Here Comes The Sun (Power)

Proponents Of Solar Power Say The Technology Is Getting Cheaper, May One Day Compete With Fossil Fuels

(CBS)  Here's a trivia question: What state has installed more solar panels than any other except California?

If you said New Jersey, your solar-energy IQ is brilliant. And if you know why several thousand huge mirrors are splayed across the Mojave Desert in California, consider yourself a solar energy genius, CBS News correspondent Tony Guida reports.

"Every single day when the Sun comes up, we are bathed with enough energy in one day to supply all the power we need for five years across the globe," Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said.

Lyle Rawlings has been making a living off that fact for 25 years - he's known as the godfather of solar power in New Jersey. His company's installation of solar panels on a warehouse roof will provide 90 percent of the facility's power. But technology doesn't come cheap.

"Solar power is more expensive than fossil fuel power so our business actually depends on government subsidies," says Rawlings.

But so do the oil business … and the coal business … and the nuclear industry too. The outlook for solar power, though, is brighter than any of those established technologies. General Electric estimates its solar energy division will top $1 billion in annual revenue in three years. JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo are investors in the biggest solar plant built in a generation.

"Solar is the one technology that is decreasing in price, increasing in opportunity and it can be the key part of the solution if we make the right investments today," says Smith.

Which brings us back to those mirrors in the Mojave Desert. No less a cutting-edge giant than Google is heavily invested in similar technology for turning sunlight into power. They're betting, just as New Jersey's godfather of solar, that this country will build a vibrant solar industry before oil and coal run out.

"For us in the solar industry, the holy grail is the point at which the cost of solar power is about equal to the cost of fossil fuel," says Rawlings.

Experts say that should happen in seven to 10 years. And by 2025, one report concludes, solar power can provide 10 percent of the nation's power needs. But that all depends on the government - the sun sets on tax credits for solar energy later this year.

[ecm1980]

I think that this could be something great! I hope that the world and government catches on.

[nothappyatall]

And by 2025, one report concludes, solar power can provide 10 percent of the nation''s power needs"

Not when you factor in population GROWTH.

[moonshadow22]

It''s about time!!! I live on a sailboat and with my solar panels and wind generator I produce 100% of my electrical needs. My only vice is that I have a small gas powered generator that powers my AC if I have to run the AC for more than a couple of hours. With 2 more batteries and another panel I should be able to eliminate the generator entirely.

Setup cost: Spendy, probably around $3500 US. Sipping frozen margaritas in air conditioned comfort and not using a drop of fossil fuel....PRICELESS

[pvperson]

Didn''t they say the exact same thing in the seventies?

[feelfree4u]

Re: "Solar power is more expensive than fossil fuel power so our business actually depends on government subsidies," says Rawlings."

"But so do the oil business %u2026 and the coal business %u2026 and the nuclear industry too."


This is key- to identify and eliminate any and all subsidies to the oil, coal, and nuclear industries.

[ubrew12]

moonshadow22 said: "I live on a sailboat and with my solar panels and wind generator I produce 100% of my electrical needs...Sipping frozen margaritas in air conditioned comfort and not using a drop of fossil fuel....PRICELESS "

Awesome. You''re living my dream!

[txgrouch2006]

PVperson wondered
Didn''''t they say the exact same thing in the seventies?
-------------
Yes.

[txgrouch2006]

Wow. Solar power plants. Rising oil prices, unemployment, and inflation. Talk of a national speed limit. Research into alternative energy.

This is turning into the seventies all over again.

And the outcome will be the same - something will happen that will make ALL OF THIS TOTALLY UNNECESSARY, we''ll go back to using oil like crazy, people will start driving Ford Explorers, then Expeditions, then Excursions, then Hummers. We will FORGET ALL ABOUT the oil shortage. Then we''ll have an oil crisis when we suddenly realize that there''s an oil shortage...

We just never learn.

[txgrouch2006]

JTait2 wrote
We need Hillary and Bill.
------------
The Hummer became a popular civilian vehicle on THE CLINTONS'' WATCH.

What did they do to stop it? Did they warn people to stop driving such excessively large personal vehicles, because oil is a finite resource?

WHERE WAS THE CLINTON LEADERSHIP THEN???

[txgrouch2006]

We keep hearing that alternative energy sources will take about 10 years to develop.

Which means the development should have started about 10 years ago to be available today when we need them.

WHO WAS PRESIDENT 10 YEARS AGO???

Too bad he had NO LEADERSHIP...

[smurfcrusher]

txgrouch2006: you''re big on whine, short on ideas.

And it''s not the president''s job to keep car makers from creating what people want.

[ubrew12]

txgrouch2006 said: "The Hummer became a popular civilian vehicle on THE CLINTONS'' WATCH."
Congress said cars had to meet mileage standards. SUV''s aren''t cars, they''re trucks, cuz they''re on truck beds. With plenty of money from the auto industry, Congress winked at this legal maneuver, and did nothing to close it. I think it was a Republican Congress at the time, but undoubtedly they all take bribes. Until lobbying is stopped, such scandals will continue.

[cantshutup]

i don''t think we should wait for the government to figure this out for us...a person could do some simple research and build their own solar panels...maybe we COULD get local, state or federal tax breaks for creating our own energy...every problem we wait for "the government" to solve, never gets solved...this happens over and over and over and...we keep taking it. so, we need to be more self-reliant and figure some things out for ourselves...see the less we consume the fewer the profits for corporations...local, local...state, state...very limited government! and paying attention to what''s going on around us...an informed public makes good republics...start reading jefferson peoples!

[cantshutup]

yes, this is some k rap we are going through, but there are also opportunities for inventors, entreprenuers and other like minded beens...

[timothyone-2009]

If the rich Republican a-holes had listened to Jimmy Carter 30 years ago, instead of mocking him and trying to make him look foolish, America would today be the great country it was then. We have since fallen into poverty and disgrace with the so-called GOP leading the way, with our rich-owned media right there for every assist! We need to first deport (or worse) the worthless b*st*rds like ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX, and all the other complicit ***''s who helped Bush and his party wreck what was once the greatest nation in history.

[element51]

JTait2....What a list of lies! You have shown yourself to be totally clueless and thus your post goes right into the circular file. It''s people like you who make it nearly impossible for normal voters to obtain the facts they need to make an intelligent voting decision. You must be a graduate student at the Rush Limbaugh University of *********.

[deacon20081]

I worked for a company in Albuquerque NM years ago that contracted to the Sandia Labs Solar Tower Project. Solar has been around a very long time.

[whitemale08]

Don''t pay attention to Jtait, she''s a feminazi spammer.

[whitemale08]

The "PLANNERS" be killing me.

The only reason why we haven''t had solar power already is because of the Venetian Mafia principal "pay for security".

Reagan could of used serfs from China to manufacture over 100,000,000 solar panels to make sure that every house was self-sufficient with its own power supply and no power bills.

However he chose to continue the trickle-down voodoo economic theories of failure and dependence and made sure that Americans remain in debt to power companies controlled by Wall Street.

For many of you Republicans this is your beloved Ronny who saw an opportunity to enrich his British pals instead of listening to a true patriot in Jimmy Carter who this nation to go with alternative energy.

How dumb is that you ditto heads?

[9SLING]

OK, so he was supposed to use "Chinese serfs" when we were in a cold war with communism. How does that make sense?

[9SLING]

We should have looked ahead but we didn''t thats for sure. But to blame this on Reagan... unrerealistic. And to glorify Carter.. the one who said we could not defeat communism in russia, the commie weakling sypathzer that now goes around the world commiting treason... dont make me puke.

[colonieny]

/////NUCLEAR IS THE ONLY
ANSWER !!//////////////////

[colonieny]

Conn. and FRANCE are living examples of how safe Nuclear is.

[whitemale08]

Posted by neocon9 at 12:06 AM : Jul 06, 2008-

That''s because communism in Russia was not to be defeated dude. Come on man you''re smarter then this.

I''ll repeat myself:

The oligarchs and monarchies of Europe run Wall Street and the "City of London" through the Federal Reserve System.

In order for the Federal Reserve System to be all powerfull it must make sure that all nations use a central private banking system.

That private banking system doesn''t care if the government is communist or it''s leader is a despot or dictator like Hitler, it doesn''t give a da**

What happened to the Soviete Union was the oligarchs and monarchies of Europe used C.I.A and British M.I.6. intelligence in the founding of Al Quaida and the Taliban.

They suckered the Soviete Union into war in Aphganistan much like we were into Iraq by Tony Blair.

The Soviete Union blew out their economy fighting that war causing them to go into debt with the IMF.

Once you go into debt with the IMF you automaticly corrupt your national central bank into a private central bank because now the credit received from the IMF are private FEDERAL RESERVE NOTES.

That''s what the COLD WAR hoax was all about.

Read the book Tragedy and Hope to better understand.

[colonieny]

WOW !!!!
By the WAY 50 % of all the ELECTRICity for the entire state of Connecticut is supplied by just ONE NUCLEAR ENERGY PLANT !!!

WOW

WHAT ARE WE DOING ? WHY ARE WE DEPENDENT ON FOREIGN ENERGY AT ALL ?? WE COULD HAVE ELECTIC CARS, CHEAP ! ELELECTRIC HOME HEATING, CHEAP ! AND NO DIRTY OIL FROM THOSE *** WHO HATE US.

[colonieny]

WHITEMALE 08,
what are you on /

[whitemale08]

I''m on the truth dude.

You have to look past the garbage propanda that we are taught in school and reject these myths about Ronald Reagan created by junkyard dogs like Laura Ingram and Sean Hannity.

[summerwinds4]

10% solar by 2025? Balony!!!! I say 50% by 2015, and solar energy in every household.

[txgrouch2006]

neocon9 wrote
But to blame this on Reagan... unrerealistic.
--------------------------
Absolutely. If we''re going to blame anyone, it''s Clinton. The Hummer became a popular civilian vehicle ON CLINTON''S WATCH.

[txgrouch2006]

ColonieNY wrote
WHAT ARE WE DOING ?
---------------
Oh, yah! That reminds me of another part of this great ''70''s flashback that''s happening today - the ANTI-NUKE movement.

I remember my high school English teacher decided to attend an anti-nuclear rally in a nearby town. But she knew NOTHING about nuclear energy, so she wasn''t sure what she was protesting. So she asked ME, her student, to explain how a nuclear power plant worked so she would know what to protest.

STUPID! But that mentality is why we have so few nuclear plants today. And why we''re now up the creek, energy wise.

[txgrouch2006]

smurfcrusher wrote
And it''''s not the president''''s job to keep car makers from creating what people want.
----------------
Yah - not when the president is BILL CLINTON, and the president HAS NO LEADERSHIP.

The failure to regulate SUV''s was a clear FAILURE OF PRESIDENTIAL LEADERSHIP.

[peguesplace]

.....OPEC....
Kick their ***
and
Take their Gas!!!

[jedi080808]

For many of you Republicans this is your beloved Ronny who saw an opportunity to enrich his British pals instead of listening to a true patriot in Jimmy Carter who this nation to go with alternative energy.

How dumb is that you ditto heads?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by whitemale08

Regan is an idiot and Carter is a patriot.

That is the funniest thing I have herd tongiht. What plannet are you living on?

Regan will be seen as the greatest presdient since World War II. Thats why he won re election easily and his VP won Election. Because the public loved him and becasue he kick Russia''s butt.

Keep living in fairy land though, read the History books. Carter was worse than BUSH! Couln''t even get re elected

[patriot12436]

txgrouch
A teacher hat was goibng to protest about something she knew nothing about ? I don''t think i would have bothered to go back to her class again.

[patriot12436]

jedi
I believe in giving credit where due. I also think Reagan was a great president. I also think Carter was probably one of the most honest presidents we had. As you know honesty is not something a politician survives on.

[patriot12436]

colineny
Last time i built a house i built all electric. Many electric companies offer a 20% discount for an all electric home. I think is a good move and intend to look into it again when i build. Also will look at other alternatives such as solar panels.

[patriot12436]

Here is an idea. Look at the governor of Utah. He is building propane statiions thruout Ytah and giving citizens tax incentives to change their vehicles to propane. I think this man should run for president. He cares about the people who elected him.

[patriot12436]

moonshadow
Sounds like you have a lot of forethought in the right direction. We need to look at every alternative available to us for future sources of power.

[patriot12436]

whitemale08
Regan didn''t have trouble finding work after he was president, look at Carter.

[excoachken]

Oh, if we would only have listened to that "lousy" President Carter, we might have lead the world into an intelligent approach to this crisis. While, at least "the actor" made us feel good for a few years, while his friends got rich and our country became "second class" due to his stupidity.

[sidvicious75]

Too expensive. Its like prozac.. High priced sugar pills.

[mgpm-2009]

Oh, if we would only have listened to that "lousy" President Carter, we might have lead the world into an intelligent approach to this crisis. While, at least "the actor" made us feel good for a few years, while his friends got rich and our country became "second class" due to his stupidity.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by excoachken

AMEN!!!

[andylance1]

Flex fuel may be a viable alternative for Brazil (overlooking environmental costs of destroying the rain forest)- it is a very poor model for the USA - growing sugarcane almost ruined the Everglades.

Destroying the food crop (corn) for ethanol is one of the stupidest ideas to come along in a hundred years. It has raised the price of groceries by thirty percent and cost the government billions as welfare for farmers.

Natural gas is very expensive here because Congress has outlawed drilling in places that are abundant in natural gas.

Energy independence is a worthy goal with conservation, solar, nuclear and drilling for oil offshore. Solar hot water heating can save the average family 20% in electricity right now for a relatively small investment and has been available for 75+ years.

[neobrian-2009]

Clueless in '' Shrubland''
Jtait00000 DOESN''T HAVE A CLUE ABOUT ANYTHING !

Posted by JTait2 at 08:41 AM : Jul 06, 2008
Morons like Tait0000 are an insult to mankind,tWisting the facts,over-looking the Truth And telling lies come easy for GOP Sect members !
Brain-washed Shrubbies,Rush Limpdicck Followers, and ALL of these Shrub Upholders need to be declared Insane ! Even very young children can plainly see the Devastation that has taken place from our ''Hijacked Corporape USA " GOP Sect !
Clueless,Brain-dead,This GOP Sect Must be Eradicated ! Enough is Enough,..Let These Criminals buy Charmin and Stop using Our US Constitution for their needs !

[joe1022joe]

In 1973 we had the Arab oil embargo. If the US government had announced and followed through with a Manhattan-type project at that time to develop solar power to heat and cool our buildings, light our cities, and power our cars, we wouldn''t have an energy problem today and the Middle East would have been consigned to the obscurity it so richly deserves. This would have solved major domestic and foreign policy problems in one fell swoop. Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Geo. H.W. Bush, Clinton, and Geo. W. Bush (thus far) all failed to embark on this obviously correct path. Common objections to this are 1) it is too technically difficult and 2) it would be too expensive. I say 1) Americans are experts at overcoming technology''s problems ( we got to the moon and we now have a lander on Mars, don''t we) and 2) could it have cost us more than what we face now? We can do it, if we have the political will.

[hungry1968]

This would have solved major domestic and foreign policy problems in one fell swoop. Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Geo. H.W. Bush, Clinton, and Geo. W. Bush (thus far) all failed to embark on this obviously correct path.

Posted by joe1022joe at 09:04 AM : Jul 06, 2008






Exactly why we need to STOP electing these career, "experienced" politicians, and need to start electing people with actual vision for a better America.

Not the career politician mindset of, "what can I do today, to get re-elected tomorrow".

[martel_v]

In this time of crisis, we need the Best. - Posted by JTait2

Yes, we do.

We need Hillary and Bill. - Posted by JTait2

I don''t get it. I thought you said we need the best.

It''s too bad this site doesn''t have a logical-fallacy-checker for you, so I suggest you expend the effort to perform that task yourself. After all, such obvious errors of judgment render your spammerhoidal efforts irrelevant.

[ubrew12]

andylance1 said: "Solar hot water heating can save the average family 20% in electricity right now for a relatively small investment and has been available for 75+ years."

Its amazing how much oil is burned essentially to heat water. Solar water heaters use 19th century technology, yet gov''t programs to encourage their use simply aren''t broad enough. Its almost as though the gov''t WANTS us to burn oil ;)

[wdrussell1]

Think about it folks.
The price of one years worth of death and destruction in Iraq is enough money to put solar panels on every home in America.

Oil companies want war not solar panels.

[l8c6]

Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Geo. H.W. Bush, Clinton, and Geo. W. Bush (thus far) all failed to embark on this obviously correct path. Common objections to this are 1) it is too technically difficult and 2) it would be too expensive. I say 1) Americans are experts at overcoming technology''''s problems ( we got to the moon and we now have a lander on Mars, don''''t we) and 2) could it have cost us more than what we face now? We can do it, if we have the political will.

Posted by joe1022joe


Powerful lobbies fought it. Carter was attacked by the right wing media and right wingers continue attacking. The repbublicans took money and bribes and have been part of the problem.