NEW REPORT OFFERS STRATEGIES FOR SOLAR POWER GROWTH

摘要

According to a new report from the clean technology research and publishing firm Clean Edge, of Oakland, California, and the nonprofit consumer organization Co-op America, of Washington, D.C., solar power is becoming a cost-effective alternative and within a decade could cost the same as electricity generated from fossil fuels. The report, Utility Solar Assessment (usa) Study, outlines strategies that utility companies, solar power companies, and regulators could use to reach the goal of providing 10 percent of the total domestic energy supply from solar sources by 2025. The report suggests that utilities relieve grid congestion by taking advantage of the fact that solar energy provides most of its energy during peak usage periods. Solar companies can make solar power easier to install by creating "plug-and-play" technologies, the report says. The report suggests that policy makers enact long-term extensions of tax credits on renewable energy installations. Between now and 2025, between $450 billion and $560 billion will need to be invested in solar energy, equating to approximately $26 billion or more annually. The report notes that while that number might seem insurmountable, it is actually reasonable compared with the approximately $70 billion that utilities spent in 2007 on new power plants and on transmission and distribution systems.