Sunrise Solar dispels solar myths
Myth 1: Solar electricity cannot provide a significant part of America's electricity needs.
Fact: The solar energy resource in a 100 square mile area of Nevada could supply ALL of the electricity needs of the United States, even while using today's modestly efficient solar cell technology. Of course a more logical plan is to use sites in all 50 states to generate America's electricity needs. Solar systems covering America's 5 million acres of abandoned industrial sites alone could produce 90% of our power needs.
Myth 2: Solar energy can solve our problems right now!
Fact: The solar industry does not currently have the capacity to meet all current demands. High demand is expected to continue for many years to come, which will provide strong growth prospects for solar companies.
Myth 3: Solar is a cottage industry appealing only to smaller markets.
Fact: Over the past several years the solar industry has achieved 30% annual growth. It is a multi-billion dollar industry that is growing rapidly and could reach $15 billion annually within the next 5 years. Current projections suggest that within the next 20 years more than 300,000 Americans will have solar related jobs.
Myth 4: Solar is too expensive to compete with the "big boys" of power generation.
Fact: The cost of making a solar cell capable of producing one watt of electricity has fallen from approximately $50 twenty years ago, to under $3 today. In some markets the cost of solar power is now under $0.11 per kwh, which is competitive with traditional power generations methods. It is expected that the return on investment for new solar modules will be less than 24 months, resulting in 20 or more years of clean, near-zero cost energy.
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Customers on the hook for $5.5 billion in deferred BC Hydro operating costs: report
VICTORIA - Auditor General Carol Bellringer says BC Hydro has deferred $5.5 billion in expenses that it plans to recover from ratepayers in the future.
Bellringer focuses on the deferred expenses in a report on the public utility's use of rate-regulated accounting to control the prices it charges customers.
"As of March 31, 2018, BC Hydro reported a total net regulatory asset of $5.455 billion, which is what ratepayers owe," says the report. "BC Hydro expects to recover this from ratepayers in the future. For BC Hydro, this is an asset. For ratepayers, this is a debt."
She says rate-regulated…
