There’s a difference between tax breaks and subsidies. I’m not going to bother explaining it, the Internet is your friend, and people who constantly yammer about subsidies for oil companies are clueless fools. Especially when all these “alternative” and supposedly green industries just like solar receive both
NEW JERSEY SOLAR INDUSTRY AT RISK OF COLLAPSE AS SUBSIDIES BEGIN TO ROLL BACK
New Jersey’s solar industry is expected to plummet unless imminent action by regulators is taken, allowing subsidies to continue propping up solar installation sales.
The New Jersey solar market has grown steadily in recent years. With over 99,000 solar installations in place and around 7,000 employees currently working in the field, the state is ranked seventh in the U.S. for its solar development. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy hopes to see the industry grow even further and signed legislation in May that calls for the state’s renewable portfolio standard to reach 50 percent by 2030.
However, advocates warn the state’s solar industry is on track for total collapse.
“[W]e’re afraid that the market will crash again,†Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said in a statement on Oct. 17. “If we don’t move forward, we’ll lose more jobs and more opportunities for clean energy. We must work to become a leader once more in solar power.â€
The concern comes as the subsidies that have helped propel solar installation sales in the state are due to wind down.
New Jersey’s Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC) program currently incentivizes solar investment by giving panel owners credits for the electricity they produce. Like other solar incentives, however, this program has become controversial as it comes at a great cost to electricity consumers. The price of the credits — currently trading at around $200 — far surpass the cost of projects.
Sadly, instead of spending the People’s Money on research and development to create solar panels that are truly affordable for homeowners that would provide a whole heck of a lot more energy capture than today’s panels, along with viable and low cost storage methods, government is just throwing money towards companies that simply put up panels that aren’t all that much different in solar conversion as they were 50 years ago. And it really keeps everything in the hands of the companies, rather than the private home owners.
If solar is so great, why do we have to pay people to install it? Why do we have to pay companies to install it? Scam.
