Will Lack of Funding Dim the Solar Industry?
Written on June 24, 2011 by Jordan Ballard
Solar modules at the Southern California Edison (SCE) solar array in Porterville, California, February 17, 2011.
Big solar producers should be feeling very, er, sunny. New solar power doubled last year globally, with the world adding 16 gigawatts (GW) worth of new photovoltaic energy. In the first quarter of 2011, installations of solar power increased 66% over the previous year in the U.S. Just last week the Obama Administration offered a $1.4 billion loan guarantee to help fund what will be the world’s largest rooftop solar project, which put at least 733 megawatts worth of photovoltaic panels on commercial buildings across nearly 30 states while creating 10,000 jobs. Even bad news for the industry is good: a front-page story in Monday’s Washington Post raised questions about why more than half of President Obama’s out-of-town private-business visits have been to renewable-energy companies. Considering that the renewable-energy industry had to fight for any attention from Obama’s hydrocarbon-loving predecessor, being criticized for getting too close to the White House seems like a significant step up.
But there are clouds on the horizon for solar power especially for big producers who want to build utility-scale projects, not just slap panels on rooftops. The miniboom in solar here in the U.S. is being driven chiefly by U.S. Treasury grants most funded by the 2009 stimulus which have helped fill the gap created by the evaporation of private capital after the recession. The only problem is that stimulus funding is just about tapped out, the tax credits are set to expire in December and the mood on Capitol Hill is utterly hostile to more spending. If that government money simply vanishes and private capital fails to step up, the U.S. renewable-energy industry could be set back by years. And no one is at greater risk than those who want to build large-scale solar.
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