Business Insider - Solars rapid rise - along with warmer weather, more energy efficient appliances and various geopolitical factors - has pushed down demand for traditional electricity and cut into utilities profits across the world. Halfway across the globe, in the sunshine state of Queensland, Australia, electrical engineer David Smyth says the war waged by some governments and utilities against distributed energy, the term used for power generated by solar panels, is already lost. The utilities are in a death spiral, he told Reuters by telephone while driving between a pub where he helped set up 120 solar panels to cut its A$60,000 ($53,000) annual power bill and a galvanizing plant which was also adding solar panels to reduce costs. In Australia, he said, solar panels have shifted from being a heavily subsidized indulgence for environmentally-conscious households to a pragmatic option for businesses wanting certainty about what their running costs will be next year. Not many people are doing it because of emissions or the environment, Smyth said. Its about the cost. Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels constitute the fastest growing renewable energy technology in the world since 2000. Global capacity has exploded from 1.5 gigawatts at the turn of the century to 136 gigawatts currently, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency. Meanwhile, the price of solar panels has plummeted 80 percent since 2008 thanks to generous state subsidies aimed at promoting clean energy. Its still less than one percent of energy capacity worldwide, but the surge in installations of rooftop solar panels is beginning to hit utilities and their business model of charging customers on the basis of consumption. Joined by traditional energy companies, they are lobbying governments to reverse decades of subsidies to green, renewable energy such as solar and, in some cases, to tax them. In Europe, Australia and in the United States, energy companies have powerful lobbies that argue that they form a cornerstone of the economy and provide jobs to tens of thousands. Governments are forced to pay heed and in some cases they have acted. The draft law was a brilliant move by the government to keep people from going off the grid, delaying competition for the big utilities, said Cote Romero of renewable energy advisors ECOOO. They’ve paralyzed a whole sector without actually regulating it. And yet, households and businesses find solar energy appealing in an environment where utility bills are increasing.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 20:35:38 +0000
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