US Politics Mega-thread - Page 94

On February 05 2013 11:19 BlueBird. wrote:


They passed an aid package a few days ago, I believe it passed house and senate, I do believe it took way too long though.

First Solar Inc. (FSLR), the world’s largest maker of thin-film solar panels, may sell electricity at a lower rate than new coal plants earn, according to a regulatory filing from a project it purchased in New Mexico.

El Paso Electric Co. (EE) agreed to buy power from First Solar’s the 50-megawatt Macho Springs project for 5.79 cents a kilowatt- hour, according to a Jan. 22 procedural order from the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. That’s less than half the 12.8 cents a kilowatt-hour for power from typical new coal plants, according to models compiled by Bloomberg.
First Solar, which said in a statement yesterday that it bought the Macho Springs project from Element Power Solar, didn’t disclose any of the state and federal incentives that will boost the company’s revenue from the project.

The Macho Springs rate would be “the lowest solar power purchase agreement price we have ever seen,” Aaron Chew, an analyst at Maxim Group LLC in New York, said in an e-mail. It’s less than half the rate that First Solar will get for its Antelope Valley, Topaz, and Agua Caliente projects, he said.

Federal and state incentives will probably supplement First Solar’s revenue from the project. That support includes a 30 percent federal business energy investment tax credit, according to Anthony Kim, an analyst for Bloomberg New Energy Finance said today in an interview.

On February 05 2013 12:07 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:
Wonder if/when South Western Republicans will start touting renewable's rather than Coal as Arizona along with Texas has joined the game: As Solar is now being purchased for less than Coal.



Source

On February 05 2013 12:29 JonnyBNoHo wrote:

Probably not, to my knowledge solar is only competitive with subsidies.

On February 05 2013 12:31 sam!zdat wrote:


Don't we have huge subsidies for coal?

Ohio Gov. John Kasich announced Monday that he will accept the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, becoming the fifth Republican governor to embrace the provision of the health care reform law that the Supreme Court made optional.

The governor unveiled the decision as part of his budget proposal.

“We are going to extend Medicaid for the working poor and for those who are jobless trying to find work,” Kasich said at a press conference in Columbus. “It makes great sense for the state of Ohio because it will allow us to provide greater care with our own dollars.”

The four other Republican governors to back the Medicaid expansion are Brian Sandoval of Nevada, Susana Martinez of New Mexico, Jack Dalrymple of North Dakota and Jan Brewer of Arizona. About a dozen GOP governors from red states have rejected the expansion; others from mostly blue and purple states have yet to decide. Democratic governors have broadly embraced it.

It’s an enticing deal: the expansion would extend Medicaid eligibility to their residents up to roughly 133 percent of the poverty line. The federal government would cover the full cost of the new beneficiaries in the early years and 90 percent after 2020.

“The net effect is 270,000 Ohioans coming into the [Medicaid] program,” said Greg Moody, the director of Ohio’s Office of Health Transformation. “Over two years the state of Ohio will have saved $235 million as a result of the decision to extend coverage.”

Kasich’s decision could influence other undecided Republican governors — such as Chris Christie of New Jersey, Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania and Scott Walker of Wisconsin — who are caught between wanting to improve the lives of their constituents and to remain in good standing with the conservative movement, which detests the Affordable Care Act in general and wants leaders to turn down the Medicaid expansion in particular.

On February 05 2013 13:11 ZeaL. wrote:
If prices for solar cells continue their steady decrease, eventually solar will supplant other electricity generating methods in sunny areas even without subsidy.



As economies of scale increase and technology progresses solar is becoming exponentially more attractive.

On February 05 2013 13:11 ZeaL. wrote:
If prices for solar cells continue their steady decrease, eventually solar will supplant other electricity generating methods in sunny areas even without subsidy.



As economies of scale increase and technology progresses solar is becoming exponentially more attractive.

On February 05 2013 21:36 aksfjh wrote:

Even the most sunny areas don't have sunshine 24 hours a day. We may eventually hit a barrier where renewable energy production is practically free, but it we don't have the same control over it compared to fossil fuels (or nuclear). We'll have to rely on both to satisfy the needs of society.

On February 05 2013 16:45 oneofthem wrote:
sounds like an argument for non shortsighted, basic research.

btw, how could solar have started without subsidies, given the risk distribution

On February 06 2013 02:43 aksfjh wrote:
I want to clarify that I do believe solar is probably the future for a very large portion of our population, and anything I say negatively towards it is from an engineering and problem solving perspective. It's definitely not meant in a "pfft, solar is for hippies" kind of way.

On February 06 2013 02:08 JonnyBNoHo wrote:

Well you'd still have research being done. Solar would just need to wait until it was viable for its time in the sun.

Yes, that would mean less solar now (at least in the US) but despite its growth solar is still an insignificant source of power.