11-27-2012, 04:09 AM
Huge subsidies were put in place for the solar PV industry to make the equivalent rate cost competitive with grid rate pricing. Every government that has solar PV cell manufacturers provides massive subsidies to the corporations manufacturing them. This subsidy comes from taxes, a general tax applied to the majority of the population to provide cost relief to the minority making, installing and buying solar PV systems. With utilities, their share of the subsidy is financed by additional fees to the rest of the customers without solar PV. If solar PV equivalent rate costs were allowed to float to their actual price level, a solar PV system rate pricing would be around 80 cents per kw-hr, compared to 42 cents per kw-hr with HELCO right now.
The time is approaching where adoption of solar PV has grown so much that governments are faced with eliminating the subsidies. If solar PV is actually competitive, it should survive the removal of all subsidies. This is the direction the industry is moving towards, facing an economic environment where solar PV has to compete without big tax breaks. There is going to be a large scale shake out from this, becoming apparent to the public next year. It is interesting that many people think going "off grid" is some kind of anti-tax, anti-government statement, then conversely, go completely off kilter when they hear the government subsidies are gradually disappearing, extremely hypocritical.
Here is an article detailing the changes that are happening. One is that the individual might not qualify for the tax break but the installer still could. That is probably going to disappear next year. Solar PV is just like any other economic bubble, there is nothing to sustain it but the public ideasphere, and when that perception changes, the bubble pops. The news about the Hilo installer that was hit with a 256% tariff retroactively on Chinese panels should have been bigger news. Yeah, get it while you can.
http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2012/1...dit-rules/
Hawaii's Booming Solar Industry In Uproar Over New Tax Credit Rules
The time is approaching where adoption of solar PV has grown so much that governments are faced with eliminating the subsidies. If solar PV is actually competitive, it should survive the removal of all subsidies. This is the direction the industry is moving towards, facing an economic environment where solar PV has to compete without big tax breaks. There is going to be a large scale shake out from this, becoming apparent to the public next year. It is interesting that many people think going "off grid" is some kind of anti-tax, anti-government statement, then conversely, go completely off kilter when they hear the government subsidies are gradually disappearing, extremely hypocritical.
Here is an article detailing the changes that are happening. One is that the individual might not qualify for the tax break but the installer still could. That is probably going to disappear next year. Solar PV is just like any other economic bubble, there is nothing to sustain it but the public ideasphere, and when that perception changes, the bubble pops. The news about the Hilo installer that was hit with a 256% tariff retroactively on Chinese panels should have been bigger news. Yeah, get it while you can.
http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2012/1...dit-rules/
Hawaii's Booming Solar Industry In Uproar Over New Tax Credit Rules
*Japanese tourist on bus through Pahoa, "Is this still America?*