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Tuesday, May 2nd, 2017

Why is China Investing in Solar Energy?

Author:     Quora
Source:     Newsweek
Publication Date:     4/30/17 at 5:00 PM
Link: Why is China Investing in Solar Energy?
Stephan:   Another SR prediction validated. As a result of the protectionist carbon centered energy policies of the Republican Party, now brought into full focus under Trump, the United States is forfeiting millions of jobs --  Non carbon energy workers already exceed coal workers in the U.S. -- and the prosperity that comes from being preeminent in the new technology. This report lays it out. I want to be clear here. China is not a social order under which I would care to live; I want to live in a wellness oriented democracy.  But the Chinese have a president who serves for a decade, a system that is designed to think in terms of centuries, and a population of nearly 1.5 billion that is at peace and whose collective intention is to stay that way.

A Chinese solar panel factory

Quora Questions are part of a partnership between Newsweek and Quora, through which we’ll be posting relevant and interesting answers from Quora contributors throughout the week. Read more about the partnership here.

Answer from Michael Barnard, low-carbon innovation analyst:

Is it right for China to invest in solar rather than coal? Absolutely yes, with a shaving of nuance.

First off, is solar a good energy generation type to invest in? Yes, completely.

It’s not quite as cheap as onshore wind generation at utility scale right now, but it’s now price competitive with natural gas generation in a large number of companies including some of the biggest such as the USA, China and India. And it’s getting cheaper fast. The last projection of completely apple-to-apple generation prices indicated that wind and solar prices will intersect around 2022 and be so cheap that other sources would have to be even more heavily subsidized through multiple tax breaks, […]

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