Why are less endowed countries like Germany beating the US in solar?

Chuck · #1 06-15-2010, 06:03 PM

Even US solar companies have largly overseas customers.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/Solar_Panel_Installation_Reginal_Enterprise_Tower.jpg

Allison Linn - MSNBC - June 14, 2010

The American Southwest is ready. --Ed.

It sounds so simple: Take a clean, free and endlessly renewable resource — the sun — and use it to power your homes and businesses.

Yet even as the Gulf oil disaster offers yet another reminder of the drawbacks of fossil fuels, solar power remains on the fringes of the energy industry, especially here in the United States.

Solar power accounts for less than 1 percent of U.S. energy usage, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, a trade group. And although many industry watchers see big potential, the giant U.S. market currently ranks fourth in solar electric capacity — behind Germany, Italy and Japan.... [Read More]

GreenBlues · #2 06-15-2010, 10:05 PM

Other priorities. Lack of urgency. No ability for most large corporations to plan for anything beyond the next quarter. No ability for elected officials to plan for anything beyond the next election cycle. I think that there are some in China, who could likely have went to school at say MIT, who are shaking their heads laughing at our lack of judgement in not better preparing for the future.

Wayne

hobbit · #3 06-20-2010, 08:45 PM

This is when you have to weigh oil-soaked pelicans and moribund
fishing industry vs. whatever obscure little mole-rat might have a
little inconvenience living under a few square miles of solar panels
in otherwise useless, non-arable southwestern desert, and ask the
narrow-minded among the enviro-lobbyists "which hit would you rather
take?" I think the choice is clear.
.
_H*

drimportracing · #4 06-21-2010, 02:17 AM

What hobbit said. (I'm going to look up moribund. ???)

- Dale

ItsNotAboutTheMoney · #5 06-21-2010, 02:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hobbit

This is when you have to weigh oil-soaked pelicans and moribund
fishing industry vs. whatever obscure little mole-rat might have a
little inconvenience living under a few square miles of solar panels
in otherwise useless, non-arable southwestern desert, and ask the
narrow-minded among the enviro-lobbyists "which hit would you rather
take?" I think the choice is clear.
.
_H*

Maybe we could get enviroloonies and NIMBYs to stop blocking renewables in exchange for fossil-fuel-sucking liberty-loonies accepting laws mandating energy efficiency.

ItsNotAboutTheMoney · #6 06-21-2010, 02:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck

... endlessly* renewable resource — the sun ...

Well, I guess I'm being picky but we only have 2 billion years left. How many years can fossil and nuclear fuels cover?

I think the answer to the article's question is a combination of cheap energy (no economic imperative), low density (high cost of building an effective wide-scale grid) and politics (resistance to national and regional regulated planning).