Assessing the Value of Distributed Solar Energy Generation

Pitt, Damian; Michaud, Gilbert

doi:10.1007/s40518-015-0030-0

Cited by 20 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…These claims were echoed by industry groups like The Alliance for Solar Choice, which referenced studies calculating the value of DG solar as high as US$0.237 (compare to TEP's US$0.115 retail rate) based on a methodology that incorporates environmental, economic development, and grid security benefits (Jibilian 2017). This matching of methodology with interests is consistent with VOS debates in other states, where studies commissioned for utilities emphasize the costs of rooftop solar, while those by solar companies emphasize the benefits, and both depend on the extent to which a range of variables -avoided energy costs, generation capacity, transmission and distribution impacts, environmental benefits, and economic development -are included (Pitt and Michaud 2015).…”

Section: Justice Tenetsupporting

confidence: 68%

“…Existing research about rooftop solar is limited to questions of distributive justice, and critical social scientists have been surprisingly silent on justice questions surrounding decentralized generation. For example, economic, policy, and technical analyses discuss rooftop solar and justice only in the narrow sense of how electricity costs are distributed through rates (Darghouth et al 2016;Eid et al 2014;Procter 2014;Pitt and Michaud 2015;Yamamoto 2012). The opposite is true of critical social science, which takes a more nuanced approach to justice but has barely discussed DG.…”

Section: Recognitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In short, TEP claims that rooftop solar with NEM creates a regressive cross-subsidy that may exacerbate fuel poverty. 2 Following an ACC decision in December 2016, Arizona became one of the first states to replace NEM with a value of solar (VOS) tariff, which credits DG solar kilowatt-hours at a reduced rate, based on an avoided cost methodology (Jibilian 2017;Pitt and Michaud 2015). State regulators also approved TEP's request to add charges that incentivize residential customers to switch to time-varying billing mechanisms, although at a level significantly below the utility's initial proposal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Toward an urban political ecology of energy justice: the case of rooftop solar in Tucson, AZ

Franklin¹,

Osborne²

2017

Journal of Political Ecology

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The rapid deployment of rooftop solar panels in many US cities has raised new concerns about the fair distribution of electricity costs through rates. Electric utilities argue that existing rate structures shift costs from solar owners to lower-income ratepayers, while critics say rooftop solar benefits all ratepayers and helps address environmental injustice. In light of these competing justice claims, this article asks: what are the implications of rooftop solar for energy justice? Drawing on a case study from southern Arizona, we use urban political ecology (UPE) to analyze debates about rooftop solar that speak to three types of justice: distributive, procedural, and recognition. While dominant justice claims revolve around the distribution of costs through rates, competing claims emphasize procedural and recognition (in)justice. Focusing on political economy, power relations, and the materiality of the grid, we reframe the utility company's cost shift argument as a strategic narrative and explain why this understanding of justice is recognized as legitimate while others are not. We propose that UPE can further an energy justice analysis by understanding procedural and recognition injustice as systemic products of rate of return regulation, and the material configuration of the electric grid. Keywords: urban political ecology, energy justice, rooftop solar, decentralized energy, electric utility regulation RésuméLe déploiement rapide de l'énergie solaire sur le toit dans de nombreuses villes américaines a suscité de nouvelles inquiétudes quant à la répartition équitable des coûts de l'électricité grâce à des tarrifs. Les entreprises d'approvisionnement en électricité estiment que les structures tarifaires qu'elles utilisent actuellement, déplacent les coûts des propriétaires solaires vers les taux de faible revenu. Mais les critiques disent que l'énergie solaire sur le toit bénéficie à tous les contribuables et contribue à remédier à l'injustice environnementale dans toute la société. À la lumière de ces revendications de justice concurrentes, cet article demande: quelles sont les implications de l'énergie solaire sur le toit pour la justice énergétique? En s'appuyant sur une étude de cas du sud de l'Arizona, États-Unis, nous utilisons «urban political ecology» (UPE) pour analyser les débats sur l'énergie solaire sur le toit qui parlent de trois types de justice: distributive, procédurale et de reconnaissance. Alors que les revendications de la justice dominante tournent autour de la répartition des coûts par le biais de tarrifs, les revendications concurrentes mettent l'accent sur la procédure et la reconnaissance de la (in)justice. En mettant l'accent sur l'économie politique, les relations de pouvoir et la matérialité du réseau électrique, nous révisons l'argument du changement de coût de l'entreprise en tant que récit stratégique. Nous expliquons pourquoi cette compréhension de la justice est reconnue comme légitime, 1 Remington Franklin, MA and Dr. Tracey Osborne, Assistant Professor, School of ...

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Section: Justice Tenetsupporting

confidence: 68%

Section: Recognitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Toward an urban political ecology of energy justice: the case of rooftop solar in Tucson, AZ

Franklin¹,

Osborne²

2017

Journal of Political Ecology

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“…Solar technology adoption provides a wide range of benefits to both residential adopters and utilities [5]. Solar technology adoption research is a robust field with over a decade spent examining the role of various factors in shaping adoption, such as environmental concern and political orientation [6] and policies such as renewable portfolio standards [7].…”

Section: Household Solar Technology Adoption Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining the Key Drivers of Residential Solar Adoption in Upstate New York

Schelly

Letzelter²

2020

Sustainability

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This research examines the decision factors influencing adoption of residential solar electric power systems in upstate New York. New York has a goal to provide 100% of electric energy in the State through renewable resources, which includes solar electricity, by 2030. Thus, identifying the most important decision factors may be useful in understanding potential means of promoting solar technology adoption. Through an online survey of homeowners in upstate New York who have installed residential solar systems, the research examined the importance of decision factors influencing the decision to adopt and how factors have changed over time. The research finds that environmental motivations are slightly more important than economics and that perception of solar installers is also important to adopters. This work contributes new insights to the field of research examining solar and renewable energy technology adoption at the residential scale, addresses the role of policy in promoting solar adoption, and provides insights for developers and others looking to enhance the rates of solar technology adoption at the residential scale.

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“…On the other hand, the distribution of solar panels over long narrow canals could result in greater distances between the site of generation and the electrical substations which could, in turn, incur greater line losses than optimally sited groundmounted systems. In contrast to utility-scale groundmounted solar projects, however, over-canal systems are highly compatible with distributed generation because renewable energy is produced at (or near) the site of both generation and use, and those generation points can be theoretically spread across the area where it would be used 41 . Furthermore, distributed generation that supplies power closer to points of demand may help defer or avoid the need to upgrade transmission and distribution lines that would be necessary for large-scale ground-mounted PV projects.…”

Section: Assumptions and Uncertaintiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy and water co-benefits from covering canals with solar panels

McKuin

Zumkehr

et al. 2021

Nat Sustain

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System (CIMIS). While the modified Penman-Monteith approach estimates evaporation from an open water body directly, parameter conversions are required to convert pan evaporation and CIMIS landsurface evaporation into open-water-body evaporation. We examined the net effect on financial performance using the System Advisor Model (SAM) and a sensitivity analysis that included estimates of three different solar PV structures at eight different sites along the California network of canals (Fig. 1). In our main results we considered CdTe semiconductor technology but also considered multicrystalline silicon in the sensitivity analysis. The three solar PV structures included a ground-mounted system (Fig. 2a), a steel-truss canal-spanning design that has been deployed in Gujarat, India 26 (Fig. 2b), and a suspension-cable canal-spanning design 27 that has been deployed in Punjab, India 28 (Fig. 2c). Our financial performance analysis includes NPV and levelized cost of energy (LCOE) comparisons of over-canal to ground-mounted designs. Our design comparisons considered enhanced PV performance due to evaporative cooling, and avoided costs for water and aquatic weed mitigation (Fig. 2d and 2e). ResultsHere, we present the results of our water savings, financial performance, and diesel engine retirement analysis. Water savingsEvaporation rates extracted to the locations of the canals and averaged annually are 1716, 1497, and 1570 mm y -1 for the modified Penman, pan evaporation, and CIMIS approaches, respectively. As expected, these estimates of evaporation from canal water surfaces are higher than estimates of evaporation from land surfaces due to the availability of water and surface energy balance. Our surface water evaporation estimates are 11% to 59% higher than California statewide potential evaporation from land surfaces 29,30 . Similarly, previous estimates of evaporation from water surfaces on lakes are generally larger than potential evaporation from land surfaces 31 .

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Assessing the Value of Distributed Solar Energy Generation

Cited by 20 publications

References 11 publications

Toward an urban political ecology of energy justice: the case of rooftop solar in Tucson, AZ

Toward an urban political ecology of energy justice: the case of rooftop solar in Tucson, AZ

Examining the Key Drivers of Residential Solar Adoption in Upstate New York

Energy and water co-benefits from covering canals with solar panels

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