Conn. eclipsed in photovoltaic installs

As Connecticut renews its financial commitment to commercial and residential incentives for photovoltaic systems, a new study demonstrates how far behind its neighbors the state is.

Of states that in 2010 installed at least five megawatts of photovoltaic panels connected to the electric grid, Connecticut was one of just five to install less capacity the following year, versus 13 that increased installations, according to the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), based in Latham, N.Y.

A megawatt furnishes sufficient power for the equivalent of at least 700 homes.

New York more than tripled its grid-connected solar panel capacity to 68 megawatts, while New Jersey increased its own installations from 132 megawatts in 2010 to a whopping 306 megawatts in 2011 ”“ sufficient for well over 200,000 homes by the most conservative measure.

By comparison, after installing a paltry 5.6 megawatts of solar in 2010, Connecticut”™s own figure faded to 4.5 megawatts in 2011. Massachusetts increased its own activity from some 20 megawatts in 2010 to more than 36 megawatts in 2011 ”“ more than Connecticut”™s cumulative installed capacity for all years tracked by IREC.

With half the population of Massachusetts and dwarfed even more by New York and New Jersey, Connecticut nevertheless did not rank among the leaders in installations as calculated on a per-capita basis.

Nationally, photovoltaic installations doubled due to financial incentives, including expiring federal incentives, as well as falling photovoltaic prices and demand from consumers increasingly willing to adopt green”“energy measures.

IREC tracks both standard photovoltaic systems as well as utility scale concentrating solar power plants, which are capable of generating more electricity and which have yet to see adoption in Connecticut. California remains the largest U.S. market, with about 29 percent of the U.S. capacity installed in 2011.

Like many other states, Connecticut made a renewed push to free up resources to subsidize solar installations for the coming few fiscal years, despite an uphill fight to close a budget deficit.

IREC researcher and report author Larry Sherwood noted that many large solar projects began construction in 2011 in order to take advantage of the 1603 Treasury Grant Program. Most of these installations, both distributed and utility-sector projects, will be completed this year through 2016.

The 1603 program was created as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, giving businesses the option of taking a cash grant instead of a tax credit against future earnings, in a bid to accelerate spending on renewable energy systems. The program was originally scheduled to expire at the end of 2010, but was extended through the end of 2011, causing many projects to begin construction late in 2011 to qualify for the program.

In 2011, more than 2,200 solar and wind turbine projects were awarded $795 million in cash grants, more than double the number in 2010 and representing 29 percent of all non-residential and utility sector installations.

“Since projects that begin construction in 2012 will no longer have the cash grant option, developers will need to find entities, such as banks and insurance companies, with tax bills large enough to take advantage of remaining tax credits,” Sherwood said in a statement.