Sep 8, 2021
Solar construction is set to surge in Ohio as cost savings and surging corporate demand for green power accelerate coal plant closures, piling further pressure on interconnection resources at grid operator PJM.
Solar will soon become an important power source in Ohio as giant plants are brought online. (Image credit: REUTERS/ Regis Duvignau)
A flurry of siting approvals in Ohio this summer highlights the rapid growth in solar across the Midwest and PJM market areas.
Rapid falls in solar costs in recent years and rising demand from corporate customers and utilities have opened up new development opportunities. The Ohio Power Siting Board recently approved the construction of EDF’s giant 577 MW Fox Squirrel Solar and Avangrid’s 150 Powell Creek Solar projects. Other projects include Acciona’s 325 MW Union Solar project, Innergex’s recently-completed 200 MW Hillcrest plant and its proposed 200 MW Palomino facility.
Ohio gets most of its power from gas, coal and nuclear plants but there is now “significant demand” for long-term renewable energy power purchase agreements (PPAs), David Little, Managing Director, US at developer Innergex Renewables, said.
“We see many different types of large-scale energy buyers, including retail businesses, warehouses and distribution centres, and data centers,” Little added. “These buyers have corporate sustainability goals and are seeking to procure renewable energy to achieve them.”
Ohio had around 500 MW of installed solar capacity at the start of 2021 and is forecast to install 3 GW of capacity over the next five years, according to the US Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA).
Based on current market activity, growth could be even higher. Some 4 GW of solar projects in Ohio applied for grid connection in April-September 2020 alone, PJM figures show.
A growing number of coal plant operators are closing their facilities due to falling renewable energy costs and tightening environmental regulations, opening the door for more solar and wind capacity.
As growth surges, developers will need to mitigate growing interconnection challenges that are hampering projects across the regional PJM network.
Local support
US solar developers installed around 5 GW of capacity in the first three months of 2021, a record for the first quarter and 46% higher than the same period in 2020, according to the latest U.S. Solar Market Insight report from the SEIA and Wood Mackenzie.
The economic rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic has hiked the cost of some solar components but experts predict costs will continue to fall over the long term on technology advancements and improved layouts and installation practices.