SHALINI RAMANATHANRES AmericasCleanTX Board Member It's hard to keep good news to yourself. And it's tempting to brag about wind and solar's cost-competitiveness with fossil generation. Last week, Deutche Bank published a report saying that, with the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) in place, solar power will be at grid parity in 47 U.S. states by 2016. With the ITC dropping to 10% from the current 30%, the number of states where solar is at grid parity drops to 36 states. (Story here). Prices for wind power have also dropped: taller towers dramatically increase the power produced, and new transmission lines in ERCOT and SPP connect very windy land to load centers. But crowing about this good news carries a risk: that the tax credits for wind and solar that are very much part of the success story will end because of the perception that the clean energy industry doesn't need them anymore. Are the wind and solar industries ready to move forward without subsidies? It all depends on what problem you're targeting. If you're solving for modest bumps in the amount of renewables on the grid, tax credits may not be essential. But I want to solve for global climate change. To make a meaningful difference in that battle, we need far more than the 15,900 MW of solar (SEIA data) and the 62, 000 MW of wind (EERE data) now installed in the U.S. Wind is just four percent of installed capacity in the U.S. per the Wind Energy Foundation, while solar is merely one percent. (Source here) We need a step-change in the amount of renewables installed. We can't get there as quickly as we need to without incentives. Energy, in every form, has always attracted government attention. It's too critical an economic input to be left alone. Incentives, subsidies, and special tax treatment for oil and gas continue, despite the obvious success of that industry over decades. Oil prices are at a dramatic low - but no one is talking about getting rid of that industry's incentives. What should the CleanTX community do? We should continue to talk about the good news on grid parity. But we should mention how far we have to go. The only solution to climate change is a massive increase in renewable power. And that will only happen if we have steady, long-term policy incentives. The post Why We Need the ITC For Solar and Wind appeared first on CleanTX.
