Big Utilities Interested In Big Solar

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/IBD-0001-19959033.htm

Big Utilities Interested In Big Solar

October 01, 2007: 08:05 PM EST

Oct. 1, 2007 (Investor's Business Daily delivered by Newstex) --

Solar energy is getting bigger -- literally.

More utilities are looking to build large solar power (OTCBB:SOPW) plants that can put out as much electricity as coal- or gas-fired plants, but run much cleaner.

"We're at the start of something," said Julia Judd, executive director at the Solar Electric Power Association.

...

"You're weighing costs vs. environmental benefits," said Keely Wachs, a spokesman with Pacific Gas & Electric. "Now, natural gas prices have gone up considerably. So solar is becoming more and more cost-effective."

Essentially, solar thermal plants use mirrors to concentrate the heat of the sun on water or another liquid -- which turns to steam, and, in turn, cranks turbines to produce electricity.

That's in contrast to photovoltaic, or PV, technology. Companies like SunPower make solar panels that take the rays of the sun and convert them into electricity without water or a turbine. Though much cheaper to get up and running, PV solar produces power at a cost of more than 30 cents per kilowatt-hour, compared with about 20 to 22 cents per kilowatt for solar thermal plants, Tisdale says.

PV solar, though, has exploded in places like California and Germany thanks to heavy government incentives. Homeowners and companies such as Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) WMT and Google GOOG are putting PV panels on their roofs, using the energy created in-house and even putting some excess power back onto the grid.

In 2006, 1,700 megawatts of PV technology was installed worldwide, 20% more than the previous year, and the pace picked up this year, Tisdale says. One megawatt is enough for 750 to 1,000 homes.

Zero solar thermal watts went up last year, but 96 megawatts are expected to go live this year, Tisdale said, and there are plans to add some 5,000 megawatts of solar thermal capacity worldwide by 2012.

...

In California, three of the state's largest utilities have announced a handful of solar thermal projects that combined will almost meet state requirements for 3,000 megawatts (3 gigawatts) of renewable energy by 2016, Wachs says.

...

[fenriswolf]

1. yes

maybe big buisness will finally get on board with the green revolution.