A report in Dow Jones Newswires says that the Solar Energy Industries Association is hoping to convince lawmakers to accept a proposal where 20 percent of renewable energy mandates would be set aside for distributed solar power generation.
Distributed generation is part of an emerging trend where instead of developing large, utility scale power plants, companies instead take advantage of existing structures to install things like solar roof arrays and "solar trees" in parking lots. This can reduce the cost of solar power over time because it cuts down on the need for things like long transmission lines and new structures.
"I think distributed generation is going to take off much faster than people think," John Berger of Standard Renewable Energy told Dow Jones.
With the continued growth of solar energy, the question of distributed generation as opposed to utility-scale projects is likely to only grow. For example, a recent Las Vegas Sun report described some of the issues state lawmakers are confronting as they work out their own solar energy policies.
