SOLAR PANEL TAKE-OFF---Carl Schwab

In the September 10, 2012 issue of WSJ an article entitled “Sun Peeks Through in Solar” appeared with the lead in of “Overseas Suppliers Trounce U.S. Panel Makers but Installations Are Soaring”. The solar panel installation business has had a rough start because of the Obama administration NOT understanding how to approach it. The solar-power business is expanding quickly in the US, helping lift the cloud that has surrounded the demise of Solyndra LLC about a year ago. But the growth isn’t coming from US solar-panel manufacturing, despite the money and rhetoric devoted to the industry by the Obama administration. Instead, it is in installations of largely foreign-made panels, whose falling prices have made solar more competitive with other forms of power.

“There should be little emphasis put on where the panels are made,” says the chief executive of SolarCity Corp., which finances and installs rooftop solar systems. “Most of the jobs are in design and delivery and they’re long-term, permanent jobs.” The US is on pace to install as much solar power this year as it did in the past decade: at least 2,500 megawatts, the equivalent of more than two nuclear-power plants. For some reference 750 megawatts is sufficient to power about 150,000 homes according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.

FWIW the cost to add a watt to a panel output is now at $.84 having come down from $15 in the Carter years. China supplied nearly half of the worlds’ solar panels last year, up from one-fifth in 2008. The US shipped just 3% of solar panels used globally last year.

President Obama’s 2009 economic-stimulus package provided funds for loan guarantees to five US solar manufacturers. Two have filed for bankruptcy, including Solyndra, the California maker that borrowed more $500 million from the federal government. Of the others, two are still developing their technology and haven’t drawn any loans and one has put a factory build on hold.

What does it cost? The system cost is about $34,000. But the installation, by Maryland-based Solar Energy World LLC, had federal assistance. Because of sitting considerations, a good bit of mechanical engineering is required to meet all the required practical sitting criteria. Further so far as the US continental areas are concerned, you must judge what the solar exposure is on an annual basis.
Some have experimented with tracking/steering system that position the solar collecting panel but that brings expense and also risk of storm damage. Truth be told storm damage (particularly wind & hail) is a serious concern and insurance costs have to be figured in as well. Other practical matters are that you may NOT want to put it on your roof---you may want to mount it separately. You have to assure that there is no “line-of-sight” i.e. tree blockage etc, as you view for the whole year.

But the sun IS there every day and if you can see it you can extract some level of electrical power and that is enticing.  Southern and western locations in the continental US are most enticing and once you finance the initial installation and budget for maintenance it can be a good deal and the environmentalists love it.

INTERESTING----

Comments

[John Dunn]

There is a house several blocks from here with its roof totally covered with solar panels. However, there is also a chimney in the middle of the array whose shadow falls across a couple of the solar panels and that whole house is almost surrounded by tall trees.

I've often wondered just how much benefit that homeowner has derived.

[SecureKat]

It depends on when the shadow falls, and if it's during the peak sun hours. I'm investigating a solar installation at my home, and have been told I have a perfect roof for it, with 96% sun exposure during the peak hours, which drops to 88% on the east side as the day progresses and the neighbor's home begins to occlude. Several computer programs are available that can calculate the annual sun exposure based on your home's location, and one of the vendors bidding on the project, Sun Energy Systems of Seattle, gave me some very nice plots of how trees and other structures affected those calculations.

[Dick LaRosa]

I recently read in Nature magazine that Chinese PV manufacturers are failing. Can't find the article. My office is a mess. PV is great if you can't get access to the electric grid. Solar evaporator rafts in coastal waters to alleviate drought may be very important and low tech, low pollution.

[Carl Schwab]

To commenters----I am assembling additional information about the “ins and outs” of solar panels. When I have it assembled I will put up a BLGO----it IS a more complicated subject than seems on the surface. -----Carl Schwab