MITEI (MIT Energy Initiative) releases report on the future of solar energy

[OKIsItJustMe]

1. Why the best place for solar panels may not be on your roof

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/05/06/the-best-place-for-solar-panels-may-not-be-your-roof-says-mit-study/

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Why the best place for solar panels may not be on your roof[/font]

By Chris Mooney May 6

[font size=3]It’s hard to argue with the idea that solar is the energy source of the future. That’s partly because no other source can really match its potential to generate massive amounts of energy and power our society.

But how do you best ensure the spread of solar power so that it proliferates quickly, and thus helps reduce our carbon emissions?

A new report on the future of solar power from the MIT Energy Initiative argues that from a societal perspective, the most popular and visible solar deployment today — atop residential rooftops — may not be the most economically optimal one. “If the objective of deployment support policies is to increase solar generation at least cost, favoring residential PV [solar photovoltaic] makes no sense,” it states.

The reason, explains Francis O’Sullivan, director of research and analysis at the MIT Energy Initiative, is the way current subsidies for solar energy work in the U.S. The federal subsidy (or tax credit) is “investment based,” which essentially means that it focuses on dollars spent to install solar, rather than the amount of generating capacity installed.

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