Solar PV

Apparently the public isn't completely clueless:

A recent statewide public opinion survey conducted by Fallon Research found that 75.7% of Republicans, 89% of Democrats, and 81.6% of Independents (82.6% overall) said state leaders and elected officials in North Carolina should seek more alternative or renewable energy sources in order to provide consumers and businesses with electricity.

That small percentage of people who oppose renewable energy, for whatever misguided reasons, need to understand: this poll isn't a product of confusion. Even those who question the validity of global warming are aware of the pollution burning coal produces, and even the small percentage of those who dismiss that or try to ignore it know it's unwise to be reliant on finite resources when infinite resources are available. If lawmakers try to reverse the progress we've made in this area, the voters will be (understandably) perplexed and upset. And this part was pleasantly surprising:

Not the alternative we're looking for:

"With wood you get half the amount of energy typically than with conventional fossil fuels." Mitchell says it'll take at least 100 years for everything to equal out. "You're going to be doing more harm than good than if you were to just be using fossil fuels."

I could argue that (most) wood contains far fewer toxins and heavy metals than coal, but none of these are the proper questions. The proper question is: "Why are we still relying on steam to generate our power?" Which includes nuclear power, by the way. It's just a fancy (dangerous) steam engine. This is what we need:

I won't be dwelling on the legal or ethical problems associated with the Solyndra loan guarantee debacle; I'm sure investigators will be sorting that out soon enough. But I did want to clarify a few aspects of this situation, because apparently many folks are viewing this company's troubles as a failure of either public policy or the viability of renewable energy itself. Far from it. As a matter of fact, this story represents a stunning victory. Not only was the precipitous drop in the price of solar panels predictable, it was desired.

It may not be "free" energy, but it is an unlimited supply:

The company announced last week that Guilford County was one of seven locations being considered for the $1.5 billion project that could use up to 4,000 acres of land and generate up to 400 megawatts of power once complete. Thursday's meeting brought together leaders from Greensboro and Guilford County goverments, the Greensboro Partnership, the Piedmont Triad Partnership, Duke Energy and the state Department of Commerce.

You can't play if they won't throw you the ball:

Independent solar companies say they can’t even get in the door to negotiate with the Charlotte energy giant. “It’s not difficult to do a deal with them,” says Richard Harkrader of Carolina Solar Energy in Durham. “It’s impossible.”

In Charlotte, Optima Engineering founder Keith Pehl says all 17 of the independent commercial solar projects his company brought to Duke Energy in the past two years foundered on failed power-purchase negotiations. Pehl contends Duke’s approach is to control the local market and refuse to pay competitive prices for power from developers and building owners.