February 19, 2006

TIME TO MAKE HAY:

Supply hurts solar energy's day in the sun (TARA GODVIN, 2/19/06, Chicago Sun-Times)

The problem is that while demand for solar panels is increasing, the ability to meet that demand hasn't caught up, said Reed, president of the Hawaii Solar Energy Association.

The pressure could soon become even tougher in Hawaii as state politicians push for bigger incentives for residents to install the panels. Gov. Linda Lingle has proposed boosting the caps on credits for single family homes from the current $1,750 to $10,000. The caps for businesses would double to $500,000.

With a growth rate of almost 40 percent per year in the past five years, the solar panel industry is today worth $15 billion globally, said Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association.

And the United States is starting to catch on.


We need to lead, not follow.

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 19, 2006 5:17 PM
Comments

If we really want to lead, we should go orbital. Guarantee that the feds will buy 10 years of power at twice current rates for any power downloaded in to the grid and then stand back.

Posted by: Annoying Old Guy at February 19, 2006 5:22 PM

Following works for me, though admittedly it's not as good as standing still.

Posted by: David Cohen at February 19, 2006 5:51 PM

So the solar industry is worth $15 billion worldwide, huh? What was Exxon's profit last quarter again?

Posted by: b at February 19, 2006 5:57 PM

b:

Exactly. There's that much room for growth.

Posted by: oj at February 19, 2006 6:01 PM

Nuclear power plants would be a better investment. That said, solar does make some sense in areas where solar eclectic supply and demand intersect, eg, Las Vegas in July.

Posted by: Mike Beversluis at February 19, 2006 7:32 PM

David, what is your reasoning for discouraging the support of all attempts to reduce energy dependence, regardless of the technology?

For the USA to do so will probably entail false starts among a mix of technologies and many of those successful may prove obsolete as more effecient methods emerge. Government support/money/incentives are a given ... it will cost us. But what's new? We've lived with government subsidies/incentives since before the founding. That's how we get things done to this very day.

It's bad enough that leftwing environmentalists, worldwide, attack us for our "gluttony" while at the same time blocking or criticizing every attempt we make to resolve the problem. We're never going to get anything going on this unless we learn to put aside the obstructionists. Let's hope that conservatives aren't among them.

Posted by: Genecis at February 20, 2006 1:09 PM

"Energy dependence?" I thought this was about oooiiiillll.

I'm not interested in discouraging substitution for oil -- I'm all for it. I am against waste, fairy tales and betting our future on free lunches.

As I've said 100 times (really, I've counted) when we're serious about energy independence, we'll start building nuclear plants.

Posted by: David Cohen at February 21, 2006 9:19 PM
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