The Gartner/SEPA survey found that utilities viewed PV as one of the leading technologies for near-term renewable energy.
Respondents to the survey also indicated that they viewed onshore wind and biomass as the other key near-term renewable energy sources.
“PV solar systems are a cost-effective means of adding distributed and central generation sources,” research director at Gartner Alfonso Velosa said.
“System costs have decreased by over 30 percent since 2008. This has lowered the cost of electricity from these systems and improved their competitiveness relative to other renewable energy sources.
“PV systems are attractive to many organisations and individuals as they can be designed relatively easily, in a wide range of sizes and to fit in many different locations.”
Gartner and SEPA surveyed utilities in Germany, Spain, Italy, France and the US to understand their requirements and objectives for integrating PV solar systems into their energy generation portfolios.
Utilities in Germany have taken the lead in the use of PV resources, the survey found, with 75 percent of the German utilities surveyed currently using PV as part of their energy resource portfolio.
“An additional 15 percent of German utilities are considering adding PV to their portfolio within five years. To a large extent, this reflects a decade-long effort by the German government to support renewable energy,” Gartner and SEPA said in a statement.
The survey found that 44 percent of US utilities surveyed indicated they had PV solar energy resources, with 33 percent considering PV solar power generation for use within five years.
“Renewable energy requirements and government requirements are the top two global factors behind the utilities' decisions to integrate PV supply into their energy portfolios,” Gartner and SEPA said.
“This is due to the higher costs of PV energy relative to retail and wholesale electricity prices, and, more importantly, the prevalence of various procurement and incentive requirements in different countries.”
Source: Gartner,Inc
