Solar power “is on pace for the first time this year to contribute more new electricity to the U.S. grid” than any other form of energy, a “feat driven more by economics than green mandates,” according to a recent article in The Toledo Blade. Large solar systems that sell directly to U.S. utilities are expected to make up “70 percent of new solar added to the grid this year.” The cost of electricity generated by large-scale solar installations “is now comparable to, and sometimes cheaper, than natural gas-fired power,” even without clean-energy incentives, according to the article. Unsubsidized, utility-scale solar power “costs $50 to $70 per megawatt-hour” to produce, compared to “$52 to $78 for the most efficient type of natural gas plant.” Cory Honeyman, who “follows the U.S. solar industry for market research firm GTM Research,” said, “[w]e are seeing large swaths of centralized utility scale solar be procured primarily because of how cost-competitive it is.” For more, read the full article.
Solar going big: large-scale installations now outpacing small ones
