Solar power in Vermont

Solar power in Vermont provides almost 11% of the state's electricity as of 2018.[1] A 2009 study indicated that distributed solar on rooftops can provide 18% of all electricity used in Vermont.[2] A 2012 estimate suggests that a typical 5 kW system costing $25,000 before credits and utility savings will pay for itself in 10 years, and generate a profit of $34,956 over the rest of its 25-year life.[3]

Solar panels at Middlebury College

U.S. solar potential

Net metering is available for up to at least 500 kW generation, but is capped at 15% of utilities peak demand. Excess generation is rolled over each month but is lost once each year. Group net metering is also allowed.[4] Vermont is given an A for net metering and a C for interconnection.[5] A feed-in tariff was created in 2009, but is limited to 50 MW and is fully subscribed. The cap increases by 5 to 10 MW/year starting in 2013 until it reaches 127.5 MW in 2022. It is available for solar, wind, methane, and biomass.[6][7] Seven solar projects are receiving payments, of $0.30/kWh, for 25 years.[8]

Vermont has five solar arrays of at least 1 MW, the 2.2 MW SunGen Sharon 1 in Sharon completed in July 2012,[9] the 2.1 MW concentrating photovoltaics array installed in July 2011 in South Burlington,[10][11] the 1.5 MW photovoltaic array also in South Burlington installed in October 2011,[12] the 1 MW photovoltaic array in Ferrisburgh,[13] and the 2 MW Williamstown Solar Project.[14]

A proposed 20 MW solar farm in Ludlow is opposed by Green Mountain Power and the governor. The power company claims that there is no need for any utility-scale solar in the state.[15]

Installed capacity

Source: NREL[16]

Grid-Connected PV Capacity (MW)[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]
Year	Capacity	Change	% Change
2007	0.7	0.2	40%
2008	1.1	0.4	57%
2009	1.7	0.6	55%
2010	3.9	2.2	129%
2011	11.7	7.8	200%
2012	28.0	16.3	139%
2013	41.5	13.6	49%
2014	64	22.5	54%
2015	107	43	67%
2016	185	78
2017	220	35
2018	302	82
2019	355	53

Generation

Using data available from the U.S. Energy Information Agency's Electric Power Annual 2017[27] and "Electric Power Monthly Data Browser",[28][29][30][31] the following table summarizes Vermonts’s solar energy posture.

2017 VT Solar Energy Generation Profile

Capacity factor for each year was computed from the end-of-year summer capacity. 2017 data is from Electric Power Monthly and is subject to change.

Solar-electric generation in Vermont

Year	Facilities	Summer capacity (MW)	Electric energy (GWh or M kWh)	Capacity factor	Yearly growth of generating capacity	Yearly growth of produced energy	% of VT renewable electric energy	% of VT generated electric energy	% of U.S. Solar electric energy
2018	34	98.7	143	0.165	33%	44.4%	6.09%	6.07%	0.27%
2017	31	74.2	99	0.152	13%	67.8%	4.64%	4.62%	0.19%
2016		65.7	59	0.103	118%	23%	3.10%	3.08%	0.16%
2015		32.4	48	0.169	7%	100%	2.4%	2.42%	0.19%
2014		30.2	24	.091		41%	2.10%	0.34%	0.13%

A small scale 15KW installation at a homestead in middle Vermont generated 19,480 kWh of electrical energy at a Capacity Factor of 0.15. The homestead was sending energy to the utility when it was produced and taking energy from the utility when needed. Overall, the homestead consumed 80% of its generation and sold the remaining 20% to the utility. The generation profile is shown in the chart.

2017 15KW Vermont Farm Solar Energy Generation Profile

Beginning with the 2014 data year, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has estimated the distributed solar-photovoltaic generation and distributed solar-photovoltaic capacity.[32] These non-utility-scale appraisals evaluate that Vermont generated the following amounts of additional solar energy:

Estimated distributed solar electric generation in Vermont[33][34]

Year	Summer capacity (MW)	Electric energy (GWh or M kWh)
2018	102.3	130
2017	90.3	111
2016	59.8	76
2015	49.9	48
2014	27.9	33

Specific solar farm data follows:

2.597 MW fixed tilt Barton Solar Farm generation (kWh)[8]

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December	Total
2014											2,283	34,522	36,805
2015	42,153	18,082	233,572	267,032	372,320	354,479	380,525	351,880	326,723	210,548	138,288	59,410	2,755,012
2016	53,732	101,948	251,409										407,089
Total													3,198,906

2.2 MW 15° fixed tilt Champlain Valley Solar Farm generation (kWh)[8]

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December	Total
2015							108,347	249,021	360,222	265,585	200,987	98,580	1,282,742
2016	77,601	122,304	281,687										481,592
Total													1,764,334

2.4 MW (2 MW AC) fixed tilt Chester Solar Farm generation (kWh)[8]

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December	Total
2014												57,759	57,759
2015	42,315	16,759	209,274	264,691	240,143	283,030	325,057	321,341	280,149	230,717	175,196	83,384	2,472,056
2016	123,410	148,742	253,174										525,326
Total													3,055,141

2.2 MW dual axis tracking Claire Solar Farm generation (kWh)[8]

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December	Total
2014											130,850	103,416	234,266
2015	152,048	165,820	332,192	366,615	446,376	418,882	455,352	414,911	367,641	251,605	194,385	78,083	3,643,910
2016	147,394	170,433	309,100										626,927
Total													4,505,103

2 MW (AC) fixed tilt Clarendon Solar Project generation (kWh)[8]

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December	Total
2014							301,303	335,058	306,499	178,405	122,241	83,373	1,326,879
2015	96,300	97,945	270,681	278,804	354,004	328,733	361,781	359,061	323,554	240,268	197,673	104,831	3,013,635
2016	149,878	143,090	266,066										559,034
Total													4,899,548

2 MW (AC) fixed tilt Coventry Solar Project generation (kWh)[8]

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December	Total
2014									330,116	202,364	89,553	60,542	682,575
2015	72,032	4,848	178,931	317,191	387,374	359,905	392,978	366,215	350,035	248,943	155,426	71,027	2,904,905
2016	84,779	140,603	266,066										491,448
Total													4,078,928

1 MW fixed tilt Ferrisburgh generation (kWh)[8][35]

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December	Total
2010												25,234	25,234
2011	33,369	56,396	134,873	115,728	126,312	141,528	168,590	136,755	127,040	89,381	75,377	64,207	1,269,556
2012	54,200	99,123	124,243	141,875	149,987	159,116	172,179	157,429	125,141	76,049	81,109	38,388	1,378,839
2013	49,832	71,062	103,822	142,788	155,750	133,042	151,457	151,357	138,927	94,205	81,126	25,208	1,298,576
2014	62,535	80,093	122,697	135,764	144,689	149,194	155,393	150,523	140,847	84,005	63,143	47,421	1,336,304
2015	67,304	57,224	129,006	138,137	164,962	147,367	164,337	160,370	142,472	110,303	80,006	40,178	1,401,666
2016	56,057	74,093	116,415										246,565
Total													6,956,740

2.96 MW fixed tilt Limerick Road Solar Farm generation (kWh)[8]

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December	Total
2014		143,283	302,752	349,450	408,968	415,763	417,116	400,982	367,301	206,457	129,759	104,784	3,246,615
2015	173,705	89,761	344,700	356,793	423,377	402,312	431,826	399,128	369,191	265,299	188,618	98,782	3,543,492
2016	157,178	142,184	314,958										614,320
Total													7,404,427

2.2 MW (AC) fixed tilt Sheldon Springs Solar generation (kWh)[8]

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December	Total
2013										163,563	106,354	46,225	316,142
2014	96,439	177,357	252,833	282,338	247,703	327,458	307,030	297,535	289,377	170,249	110,910	74,394	2,633,623
2015	68,947	106,711	281,187	279,562	340,301	331,230	347,405	349,903	309,172	215,892	139,514	58,729	2,828,553
2016	86,921	111,006	266,421										464,348
Total													6,242,666

2.130 MW dual axis tracking South Burlington Solar Farm generation (kWh)[8]

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December	Total
2011						244,684	446,839	355,547	298,142	200,576	163,960	121,541	1,831,289
2012	88,165	223,306	311,089	327,782	376,112	427,720	470,300	398,723	342,073	177,785	171,268	73,913	3,388,236
2013	110,132	158,350	259,135	323,186	398,593	342,079	398,939	384,244	311,970	213,894	154,758	65,348	3,120,628
2014	148,701	212,791	282,233	314,116	379,219	422,849	400,390	360,539	325,255	173,608	120,763	87,096	3,227,560
2015	144,288	188,949	322,022	335,103	404,573	376,422	421,317	378,240	331,775	227,702	173,307	69,819	3,373,517
2016	136,367	155,539	292,557										584,463
Total													15,525,693

2.2 MW fixed tilt Southern Vermont Energy Park solar generation (kWh)[8]

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December	Total
2012												84,161	84,161
2013	159,783	173,281	227,341	304,241	323,422	297,834	319,004	296,161	306,550	221,959	189,433	76,128	2,895,137
2014	157,092	152,204	265,162	248,732	294,583	290,899	338,331	315,905	311,017	170,226	122,108	78,523	2,744,782
2015	131,006	182,363	272,022	253,885	334,770	307,140	355,227	364,144	322,860	244,182	198,686	101,695	3,067,980
2016	166,388	195,836	298,828										661,052
Total													9,453,112

2.130 MW dual axis tracking St Albans Solar Farm generation (kWh)[8]

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December	Total
2013											76,225	43,347	119,572
2014	78,820	95,318	247,998	298,935	367,216	391,940	386,239	363,182	315,772	179,754	101,528	52,788	2,879,490
2015	48,378	15,652	295,229	314,182	384,267	373,847	391,216	386,599	339,096	223,144	119,906	45,598	2,937,114
2016	73,767	82,744	283,832										440,343
Total													6,376,519

2.2 MW fixed tilt SunGen Sharon generation (kWh)[8]

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December	Total
2012								291,536	251,252	141,742	146,717	59,795	891,042
2013	81,010	103,008	208,807	257,346	288,636	281,957	304,840	309,871	354,830	173,428	157,957	44,817	2,566,507
2014	119,447	106,083	208,960	337,259	336,858	368,353	375,237	341,780	293,615	179,531	106,704	51,449	2,825,276
2015	95,989	54,009	260,840	296,375	360,884	349,691	382,944	364,598	293,377	224,871	184,715	88,653	2,956,946
2016	112,867	149,618	260,544										523,029
Total													9,762,800

2.2 MW (AC) fixed tilt Technology Drive Solar generation (kWh)[8]

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December	Total
2014									73,650	181,716	126,734	95,293	477,393
2015	26,577	3,826	254,844	296,799	403,213	339,704	375,881	360,579	304,769	233,311	162,018	76,542	2,838,063
2016	145,346	174,998	303,787										624,131
Total													3,939,587

3.6 MW fixed tilt Whitcomb Farm Solar generation (kWh)[36][8]

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December	Total
2014										17,657	131,350	90,146	239,153
2015	84,114	65,460	371,751	409,124	446,622	459,223	506,489	473,532	419,565	299,021	211,618	89,414	3,835,933
2016	94,938	158,824	350,141										603,903
Total													4,678,989

2.166 MW (AC) fixed tilt White River Junction Solar Farm generation (kWh)[8]

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December	Total
2012										79,857	198,037	93,176	371,070
2013	117,776	172,621	263,185	349,969	366,581	335,279	356,356	368,425	326,301	227,760	192,711	66,500	3,143,464
2014	171,235	175,112	281,547	344,922	342,107	377,409	373,716	363,257	319,198	205,203	144,504	99,129	3,197,339
2015	158,081	123,034	317,280	316,782	397,837	349,473	377,662	370,192	328,015	256,058	219,090	100,342	3,313,846
2016	169,381	208,070	296,739										674,190
Total													10,699,909

2.0 MW Williamstown Solar Project generation (kWh)[8]

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December	Total
2012												43,159	43,159
2013	46,254	28,541	195,539	283,670	340,484	286,397	331,462	350,358	310,678	216,175	127,224	44,522	2,561,304
2014	80,023	49,408	168,005	290,858	236,033	289,530	307,128	315,700	292,625	181,512	88,252	43,952	2,343,026
2015	21,296	1,791	217,432	271,501	358,738	296,162	368,317	346,472	322,967	240,280	162,739	87,279	2,694,974
2016	67,449	114,092	258,083										439,624
Total													8,082,087

See also

• Wind power in Vermont
• Solar power in the United States
• Renewable energy in the United States

References

1. "Solar Spotlight - Vermont" (PDF). www.seia.org. June 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
2. Witkin, Jim (2009-10-30). "Report Argues for a Decentralized System of Renewable Power Generation". Green Blog.
3. "Guide to Vermont Home Solar Incentives, Rebates, and Tax Credits". Solar Power Rocks.
4. Vermont Net Metering Archived 2012-05-10 at the Wayback Machine
5. Freeing the grid Archived 2012-06-16 at the Wayback Machine
6. Standard Offer Program Archived 2012-07-27 at the Wayback Machine
7. Standard Offer for Qualifying SPEED Resources Archived 2012-05-27 at the Wayback Machine
8. Monthly Production Archived 2012-07-27 at the Wayback Machine
9. "Talmage Solar Engineering, Inc. Unveils Largest Smart Array in North America". Business Wire. 2012-07-31.
10. Griset, Todd (2011-07-28). "Vermont's largest solar array compared to California's". Energy Policy Update.
11. "Site #316 Production Report | AllEarth Renewables Energy Production Report". www.allearthrenewables.com.
12. Military Invests in Solar at Vermont National Guard Base Archived 2012-07-26 at the Wayback Machine
13. Ferrisburgh Solar Farm
14. "Williamstown solar array to be among state's biggest". Rutland Herald. 2012-07-31. Archived from the original on 2013-04-11.
15. Polhamus, Mike (2015-12-06). "20-megawatt solar project needed, developers' report says". VTDigger.
16. "PV Watts". NREL. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
17. Sherwood, Larry (August 2012). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2011" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
18. Sherwood, Larry (June 2011). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2010" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Retrieved 2011-06-29.
19. Sherwood, Larry (July 2010). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2009" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-09-25. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
20. Sherwood, Larry (July 2009). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2008" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-11-23. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
21. Sherwood, Larry (August 2008). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2007" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Retrieved 2010-07-24.
22. US Solar Market Insight Report Archived 2012-04-18 at the Wayback Machine
23. Sherwood, Larry (July 2009). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2008" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-11-23. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
24. Sherwood, Larry (July 2012). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2012" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). p. 16. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
25. Sherwood, Larry (July 2014). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2013" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Retrieved 2014-09-26.
26. Vermont Solar
27. "Electric Power Annual State Data" 1990-2017 Existing Name Plate and Summer Capacity by Energy Source and State retrieved 2019-3-17
28. "Electric Power Monthly Data Browser" Table 1.17B retrieved 2019-3-15
29. "Electric Power Monthly Data Browser " Report 1.14 retrieved 2017-6-17
30. "Electric Power Monthly Data Browser " Report 1.13 retrieved 2019-3-17
31. "Electric Power Monthly Data Browser " Report 1.6 retrieved 2019-3-17
32. "Electric Power Annual" retrieved 2017 6 17
33. "Electric Power Monthly" |title=Electric Power Monthly (February 2018 with data for December 2017) - Table 1.17.B. Net Generation from Solar Photovoltaic retrieved 2018 5 29
34. "Electric Power Monthly" |title=Electric Power Monthly (February 2018 with data for December 2017) - Table 6.2.B. Net Capacity from Solar Photovoltaic retrieved 2018 7 27
35. Ferrisburgh Solar Farm Archived 2016-06-03 at the Wayback Machine
36. "Vermont's largest solar array installed in Essex Jct | Vermont Business Magazine". www.vermontbiz.com. 2015-01-25.

External links

• Incentives and policies