The clean energy future is now
President Trump may be trying to silence the clean energy industry, but he's too late because it's already making lots of noise.
In jobs creation:
Solar employment now accounts for the largest share of workers in the U.S. power generation field, surpassing coal, gas and oil, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
In 2016, the solar workforce increased by 25% over the previous year to 374,000 employees, compared to 187,117 electrical generation jobs in the coal, gas and oil industries combined, according to the DOE's "Energy and Employment Report for 2017".
Employment in the wind turbine industry increased to 102,000 workers, a 32% increase over the previous year, the report said...
Solar employment, which includes both photovoltaic electricity and concentrated solar steam generators, accounts for 43% of the electric power generation workforce -- the largest share of workers in that market. Fossil fuel generation employment now accounts for 22%.
To put this into perspective, Solar-energy jobs are growing 12 times as fast as the US economy, although wind turbine technician is the fastest-growing profession in the US.
All of this is happening because solar technology has made solar power competitive.
How cheap is solar?
Solar power is now cheaper than coal in some parts of the world. In less than a decade, it’s likely to be the lowest-cost option almost everywhere.
In 2016, countries from Chile to the United Arab Emirates broke records with deals to generate electricity from sunshine for less than 3 cents a kilowatt-hour, half the average global cost of coal power. Now, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Mexico are planning auctions and tenders for this year, aiming to drop prices even further. Taking advantage: Companies such as Italy’s Enel SpA and Dublin’s Mainstream Renewable Power, who gained experienced in Europe and now seek new markets abroad as subsidies dry up at home.
Since 2009, solar prices are down 62 percent, with every part of the supply chain trimming costs. That’s help cut risk premiums on bank loans, and pushed manufacturing capacity to record levels. By 2025, solar may be cheaper than using coal on average globally, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance
Surprisingly, solar prices have even dropped below wind prices in some places.
It was bound to happen, and apparently it has: utility-scale solar-generated power, certainly in sunny parts of the world, appears to be cheaper than wind and both are cheaper than fossil-fuel generated power – read the fine print for details of when, where and under what conditions this applies.
Unsubsidised, wind is still the cheapest overall, and nuclear one of the most expensive.
Comments
hmm, Rising Sun Solar is going bankrupt
in three month. There are rumors that Solar City will go the same route. I am confused. But I didn't research why they are on the brink of bankruptcy.
Where are they located?
I would be concerned but my contacts suggest a different story. In addition wind farms are growing to the west of here (Central Nebraska): I regularly see windmill components traveling West on I-80.
As soon as I can this spring I will sign a contract with True South Solar to get my home (Southwestern Oregon) up to 100% self supplied, with the over production going to Pacific Power.
I showed my spouse the video of Tesla's new solar roof
He was thrilled and wanted to know how much does it cost, and how soon can we buy it??
I had to tell him it's still on the drawing board. But if they come out with the product as advertised, it's looks pretty amazing. Now we are waiting to see where that goes before investing in any other options for now.
This could get very interesting.
True South Solar has teamed up with an inventor in Sacramento that has provided them some really high quality photovoltaics. I will be processing a lot of realtime data to give them high quality information for promoting their venture. Wouldn't be great if I found myself competing with Tesla!
SolarCity was bought by Tesla
http://www.geekwire.com/2016/official-solarcity-tesla-merger/
They are developing a new type of solar roofing. It remains to be seen whether this will be successful or not, but they're not bankrupt.
I did a search for Rising Sun Solar, which appears to be based in Hawaii, but nothing came up about them going bankrupt.
yes, I expressed myself wrongly
my son worked at Rising Sun Solar and it is said that they close down on Maui, HI (may be that's not the same as going bankrupt) in three to four month.(Forgot the month my son told me over the phone). They were on all of the Hwaiian islands, but Maui was their largest branch. It's just rumors, no research and probably not public. At least they fired over 30 people of their work crew within the last two month. So, it's what people on the island say and workers have been told and a couple of weeks ago the Human Resource lady talked to my son, almost crying, because she knew in advance it is coming. She was forced to fire a lot of people.
I hope Solar City develop the news solar roof material and a better battery system. I saw their crews all over Mayrland. I didn't mean to say that they are bankrupt, but remember having read that they might or are at risk of it.
And I don't trust and don't like Tesla ...
...so I guess I am just running my mouth unfairly.
This is becoming institutionalized in the Bear Creek Valley
Ashland Oregon
The Net Metering of Electricity
was pretty much dictated by the advent of Co-Generation Technology...
Meriden CT while it doesn't have Municipal Utilities, has the Eversource deregulated monopoly demon as its expensive, inefficient, electrical, and gas, provider... (ask me how after a snow storm causes a power outage, and you don't see a single Eversource utilities truck for 4 days in freezing weather. But, you can see the power plant all lighted up, billowing clouds of steam & pollutants into the atmosphere, and supplying power to the grid from your living room windows) Has installed Solar Panels installed by SolarCity on the property surrounding the sewage treatment plant and the airport...
Good use of a property undesirable for development...
They are also doing solar on other city properties...
The first cogeneration project I saw was back in the Arab Oil Embargo in 1973 when a local rose grower who relied on hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil to heat his greenhouses in the colder months, and extensive high pressure sodium lighting to push the rose blossom production found his fuel scarce and expensive. He quickly converted his boilers to burn sawdust that was plentiful and cheap to heat his greenhouses. In addition the excess steam was used for electrical generation to light his greenhouses and sell back to the utility company...
Not exactly a clean exhaust, the acrid clouds of wood smoke were thick up to a mile away as the wind blew...
I'm the only person standing between Richard Nixon and the White House."
~John F. Kennedy~
Economic: -9.13, Social: -7.28,
The knee of the adoption curve has been passed with
solar and wind. This doesn't include the external costs of fossil fuels. Some years ago I saw a study that showed the actual cost of a gallon of gas when all the externalities are taken into account is around $15. Imagine if all the subsidies to the fossil fuel industries were re-directed to renewables. It makes no economic sense to build these pipelines and drill for more gas or oil.
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." - JFK | "The more I see of the moneyed peoples, the more I understand the guillotine." - G. B. Shaw Bernie/Tulsi 2020
No, but it makes perfect sense
to the greedy bastards who own petrochemical companies. Zim, follow the money.
@ZimInSeattle
reply
ZimInSeattle's picture
ZimInSeattle
Sat, 01/28/2017 - 3:37pm
#3
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/may/18/fossil-fuel-companie...
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
Yay capitalism!
See, everything's totally kewl because omigod cheap solar! Maybe we can move into the solar-powered homeless shelters for a couple of days each January when our jobs become automated and we can't afford the rent anywhere in the US anymore.
"there's something so especially sadistic about waving the flag of a country that you're actively destroying" -- Aaron Mate
Well, without regulation, yea well duh.
None of this has any hope of really working under the current system. It doesn't matter how good it looks on paper, these projects will not be able to flourish when those that control the system are heavily invested in sucking the system dry.
This isn't really about cheap solar as it is about changing the way we do the process. Solar development by its very nature is decentralized. By its very nature I can have an influence (because of my expertise) that matches or maybe even exceeds that of Tesla's influence. It is not about who can extract the most resources, it about who is capable of "thinking different", and as for that I excel.
There are small inexpensive options now, too.
You can get a solar kit that will keep a 12 volt battery charged, with an inverter for AC/DC, that will run lights, charge or run a laptop, charge your cell phone, etc., for a few hundred dollars.
I've also gotten some solar light bulbs that work nicely from
Nokero.com - they designed them first for African countries. I got a set of three recently and use two in a shed, to feed my sheep in the evening, and one as a flashlight. In the morning I hang them outside to recharge. They're bright enough to read by, and the company says will run 6 hours on bright and 15 on low.
I saw recently...
That a visitor to one of my websites with Amazon Affiliate ads on it that someone had purchased a "popup gazebo" (I'd call it a screen tent) with solar lighting... Interesting Marketing Concept...
I'm the only person standing between Richard Nixon and the White House."
~John F. Kennedy~
Economic: -9.13, Social: -7.28,
Yes, small specialized solar devices are popping up
I use solar electric fence chargers, too. You don't want electric fences to stop working when the grid goes down. Animals aren't stupid - they check to see if it's still hot today. My neighbor ran a electric wire around his corn, too, six inches above the ground, to keep raccoons from taking all his corn. Worked nicely.
meanwhile, here in AZ
Our Republican-dominated Corporation Commission (which regulates energy of all kinds) keeps trying to kill solar. In a state with 360 days of sunshine a year!
They are addicted to fossil fuels and would rather use nuclear energy (despite having nowhere to put the radioactive waste and being unwilling to clean up the debris from uranium mining on the Navajo Nation) than solar and wind.
The Corporation Commission is one of the most important local elections every time, directly affecting how much electricity costs in the state, but no one seems to pay attention. The impotent AZ Dem party didn't even field a full slate of candidates! And no other party even bothered.
/sigh/
There is no justice in America, but it is the fight for justice that sustains you.
--Amiri Baraka
Agree. Dead Dino Power
is toast. Toes up. Way too late to put this horse back in the barn.
And, what would Really bury dead coal is a Home Solar Unit package (including everything needed to plug in everything a house needs to plug in) capable of cranking and sustaining 2.2 Kw for, say, $7,500. (for an "electric bill" of about $95 /mo. (including financing), then Free (plus replacement and maintenance costs) (cheap) after 8 years. We should have had that package by now, but I'm guessing it's available within ten years.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.