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An American Solar Opportunity Gets Shipped Abroad
by Stacy Feldman - Mar 26th, 2008
Yesterday saw another encouraging sign out of the solar-electric sector.
The new company is a joint venture of Virginia-based AES -- one of the world’s largest power companies -- and New York-based private equity firm Riverstone Holdings.
The project will pour $1 billion into utility-scale photovoltaic solar farms that will directly feed power into a country’s electrical grid. The installations will range from fewer than 2 MW to up to 50 MW, while a single farm could cover hundreds and hundreds of acres.
They'll be installed in Europe. In Asia. And maybe even in America too, one day. Why not now?
Because AES wants to sow its solar seeds in only those countries that offer the most "attractive tariffs." That eliminates the US from the list of potentials, immediately.
And it gives countries like Germany, Spain, Italy and South Korea the clear advantage. They all have can’t-beat national incentives for solar developers.
It’s one of the sad facts of Washington’s incoherent clean energy policy these days. How can a country lure in clean energy projects when there are far more appealing offers elsewhere? And when, above all, market uncertainty is a national trademark?
The biggest issue plaguing investment in the US right now is the expiring federal tax credit for renewable energy projects, like wind, solar and geothermal. Expect them to be dumped unless Congress passes an extension by the end of the year.
Too bad, because big, powerful companies are starting right now to pump dollars into large-scale solar installations. And that lends weight to what the technology may be capable of achieving one day.
Who knows, AES Solar could transform the entire solar sector form its test runs in Europe and Asia. This Riverstone employee certainly thinks it will:
"Because of its scale, this joint venture has the potential to change the fundamental economics of solar power," said Ralph Alexander, managing director of New York-based Riverstone.
Irrespective of the fate of that company, common sense dictates that it's time to wake up on clean energy, Washington. You snooze, the entire nation will lose.
(Source: Washington Post)
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hundreds of acres?
Here's the funny part: Europe does not have the "hundreds and hundreds of acres" you need for an economical solar farm. All of the land in Europe is developed or owned by some entity. To make a solar farm work, they would need to convert the land from agriculture or park or other public or private ownership. I wish them luck with that.
The US, on the other hand, has plenty of unused, very sunny land that would be suitable. One of the key factors in making solar power practical is payback time. In Europe, with their higher tariffs for electricity, the payback time is shorter given an equal solar radiation density. In the US, the payback time is potentially shorter because we get more sunlight even though our tariffs for electricity are lower. See How Free Is Solar Energy? in IEEE Spectrum for details.
I agree with the previous poster about later adoption yielding greater bang for your buck. Remember also, that this is private money and that they need to have a return on that investment or they're not going to make it.
Maybe, maybe not...
Maybe, maybe not. The counterpoint is that if you aren't on the first wave, you get in on the second when the technology has *really* advanced.
Look at the craptastic US phone network. It was the first one, and now it's basically garbage when it comes to high speed data.
Compare that to asia, where 20mbits is commonplace and has been for half a decade.
Later adoption = better technology = better results.
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