I’m sure if we look back at history, there were a lot of critics that came out of the woodwork when electricity was first being marketed. Disruptive technology is sometimes hugely unpopular. The populist sector will often foster resistance that prohibits current, just like electricity. The market will usually decide what the next step will be. Is the solar power boom about to happen?
I recently watched a video that was hilarious. Locals were yelling at others driving new Ford cars on dirt roads, stirring up the dust. And what did they say? Buy a horse!
If and when it does, then maybe we should focus on lowering the cost of energy with small investments. It’s a start if we invest in green appliances, such as ENERGY STAR Qualified Products. We need to constantly think of better ways to reduce kWh consumption. The time is nearing.
The price of solar panels in the past has limited the driving force behind the green movement. Recent developments may be changing this, and the change may be sooner than we realize. China may be a factor in all of this.
In recent trends, China has been hit with modest tariffs while trying to market solar panels in the United States. The Chinese government has been accused of dumping, or subsidizing the solar panel industry. It is imaginable to rationalize that China will find a way around this small inconvenience. How?
No problem. Just buy land in Oregon, or somewhere else on the west coast. That’s how to beat the tariffs. Toyota did it.
From The Bulletin: JA Solar Holdings Co., a Shanghai-based business saddled with 35 percent U.S. import duties, is searching Western states for potential plant locations, the company’s president for the Americas confirmed. Jonathan Pickering told The Oregonian that managers expect to decide within a few months.
While this is going to hurt some solar power companies in America, this will increase competition in the market and could accelerate the growth of solar technology as we’ve never seen before.
The real question is will the American consumer benefit by the investment from Chinese corporations? It’s a bit early to speculate, but I personally don’t see this as a bad thing. The more the competition, the cheaper the solar panels. And this could be a miracle for the economy.
I can understand some resistance in America from corporations who stand to lose from this. Imagine this — consumers standing in lines to purchase solar panels — and investing in solar energy.
Have we been misled to believe that solar energy was never going to be economically feasible? That mentality may be blown away in the near future. I think the time is almost there. And there will be opponents who will state otherwise; they probably own stock in the grid.
Be patient. Be happy. Think green. Buy a horse!
