Solar Guy

Walter Nasdeo Discusses Solar Energy

Nice overview, but no article on grid parity economics is complete without including a discussion on subsidized costs of conventional energy sources (coal, natural gas, nuclear) and the unsubsidized costs of solar. See Jack Yetiv SA article on this subject at seekingalpha.com/artic.... I believe (as Jack clearly points out) that an apples-to-apples comparison of all the "true" and hidden costs of fossil-fuel based electricity generation that taxpayers subsidize (e.g. 20-year life cycle costs and environmental impacts being quantified, health risks, loss of US capital overseas for imported oil, annual defense expenditures to protect strategic interests in Middle East region) versus unsubsidized solar would drastically change the narrative of this energy debate. The truth is we're already at grid parity. That data is obscured by lobbyists in the oil and natural gas industry -- because if revealed to consumers it could cause a major revolt on the utility prices and an explosion in renewables that would truly accelerate adoption of them.

Nuclear and fossil fuels received over 6X the combined tax subsidies in 2007 for electricity-related R&D funding ($9.3B versus $1.4B for renewables.

The popular argument forwarded by the oil and gas industry that renewable energy sources such as solar and wind are not cost-competitive with conventional sources ignores the fact that the latter are subsidized at a far greater rate, and renewable energy is not currently mass produced so it cannot take advantage of the economies of scale (yet).

Other than Jack Yetiv, no author has really tackled this subject in depth. Would be a great business case study for Harvard.

Solar Power Will Be Transformational in the Next Decade

Another great article Jack. Keep 'em coming. Your facts match up very well with the guru, Travis Bradford, in his book "Solar Revolution". As a fellow Baby Boomer, I'm on a crusade to do exactly what you suggest and leave this a better planet for our kids and grandkids. Did you catch the announcement from the King of Saudi Arabia about capping oil production at current levels to save what's left in the ground for their future generations? Wow -- what a profound statement and worldwide impact as other oil-exporting countries will probably follow suit. They probably have, or will soon, reached peak oil but won't disclose it because it would weaken their geopolitical power. They (and the oil companies) will continue to maximize profits as demand exceeds supply and reduce the depletion rate without any further investment in new fields. See article at www.evworld.com/articl.... (It's also why I'm looking for investors for my solar power plant startup here in Florida). I'm the former CEO of a dot-com company for 10 years, and believe this sector is bigger than the Internet for the next 20 years. We can't get the solar industry going fast enough in my opinion.