global coal consumption has advanced by over 50% in the past decade

[OKIsItJustMe]

8. I must disagree

First, rooftop solar in Germany means that the Germans can burn that much less coal.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, rooftop solar in Germany means lower costs for solar in the developing world.

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/developing-countries-will-be-a-booming-solar-market-industry-panelists-say/

[font face=Serif]October 28, 2009, 3:31 pm

[font size=5]Developing Countries Will Prove a Booming Solar Market, Industry Panelists Say[/font]

By TODD WOODY

[font size=3]By 2020, the world’s biggest potential solar markets will be found in the developing world, areas largely ignored by solar industry today, according to executives working to bring renewable energy to rural regions.

Just 1 percent of the world’s solar panel production has been installed in developing countries, said Michael Eckhart, the president of the American Council on Renewable Energy, during a panel discussion Tuesday at the Solar Power International conference in Anaheim, Calif.

“This is a scandal for our industry and we must find solutions,” said Mr. Eckhart, who has worked on solar projects in Africa and India.

The market in Africa, Asia and Latin America is potentially vast given that nearly 44 percent of the population of the developing world lacks access to electricity, according to Simon Rolland, a policy and development officer for the Alliance for Rural Electrification, based in Brussels.

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http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/bringing-low-cost-solar-to-the-worlds-poor/

[font face=Serif]October 16, 2009, 11:24 am

[font size=5]Bringing Low-Cost Solar to the World’s Poor[/font]

By JEFFREY MARLOW

[font size=1]

An overview of ToughStuff, makers of inexpensive, durable solar panels for low-income people in developing countries. [/font]

[font size=3]For decades, governments and non-governmental organizations have been trying to bring electricity to the world’s poorest and most isolated regions through million-dollar donations and large-scale projects.

A small start-up company, headquartered in the Republic of Mauritius off the southeastern coast of Africa, is pursuing what it considers a different tack: a market-based approach, employing local villagers, selling rudimentary solar panels and focusing on small-scale, personal electricity use.

ToughStuff was founded in 2008 by Andrew Tanswell and Adriaan Mol — two entrepreneurs looking to help low-income families in the developing world. Hoping to avoid the inefficiencies and restrictions of a traditional aid group, they decided to monetize the process.

“If we’re going to reach a lot of people,” said Nick Sowden, the company’s director of business development in the United States, “we need to do that with business. If we had gone the NGO route, it would have taken forever.”

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The fact of the matter is, coming into a world with no existing electric grid rooftop solar is a lot easier to install than centralized coal burning power plants.