from Jeff in West Bend, WI :
#205
Why don't utilities install photovoltaic systems on private customers' buildings to reduce power plant and transmission line needs?
This is the trend in other parts of the US, but not in Wisconsin.
The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin recently convened a group of stakeholders to investigate the technical and financial feasibility of utilities owning solar electric systems on their customer's rooftops as well as other utility ownership models (as part of a docket 5 EI 147). Their report should be out by early 2010.
This trend is already underway in parts of the US such as California, but Wisconsin's solar resource is not as good and our electrical rates are lower. If solar electric system prices fall and electric rates increase, expect to see more solar electric systems as all types of ownership become financially rewarding.