SEIA Resources
Reports
SEIA produces a variety of research and other supporting resources for the solar industry, ranging from full reports to short factsheets. Below is a list of our reports, organized by date. For a full library of research and resources, click here.
Strategic Sequencing for State Distributed PV Policies: A Quantitative Analysis of Policy Impacts and Interactions.
State and local policymakers show increasing interest in spurring the development of customer-sited distributed generation (DG), in particular solar photovoltaic (PV) markets. Prompted by that interest, this analysis examines the use of state policy as a tool to support the development of a robust private investment market. This analysis builds on previous studies that focus on government subsidies to reduce installation costs of individual projects and provides an evaluation of the impacts of policies on stimulating private market development.
2013 Factbook Highlights Success of Solar in U.S. Energy Mix
The Sustainable Energy in America 2013 Factbook offers a fresh look at the state of innovation in our U.S. energy portfolio. This Factbook - researched and produced by Bloomberg New Energy Finance and commissioned by the Business Council on Sustainable Energy - offers simple, easy-to-understand benchmarks on the contributions these new energy technologies are making today.
Understanding Variability and Uncertainty of Photovoltaics for Integration with the Electric Power System
Data and analysis are needed to understand the variability of photovoltaic (PV) plants to avoid unnecessary barriers to the interconnection of PV. Several data sets show clouds can cause rapid changes in solar insolation. Smoothing of rapid ramps, however, occurs within PV plants. The degree of smoothing depends on plant size. Smoothing occurs on even longer time-scales between separate plants.
Financing Non-Residential Photovoltaic Projects: Options and Implications
Installations of grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems in the United States have increased dramatically in recent years, growing from less than 20 MW in 2000 to nearly 500 MW at the end of 2007, a compound average annual growth rate of 59%. Of particular note is the increasing contribution of “non-residential” grid-connected PV systems – defined here as those systems installed on the customer (rather than utility) side of the meter at commercial, institutional, non-profit, or governmental properties – to the overall growth trend.
Supporting Solar Power in Renewables Portfolio Standards: Experience from the United States
Among the available options for encouraging the increased deployment of renewable electricity, renewables portfolio standards (RPS) have become increasingly popular. The RPS is a relatively new policy mechanism, however, and experience with its use is only beginning to emerge. One key concern that has been voiced is whether RPS policies will offer adequate support to a wide range of renewable energy technologies and applications or whether, alternatively, RPS programs will favor a small number of the currently least-cost forms of renewable energy.
Implications of Wide-Area Geographic Diversity for Short- Term Variability of Solar Power
Worldwide interest in the deployment of photovoltaic generation (PV) is rapidly increasing. Operating experience with large PV plants, however, demonstrates that large, rapid changes in the output of PV plants are possible. Early studies of PV grid impacts suggested that short-term variability could be a potential limiting factor in deploying PV. Many of these early studies, however, lacked high-quality data from multiple sites to assess the costs and impacts of increasing PV penetration.
An Analysis of the Effects of Residential Photovoltaic Energy Systems on Home Sales Prices in California (2012)
Relatively little research exists estimating the marginal impacts of photovoltaic (PV) energy systems on home sale prices. Using a large dataset of California homes that sold from 2000 through mid-2009, we find strong evidence, despite a variety of robustness checks, that existing homes with PV systems sold for a premium over comparable homes without PV systems, implying a near full return on investment. Premiums for new homes are found to be considerably lower than those for existing homes, implying, potentially, a tradeoff between price and sales velocity.
Why Are Residential PV Prices in Germany So Much Lower Than in the United States? A Scoping Analysis
This report looks at the reasons for cheaper PV systems in Germany comparing to the ones in the US.
Tracking the Sun V An Historical Summary of the Installed Price of Photovoltaics in the United States from 1998 to 2011
As the deployment of grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) systems has increased, so too has the desire to track the installed price of these systems over time and by location, customer type, and system characteristics. This report helps to fill this need by summarizing trends in the installed price of grid-connected PV systems in the United States from 1998 through 2011, with preliminary data for 2012.
An Evaluation of Solar Valuation Methods Used in Utility Planning and Procurement Processes
As renewable technologies mature, recognizing and evaluating their economic value will become increasingly important for justifying their expanded use. This report reviews a recent sample of U.S. load-serving entity (LSE) planning studies and procurement processes to identify how current practices reflect the drivers of solar’s economic value.