Utilities move on distributed solar power plants

clipped from www.worldofphotovoltaics.com Customers will pay today's electricity and hot water heating rates for the energy those systems produce over a 20-year period. Duke Energy last Thursday gained approval for a $50 million project in North Carolina with a similar model. The utility will install and own solar electric panels at 100 to 400 locations and pay a rental fee to property owners. By owning the systems and the power produced, the utilities can treat the distributed solar resources as a power plant that they can control. The electricity production of solar panels tends to coincide with peak times of electricity demand. Instead of building a new power plant, or turning on costly and polluting auxiliary plants, utilities can partially meet peak load with the distributed solar systems. Customers, meanwhile, can get solar energy systems without having to pay the large upfront cost, something that a number of solar start-ups are also doing with varied financing options.