Geronimo’s Aurora Solar Project would receive no state or utility subsidies, but would qualify for a federal investment tax credit. Engleking said it is the first time in the United States that solar energy without a state subsidy has beaten natural gas in an official, head-to-head price comparison.
“The cost of solar has come down much faster than anyone had anticipated,” she said in an interview. “This is one of the reasons solar is going to explode.”
Utter stupidity.. They base it strictly on price, and not reliability/availability..
They are still going to need to buy power from other providers, which means they are vulnerable to California style price spikes under adverse conditions (blizzards, white outs.. etc).
Lipman said that if solar alone can’t supply all of Xcel’s extra power needs in the next few years, the utility could take up an offer to purchase surplus energy from Great River Energy, the state’s second-largest power company. The judge also said Xcel will have time to consider other generation projects if electrical demand picks up.
You don't grow an economy on unreliable non-baseload power..
I'm not against solar, where it makes economic sense, and the project is built to maintain consistent and reliable 24x7 baseload power. But that involves overbuilding, then storing excess power, or having to buy it from other generators, who can set their prices at whatever levels they desire during a power crunch.
Hawk |
