UK Solar Industry Takes a Beating from New Government

What can the US learn from Britain’s Solar About-Face?





In the election of May of this year, England’s Conservative party ( whose members are known commonly in the  media as “Tories”) won a surprise victory and secured enough seats in parliament to form a majority government.  Despite the lack of support for renewables in the conservative platform, solar advocates attempted to remain optimistic.  Leonie Greene of the Solar Trade quoted shortly after the election as stating that,   “I am confident support for solar will remain, the question is whether they will treat it as a sideshow to old centralized technologies or if they will recognise the technology tide is now changing dramatically internationally and that the UK urgently needs to retain and strengthen its position in the booming global solar market.”
 Read More

Sanders on Solar

Bernie Sanders presidential campaign is catching fire. What is his plan for solar?

This week, in our continuing coverage of the candidates vying for the presidency in the 2016 election and their record on solar issues, Solar Tribune look at Senator Bernie Sanders. The curmudgeonly Independent from Vermont may seem an unlikely front-runner for the Democratic Party, but recent polls show that he is rapidly closing the gap with presumed shoe-in Hillary Clinton. With all of the buzz surrounding the Sanders campaign, let’s look at what a Sanders presidency would mean for the solar industry.
Read More

Solar and the Stock Market

As of this writing, the global economy is on an insane roller coaster and US stocks have lost $2.1 Trillion in the last week. Do we have any idea what this means for solar?

The recent problems began with news of a cooling Chinese economy, and this is important to solar watchers for a number of reasons. Although no one can say for sure how long the stock sell-off will last, some solar market watchers are looking at the implications for the solar industry in both the near and long term. Many investors are watching companies like Trina solar, who are being dragged down with the rest of the market, as good opportunities to buy and hold. Professional investors at Seeking Alpha believe that Trina, Junko and other Chinese solar manufacturers that have sound financial fundamentals and are showing growth may be looking at a strong rebound when the market finishes its correction.
Read more

Airports Are Going Solar

Airports need lots of flat, open, unobstructed land surrounding them. Why not fill that open space with solar panels? Several large airports have done just that.

This week, Cochin International Airport Limited in Kochi, Kerala (India) inaugurated a 50 acre, 12 MW solar PV plant, making it the first airport in the world to offset 100% of its usage through the use of solar. The airport also has another 1 MW solar PV plant in addition to a smaller grid-connected 100 kW rooftop system, both of which were installed two years ago. Also in India, the Indira Gandhi International Airport near Delhi installed a 2.14 MW plant last year.

According to solarlove.org:
“The Airport Authority of India (AAI), which operates 125 airports across the country, including the Cochin and Kolkata airports, has decided to build solar power plants at about 30 of its airports.
AAI has plans to install 50 MW capacity plants in the first phase (by 2016), which would be enhanced to 150 MW over a period of time.
Read More

Where Does Trump Stand on Solar?

What would a Trump presidency mean to the US solar industry?

Since Solar Tribune published the “Solar Scorecard” of 2016 presidential contenders in January, The Republican field has grown even larger, while the field has narrowed on the Democrat’s side of the race. In fact, the Republican side is becoming so crowded that it takes not one, but a series of debates to get them all on stage. Similarly, it will take a series of articles to cover the solar stances of all of the candidates.

As of this writing, Donald Trump continues to be the frontrunner in the Republican race. The bombastic billionaire media-hound continues to make headlines with his condemnation of big government and the status quo, and those headlines are keeping his poll numbers high. Most political reporters agree, though, Mr. Trump’s campaign to date has been light on substance, and his position on energy policy remains unclear. Can we look at “The Donald’s” past statement and extrapolate anything about what a Trump presidency might mean to the US solar industry?

On January 25th, 2012, @realDonaldTrump tweeted, “After Solyndra, @BarackObama is stil (sic) intent on wasting our tax dollars on unproven technologies and risky companies. He must be accountable.”
Read More

Solar Values = American Values

“By the way, if you want to have a war over oil, leave me out of it- because I don’t think we need it. All I have to say is, go solar! Go wind! Let a little freedom into your life, and help your neighbors stay free, too.”
Richard Perez, Publisher, Home Power Magazine- keynote address, I-Renew Energy Expo, Sept.8, 2001

Home Power #1: 1987

Just three days before the terrorist attacks that rocked the nation, Richard Perez, the publisher of the independent renewable energy publication Home Power addressed a packed audience at one of the nations oldest gatherings of wind and solar power enthusiasts. He inspired the audience with a talk about the importance of freedom. Freedom to make one’s own choices, and accepting the responsibilities that come with that freedom. It has been more than 13 years since Perez gave that speech and the solar landscape has changed immensely. Solar is no longer primarily the purview of off-grid survivalists and back-to-the-land hippies. The installed price of solar has dropped from above $10 per watt to under $4. More states around the nation are encouraging solar development, and the economic benefits of solar are becoming more obvious by the day. And yet, there remains a strong anti-solar contingent in the United States. But why? In post-911 America, isn’t freedom still an American value?

"Futurists" and the Future of Solar Energy

"Their predictions range from near-term to long-term, from the mundane to the fantastic, but many futurists, regardless of their focus, see solar power in our future."

  In the realm of science fiction, solar has long played a role as a primary energy source in imaginary futures. Ever since Dr. Hans Zeigler outfitted satellite Vanguard 1 with photovoltaic panels back in 1958, solar energy has sparked writers imaginations. From the solar space-yachts of Aurthur C. Clarke's Sunjammer to the horrific solar-powered swarms of killer “nano-bots” in Michael Crichton's Prey, solar energy production is a technology that speculative fiction writers have always seen as part of our future. But what about the people who's job it is to PREDICT the future, rather than imagine it? What do “Futurists” think about the role solar energy will play in the coming century?

 Futurists, sometimes called “Futurologists” are those social scientists, economists and others analysts who spend their time examining current trends and studying future scenarios. They may work for governments, corporations and other organizations. They may be academics, business consultants, journalists or bloggers, and their focus may vary from economics to technology to human relationships, but most take an interdisciplinary approach to predicting the future. Their predictions range from near-term to long-term, from the mundane to the fantastic, but many futurists, regardless of their focus, see solar power in our future.

Read the entire article at Solar Tribune.