Earth Power Energy Systems

by Christopher Joyce

There’s a solar trade war going on inside the U.S., sparked by an invasion of inexpensive imports from China.

The U.S. solar industry is divided over these imports: Panel-makers say their business is suffering and want a tariff slapped on the imports. But other parts of the industry say these cheap panels are driving a solar boom in the U.S.

On the manufacturers’ side, there’s Gordon Brinser. He’s an Oregon native who says the company he runs there, SolarWorld, is not only green, it’s red, white and blue. “The mission that we have is to build products here in America, for America’s community, for America’s energy independence, and really leave the world a better place,” he says.

Brinser claims China is threatening that vision by flooding the U.S. with cheap solar panels. He claims China subsidizes its solar panel industry to the tune of $30 billion a year, yet uses only a small percentage of the panels it makes. “So obviously,” he says, “these subsidies have gone into the industry, and their full intention is to export and control markets in other countries.”

Brinser claims the imports contributed to the collapse of some U.S. manufacturers. Three did go out of business in 2010, though the exact cause may or may not be cheap imports. But Brinser has petitioned the U.S. Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission to slap tariffs on imported Chinese panels.

So far the feds say, yes, American panel-makers have been harmed by Chinese imports. Yet to be determined is whether China is doing anything illegal: for instance, subsidizing panel-makers so they can sell below cost, a practice called “dumping.”

Brinser acknowledges that if he wins and tariffs are added, Americans will have to pay more for panels. “The prices will have to increase, you know, a little. They will find their new, natural balance in a competitive and legal environment,” he says.

Higher Prices Could Hurt Installers

But CASE, the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy, says higher prices are bad for companies that install solar power. These companies far outnumber panel manufacturers.

Kevin Lapidus works for CASE and is vice president of SunEdison, which builds and operates solar power systems.

“Fully 52 percent of the U.S. jobs are in the installation business,” he says. “These are U.S. workers who wake up in the morning, put on a tool belt, and they go and build something.” He says manufacturers of solar panels in the U.S. are only about a quarter of the domestic business.

Lapidus says solar power is just now shaking off its reputation as too pricey for regular people. “We’re finally reducing the price of solar,” he says. “We’re driving down the cost to grow the solar base — installations, jobs, etc. And the SolarWorld trade case will increase the cost of electricity; it will set the industry back by years.”

He says it could also start an international trade… Continue reading →

Being a so-called new kid on the block, solar energy is new in comparison to other types of energy producers such as fossil fuels, hydro energy, or nuclear for energy. We already know that solar energy is a clean, renewable, and environmentally safe energy for producing electricity with no carbon foot print. How will this new energy revolutionize the world, you ask? Let us look at some facts about solar energy.

• Solar energy is better for the environment than conventional forms of energy. There are no greenhouse gases from the use of the sun’s energy. Unlike our traditional forms of energy that create emissions, solar leaves no residue or damaging effects on our planet.
• There are also many uses of the sun’s energy that we can use, such as producing electricity, heating our homes, solar cooking, and solar hot water heating. Solar energy will have an impact on our daily lives that we will soon forget about seeing solar panels on our roof tops or even solar collectors to heat our water. It will become a part of our lives just like cell phones that are now everywhere.
• Although the use of solar energy dates back in time to the year 1450, only recent developments have made this new kid on the block affordable. The production of solar cells has increased over the last few years with the demand for a renewable energy source to help cut today’s energy cost. As more and more demand for this energy increases, better production methods will cause a competitive market to drive the cost down.
• Here is an amazing fact; it has been estimated that over 2 billion people worldwide are without electricity. These people can have electrical power in remote locations almost anywhere in the world that receives a good supply of sunlight. One very good point about solar energy is that it can be installed almost anywhere because there are no power lines to run or power plants to worry about. One of the fastest growing markets for solar energy is third world countries who have an abundance of sunlight.
• It has been predicted that by the year 2040 more than half of the world’s electricity will come from solar.
• There is even a trend currently to build your own solar system by simply following a guide about how to build your own solar panels. By building your own solar panels you can save over $200 per panel.

Now that you see “how solar energy will revolutionize the world”, I hope that you will take the time to look at this free energy from the sun. I believe that you will see a world-wide effort to clean up the environment by using new types of clean energy to power our modern-day homes and offices.

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