][32][33] the following table summarizes Vermonts’s solar energy posture.

2017 VT Solar Energy Generation Profile
Solar-electric generation in Vermont
Year Facilities Summer capacity (MW) Electric energy (GWh or M kWh) Capacity factor Yearly growth of generating capacity Yearly growth of produced energy % of VT renewable electric energy % of VT generated electric energy % of U.S. Solar electric energy
2018 34 98.7 143 0.165 33% 44.4% 6.09% 6.07% 0.27%
2017 31 74.2 99 0.152 13% 67.8% 4.64% 4.62% 0.19%
2016 65.7 59 0.103 118% 23% 3.10% 3.08% 0.16%
2015 32.4 48 0.169 7% 100% 2.4% 2.42% 0.19%
2014 30.2 24 .091 41% 2.10% 0.34% 0.13%

Capacity factor for each year was computed from the end-of-year summer capacity. 2017 data is from Electric Power Monthly and is subject to change.

2017 15KW Vermont Farm Solar Energy Generation Profile

A small-scale 15KW installation at a homestead in middle Vermont generated 19,480 kWh of electrical energy at a Capacity Factor of 0.15. The homestead was sending energy to the utility when it was produced and taking energy from the utility when needed. Overall, the homestead consumed 80% of its generation and sold the remaining 20% to the utility. The generation profile is shown in the chart.

Beginning with the 2014 data year, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has estimated the distributed solar-photovoltaic generation and distributed solar-photovoltaic capacity.[34] These non-utility-scale appraisals evaluate that Vermont generated the following amounts of additional solar energy:

Estimated distributed solar electric generation in Vermont[35][36]
Year Summer capacity (MW) Electric energy (GWh or M kWh)
2018 102.3 130
2017 90.3 111
2016 59.8 76
2015 49.9 48
2014 27.9 33

See also

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References

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  4. ^ Vermont Net Metering Archived 2012-05-10 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Freeing the grid Archived 2012-06-16 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Standard Offer Program Archived 2012-07-27 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Standard Offer for Qualifying SPEED Resources Archived 2012-05-27 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Monthly Production Archived 2012-07-27 at the Wayback Machine
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  14. ^ US Solar Market Insight Report Archived 2012-04-18 at the Wayback Machine
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  18. ^ "Vermont Solar" SEIA
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