Big Solar and Little Solar Engaged in Turf Wars

So it goes – in every industry, the little guys will battle the big guys. In this case, it’s the many small solar companies that are fighting power giant Southern California Edison, who plan to install 250 megawatts’ worth of solar panels on the roofs of warehouses. The pros of Edison’s plan are that it would lower the cost of photovoltaic power, expand the market and transform currently unused space exposed to plenty of sun throughout the day into mini power plants.

The lone con is a big one – solar companies, trade groups and consumer advocates are afraid that allowing a large utility company to own and operate such “massive green megawattage” will crowd out competitors.

From Green Wombat:

There’s no doubt the program will be a boon for solar module makers. For instance, thin-film solar cell company First Solar (FSLR) is supplying 33,000 panels for the program’s first project, a 600,000-square-foot roof array in the inland city of Fontana. However, Southern California Edison intends to contract for union labor to install the solar systems and tap its own capital and a rate hike to finance the project. That won’t leave many opportunities for solar installers and financiers like SunPower (SPWR), SunEdison and MMA Renewable Ventures (MMA).

“Even though this program is kind of taking bread out of our own mouth, the demand for solar will keep going up,” says Mark McLanahan, senior vice president of corporate development at MMA Renewable Ventures, a San Francisco firm that finances commercial solar arrays.

“What they have announced is extremely visionary,” McLanahan tells Green Wombat. “It’s game changing and opens up whole new realms of what solar can do. That’s exciting.” On the other hand, he says, “It’s certainly possible that a young, growing industry that is pretty fragmented could be hurt by this rather than helped.”

It seems that Edison’s program will be funded by a hefty rate hike. Some solar industry critics have suggested opening up the program to competitive bidding, not just for the procurement of solar panels. Of course, Edison’s not crazy about that idea, saying it would work against the economies of scale it says it can bring to the program.

Tough situation, and we’ll undoubtedly see a lot more of this sort of thing as our country starts making what could be a somewhat arduous transition to new energy sources.

Link [Green Wombat] via [The Huffington Post]
Photo credit: Flickr user clownfish

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