Widespread changes within the electricity sector, in particular the effects of deregulation, are forcing many utilities and IPPs to rethink how they operate. For those who can meet the challenges of the changing market, the new business opportunities are great. But what exactly are the utilities doing to satisfy their customers and how does PV figure in their plans?

Andrew M. Vesey, of NY Power Company, Niagara Mohawk, and Chairman of the US Utility Photovoltaic Group (UPVG) set out the terms in his presentation to the Sun Valley Conference. Mr Vesey was speaking from US perspective, but his message holds true for the majority of power supply organizations around the world: the industry is experiencing a transformation, and those companies that hope to retain, let alone expand, their customer based had better move with the times.

New power generation technologies, couple to increasing competition and changing consumer wants and directing suppliers away from the traditional, least-cost, fossil-fuelled central generating option. Today's customers are looking for more from their utility than merely being able to supply the power they need. Environmental concerns, for instance, are making end-users consider less-polluting supply alternatives, even though the cost/kWh may be higher than they currently enjoy. PV systems offer utilities the versatility that they need to meet modern consumer demands. As a result, PV is moving into the mainstream of power supply options, and ever-increasing numbers of utilities are now including PV in their portfolio. As Mr Vesey stressed, the situation is very much that for utilities to continue to be successful, they will have to be able to predict exactly what their customers will be looking for in the future, and they will need to ensure that they have access to the appropriate skills to serve the new market. Only then will they be able to assess the best way of realizing the profits. As it is unlikely that any one company would have all the necessary capabilities, to achieve this, it seems reasonable that partnerships between utilities, technology R&D organizations, manufacturers, suppliers, etc. will become increasingly prevalent.

In the USA, there is perhaps a more coordinated approach to PV integration into utilities new business development programmes than in other parts of the world. There are an increasing number of joint-venture partnerships developing across the country, largely facilitated by the UPVG though its TEAM-UP programme. Technical Experiences to Accelerate Markets in Utility Photovoltaics (TEAM-UP) is a six year, USD 509 million programme that is serving to draw attention to the innovative options for utility photovoltaics. Albeit on a limited scale, the initiative has all the right ingredients to be a success; the backing of, and interaction between forward thinking utilities and the PV industry, together with support and direction from the national government. In the 1995-1996 round of contracts, thirteen projects will be supported (see Table.).

Although Europe and the Pacific Rim currently lack the central utility coordination that the USA enjoys, there is nonetheless a favourable political regard for PV, and considerable interest among individual utilities. As Roberto Vigotti, Head of Renewable Energy for the Italian Utility ENEL and Chairman of the IEA  PVPS Implementing Agreement, attested, although remote installations are currently the most cost-effective application for PV in Europe and the industralized far-east, the medium-term focus is largely on incorporating photovoltaics in existing structures. Grid-coverage is extensive in these regions, and available land for PV-specific projects is scarce. For utilities, the sensible option is widely seen to be grid-connected building integrated PV, or other low land-impact grid-connections using, for instance, motorway sound barriers or railway embankments.

Several countries - notably Japan, Germany and Switzerland - have local or central government programmes of support for grid-connected building photovoltaics. There is also growing support for rate-based incentives to encourage consumers to accept the new technology. Thomas Nordmann of TNC Consulting in Switzerland related the success of one such rate-based scheme in the Swiss town of Burgdorf. The local utility has applied a levy of 1% to electricity bills to create a fund, which is used to buy back PV generated power at preferential rates. The town has effectively installed 10 Wp of PV for each of its 15 000 inhabitants, which is more than fifty times the European average. C.J. Schroot of the Netherlands utility REMU informed the Sun Valley conference that the Dutch, encouraged by such success stories, have recently given the go ahead for s similar incentive programme of their own. REMU, which has already realized the installation of 150 kWp on rental houses in the town of Amersfoort, recently gave the green light for a further 1 MWp to be installed in 1997. The project, which will be partly funded by the national government, will be the worlds largest residential PV project to date.

Privatization and deregulation is also transforming the power supply sector in South America as Osvaldo Perreira of CEPEL in Brazil explained. 25-30 million people in Brazil are as yet unelectrified, man in the rural Amazon regions. A national target has been set to install 50 MWp of solar power by 2005 and a plan of action, which includes the creation of incentives for IPPs using renewables, has been drawn up to enable the target to be reached. The use of renewables, particularly for rural electrification is intended to reduce migration to the population centres by equalizing energy and income distributions, improving education and health standards and improving the potential for income and job creation in the country's more remote areas.

Table 1. Utility Photovoltaic Group 'Team-Up' supported projects - 1995/96

Project application	Contractor	Size kWp
Solar farm	Amoco/Enron	5 000
Concentrator system	Entech	2 400
230 systems: rooftops, building integration and grid-support	Alliance for the sun (covering nine utility service areas across USA	1 400
100 systems: rooftops, building integration and grid-support	Ascension Technology (covering eight utility service areas across USA	324
Various installation	New World Power Corp.	250
Grid support, parking structures and concentrator systems	Arizona Public Service (with Nevada Power/Central & South West Services	247
Grid support	Empire Electric Association	126
Stand power enhancement & delivery systems	Niagara Mohawk Power	100
3-5 kWp residential grid-connected systems	Utilicorp. United / Nevada Power	80
Museum installations as interactive educational exhibits	Sea Corp. / Duke Power	25
Rooftop and battery storage	National Environment Inc. / Arkansas Power and Light	20,5
Rooftop systems	Hawaii Electric Light Company	15
'Green' power pool (supported by voluntary green pricing	Gainesville Regional Utilities	10