Getting cheaper, but…

Solar power is becoming increasingly affordable around the world — for those who can afford it, at least. According to a recent article on Yahoo news (“Solar Energy May Help the World’s Poorest”), “A surge in investment in solar power is bringing down costs of the alternative energy source, but affordability problems still dog hopes for the 1.6 billion people worldwide without electricity.” While governments in most already developed countries are finally realizing the necessity of developing and promoting alternative energy sources, families in poorer countries are being left behind. This includes many nations otherwise well positioned to take advantage of solar technology, including those in equatorial and tropical regions that receive comparatively large amounts of sunlight. The majority of families in these regions currently utilize energy methods that are not only inefficient, but are also physically harmful. According to Professor Stephen Chu, a Nobel laureate physicist, 1.6 billion people worldwide live without electricity while another 2-3 billion use energy “in a primitive way [that is] very damaging to health.”

The article further underscores the relative inadequacy of solar policies in the United States compared to other developed countries. According to the article, an average German household can earn the equivalent of almost $3,000 a year in government subsidies for installing solar panels, more than double the annual cost of their electric bill. Current New York state law allows net-metering of only up to 10kW exclusively for residential systems. This relatively meager amount does not provide sufficient economic incentive for home owners to retrofit their energy systems. Click here to find out more about ways in which you can help our lawmakers amend this short-sighted legislation.


Posted on Monday, November 5th, 2007 at 5:23 pm | Tagged in Energy Efficiency, Legislation, Photovoltaics | posted by Bill

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