Overcoming the Hurtles of Solar Power

From the sunny olive groves of Spain comes a encouraging story of the advancements in solar power. At the beginning of 2008, the government of Spain enacted the law Real Decreto 661/2007, effective for one year offering cash to installers so that they could sell solar power at competitive rates. It also offered subsidies to utilities if they would buy at premium rates. This made solar power more completion with other sources. Because one of the biggest hurtles of going solar is the expensive start up costs of renting and installing the equipment, with this entry barrier tempered the playing field was leveled a bit. The result is this quote from Yahoo News.

“An enormous explosion in installed solar capacity, over 3 gigawatts in one year, enough to displace up to five coal-fired power plants. This number was far higher than analysts had predicted, but it comes at a significant cost, and not just to people's electricity bills.”


Unintended consequences now that the subsidy is being rolled back, is that the artificially inflated market is now unsteady, with deadlines being fudged, cases of fraud turning up, and installers finding less and less work.

Some solutions to this problem could be to follow Germany’s lead and making the subsidies effective for ten years, by that time the initial investment would be paid off and the foundation more solid. Also because the installation costs are such a hurtle using increased incentives, discounts and tax breaks for implementation of solar and other clean energy technology may also improve the situation.
by Alex Borsody

These picture my friends sent me from Spain







solar panels in an orange field in Spain.





solar panels in olive fields in Barcelona






the bottom image is a giant solar panel in a Barcelona park