Solar Energy Job Growth Outpaces Other Industries

[ScienceRocks]

Solar Energy Job Growth Outpaces Other Industries

At 431,800 jobs today, advanced energy is bigger by employment in California than the motion picture, television, and radio industries; mining and quarrying; semiconductors; and aerospace. Advanced energy jobs grew 5% in the past year – more than double the overall state job growth rate – and is on track to grow 17% in the coming year, to more than 500,000 workers, based on employer hiring plans.

This just shows that solar is a job maker!

 

[Mr. H.]

 

[ScienceRocks]

Is it not true?

 

[Tom Sweetnam]

Show me a stable, long-term, dividend paying, profitable company in solar that stands on its own feet without government subsidizing, and I'll buy their stock...maybe.

 

[Old Rocks]

Gonna be a bunch of them, Sweetie Pie.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/24/b...-win-on-price-vs-conventional-fuels.html?_r=0

In Texas, Austin Energy signed a deal this spring for 20 years of output from a solar farm at less than 5 cents a kilowatt-hour. In September, the Grand River Dam Authority in Oklahoma announced its approval of a new agreement to buy power from a new wind farm expected to be completed next year. Grand River estimated the deal would save its customers roughly $50 million from the project.

And, also in Oklahoma, American Electric Power ended up tripling the amount of wind power it had originally sought after seeing how low the bids came in last year.

“Wind was on sale — it was a Blue Light Special,” said Jay Godfrey, managing director of renewable energy for the company. He noted that Oklahoma, unlike many states, did not require utilities to buy power from renewable sources.

“We were doing it because it made sense for our ratepayers,” he said.

According to a study by the investment banking firm Lazard, the cost of utility-scale solar energy is as low as 5.6 cents a kilowatt-hour, and wind is as low as 1.4 cents. In comparison, natural gas comes at 6.1 cents a kilowatt-hour on the low end and coal at 6.6 cents. Without subsidies, the firm’s analysis shows, solar costs about 7.2 cents a kilowatt-hour at the low end, with wind at 3.7 cents.

Looks like the great ultra-liberal state of Texas is buying into renewables in a big way.