Cheap panels provided by China, rate and tax incentives and squadrons of entrepreneurial installers - there’s no stopping rooftop solar, even if we wanted to. And after a decade of bellyaching about its hidden dangers to the grid, the utility industry is moving towards not only accepting customer owned PV, but actually going into the solar business. And not just big utility scale projects. Some utility leaders see a coming paradigm where utilities would own and dispatch rooftop solar and other distributed resources, moving away from centralized generation. (See Distributed vs. Centralized Generation: Battle of the CEOs) In short, we may be turning potential lemons into lemonade by tweaking the utility business model!
Will rooftop solar be ubiquitous 20 years from now? And if so, who will own it? Put on your Carnac the Magnificent hat and foretell the future. Which of the following best describes your predictions? Also, your comments are very valuable to other readers.
About the Author
Paul Mauldin
Contributing Editor
Paul Mauldin has worked in the energy industry for more than 25 years, developing and implementing advanced energy technologies. As research director for Pacific Gas and Electric Co., he pioneered methodologies used in the design, maintenance and control of energy delivery systems. As a consultant, he has provided guidance to utilities and the vendor community, nationally and internationally. Mauldin holds BSEE and MSEE degrees from the University of California-Berkeley and is a registered professional engineer.
