July 29, 2010
An anecdote, to start with…
A colleague, on a recent visit to Washington DC, found himself in conversation with a recently retired, well-known and -respected U.S. senator. He took the opportunity to ask him what it would take for a congressman to vote for an issue that he knew in his heart was right for the country and the planet, irrespective of partisan attachments and personal considerations. The retired senator (whom, in order not to betray a trust, we will not name, but who is known as a strong supporter of energy independence) replied that only when the congressman no longer needed an influx of money, e.g., after he had decided not to run for office again, might this happen. Until then he would always vote in accordance with his source of funding, working hard to produce whatever arguments were needed to justify his vote.
Lamentably, the above is probably not particularly surprising to readers. The pernicious influence of ‘big money’ in politics (one would say ‘campaigns’ except that campaigns seem to be a permanent condition of politics today) is well known, but it’s sobering to hear a veteran legislator sympathetic to renewable energy confirm, in effect, that until our industry can throw money at his former colleagues with as much abandon as does the fossil fuel industry, then that latter industry can absolutely count on congressional votes in its favor. What works for the country, what is needed for the health of the planet, what can revitalize American jobs and create new industries here will always lose out to the demands of the campaign chest.
Unless… (more…)
July 29, 2010
Around the world, there are more and more indicators to be seen of the dramatic effect of government policy on solar power development. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, since the whole purpose of policy is to further the political philosophy of government; what’s surprising and unsettling to Americans is the extent to which policy in other countries is driving unprecedented levels of renewable energy deployment, while theirs is mired in minimizing the number of interest groups it offends.
Where Policy Works
Italy, for example, is another country that has adopted a policy of feed-in tariffs to drive solar PV growth, along with Germany, Spain, France, the UK, and many others. According to renewable energy industry analyst Paul Gipe, Italy’s previous policy of tradable green certificates had been found to be ineffective, and the switch was made in February 2007. By the end of that year, the country had installed five times more solar PV than in the previous year, and in 2009 installed more than the entire U.S. By the end of the first quarter of 2010, Italy’s total installed PV capacity exceeded that of the U.S., putting the country second only to Germany in the world for PV market size. (more…)
July 29, 2010
How much of our need for power could we actually satisfy with renewable energy in America?
Today, renewables account for less than 10% of our electricity supply, most of that in the form of large-scale hydro; (check out the National Academies web site here). But many studies have been done in recent years, either on specific technologies or renewables in general, to indicate how much they could contribute to our energy demand. Scott Sklar of the Stella Group has assembled and interpreted some of these studies, and the menu of potential clean energy contributions is very impressive. We would be more impressed if a side order of political will were available to actually bring these solutions to the table. Absent that, what you see below may just be an a la carte listing of missed opportunities.
We hope that’s not the case.
Energy Self-Reliant States
“All 36 states with either renewable energy goals or renewable energy mandates could meet them by relying on in-state renewable fuels. 64% could be self-sufficient in electricity from in-state renewables; another 14% could generate 75% of their electricity from homegrown fuels. Indeed, the nation may be able to achieve a significant degree of energy independence by harnessing the most decentralized of all renewable resources: solar energy. More than 40 states plus the District of Columbia could generate 25% of their electricity just with rooftop PV. In fact, these data may be conservative. The report does not, for example, estimate the potential for ground photovoltaic arrays – although it does estimate the amount of land needed in each state to be self-sufficient relying on solar – even though common sense suggests that this should dwarf the rooftop potential….. It is at the local level that new technologies like smart grids, electric vehicles, distributed storage, and rooftop solar will have their major impact.”
from Energy Self-Reliant States
published by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance
October 2009, updated May 2010
(more…)
July 29, 2010
“When it’s cheaper.” “When it’s cheaper.” “When it’s cheaper.”
That’s a familiar and understandable refrain heard from people debating the best time to go ahead with solar power. But cheaper than what? Right now it would be cheaper than new nuclear, at least in North Carolina, according to a report co-authored and issued this month by the former chancellor of Duke University, Dr. John Blackburn.
The Historic Crossover
The report, Solar and Nuclear Costs - The Historic Crossover, was commissioned by North Carolina Waste Awareness and Reduction Network (NC WARN) to highlight the changing economic underpinnings of both solar and nuclear power. The report’s major finding was that electricity from new solar installations in North Carolina is now cheaper than the electricity that would come from proposed new nuclear plants there. It also found that the continuing downward trend of solar prices will widen the price gap dramatically as time progresses. (more…)
