The age of renewable technology and energy is upon us, or is it? As discussed in the previous Greeniacs article on solar energy accounted for not even 1% of total electricity generation.1
How can solar and wind, two such popular and relatively older renewable technologies produce so little electricity? While solar companies such as Sunpower and Solazyme have been the topic of great discussion this past year, it has taken over twenty years to begin large scale projects that have greater than 650MW capacity.2 Meanwhile the wind industry has recently taken a plunge and is on the road to recovery. To understand why these technologies have experienced such slow growth we will examine the problems of: intermittency, price increase, and policy instability.
Intermittency Issue for Solar and Wind Power
Solar and wind are two technologies that are relatively irregular in nature. Solar utilizes sunlight as its main source, subsequently producing electricity only during day hours with peak production from direct sunlight. On the other hand, many wind farms see the largest amount of generation in night hours when high winds pick up. The heavy reliance on both technologies for naturally occurring elements—sun and wind—to provide the energy necessary for electricity generation makes these technologies unreliable. Imagine heavy cloud cover or inconsistent wind, both would undeniably diminish the generation of both technologies.
Additionally, energy generation needs to coincide with energy usage of consumers. The lack of storage capacity and inability to match need with usage is yet another problem that has caused utility companies to steer clear of developing large scale wind or solar power plants. However, we are beginning to see utilities develop stronger ties with companies that have successfully overcome the hurdles of intermittency and can guarantee outputs. We will have to see if these companies can in fact develop more solar and wind energy effectively over time.
Pricing Increases
The price of energy in the U.S. is closely tied to the price of gasoline. If the cost of a kilowatt (kW) of energy goes up, subsequently everything costs more to produce. It is in the best interests of public and private sector utilities to keep energy prices to keep consumers and the public happy. The problem is that unlike Renewable energy technology is relatively younger and less developed that need investment and scaling to become cost effective energy endeavors. Until technology can overcome the challenge of cost, many utilities will not purchase renewable electricity. However, we are beginning to see large scale solar projects in California amongst other states as a response to technology finally bridging the cost through large scale projects with capacity of up to 10MW plants. These newly sponsored projects have promise, but we will continue to see slow growth until Americans are willing to accept higher energy prices or technology proves that solar and wind can produce electricity at cost parity.
Renewable Energy Policy Instability
Policy has and continues to be the strongest supporter of renewable electricity generation. However, solar and wind power have become increasingly dependent on monetary incentives, contract guarantees, and renewable portfolio standards. Triggered by the oil shortage in the 1990s, wind energy has grown significantly with the help of legislation and climate change concerns . The past few years we have seen the backlash of such strong dependency on legislation to bring the technology to cost parity and effectiveness. Wind energy has significantly dropped off and expansion has halted in response to utility companies not renewing expiring contracts with wind companies. The high variability of energy legislation and uncertainty of what the future mandates on renewable energy standards has left the Texas wind industry in the dust.
Solar energy, on the other hand, has not received the policy support that wind historically found in the 1990s. However, solar power has now landed some of the biggest government incentives across the board—utility and residential. Until renewable policies become more concrete and future administrations can show consistency in the role of renewable electricity, solar and wind will struggle to be major players in the electricity market.
The Future…
Solar and wind energy together made up less than 2% of total electricity generation in the United States in 2009. However, modest advances in both technology and operational efficiency has brought wind and solar to the forefront of renewable electricity discussions. Solar technology has seen unprecedented growth and scaling in both the U.S. and China. Right now it looks like both wind and solar energy technologies could have a bright future.
