Renewable energy sources account for a little more than 2 percent of electricity production, but a very small percentage comes from solar power, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Regulators and solar industry officials met last week at the Public Service Commission?s Solar Technical Conference to discuss how Maryland will reach renewable energy goals set in legislation passed in April. The state hopes to produce 2 percent of its electricity from the sun by 2022.
Maryland has taken an aggressive approach to solar power, with its plan ranking in the top five in the nation, said Chris Cook, senior vice president of regulatory affairs for Beltsville-based SunEdison, which develops solar energy products.
“The key is the state is really working to reduce the cost of solar power,” Cook said.
The issue with solar power for homeowners and small businesses continues to be the cost. The average cost for a home solar panel system is about $40,000, according to solar power advocacy groups.
“You start with a really big cost, but as the volume grows, the cost comes down,” Cook said.
Greg Chamish, president of Baltimore-based American Solar Energy Corp., said solar power purchases vary from customer to customer. The systems cut energy bills by 50 to 75 percent per year, and the savings help customers recoup the cost of the system in five to seven years, Chamish said.
“Since deregulation, the energy companies are basically able to do whatever they like,” Chamish said. “No one has any other place to go.”
Energy providers like Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. are now paying consumers for the excess their panels produce through a process called “net-metering,” Chamish said.
“Instead of having to rely on these energy companies, you can actually be an energy producer,” Chamish said.
To help offset the cost of a system, Maryland has previously promoted solar power with grants of up to $3,000, while federal tax credits can cover an additional $2,000, Chamish said.
“It?s a growing industry, and there?s a lot of potential,” Chamish said.
With energy costs rising steadily, Gov. Martin O?Malleyin July hosted a state energy summit and set a goal to reduce the amount of energy used per person during the next eight years by 15 percent. The reduction would save rate payers $1.8 billion during that period, according to state projections.
