Georgia is fastest growing solar market

Nov 19 - Savannah Morning News (GA)

 

Georgia , blessed with abundant sunshine, has nevertheless been slow to embrace solar energy. But that's changing, a new report from the Pew Charitable Trusts points out.

"State and federal policies have helped to make the Peach State the fastest-growing solar market in the country," Pew reports.

The Peach State saw the largest gain of any state in solar jobs, from 800 in 2012 to 2,600 in 2013, a 225 percent increase, according to Pew's "Clean Economy Rising" report on Georgia , released Tuesday. Georgia also ranked seventh nationwide in new solar capacity in 2013, with 91 megawatts installed.

Georgia was also notable for ranking first nationally in commercial timberland, making woody biomass an important part of the state's renewable energy sector.

Pew is examining what's driving the clean energy economy in eight geographically diverse states -- Georgia , Texas, Michigan, North Dakota . North Carolina , Maine , Ohio and Pennsylvania -- that have demonstrated leadership or are at a crossroads in clean energy, said Tom Swanson , the manager of Pew's Clean Energy initiative. Georgia is the fifth report released. Pennsylvania , Maine and Ohio will be released in early December.

"It's interesting to see how each state is capitalizing on its strengths," Swanson said. " Georgia is taking off in solar."

James Marlow , president of Radiance Solar in Atlanta , presented during a Pew webinar Tuesday.

"The cost of solar equipment is much lower, tax incentives now capture the total system installation costs and the state's utility industry now sees solar as a flexible, affordable addition to its electric generation resources," he said.

Last year the Georgia Public Service Commission approved a motion for Georgia Power , the state's largest utility, to add 525 MW of solar power generation to its portfolio by 2016.

"That pushed out the growth of solar, especially projecting forward," Swanson said.

The PSC's decision acted on solar much like a renewable energy portfolio -- a requirement for utilities to obtain a set amount of energy from renewable sources. Pew recommends that Georgia adopt a renewable energy portfolio to bring in more diverse energy solutions.

"It can be a great economic opportunity for Georgia ," Swanson said. "If you can expand across more sectors instead of just what the PSC did with solar, it's good for Georgia and for the country."

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