We've just finished both the Republican and Democratic conventions where there was almost nothing said by either party regarding renewable energy or any other environmental issue for that matter. The Republicans snuck in an occasional "Solyndra" reference as if just saying the word was enough of a condemnation to stick it to the Democrats. Obama made a passing reference to renewable energy in his address though he pretty much took all of the value out of it by, in the same breath, referencing the mythical energy source called "clean coal".
Overall, discussion of energy and environmental issues were kept in the background at both conventions and instead the focus was on economic or cultural issues such as abortion or women's rights. Nonetheless, the great thing about reality is that sometimes things move ahead even when it is politically incorrect to do so. For example, PG&E, the largest electric utility just announced that its newest solar energy plant, Agua Caliente, is now online and producing over 250 megawatts of energy. This solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant located in Yuma County, Arizona has created more than 400 jobs for the local economy.
PG&E has also announced that it has signed a contract with SunPower for the production of a new 100 megawatt solar power plant in Kings County California to be called the Henrietta Solar Project. I find this particular energy project fascinating. Normally the price utilities pay for electricity production contracts is kept secret. But PG&E was required to file some reports with the Public Utilities Commission that showed that the contract price is below what they call the 2011 Market Price Referent (MPR) which California has designated for all electricity contracts. That means that the 20 year locked in price for the electricity from this solar power plant is going to be below the MPR price of 10.4 cents per kilowatt hour. This is an astoundingly low price and shows you how far the price for utility-scale solar energy has dropped. This is less than what it would cost to get the electricity from a natural gas-fired plant.
This is of course good news for consumers and a validation for our yuppie Governor Jerry Brown. However, I wonder how this news would have been received if our Governor had been someone like, say, Mitt Romney. I can just imagine the conversation:
Bob: (PG&E VP): Governor, so nice of you to call. What can I do for you?
Mitt: Well, I heard that you are about to sign an agreement to put up some kind of dang solar power plant. Please tell me that's not true!
Bob: Why yes, that is true Governor. I am so excited about it. We got an incredible deal on the electric rate and it is locked in by contract for 20 years! That means even 20 years from now our customers will be paying less than what we charge now!
Mitt: Wait a minute Bob. Didn't you get the memo? Solar is bad! Solar is expensive! My God man, haven't you heard of Solyndra.
Bob: Well, yes I have governor but I assure you that the company we contracted with, SunPower, has been very reliable. They are one of the largest solar panel manufacturers and installers in the world.
Mitt: But Bob, you can't trust these solar companies, they might not be here tomorrow (whisper: "At least if I have any say in the matter.").
Bob: But Governor, the solar panels are provided up front as part of the contract. They are warrantied for 25 years and they will probably last more than 50 years. There is no real risk for us.
Mitt: Risk schmisk. We've been beating the administration up over Solyndra, what do we tell people if we start supporting solar now?
Bob: Governor, why don't we tell them that we are just serving the public interest by getting electricity from a reliable supplier at low cost. Isn't that what we are supposed to do?
Mitt: No, this is no good. People will think that I've flip-flopped again, not that I ever really have of course.
Bob: (suppresses chuckle)
Mitt: Why don't we use a "clean coal" plant instead. People like the sound of "clean coal".
Bob: We looked at that Governor but we couldn't find any. Nobody has actually ever built a clean coal plant that is economical, and no coal company was willing to guarantee us a price like this for electricity for twenty years!
Mitt: Bob, you are just not getting the big picture here. Solar is out, its politically incorrect. It's just unAmerican.
Bob: But Governor, why is it unAmerican. The solar panels are manufactured right here in our state and building the solar plant will provide over 200 jobs for Kings County!
Mitt: (hmmmm) Jobs you say? I like jobs.
Bob: Yes sir, good jobs. And Governor, the plant is going to be placed on unusable land that has been over farmed. The land wasn't producing much anyway and there are no endangered species to disturb so you shouldn't have any problems with the environmentalists.
Mitt: No environmentalists, I like that even better. But could we hire just a few so I could fire them. I like to fire people!
Bob: You got it Governor! Whatever you want! I appreciate your leadership in this.
Mitt: Yep, that's me Bob. I'm a leader!
........ Well, it could happen
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