“Washington a top solar state?” you might ask skeptically. After all, half the state doesn’t see the sun for six months, and the other half has really, really cheap power. Neither would seem to bode well for a solar boom here.
Keep in mind, however, that up until 2011 Germany was using more solar than the rest of the world combined—and Western Washington gets 15% more sun than Germany. And that cheap power? It’s completely dependent on hydro power from spring runoff, which is becoming less reliable as our weather is heating up. Washingtonians pay an average of $.092/kWh for their power, which is catching up quickly to the national average of $.126/kWh.
So, Washington state can actually benefit greatly from going solar. But what would it actually take for Washington to break into the ranks of “top 10 solar states” we often see listed in various reports and articles? Could we join Hawaii, Arizona, Nevada, California, New Jersey, New Mexico, Vermont, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Colorado as one of the leading installers and producers of solar power?
First, let’s put this in perspective. California, the #1 solar state, installed 3,266 megawatts of solar in 2015. New Jersey, the #10 state, installed 181 MW in 2015. Washington installed 26 MW, ranking us #20 in the nation. That’s less than 1% of California’s installations (though it puts us in the top half!).
So, where’s the gap? Let’s first look at what these states all have in common. They all have renewable energy requirements; nine have laws to allow solar customers to connect to the electricity grid; and nine allow customers to earn credit for excess electricity sent back to the grid through net metering.
Remarkably, Washington State has all three of these as well. Our renewable energy requirements (15% new renewables by 2020) become law in 2006; we have net metering; and we too allow solar customers to connect to the grid. Plus, we have an incentive program that pays people simply to produce solar power.
Why are we so far behind those top 10 states, then?
Because our aging incentive program was designed only for slow, temporary growth. The incentives were purposely created for the residential market only, which is why there are only a handful of large commercial installations and zero utility-scale installations in the state.
Secondly, leasing programs for solar are all but nonexistent in Washington. We have an “ownership model” here, meaning incentives are only available for solar buyers who own the property, precluding any chance of a leasing option.
Third, our renewable energy requirements are not ambitious enough. Oregon, our neighbor to the south, will stop using electricity generated from coal by 2030 and go 50% renewable by 2040. Considering the largest utility in the state gets a third of its power from coal, this would represent a fairly ambitious goal for Washington State as well.
If we want to get solar on the map for Washington State, we’ll need to change the incentive program to encourage large-scale commercial and utility projects as well as dramatically grow the number of smaller residential and commercial systems. We need to open up the solar market to leasing companies to accomplish the latter, and we need to require utilities to invest in solar through more ambitious renewable energy portfolio standards.
In the meantime, our aging incentive program is running out of time and money. Now is the time to solve this problem and ensure that our solar workforce grows rapidly to meet demand.
As passionate proponents of Puget Sound’s clean energy future, we have been and will be working on these issues. No one wants to see Washington join those top 10 lists more than Artisan Electric! With education, political will and continued strong citizen engagement, we hope that the Evergreen state will keep reaching to fulfill its solar potential in the coming months and years.