US Solar Poised for $100bn Growth Surge

[one...two...tree 2,762]

by Todd Woody

The United States is on the verge of a solar boom that could provide 4.3 percent of the nation's electricity by 2020, according to a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. There's just a 12-figure catch: Investors need to put $100 billion into the solar industry to keep the generation of solar electricity growing by 42 percent a year for the next decade to expand capacity from the current 1.4 gigawatts to 44 gigawatts.

"Policy measures such as tax credits, capital expenditure grants, generation incentives and renewable electricity credits will remain a key driver of solar uptake in the U.S. for at least the next three years," according to the report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance, a research and consulting firm. "The current drop in solar costs is taking place just as such policies are being implemented by the federal and various state governments, which is expected to lead to rapid growth in commercial, utility and residential solar power."

Over the past two years, solar module prices have plunged by 50 percent as low-cost Chinese manufacturers expanded production and entered the U.S. market.

"Policy, rather than sunshine, will remain the U.S.'s greatest solar resource for the next few years," Milo Sjardin, Bloomberg New Energy Finance's head of U.S. research, said in a statement. "By the middle of this decade, however, the U.S. retail solar market will be driven by fundamental, unsubsidized competition, which should transform the U.S. into one of the world's most dynamic solar markets."

Exhibit A for such a phenomenon is Germany. With about as much sunshine as Maine, the European nation became the world's solar stronghold through policies that rewarded homeowners, businesses, and farmers for generating their own electricity.

Such policies are needed in the U.S., according to the report, given that solar electricity remains four times as expensive to generate than coal-fired power.

Of course, the failure of Congress to pass national climate change legislation and the current attempt to kill California's global warming law shows that progress on green energy issues is not guaranteed in the U.S. And Congress' habit of offering short-lived tax incentives for renewable energy and then dithering about extending them when they expire has played havoc with the industry and investors.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicts photovoltaic panels will account for 30 gigawatts of the 44 gigawatts of solar electricity generation by 2020, with 14 gigawatts coming from solar thermal power plants. Solar thermal farms deploy huge arrays of mirrors to heat liquids to create steam that drives electricity-generating turbines.

That might be a conservative estimate, if the California and federal officials' rush to green light big solar projects in recent weeks is any indication. On Monday, for instance, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar approved a 1,000-megawatt solar thermal power plant to be built in the Southern California desert.

By year's end, nearly four gigawatts of solar thermal projects are expected to be licensed. Just 10 gigawatts to go until 2020.

http://www.grist.org...u.s.-solar-boom

[Ban Hammer 13,470]

and it's still not a base load generator. what's going to happen at night or during peak hours, steven?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

and it's still not a base load generator. what's going to happen at night or during peak hours, steven?

Say what? Do you realize there are homes that currently run on entirely on solar? Their homes produce enough electricity that they actually sell back the excess during the day, offsetting the cost during the night. But if you want to go totally off the grid, Charles, I'd recommend a system that can store your extra daylight energy into cell batteries.

.....................

Storage Batteries : the fuel tank of your solar power system Without batteries to store energy you would only have power when the sun was shining or the generator was running. This tutorial describes the 4 basic types of batteries & provides some good tips on the care & feeding of your batteries to maximize their performance and life.

http://www.freesunpo...m/batteries.php

[JohnSmith2007 353]

Say what? Do you realize there are homes that currently run on entirely on solar? Their homes produce enough electricity that they actually sell back the excess during the day, offsetting the cost during the night. But if you want to go totally off the grid, Charles, I'd recommend a system that can store your extra daylight energy into cell batteries.

.....................

Storage Batteries : the fuel tank of your solar power system Without batteries to store energy you would only have power when the sun was shining or the generator was running. This tutorial describes the 4 basic types of batteries & provides some good tips on the care & feeding of your batteries to maximize their performance and life.

http://www.freesunpo...m/batteries.php

I wonder, how much energy does it take to make those batteries? If this were to go large scale what would the impact on our enviroment be for the mining of lead and manufacture of those batteries? How often do these batteries need to be replaced? What does that cost? Are those costs figured in to the cost vs benefit compaired to coal and oil?

[Obama 2012 1,714]

my only question/problem at the end of the day is what new tax is the government going to come out with to be sure you're paying monthly energy charge taxes when all is said and done and Solar becomes a primary source...

Outside of that, I'm all for it so long as normal grids are out there functioning as well.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Goooooo energy diversity!!!!

[mawilson 2,133]

The United States is on the verge of a solar boom that could provide 4.3 percent of the nation's electricity by 2020

4 percent by 2020 sounds pathetic, but hey - it's a start.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Solar and wind are two good alternative energy sources. Which looks to be the most cost effective and have the least environmental impact?

[mawilson 2,133]

Solar and wind are two good alternative energy sources. Which looks to be the most cost effective and have the least environmental impact?

You generally need both - they complement each other.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

You generally need both - they complement each other.

If you could just harness the hot air at VJ you could power a city for a month.

[Ban Hammer 13,470]

Say what? Do you realize there are homes that currently run on entirely on solar? Their homes produce enough electricity that they actually sell back the excess during the day, offsetting the cost during the night. But if you want to go totally off the grid, Charles, I'd recommend a system that can store your extra daylight energy into cell batteries.

.....................

Storage Batteries : the fuel tank of your solar power system Without batteries to store energy you would only have power when the sun was shining or the generator was running. This tutorial describes the 4 basic types of batteries & provides some good tips on the care & feeding of your batteries to maximize their performance and life.

http://www.freesunpo...m/batteries.php

way to not answer my question. immaterial whether the house generates enough to sell back, during the night (as you depicted) it has to get energy from the utility. what do you propose that utility use to generate it's base load with? and don't try to tell me the utility is gonna have a battery farm.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

way to not answer my question. immaterial whether the house generates enough to sell back, during the night (as you depicted) it has to get energy from the utility. what do you propose that utility use to generate it's base load with? and don't try to tell me the utility is gonna have a battery farm.

You asked:

and it's still not a base load generator. what's going to happen at night or during peak hours, steven?

Option 1: You can sell back your excess electricity to the power company which will offset the use at night....or

Option 2: Go completely off the grid and use batteries to store enough daylight energy to run your electrical needs at night. You'd probably want to have a gas generator as a back up.

Either option is far better in terms of reducing the use of fossil fuels than getting your electricity through conventional means, 24/7.

[Ban Hammer 13,470]

You asked:

Option 1: You can sell back your excess electricity to the power company which will offset the use at night....or

Option 2: Go completely off the grid and use batteries to store enough daylight energy to run your electrical needs at night. You'd probably want to have a gas generator as a back up.

Either option is far better in terms of reducing the use of fossil fuels than getting your electricity through conventional means, 24/7.

what do you suppose powers that gas generator?

oh and selling back to the company - that's a great idea, but around here someone needs to force the utility to buy it back, because they won't.

Edited October 28, 2010 by charles!