What is “Utility-Scale” Solar?
Solar technology has existed for decades. As solar technology has improved and its costs have declined, it has proliferated across the United States (and globally) in the last 5-10 years.
There are three major applications for solar technology as an electricity generating resource:
Residential: Solar panels installed on the roof of residential structures to provide direct displacement of electricity consumption at that residence.
Commercial: Solar panels installed on the roof or nearby land parcels of commercial and industrial buildings to provide direct displacement of electricity consumption for business operations.
Utility-Scale: Solar panels installed in rows on suitable land sites to provide power in large volumes to serve transmission-level energy supply distributed by utilities. Transmission operators and distribution utilities integrate electricity generated by utility-scale solar facilities into their broader generation mix of resources to serve load.
See SEIA’s resources for more information on utility-scale solar and siting.