Page 6 - North American Clean Energy September/October 2019 Issue

guest editor's note
Quest for Resilience
by Gary Liardon
Hello and welcome to North American (NA) Clean Energy News' 2019 SPI ESI North America Smart Energy Week special issue. Reflective of the US and global market for solar energy, this year's show promises to be the largest in the event's history as some 20,000 solar professionals from over 115 countries convene at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah September 23-26.
What better place to discuss these important industry issues? Salt Lake City, Utah is an excellent venue for this year's Smart Energy Week conference and exhibition. The state's solar energy capacity has surged in recent years, to the degree that Utah broke into SEIA's Top 10 Solar State ranks in 2016. As of year-end 2018, Utah ranked 10th in the nation in terms of installed solar power, having installed 1,661MW
of capacity, enough emissions-free electricity to power some 321,620 homes. That is forecast to grow by 942MW over the next five years.
Utah's growing solar power capacity is boosting the economy as well. The state is home to 140 solar businesses: 21 manufacturers, 68 installation/ development companies, and 51 other types of solar businesses employing some 6,045 residents. A total of $2.65 billion has been invested in Utah's solar sector and 33,891 solar energy systems had been installed statewide as of 2018. That said, solar energy accounted for just 6.40% of the state's electricity generation. That leaves plenty of room for growth, especially in light of Utah's abundant solar energy resource and independently minded, enterprising citizenry.
The sun is certainly shining brightly on Utah and our industry. Have a great show everyone!
Gary Liardon is President and Chief Operating Officer
at PetersenDean Roofing & Solar in the consumer division. He is on the board
of directors for SEIA (Solar Energy Industries Association). Founded in 1984 by Jim Petersen, PetersenDean specializes in new residential and commercial construction, working with some of the nation’s largest builders and developers. With more than a million roofs under its belt, the Fremont, CA- based company employs 3,000 workers and operates in seven states: Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Texas.
PetersenDean
/// petersendean.com
*This panel includes my colleagues: Dan Skopec, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs San Diego Gas & Electric and Anne Hoskins, Chief Policy Officer, Sunrun. It is being moderated by Rick Umoff, Regulatory Counsel & California Director, State Affairs Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). If you
are interested in learning more about resilience, we’re speaking on Tuesday, September 24 at 4pm in room 250A.
This year's conference and exhibition is shaping up to be a landmark industry event in what's been a breakthrough year
for solar and renewable energy. From tariffs, trade wars, ITC extensions, record-setting heat waves and raging wildfires,
to subsidy-free solar bifacial panels, perovskite PV, and the increasingly potent combination of solar plus storage, there will be no shortage of critical issues and important topics of interest. And, of course, everyone always enjoys exploring all of the new and innovative solar technologies on display.
Solar, energy resilience, and grid modernization
Resilience has emerged as one of the most sought after and potentially valuable attributes of the modern power grid. This has come about as the result of the convergence of several trends, including the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, the drive for universal and sustainable electrification, and consumer demand for high-quality power. For these and other reasons, it really is eye-opening, and
very encouraging, to see "solar plus storage" systems not only competing with, but outpacing new natural gas and coal-fired power generation in a growing number of markets; all despite a playing field still skewed in favor of fossil fuels.
Innovative distributed solar, other renewables, battery energy storage, and clean energy technologies are providing us the
tools and systems we need, but clear market mechanisms and regulatory frameworks which foster construction of more resilient power and energy grids are still emerging. If you are attending this year’s SPI, don’t miss Tuesday’s panel discussion, “The Quest for Resilience: Who Wants It? Who Gets It? Who Pays for It?”*
A gathering of industry and enterprise
Reliable, high-quality, and affordable energy is the lifeblood
of our economy and society. Joining with individuals and organizations spanning the length and breadth of our economy and society, industry participants are proving that distributed solar energy, in concert with battery-based energy storage, can enhance the resilience of our energy systems and meet our energy needs more securely, efficiently, and effectively than the current generation of power and energy technology and networks, even when the sun isn't shining.
US communities, cities, and states have been at the forefront
of the drive to modernize power grids, enhance the resilience of our energy system, and combat climate change. As highlighted in SEIA's recently released Solar Means Business report, leading US corporations across an expanding range of industry sectors are turning to, and investing in, the combination of solar power generation and battery-based energy storage. Enhancing the resiliency of our power and energy systems stands out among them, as does the potential for solar-plus-storage systems to stem the tide of rising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, global mean temperatures, and enable us to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change.
This is just one of the many goals that SEIA has accomplished recently. As a SEIA board member, I've had the good fortune
to work with president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper, as
well as SEIA staffers throughout the country. They've done a tremendous job organizing the drive to extend the solar ITC and launch the Defend the Solar ITC campaign. A bill to do just that, for five more years, has been introduced in Congress as a result. So have bills to set a national 100% renewable energy target and enact a carbon tax.
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SEPTEMBER•OCTOBER2019 /// www.nacleanenergy.com