Another green co. kaput, well not dead yet....

When will America see the light?

does that qualify as a double entendre?

Newly installed solar panels produced 109% more electricity nationwide last year than in 2010, reaching a record 1,855 megawatts, as the price of these panels plummeted by more than 50%, according to a report today by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), an industry group, and GTM Research.

"The U.S. remains the innovative center of the solar industry worldwide," says Rhone Resch, SEIA's president. He says "run-of-the-mill" panels may increasingly be made overseas, but the U.S. still will make the most advanced solar components and post double-digit annual growth. He expects solar power, which now produces less than 1% of U.S. electricity, to generate 10% by 2020.

"There's no bubble" bursting in the clean-tech sector, Resch says, although he cautions that more companies likely will fail as the industries mature and cope with decreased government subsidies. Other recent reports indicate that the U.S. clean-tech sector remains strong despite Republican criticism of President Obama's half-billion-dollar loan guarantee to Solyndra and his other support for renewable energy.

Wind power increased 31% last year, says the American Wind Energy Association, and venture capital invested in clean technology grew from $3.8 billion in 2010 to $4.3 billion last year, the National Venture Capital Association says. Still, even advocates see challenges ahead. "It's not all rosy. … There have been growing pains of late," says Ron Pernick, managing director for Clean Edge, a research firm. He expects "considerable consolidation."

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A new and rapidly changing and improving technology. There will be many failures, and a few stellar performers that manage to stay ahead of the development curve. In the meantime, solar is increasing by a 30% to 50% a year.

That's great. But do WE need the government to piss away our money for us on this shit, or is it best to leave it to the private sector?

Whether you believe government assistance for the industry is a good idea depends on two factors. One of those is whether you are aware that renewable energy is a growing field and the economic factors now favor it.

The other is whether or not you believe in the ideology of the free market. If you do, then facts don't matter, you believe as a matter of doctrine that the free market is perfect and therefore any government action will make things worse. (WHY anyone believes that, other than that it sounds superficially cool, escapes me, but I realize some people do.)

If you don't believe in that particular religious dogma, then helping along a vital industry like that looks like a good collective investment.

What "economic factors"?

There is no such thing as perfection in praxeology. But, a few bureaucrats deciding what works best for everyone has proven itself failure over and over again.