Solar power in Connecticut

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Solar break-even cost

Solar power in Connecticut makes Connecticut the second state in the US to reach grid parity, after Hawaii, due to the high average cost of electricity.[1] Installing solar panels for a home provides an estimated 15.6% return on investment.[2]

CT Solar Lease was a program to install solar panels at no upfront cost, and a fixed lease price for 15 years, with an option to extend the lease for 5 years at a reduced cost. CT Solar Lease owns and sells the RECs generated by the system, but turns over all but $15/REC plus 100% of the sale over $30 or 50% of the sale of the REC up to $30/REC to the homeowner in a Solar Dividends account for maintenance and to allow the purchase of the system at the end of the lease. RECs have been selling for from $18 to $24 each. Applications ended on August 19, 2011.[3]

Regulations[]

Connecticut's renewable portfolio standard requires 7% of power in the state will be from renewable resources by 2010, and 23% by 2020.[4] A bill passed in 2011 requires incentives that will produce at least 30 MW of new residential PV installed by the end of 2022.[5] Net metering is available for all up to 2 MW sites, and is reconciled annually at either the avoided cost or the time of use/generation rate, which is higher but requires time of use metering.[6]

Statistics[]

See also: List of power stations in Connecticut § Solar
Average solar insolation

Potential generation[]

The average insolation in Connecticut is about 4 sun hours per day, and ranges from less than 2 in the winter to over 5 in the summer.[7]

Source: NREL[8]

Installed capacity[]

Connecticut electricity consumption in 2005 was 33,095 million kWh.[9]

Connecticut Grid-Connected PV Capacity (MW)[10][11][12][13][14][15]
Year Capacity Installed % Change
2008 8.8 6.0 214%
2009 19.7 10.9 124%
2010 24.6 4.9 25%
2011 31.1 4.5 26%
2012 39.6 7.5 24%
2013 77.1 37.5 95%
2014 118.8 41.7 54%
2015 219 91 71%
2016 322 103 47%
2017 418 96 30%
2018 555 137 33%
2019 748 193 35%
2020 878.6 130.6 17.4%

Utility-scale generation[]

Utility-scale solar generation in Connecticut (GWh)[16]
Year Total Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2014 9 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
2015 19 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1
2016 25 1 2 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 2 2 2
2017 43 2 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 4 3 2 2
2018 107 2 3 8 9 11 11 10 8 6 6 5 28
2019 139 7 9 12 13 13 15 18 15 14 9 8 6
2020 228 12 14 19 20 25 25 26 23 21 16 14 13
2021 196 15 14 26 25 31 30 27 28

See also[]

  • Wind power in Connecticut
  • Solar power in the United States
  • Renewable energy in the United States

References[]

  1. ^ Exhibit 3 Archived 2012-04-17 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Solar Power Rocks
  3. ^ CT Solar Lease
  4. ^ Renewable Energy
  5. ^ Brief Summary of SB 1243
  6. ^ Financial Incentives
  7. ^ Solar Insolation Levels In North America
  8. ^ "PV Watts". NREL. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  9. ^ Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (25 June 2008). "Electric Power and Renewable Energy in Connecticut". United States Department of Energy. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  10. ^ Sherwood, Larry (July 2010). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2009" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 September 2010. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
  11. ^ Sherwood, Larry (July 2012). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2012" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). p. 16. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
  12. ^ Sherwood, Larry (July 2014). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2013" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  13. ^ "final_2015_pv_forecast.pdf" (PDF).
  14. ^ Connecticut Solar
  15. ^ "Connecticut Solar". Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  16. ^ "Electricity Data Browser". U.S. Department of Energy. March 28, 2018. Retrieved October 15, 2021.

External links[]

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