TVA, TenneSEIA compromise on solar programming
June 27, 2013 | By
Barbara Vergetis Lundin
It has been two months since Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) shuttered its solar programs, but TenneSEIA, Tennessee's Solar Energy Industries Association, views the situation as far from over.
TenneSEIA is urging TVA to address shortcomings in the Green Power Providers Program by abandoning the practice of "setting arbitrary calendar year caps on solar installations" and adopt a market-driven model that decreases incentives based on the amount of solar installed and incorporates the value of solar energy into the budgeting process. When it comes to accounting for the true value of solar during budget development, solar energy can apply downward pressure on electricity rates because of the value it provides utilities, the value of which comes in the form of avoided cost of fuel, infrastructure and capital investment, as well as the environmental attributes and Solar Renewable Energy Credits TVA receives that are tradable, non-tangible energy commodities, according to industry expert Karl Rábago. "Consumer demand for solar energy has grown faster than TVA's ability to adjust, therefore leaving the market underserved, restricting the investment of private capital and creating unnecessary uncertainty for businesses," said Gil Hough, president of TenneSEIA, who hopes to resolve the issues before the TVA 2014 budget vote on August 22nd. So far, TVA has agreed to add an additional 2.5 MW of unused capacity back into the Green Power Providers Program as of August 1st -- a compromise to TenneSEIA's request of adding 5 MW for the remainder of 2013 as a stopgap to prevent workforce erosion and business impacts in the short term. TVA also says it is open to discussing a market-based approach for solar energy development. "Solar energy development programs should never close, consumers should never be denied access to the market and they should be fairly compensated for investing their own, private capital into generating electricity for a utility," said John Nevel, who serves on TenneSEIA's board of directors. For more: Sign up for our FREE newsletter for more news like this sent to your inbox! © 2013 FierceMarkets. All rights reserved. http://www.fierceenergy.com http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/tva-tenneseia-compromise-solar-programming/2013-06-27 |