Federal Support For Solar Is Relatively Small, But Provides ‘More Jobs Per Megawatt-Hour Than Any Other Energy Industry’

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/05/02/475524/federal-support-for-solar-small-but-more-jobs-per-megawatt-hour-than-any-other-energy-industry/

on May 2, 2012 at 4:35 pm
by Adam James

The myth is that solar energy has achieved little despite huge subsidies. The reality is that solar has achieved a great deal despite relatively low subsidies.

A new report from the Baker Center for Public Policy just released a fabulous new analysis comparing incentives for solar with historical incentives for fossil fuels, including this chart:

..... [see original article for chart]

The report, commissioned by the solar industry’s trade group, has a number of interesting conclusions:

Solar has had relatively small subsidies. That’s right, incentives for solar have been small compared to fossil fuels
Incentives are working. Long term, stable incentives have ‘bridged the chasm’ to get solar past early adoption stages and to market.
The employment potential for solar is even better than anticipated. Solar can create between 200,000 and 430,000 jobs in 2020.
Solar power will not only be competitive, but will be a robust addition to America’s energy portfolio. Expanding the use of solar would limit the impact of price volatility and supply disruption- just rooftop solar could provide 20 percent of America’s energy needs.

These arguments are even more persuasive in light of the recent paper from McKinsey showing how dramatically the market for solar photovoltaics will grow in the coming decade. Taken together, these analyses show that we are clearly reaching the dawn of a new age for solar.

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[see original article for expanded explanation]