Solar Guy

Has Solar Demand Finally Hit Bottom?

rdasher needs to do his homework on payback for solar. I do solar sales and installation for a living in Florida with a sophisticated spreadsheet tool for comprehensive financial analysis. Payback period for both residential and commercial solar is running from 8-10 years now and internal rate of return (IRR) from 10% to 22% based on PV system size, local rebates, incentives, and Federal tax credit due to economies of scale. Try making that kind of return on your money with any other investment in current credit market.

When Will Solar Achieve Grid Parity? We're Already There!

Good supporting economic analysis and puts it in context. Thanks Jack!

When Will Solar Achieve Grid Parity? We're Already There!

Jack, thank you for the time you've invested in responding to all the people in this article. Very educational for us all as this is what I consider the most important issue of our time (followed closely by availability of clean water), and as a society we have to make the right decisions for the future of our children and the planet. You've done us all a great service as this is a hot button, emotional issue with a lot of different opinions. I will be using a lot of this content for economics of solar in my presentation to a local utility company soon. They are in a quandary about which direction to go with a new power plant to meet growing power needs, and afraid Governor Crist will veto both coal and nuclear options. The SCE decision to go solar makes a compelling business case and is clearly a testimonial on the future energy generation choice for our country.

Keep up the good fight, and May God Bless You!

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.

When Will Solar Achieve Grid Parity? We're Already There!

Right on Mr. Yetiv! After much due diligence on this subject, I came to the same conclusion. In fact, I am making a presentation to a local government agency tomorrow on a large solar initiative. I am in stealth mode on a start up company to build a solar power plant. Thanks for the endorsement!