UPDATE - Nautilus eyes US solar “surge” after Clean Power Plan

Nautilus Solar Energy expects a surge on the US solar market over the next couple of years thanks to the newly released Clean Power Plan, president Laura Stern told SeeNews Renewables.

The plan, presented Monday, includes emission reduction targets for each state and calls for 30% more renewable energy by 2030. It provides states with additional incentives for early implementation of solar, so Nautilus expects the sector to keep growing.

Stern said it will be interesting to see to what extent solar initiatives at the state level move in to mitigate any reduction of the investment tax credit (ITC). “In markets with market-based incentives that rapidly adjust for low supply relative to the demand created by the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), any reduction of the ITC will have less of an effect,” she commented.

The US solar industry is not giving up its fight to extend the 30% ITC rate for as long as possible.

In response to increased market demand for asset management services for US solar, in July Nautilus Solar teamed up with domestic PV plants installer Swinerton Renewable Energy to jointly provide fully integrated third-party asset management for utility-scale solar plants. This cooperation was a “natural evolution” of their long-standing relationship.

“The management of projects, from both a physical and financial perspective, has often been an afterthought; but as the installed capacity of solar grows, both project owners and other financial stakeholders see the need to optimize their investment,” Stern said, adding that the projects with lower levels of federal or state tax incentives will be more sensitive to production variances.

Nautilus Solar develops, builds, finances and operates large-scale and distributed PV parks mainly in the US and Canada.

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