25.9 GW US solar either installed, being installed or in their development phase since 1/1/2010.

[kristopher]

U.S. Solar PV Pipeline Up to 24 GW
By Renewable Energy World Editors
September 12, 2011

...According to a recent report by SolarBuzz, the 17 gigawatts (GW) of non-residential PV under development have now grown to 24 GW, largely because of the continued drop in module prices throughout the summer.

The September 2011 edition of the United States Deal Tracker database released by Solarbuzz this week identifies 1,865 non-residential projects totaling 25.9 GW either installed, being installed or in their development phase since January 1, 2010.

According to the report:
-California, which currently accounts for 61 percent of the total U.S. project pipeline, has benefited from the state’s aggressive 33 percent Renewable Portfolio Standard target and the recent trend of solar projects switching from concentrated solar power technology to PV. The top six state pipelines measured in megawatts are California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, New Jersey and New Mexico. In total, 44 states now contribute to the pipeline.
-Utility-driven project activity is identified across 35 states, while other non-residential projects below 1 MW account for 771 projects being monitored.

-The fast-developing ...

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2011/09/u-s-solar-pv-pipeline-up-to-24-gw?cmpid=SolarNL-Tuesday-September13-2011

[kristopher]

1. This should produce about the same annual amount of elec as 6 nuclear plants.

And they will be completed within a year or two.

[txlibdem]

2. 25 GW is a good number

Great article! Thanks for posting.

This is just the start, folks. Solar and wind will be growing steadily for decades to come. It's too bad that some projects have switched from Concentrated Solar to PV -- energy storage is an easy add-on to Concentrated Solar Thermal but much more expensive with PV. But we can get by without much energy storage for another 5 to 10 years so it's not a critical issue... yet.

[kristopher]

3. Storage will grow as it is needed; we have the technologies. nt

[kristopher]

4. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer Releases Guide For Distributed Energy Resources

IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Releases Guide For Distributed Energy Resources
by Renew Grid on Monday 03 October 2011


IEEE has announced that the IEEE Standards Association board has approved the IEEE 1547.4 "Guide for Design, Operation and Integration of Distributed Resource Island Systems with Electric Power Systems."

According to the company, the IEEE 1547.4 guide provides alternative approaches and best practices for designing, operating and integrating distributed resource (DR) island systems with electric power systems (EPS). DR islands, sometimes referred to as micro-grids, are "islanded" power generation and distribution areas that can operate autonomously from the larger grid infrastructure. These systems are complex infrastructures, and the interconnections to and from the larger grid must be carefully accomplished, IEEE notes.

“In order to have successful deployments of DR island systems, careful planning, designing, integrating, testing and evaluation of the various technologies and systems must be done to ascertain their effectiveness,” says Benjamin Kroposki, IEEE 1547.4 Working Group chair. “The IEEE 1547.4 guide addresses these areas and will be a credible resource for the energy industry.”

The guide also expands on the benefits of using DRs by targeting improved EPS reliability and builds upon the interconnection requirements of the IEEE 1547 Standard for Interconnecting Distributed Resources with Electric Power Systems. The guide, which is now available to the industry for purchase, includes sections on electric loads, utility equipment and operations, protection, controls, and system studies.

http://www.renewgridmag.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.7417