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.

[davebco]

It is my view that all energy use should come from multiple sources: Wind, solar, geothermal, hydrogen fuel cells, conservation... and even the new "Fast Neutron" reactors that are far more efficient and safe than older versions (There was a good Scientific American article several months ago about this promising new technology). I just watched a History Channel special that described how the A Hybrid Car Company is retro-fitting cars with new long-range lithium batteries developed by NASA. I imagine at a cost less than what we have spent in Iraq we could reduce our energy independence by over 50%.

[libsluv2spit]

How can it compete well if the oil industry and the nuclear industry is subsidized so heavily by gov. taxpayer money???

Posted by ttinsly at 10:35 PM : Jul 08, 2008
+ report abuse

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well you can start by stop being so dependent on oil..and start ACTING by conservation..buy some solar panels..

[ifjt]

This is for Terrapin78:

You''re absolutely right, Ray-(GUN) shot down everything that was positive.

[ifjt]

This is for ColonieNY:

I don''t know enough to argue, but the folks here in South Carolina are dead set against Nuclear Plants for whatever reason?

[colonieny]

The answer is NUCLEAR.
The State of Conn- 1/2 of all the electrical needs have been met for decades by just ONE NUCLEAR PLANT !
1/2 !!!!.

[kyesa]

* cost of products should not be compared to how good/bad it is for the environment. your spot basically talked nothing of how much it would take to re-coup your money for the solar system. well, that shouldn''t matter. ''cost'' of the system has no bearing on whether it''s good or not for the enviro. if in the lifetime of the system, it''s less detrimental to the environment, then it''s better for the earth. that concept is a completely separate subject from cost and time to re-coup the cost of the product. basically, it comes down to lifetime carbon foot-print of the product. this same concept also plays into the whole hybrid/electric car concept. are they really "greener" for the environment? or are they "greener" for the consumer pocket-books like the car manufacturers and gvt would like us to believe? i''m not convinced. it''s a fad. we''re trading/shifting pollution from one part of the process to another. (ie. burning gasoline by consumers by burning coal/oil/gasoline to manufacture extra parts that make up these polluting vehicles).

* this may be petit, but some of you shouldn''t even make your posts. you''re so abstract and out there that you made no sense at all. i''m not bashing everyone. but the others know who i''m talking about. are you wanna-be writers hoping to get picked up by CBS themselves? if so, you''ve got no prayer. well, on the other hand, you may be exactly what they''re looking for when comparing your writing to mainstream media. it''s horrendous.

[onmild4]

Your teaser before the commercial break was very deceptive. You questioned the economic competitiveness of solar power, but in the piece you give two concrete examples where people are saving money now with solar: The woman who will pay off her system in 10 years and the business that cut the power costs in half. Clearly solar IS competitive now is specific markets. Why are you so cynical?

[Syndicate]

If you would like to build your own solar system please visit www.mrsolar.com. The guy has a lot of really good information. When I go solar I''ll hit them up for a quote.

[badgersouth1]

The USA has had a government of Big Oil, by big Oil, and for Big Oil during the past eight years. Power to the people! Change is on the way!

[terrapin78]

JTait2 wrote
Food prices are rising.
Families are cutting their vacations short.
Workers are looking for alternative transportation.
Visits to family and friends are being reconsidered.
Public transportation lines are longer.
------------------
IT''''S THE CARTER YEARS ALL OVER AGAIN!

Some schlub in Congress is even talking about bringing back the 55 mph national speed limit.

Posted by txgrouch2006 at 04:03 PM : Jul 06, 2008

And if Ronnie Raygun hadn''t killed all of the initiatives from Jimmy Carters Admin, we''d be in a whole lot better position regarding energy.

[hdsolarguy-2009]

There is a new world wide web emerging right before our eyes. It is a global energy network and, like the internet, it will change our culture, society and how we do business. More importantly, it will alter how we use, transform and exchange energy. For more information, see http://www.terrawatts.com .

[hdsolarguy-2009]

There is a new world wide web emerging right before our eyes. It is a global energy network and, like the internet, it will change our culture, society and how we do business. More importantly, it will alter how we use, transform and exchange energy. For more information, see http://www.terrawatts.com .

[gmcnally2]

I think it is ridiculous to blame former administrations, just pressure this one to make solar more economically feasible. Companies like First Solar and Nanosolar are already competitive with fossil fuels, and the printing technologies could provide use 50% of our power in 5 years if we would just get on board. Solar is Sweet. Let''s just build it without the governments permission.

[hrhqob]

To Ozarkbard: "What part of God''''s plan included massacring the Native Americans and enslaving Africans? Or were they not "good enough" for God?"

It was NO part of His plan OR will at all - it was man doing what man wanted to do, and don''t be fooled into thinking it doesn''t/won''t happen here in this day and age - and ALL races are good enough for God. Just because there are bigots who think otherwise doesn''t mean He does. The Bible backs me up on this: Exodus 18, whole chapter, and keep in mind that Moses'' father in law is black. Pay attention as to how Moses treats him, especially verses 7 & 24. Numbers 12, whole chapter, Acts 8:26-39 (Philip was one of the 12 Apostles), Rom 3:29, Colossians 3:11.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program...

[cyberus-2009]

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We can send a solar collector into space, park it in orbit, and transmit the power back via microwave beams to Earth-based receivers.
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Not going to happen as long as the world is at war and we don''t have a neutral world organization to maintain control of something capable of producing a multi-megawatt or gigawatt beam.
And after that, if said organization had control of such a beam ... how long could it remain neutral with that kind of power at hand??

[hrhqob]

three biggest impediments to inexpensive and/or free energy: governments, power companies (monopolies), and the status quo. We can send a solar collector into space, park it in orbit, and transmit the power back via microwave beams to Earth-based receivers. A company in CA is making solar panels that you can roll up like plastic, and it costs less than the old solar technology.
This is an information intensive society, people! Do your own research, and you''ll be amazed at what you find.

[ramos937]

One solar company in CA (lost their name) has it right. The cost of installing solar on a house ranges from $14K to $20K. Few have this much laying around. The company does this. It installs the panels and then charges the household what the panel generates in power (like the power company). But the rate ranges from 7 cents to 9 cents per KW. In this way, you pay the panels plus installation. It takes years but the cost is much cheaper.

[txgrouch2006]

JTait2 wrote
Food prices are rising.
Families are cutting their vacations short.
Workers are looking for alternative transportation.
Visits to family and friends are being reconsidered.
Public transportation lines are longer.
------------------
IT''S THE CARTER YEARS ALL OVER AGAIN!

Some schlub in Congress is even talking about bringing back the 55 mph national speed limit.

[txgrouch2006]

Vet_SK wrote
These forums sadly enough are being overrun by the dittoheads republicans
----------
That''s funny, it seems overrun by dittohead Democrats who can do nothing but spew their party agenda.

I don''t know how long ago you were in school, but today''s public schools are dedicated to one purpose - to teach students to TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY WHATSOEVER FOR ANYTHING. And they are doing a marvelous job of teaching it, just as the students are doing a stunning job of learning it.

The result - most persons today DON''T KNOW HOW TO CALCULATE A PERCENTAGE. So it''s virtually impossible to have a rational discussion about ANYTHING with ANYBODY.

[k2jnc]

Do a search do not take my word for it Oil is NOT a Fossil Fuel.

The sun has tremendous power just think about how a small lens can start paper on fire.
Solar does not need to cost what it does.