American Flag waving under bright sun solar energy For the past 6 years I’ve been following the development of the solar industry, particularly PV, in the United States. While I’m inspired by some of the ideas and innovations I’m seeing, such as the emergence of solar leasing, the Federal ITC and Loan Guarantees, and the continuing reductions overall cost of solar panels and complete solar systems, I’m still not satisfied, and frankly a little disappointed with our progress to date. Why are our most visible industry champions so happy these days?

I’m writing this while sitting at a Starbucks in Davis Square in Somerville Massachusetts, taking an occasional moment to gaze out the window at the passers by on this beautiful warm sunny day, one of the first of the year after a brutal winter. There’s lots of great energy here, young entrepreneurs working on business plans and talking over deals, students hard at work learning about science and technology, and generally expanding their minds. It’s a beautiful thing. So much advancement is happening in this area already and there’s bound to be more to come given the brain power and inspiration in this area. Now that the weather is getting better people are feeling more energetic and inspired, making for great things to come.

Still as I write this, I can’t help but feel disappointed. Earlier today I watched a replay of Rhone Resch’s keynote speech at the PV America Conference last week, the tone of which was strikingly upbeat, with a celebratory tone throughout. In short, more of the same message that we’ve heard from SEIA in each of the past six years.

The highlights of the speech were all about the growth of solar in the US, 102% year over year vs 2009, to 878 MW, and the results of a study by SEIA and Greentech Media finding that 74% of the value of a domestic solar installation remains in the US even if Chinese solar panels and other solar equipment is used. Great news for solar and for the American economy, right?

Not really. If you look at the numbers you see a different picture. While triple-digit growth in any industry is nothing to sneeze at, we need to look at what’s happening in other countries to fully understand how we’re doing here.

Globally, solar PV installations grew by an 140% last year, roughly 38% more than in the US in what we’re calling a banner year at all of the major US conferences.

Let’s look at the backdrop in a slightly different light. While the US economy grew at a mediocre 2.9% last year, solar was flying high. In fact it’s been mentioned that PV is the fastest growing industry in America right now. Why then can’t we accomplish what any functional industry would? These being significant influence at the federal, state, and municipal levels, and more aggressive investment from our financiers?, How about making it easier for the little guys out there to get their piece of this growing pie?  Maybe even some focus on solar geared toward America’s general population? Still, each and every day I meet someone who doesn’t even know what solar is, and I live in a progressive, highly educated area, with strong support for greentech and sustainable building. This is more tragic than grounds for celebration.

2010 and the beginning of 2011 exposed massive flaws in our energy structure through tragedy after tragedy. We saw the largest oil spill in US history, a coal mine collapse that killed 29 and made public numerous safety violations, and today we face the fallout of a nuclear meltdown that has killed hundreds, contaminated food and water supplies, and displaced hundreds of families.  Of course, such a disaster was considered impossible, until it happened… again.

Still, BP and Massey Energy’s stock valuations are already fully recovered. In fact, Massey is on quite a tear of late. Deep water drilling in the gulf is back online and we’ve heard almost nothing of the 4600 mine safety violations uncovered since the US stepped up investigations after the Massey disaster. Add to this the “sudden” finding that fracking has been poisoning water and food supplies and the economic limitations of wind power, and you’d expect to see solar on a stratospheric growth curve.  So why are we patting ourselves on the back for a mediocre year in 2010

Any good management team knows that you put your best resources behind you’re highest potential products, and reduce support for mature or lagging ones. Solar economics are proving competitive with fossil fuels, today. We’ve seen solar replace plans for both natural gas and wind development based on economics, and prices continue to fall as production and supply comes online to meet demand.

This is our time to push harder than we ever have, both politically and in raising public awareness and support. Congratulating ourselves is absolutely the wrong tack. In fact, it’s the worst possible thing to do given the recent events that support more investment solar.

2011 is the year to capitalize on the true market opportunity for domestic PV. Our home and business owners need to be aware of their ability to produce power rather than depending on the utilities to do it for them. This builds economic strength and a stable energy infrastructure. Yes, massive utility scale projects look great in press releases and make for a great soundbite on the local news, but they do far less for small businesses that will hire back the workers they laid off during the housing crash if given the opportunity.  It’s also the right way to fulfill America’s obligation to be the largest solar power market in the world.

Here in Davis Square the sun is shining bright on countless black tar roofs, so there’s nothing to celebrate. Keep pushing, keep innovating, and let’s postpone the celebration for when we truly deserve it.

Joe Boyce

President, Gaia Worldwide

Founder, Solarvisionaries.org

Aside from the human tragedy caused not only by the Japanese tsunami, but the aftermath of it’s effect on their nuclear power plant (40+ years old mind you) the implications for what should be learned, and the financial limitations of this are of the utmost importance, yet… of course, widely unaddressed. And the wheel goes around and around as usual. Pissed off yet? I am.

Our lives depend on the widespread availability of energy, and we are willing to pay for this lest we start living the way we were in the caveman days. Of course this means that we need very large scale energy production resources, which are best served by coal, nuclear, and natural gas right now (there, I said it).

Still, when is Washington going to start looking at the real costs of sustaining these proven yet antiquated technologies? Moreover, when is the business community going to start understanding the value of safety and predictability that make the case for a sooner-than-later shift to solar and other renewables a much more compelling option from the financial side? It’s disheartening to see what data is being used to evaluate different energy sources. What’s more, there’s no accounting for the highly unlikely and absurdely unpredictable events such as the one we’re experiencing now in Japan. Events that cost money… real money. It’s estimated that the damage caused by the Japanese tsunami on Japan’s nuclear power plant is upwards of $25 billion dollars. This, mind you could be close or not close to the real number, but if we look at the overall cost of rebuilding nuclear on that site in light of the inevitable heightened security, backup, and safety regulations, then consider the current cost of the basic materials necessary to build such a plant – just the concrete and steel required, take away the uranium, we get a pretty stark picture. It’s important to understand the accounting used in the energy sector, and how it effects the viability of new technology vs old. While the costs of building nuclear power plants can do nothing but rise as both direct costs such as the materials mentioned above, and indirect ones relating to time delays, permitting, legal, environmental, and other factors continue to move in an aggressively upward trajectory, there remains one technology who’s costs have maintained a steady decline for the past 40 years. It’s called solar. Look at the numbers and consider that during the lifespan of an average nuclear power plant (estimated at 50 years) the odds of a major event forcing a shutdown or hazard are 50-50, and the costs of these range in the billions, and you see a picture that favors a more modular, radiation-free, non polluting source of energy which gets cheaper with each new factory that gets built around the world, and the case is simple. We need not try to convince people of the implications of air pollution, contaminating ground water, or hazardous waste anymore. The humbling fact is that the people who have made the largest investments in these technologies and thus have the most to lose, are not willing to hear this. They speak one language, the language of money, and when major events like the one that is ruining the lives of thousands of people as I write this occur there needs to be a new economic analysis considered. Insurance premiums on these facilities is bound to skyrocket in response to this event – after all, the insurance companies have to recoup these losses somehow, and the reinsurance premiums are already spiking based on the reality that these nuclear plants are aging around the world, and there is a severe shortage of people with the necessary skills to keep them safe. Add to that the nearly impossible prospect of building plants on new pieces of land where nuclear power is not already being produced and we start to see a grim financial picture. Yes, nuclear produces an awful lot of power in relatively little space, with almost no CO2 emmissions, but if this were to consider this anything near the whole story we would simply be dreaming. For now, we offer our thoughts and support to the latest group of thousands of people who have fallen victim to their dependence on antiquated energy solutions. We wish them as little pain as possible, and with any luck, and a renewed interest in logic, maybe we can even use this to take a step forward to truly producing abundant safe, secure energy. Sooner than later. What are your thoughts on this topic? -Joe

Recently, DiCaprio has been letting his fans know about his latest movie “Inception” which is of course, another blockbuster hit. Still, in the midst of all the promotion, he makes his positions on green energy and sustainability part of the conversation. His interviews with the tabloids, late night and daytime talk show hosts, and all the most major of the majors in the entertainment business are never without a reference to his work on the environment and sustainability. Nobody gets out with just a soundbite about his latest project, love life, and what’s next. They hear about his causes, and the fans can’t get enough of it.

By integrating the topic of his philanthropic work into his exchanges with the entertainment media, “Leo” has started a trend that we could only dream about just a couple of years ago. . .  He’s making everything from electric cars, to solar power to supporting the preservation of endangered species “cool”.

The production of his latest movie, “Inception”, written by industry titan Christopher Nolan, was produced on sets powered by portable Solar PV provided by Pure Power Distribution. This is a growing trend among producers, the “Greening” of film production.

Yes, this is small-scale energy in the scheme of things, but more important is the influence the introduction of the solar power units are having on the industry as a whole.

Film production costs more than ever. If you want a blockbuster, you’d better be willing to shell out 9 or even 10 figures unless you’re one of those freakishly lucky indie producers . Energy, particularly for films shot in remote locations, can be extremely costly, and here is where we unlock an even more powerful solar story. That it’s about money.

Aside from the obvious environmental benefits (which as an industry I feel we’ve pretty much beaten to death at this point) it makes it a cost issue, magnifying the superior application characteristics and efficiency of PV to the bean counters, exaggerating their reliability in the often harsh conditions.

Let’s hope projects like “Inception” engage more people regardless of what’s driving their interest. For now, just raising the awareness of the general population benefits us all, and is something the solar industry hasn’t been able to achieve without this kind of star-power to get us on the front page.
Now go see the movie. . .

-joe

Check out how they can make solar work for you at their website. You can also get to know the man who created the Solar Lease program, David Arfin, in our “Visionaries” area.

Solar is here and now, and SolarCity is one of the companies that’s proving it to the world and profiting from the growth. Definitely one worth knowing about.

-Joe