Somewhere between the massive strength of utility grade solar and the small scale chic of personal, home solar there is perhaps yet another solution: brownfield solar.
What’s intriguing about brownfield solar is that it leverages land that would otherwise cost too much to clean-up. And, unlike utility grade solar, it uses PV panels. This combination, less expensive solar materials paired with vacant land in an urban setting, seems like a solution that brings long-standing issues into alignment.Today I reviewed two PV systems of comparable size, but that are on opposite coasts of the country. The first is the Sunpower installation at the Microsoft campus in Silicon Valley (not a brownfield project, but useful for comparison of scale). The second is the Brightfield project in Brockton, Massachusetts. It appears each is going to generate a similar level of revenue (or savings) annually. And that payback will take at least 10 years, depending on the future price of electricity.
I maintain the projections of the future price of electricity are actually far too low. Many solar systems are currently projected to pay for themselves after 15~ years, but may wind up as cash cows after just 10 years. For example, what if average national rates for electricity, currently around .12 cents per kWh before delivery charges, go up 7 times by 2020? How about 10 times? After all, the entire economy will be much more electrified by then as the migration away from the automobile accelerates. Owning a large array PV system paid for in today’s dollars may turn out to be a quite the asset in 2020. Coal will be much more expensive by then, either through scarcity or carbon taxation or both. Natural gas and hydro-powered power generation will also cost more. Alot more. And demand will be enormous.
Todays dollars investing in tomorrow's energy? Clever.
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