Grid Parity -- anywhere yet?

 Hi,

I was just wondering if there are any places in the USA that
PhotoVoltatics have reached grid parity? If there is not, where in the
USA is the location that PhotoVolatics would make the most sense?

I am assuming that we are talking about a "standard Steve Spielburg
Movie" suburb and not some realy remote place.

Best, Mike.

  hobbes wrote:

So far in the US, grid parity can only be found in remote places. The
classic example is the home built some distance from the nearest grid
connection. Since a grid extension can cost more than $50,000/mile,
depending on location, it is frequently cheaper to use PV. A more
unusual example is the person who occasionally posts here who lives on
an island (somewhere around Louisiana, I think) and has grid power, but
pays something like $0.30/kWh -- grid parity is pretty close for him.

As for where in the US PV makes the most sense, that would be southern
California. That's in part because the high insolation helps minimize
the cost of electricity, but also because California has high
electricity rates and a PV subsidy program. Folks there with well
designed systems who take advantage of the subsidies come pretty close
to grid parity.

In general you can tell which places are closest to grid parity by
looking at the cost of electricity in that location. That's not to say
that the amount of sunlight received isn't important, but the cost of
electricity across the US varies over a much greater range (relatively
speaking) than insolation does. If you actually do the math you'll find
that places with high electricity rates, like New Jersey and New York,
are closer to grid parity than many much sunnier locations like New
Mexico and Arizona.

 
Well stated.

I am in Northern California, and I have gone beyond parity to money
savings, due to installation subsidies, a favorable Time of Use rate plan,
and the tiered rate scheme, where solar is replacing some high cost watts
in the summertime.

--
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA  GPS: 38.8,-122.5
http://cdold.home.mchsi.com/Solar-generation.htm  $1643 avoided in 2006.

 I'm not sure how the original poster feeels but including PV subsidies to
achieve grid parity doesn't feel quite right to me.   Without your fellow
tax payers paying part of the cost through taxes your system would not
achieve grid parity.

mike

 
Without monopolies and fixed pricing, the grid wouldn't extend to many
of the places it currently exists in the USA, with pricing the same for
urban and rural.  

There is no level playing field.  You play with the options available to
you, and if a rebate or incentive is going to expire on the 31st of the
month, you make your decision sooner.  

--
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA  GPS: 38.8,-122.5