By Richard HarrodIn recent days many pundits and right-leaning economists have seized upon the bankruptcy of Massachusetts-based Evergreen Solar as an indication that solar is not viable without government subsidies. Some have gone the extra step and written off solar power entirely as a gimmick. Online business forums are abuzz with discussion of “Who’s next?” among the American PV panel manufactures to go out of business. While this is to be expected it has placed the solar industry on the defensive and some are saying that subsidies for renewable energy ought to be abandoned altogether.
It is understandable to be upset when a bad investment is made and it’s even more frustrating when it is done using public funding, but to say that this is proof that solar is worthless is untrue. All new industries have growing pains. When the petroleum industry was first beginning to take off in the second half of the 19th century there was an explosion in oil prospecting, particularly in western Pennsylvania. Prices soared and suddenly people were travelling from miles around to get involved in oil. Whole towns devoted to drilling sprung up overnight.
As a result of this glut, a crash was inevitable. Prices collapsed and thousands lost money and jobs. Many declared oil a dead industry. Around this time an enterprising businessman decided to get into petroleum. By the time he died he was the wealthiest American to ever live and his company controlled over 80% of the market. That man’s name was John D. Rockefeller.
Each day the sun comes up and makes its passage across the sky it creates enough energy to power all the needs of the entirety of humanity for one year. At this point photovoltaic panels can capture only a small portion of this energy, but that will change. In spite of what the naysayers and paid stooges from the oil and natural gas companies will tell you, solar is making leaps and bounds in technology every year. To simply give up, walk away, bury our heads in the sand and put blind faith in dirty energy to miss out on the power of the future. We cannot afford to not invest in renewable energy. To those who say that photovoltaic is a nonviable, “dead” industry I say this: Somewhere out there is the John Rockefeller of Solar.
HEADLINES
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