NPR Reports on Advantages of Solar Farms

National Public Radio today reported on a growing recognition that mid-sized solar farms deliver significant benefits to consumers and utilities. Solar farms, like the 1 MW facility which Convergence Energy has built in Delavan, Wisconsin provide several advantages. Solar farms allow consumers or small businesses to locate solar away from homes and buildings. The result is that architectural issues are eliminated. Investors in solar farms also benefit because their solar systems don’t need to be moved if they relocate. Solar farms can be designed for optimal output, with no issues from shading or orientation or limited size. This means that solar farms generally deliver higher return on investment.

Utilities also are seeing advantages to solar farms. Their medium size tends to place less burden on utility infrastructure. And state officials, aiming at an increased green energy mix, see advantages because solar farms can be deployed more rapidly. This is because their smaller size relative to utility-scale projects allows quicker local permitting and approvals.

A common misconception is that solar energy systems must be located at the same site as energy is used. But in reality most solar power, even when panels are mounted on a roof top or next to a building, is sold back to the utility. That happens because solar power is often generated at a different time (i.e. during the daytime) than consumers or businesses have demand for power (e.g. at night to run lights and computers). Once consumers realize that on-building solar is sending power to the grid, and they are still buying power from the grid, it becomes more obvious that the solar panels could be located off-site. An efficiently designed off-site approach leads to the solar farm.

For NPR’s full story:
http://www.npr.org/2011/03/16/134341220/midsize-solar-installations-grow-at-light-speed

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