WHAT STOPS SOLAR

Why is so little solar energy being used?

Kathleen Story, December 7, 2015 (UK Examiner)

“…[W]hy is less than one percent of electricity in the United States obtained from sunshine? Engineers M.A. Delucchi and M.Z. Jacobson published their analysis that the world could be run 100 percent by wind, water, and solar power by 2030. They projected 50 percent wind, 20 percent solar thermal, 14 percent solar photovoltaic plants, 6 percent solar photovoltaic rooftop systems, 4 percent geothermal power plants, 4 percent hydroelectric power plants, and 1 percent each ocean-wave devices and tidal turbines…[The most common method of capturing solar energy is solar panels, photovoltaics…Only about 0.4 percent of electricity in the United States is from photovoltaics. The percentage in other countries like Germany is much higher, in peak times over 50 percent. Solar power is free, carbon-free, and available around the world…Power companies may be against solar use since entire cities could take themselves off the grid by turning their buildings into their own energy sources. The Maine Public Utilities Commission published a study in March 2015 showing rooftop solar is worth 33.7 cents per kilowatt hour as it reduces costs of fuel, generating plants and transmission equipment. Maine's 2014 average residential price is 15.27 cents…[U]tilities are only concerned with their bottom line and are not taking into account the costs of pollution and fossil fuels on the environment.” click here for more

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