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CFE agenda 020816
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CFE agenda 020816
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2/8/2016
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CFE minutes 020816
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The Opinion Pages I Op -Ed Contributor <br />The Conservative Case for Solar Subsidies By BEN HO January 5, 2016 <br />To many skeptics, particularly on the right, the spectacular failure of the solar -panel manufacturer <br />Solyndra in 2011, after receiving a $535 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy, <br />demonstrated the industry's shaky future and the danger of government efforts to subsidize it to success. <br />Fast forward to today. Solar energy prices have continued to fall rapidly, twice as many Americans work <br />in the solar industry as in coal mining, and last year one -third of new electricity generation came from <br />solar power. <br />Solar, long viewed through the lens of crony capitalism, has shown the ability to inject real market <br />competition in energy distribution, one of the last monopolies in the energy sector, while improving the <br />efficiency of the grid and putting more dollars in the pockets of middle -class Americans. Conservatives, <br />in other words, need to take another look at solar. <br />The case for solar isn't limited to prices and jobs. Consumers want choice. Unfortunately, in most <br />markets around the country, electricity is still one of the few areas where we have virtually no choice over <br />our supplier. Imagine you want to buy a G.M. car, but you were told you can buy only a Toyota. You'd <br />be outraged — yet this is how almost all Americans are forced to procure their electricity. <br />Solar also solves an efficiency challenge. Right now, demand peaks during the daytime, far exceeding the <br />supply of baseload power. To meet demand, we have invested in a great deal of spare capacity. Most of <br />this capacity comes from coal and natural gas plants that run only for a fraction of the day. According to <br />the Energy Information Administration, outside of peak hours, most natural gas -fired power plants in <br />America used only 5 percent of their total capacity in 2012. <br />Again, to borrow an automotive analogy, you wouldn't buy a new car just for those few days you had <br />extra errands. Instead, you'd call an Uber or rent a Zipcar. That's the same role rooftop solar panels can <br />play for our energy challenges — instead of building another huge plant for a few peak hours, we can <br />build just as much solar capacity as we need. <br />Critics of solar have often said that it produces only "when the sun is shining," and that is true. <br />Fortunately, we need energy most during the daytime — making rooftop solar a smart choice for <br />consumers while adding energy to the grid when we need it most. <br />And while challenges of storage and metering policies remain, both technology and regulatory models <br />have made significant strides. States like California are considering metering policies that incentivize <br />solar consumers to reduce their demand at peak hours and enable them to sell energy back into the grid <br />when the grid needs it most. Technologies like Google's Nest "smart" thermostat and Tesla's home <br />battery are making it easier for consumers to monitor their energy consumption and better store renewable <br />energy when the sun isn't shining. <br />Of course, conservatives will respond that their core objection remains: Solar functions only because of <br />government subsidies. But there are a couple of issues to consider. <br />
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