Solar Performing Brilliantly

摘要

From coast to coast, utilities in the U.S. are putting the sun to work. With large scale solar thermal projects and photovoltaic rooftop installations, the promise of solar power-abundant, clean and renewable energy-is finally being realized, generating power for the grid that can be measured in megawatts not just kilowatts. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, the solar market in the U.S. is booming. In 2007, the amount of solar power coming on-line increased 55 percent from the year before. More importantly from the standpoint of the electric utility sector, SEIA reseach shows that installations of grid-connected PV systems have been growing faster than off-grid systems since 2001, surpassing them in 2005.