Solar power in Vermont
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Solar power in the U.S. state of Vermont provides almost 11% of the state's in-state electricity production as of 2018.[1] A 2009 study indicated that distributed solar on rooftops can provide 18% of all electricity used in Vermont.[2] A 2012 estimate suggests that a typical 5 kW system costing $25,000 before credits and utility savings will pay for itself in 10 years, and generate a profit of $34,956 over the rest of its 25-year life.[3]
Net metering is available for up to at least 500 kW generation, but is capped at 15% of utilities peak demand. Excess generation is rolled over each month but is lost once each year. Group net metering is also allowed.[4] Vermont is given an A for net metering and a C for interconnection.[5] A feed-in tariff was created in 2009, but is limited to 50 MW and is fully subscribed. The cap increases by 5 to 10 MW/year starting in 2013 until it reaches 127.5 MW in 2022. It is available for solar, wind, methane, and biomass.[6][7] Seven solar projects are receiving payments, of $0.30/kWh, for 25 years.[8]
| Grid-Connected PV Capacity (MW)[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Capacity | Change | % Change | |||||||||
| 2007 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 40% | |||||||||
| 2008 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 57% | |||||||||
| 2009 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 55% | |||||||||
| 2010 | 3.9 | 2.2 | 129% | |||||||||
| 2011 | 11.7 | 7.8 | 200% | |||||||||
| 2012 | 28.0 | 16.3 | 139% | |||||||||
| 2013 | 41.5 | 13.6 | 49% | |||||||||
| 2014 | 64 | 22.5 | 54% | |||||||||
| 2015 | 107 | 43 | 67% | |||||||||
| 2016 | 185 | 78 | 73% | |||||||||
| 2017 | 220 | 35 | 19% | |||||||||
| 2018 | 302 | 82 | 37% | |||||||||
| 2019 | 355 | 53 | 18% | |||||||||
| 2020 | 379 | 24 | 7% | |||||||||
| 2021 | 397.6 | 18.6 | 4.9% | |||||||||
| 2022 | 417 | 19.4 | 4.8% | |||||||||
Solar farms
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In 2012, Vermont had five solar arrays of at least 1 MW, the 2.2 MW SunGen Sharon 1 in Sharon.[20] the 2.1 MW concentrating photovoltaics array installed in July 2011 in South Burlington,[21][22] the 1.5 MW photovoltaic array also in South Burlington installed in October 2011,[23] the 1 MW photovoltaic array in Ferrisburgh,[24] and the 2 MW Williamstown Solar Project.[25]
As of 2019, Green Mountain Power (GMP) has further constructed several solar arrays as large as 5 MW.[26] In 2015, the 20 MW Coolidge solar farm near Ludlow was opposed by GMP, which claimed that there was no need for such utility-scale solar in the state.[27] The farm was completed by NextEra Energy at the end of 2018.[28]
Generation
Using data available from the U.S. Energy Information Agency's Electric Power Annual 2017[29] and "Electric Power Monthly Data Browser",[30][31][32][33] the following table summarizes Vermonts’s solar energy posture.
| Year | Facilities | Summer capacity (MW) | Electric energy (GWh or M kWh) | Capacity factor | Yearly growth of generating capacity | Yearly growth of produced energy | % of VT renewable electric energy | % of VT generated electric energy | % of U.S. Solar electric energy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 34 | 98.7 | 143 | 0.165 | 33% | 44.4% | 6.09% | 6.07% | 0.27% |
| 2017 | 31 | 74.2 | 99 | 0.152 | 13% | 67.8% | 4.64% | 4.62% | 0.19% |
| 2016 | 65.7 | 59 | 0.103 | 118% | 23% | 3.10% | 3.08% | 0.16% | |
| 2015 | 32.4 | 48 | 0.169 | 7% | 100% | 2.4% | 2.42% | 0.19% | |
| 2014 | 30.2 | 24 | .091 | 41% | 2.10% | 0.34% | 0.13% | ||
Capacity factor for each year was computed from the end-of-year summer capacity. 2017 data is from Electric Power Monthly and is subject to change.
A small-scale 15KW installation at a homestead in middle Vermont generated 19,480 kWh of electrical energy at a Capacity Factor of 0.15. The homestead was sending energy to the utility when it was produced and taking energy from the utility when needed. Overall, the homestead consumed 80% of its generation and sold the remaining 20% to the utility. The generation profile is shown in the chart.
Beginning with the 2014 data year, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has estimated the distributed solar-photovoltaic generation and distributed solar-photovoltaic capacity.[34] These non-utility-scale appraisals evaluate that Vermont generated the following amounts of additional solar energy:
| Year | Summer capacity (MW) | Electric energy (GWh or M kWh) |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 102.3 | 130 |
| 2017 | 90.3 | 111 |
| 2016 | 59.8 | 76 |
| 2015 | 49.9 | 48 |
| 2014 | 27.9 | 33 |
