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Here's another take on solar energy achieving cost parity with conventional sources...
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"With our largest utility scale solar award, we are taking an important step towards meeting our goal of acquiring 200 MW of solar energy by 2020," said Larry Weis, Austin Energy General Manager. "Solar power has reached a price that is competitive in the ERCOT market, allowing us to further diversify our energy portfolio with renewable resources."
ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas operates the electric grid and manages the deregulated market for 75% of the state.
Recurrent declined to offer details of the contract, including the price of electricity generated by the solar plant, but a spokesman did say that the average price of a solar panel has declined by 60% since the beginning of 2011.
"As a result, the price of solar is reaching a point where we can compete in deregulated markets such as ERCOT," she said in an email to Computerworld.
"The industry's growing scale and decreasing costs are enabling us to successfully compete against conventional energy in deregulated markets like ERCOT. This award from Austin Energy further proves solar's ability to move into the mainstream energy mix," Arno Harris, CEO of Recurrent Energy, said in a statement.
Then we can get rid of the subsidies, mandates and REC's.
That might be true if money were the only parameter, but it's not. The purpose of all this is reduce the environmental harm caused by all fossil fuel use, and at only 4% of the current energy mix, renewables still have a long way to go before reaching a tipping point in cleaning up the pollution of our air, water and ground.
That might be true if money were the only parameter, but it's not. The purpose of all this is reduce the environmental harm caused by all fossil fuel use, and at only 4% of the current energy mix, renewables still have a long way to go before reaching a tipping point in cleaning up the pollution of our air, water and ground.
You make no sense, who is going to pay more for something if they don't have too? If you reached parity as you are claiming then you don't need any inducement to use it.
You make no sense, who is going to pay more for something if they don't have too? If you reached parity as you are claiming then you don't need any inducement to use it.
Not to use it, no, but to invest in its production, yes. And it's likely to be that way for a while, because people are slow to change and tend to jump at short term savings at the expense of long term benefits.
We do have to rein in the pollution caused by fossil fuels, no matter what it costs. Fortunately the costs of harvesting renewable, non-polluting energy have fallen quickly in the last few years, so the pinch caused by making the transition has not been too bad, and it's getting better all the time.
Meanwhile the economic stimulus created by this emerging industry, and the new jobs created, are benefiting communities all over the country.
And let's not forget the health benefits of reducing pollution from fossil fuels. This MIT study found that this pays for itself in reduced health care costs, and improved health, which benefits everyone.
...and tend to jump at short term savings at the expense of long term benefits.
If there is parity then you have both short term and long term benefits.
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Meanwhile the economic stimulus created by this emerging industry, and the new jobs created, are benefiting communities all over the country.
Like oil lobbysist? Guy that is now pumping renewable fule instead of diesel? What jobs have been lost directly because of this and how many because of the increase in the cost of electric? If a miner in WV and worker at Caterpillar both lost their $50K+ jobs and are now cleaning solar panels manufactured in China for minimum wage that's not a win.
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And let's not forget the health benefits of reducing pollution from fossil fuels. This MIT study found that this pays for itself in reduced health care costs, and improved health, which benefits everyone.
If there is parity then you have both short term and long term benefits.
Like oil lobbysist? Guy that is now pumping renewable fule instead of diesel? What jobs have been lost directly because of this and how many because of the increase in the cost of electric? If a miner in WV and worker at Caterpillar both lost their $50K+ jobs and are now cleaning solar panels manufactured in China for minimum wage that's not a win.
Let's stop right at the first sentence in this article, they mention asthma. We have had an increase in asthma cases over the last few decades.
We still have to force people to be clean. Hell, we can't even stop them from littering, much less destroying our environment.
That is what an active mining site is going to look like, any active mining site. Now show us some pictures after reclamation. We take resources from the ground whether it's copper, iron, lead, salt, rare earth elements used in a lot modern technology or coal to power all the products produced with those resources.
While on the topic for every ton of coal that is mined there is special tax applied that is used to reclaim abandoned mining sites some of which can be more than century old. In that regards active mining is cleaning up the environment.
Last edited by thecoalman; 10-14-2014 at 10:55 AM..
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