No, cheap oil will not kill solar power
As the price of oil has tumbled to five-year lows, solar stocks have fallen with it: First Solar was trading near $72 in mid-September; now it's around $44. Solar City has around $65; now it's close to $50.
Solar energy investors seem to be running for the doors, fearing that cheap oil will erase demand for alternative energy. But it won't, say industry analysts. Oil and solar serve two different customers.
Oil dominates energy demand in transportation fuels, but solar power customers are primarily of two types: public electric utilities and large corporations. Neither of those use oil to generate electricity, and they are not about to start doing so, say analysts.
Less than 5 percent of the world's electricity comes from oil; most of it comes from coal, natural gas, nuclear and, increasingly, solar power. Public utilities sign long-term agreements with solar providers, sometimes spanning 20 years. Those deals are unaffected by oil price changes, said Jeff Osborne, an analyst with Cowen Group.
Comments (0)
This post does not have any comments. Be the first to leave a comment below.
Featured Product
OMCO Origin® Factory-Direct Trackers
A One-In-Portrait (1P) solution that support a wide range of solar projects (utility scale, distributed generation (DG), & C&I markets). Manufactured and factory preassembled in the USA at one of OMCO Solar's 5 US plants (AZ, IN, AL, OH), OMCO makes all structural components with domestic steel and now can offer a 100% domestic tracker. OMCO Origin® Factory-Direct Trackers include universal module mounts with options for all commercially available modules, labor-saving bearings with 6 adjustable ways to compensate for posts and terrain issues, and foundation solutions for every terrain including OMCO C Piles.
