The price of wholesale solar panels has been cut in half the last few years, thus fueling a 21st century energy revolution. Solar adoption, as well as green energy as a whole, is among the most democratic actions thus far this century. It is capitalism at its core. The demand for the alternative is boiling among the masses like a Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts coffee brewing every morning before rush hour. It’s the individuals who are pushing this, not the corporations. It’s demand, not supply. As America, learns more about PV panel efficency. The new energy movement is gripping the minds of consumers as the smart phone has with cellphones. The adoption is about education and economics, but no doubt, the energy revolution has begun. Here are three reasons why America will continue to embrace solar:
1. The results of a federally funded study published last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports that Earth appears to be undergoing an abrupt warming, bringing an end to a cooler period that began 5,000 years ago and coincided-with the rise of cities. The authors expect that the planet’s temperature will continue to climb, glaciers to melt, and sea levels to rise. Those interlinked results came on the heels of other studies indicating the Northern Hemisphere’s recent warming is of a magnitude unmatched for the past 400 to 1,000 years, and that the warming is occurring more rapidly than scientists originally anticipated.
2. Increase number in manufacturers, and a current excess of solar product from a slower adopting US market will push prices lower in 2011.
3. According to a report issued by the Solar Energy Industries Association(SEIA) and GreenTech Media Research, 30% tax write off for solar panels will help ingnite the projected doubling of solar energy demand in 2011. Newly installed solar thermal collectors should provide hot water for nearly 50,000 homes, businesses and other facilities across the country. The most recent “Solar Barometer Survey” found that 94% of U.S. citizens think it is important for the nation to develop and use solar energy, across all political parties and 80% agree that Congress should consider reallocating federal subsidies from fossil fuels to solar and that datapoint alone clearly shows that solar adoption is unstoppable.
President Obama’s state of the union address emphasizes the need for an American revolution. “The rules have changed,” Mr. Obama said, and “In a single generation, revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live, work and do business.” He said that “nations like China and India realized that with some changes of their own, they could compete in this new world,” and he added, “Just recently, China became home to the world’s largest private solar research facility….” There’s plenty of research which shows the president is in line with the American public. The third consecutive year, the SCHOTT/SEIA Solar Barometer highlights American’s, nationwide, bi-partisian, huge & growing support for solar energy, In 2008, Bloomberg has identified that fossil fuels received $557 billion in grants worldwide at between $43 and $46 billion for renewable energy. “The green revolution in the US, just lacks some green.” says EVP, Roy Gayhart of WholeSolar Inc., “Imagine if the US government just reversed subsidies from fossil to solar tomorrow, so far the solar movement has been tax write offs and self financed small-mid sized businesses. If the government made that one change, imagine our new found economic freedom.” Words which echo across the country like lyrics from a 21st century remix of “My Country Tis of Thee”.
I try to use green energy when ever possible. Solar panels will continue to become popular as the cost decreases.