How do we help renewables grow even faster?
Arthur D. Little predicts that the US PV marketplace will grow from $310M in 1995 to $2.5 billion in 2005. Governments are right some of the time, politically speaking. Major government programs have been announced this year. The Million-Roof program in the US has generated a lot of interest. President Clinton announced this program in June 1997, with the goal to apply solar energy to 1 million roofs by 2010. Are North Americans too slow in adopting Solar as their first choice for residential building energy in North America? The world-wide demand for Solar photovoltaic (PV) energy is greater than supply, with lead times now 3 – 6 months from suppliers. With one new program, the Japanese will install 30 MW of solar photovoltaics this year. The total world output of all PV manufacturers in 1997 was 90 MW. Being popular isn’t the same thing as being successful. But it’s a good first step. In recent opinion polls, solar energy scored higher than all other forms of energy when participants
