Selling the Sun in Washington State

摘要

The Washington state climate is not very conducive to solar energy. The Seattle metropolitan area has insolation levels as low as anywhere in the contiguous 48 states. Electricity is cheap, at just 6.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, thanks to Washington's many hydroelectric dams-collectively, they provide 78 percent of the Evergreen State's electricity needs. Even sun-deprived Alaska has pricey energy, which incentivizes its market for solar. But Washington legislators have counterbalanced the insolation deficit with an innovative feed-in tariff (FIT) program. Thus stimulated, Washington's solar economy looks primed to take off.