| Solar Power and Wind Energy Battle for Supremacy |
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Page 2 of 3 Sun vs. wind: Round 2 Experts also say solar power enjoys several advantages over wind -- advantages that increases the value of sun power for those paying the bills. For instance, because the wind typically stops blowing during the middle of hot summer days, Texas won't get much use from those expensive new transmission lines when it needs the power the most. Obviously, that's not a problem with solar. Wind also presents tough -- and sometimes expensive -- technical challenges. Because wind turbines will stop spinning without a moment's notice, engineers at the power grid must sometimes have more expensive standby power ready and waiting. And finally there's the question of power lines themselves. With wind power, ratepayers get stuck with the enormous price tag. This cost is avoided with rooftop solar power and can be minimized with other sorts of solar energy. Wind-power advocates argue that concerns over the transmission costs are overblown. They say that savings from wind power -- which has zero fuel costs -- quickly offset the extra expense. But some skeptics say that under the deregulated electricity system in Texas, there's not a guarantee that ratepayers will see much of those savings. Instead, much of it may end up padding the bottom line of electric companies. In California, by contrast, those who invest in solar panels can see savings reflected directly on their bills. Those savings -- when combined with federal tax breaks and the new California rebates -- can allow homeowners to recoup the cost of their investment in panels in a decade or so, said Marcel Hawiger, staff attorney for the Utility Reform Network, a California-based consumer advocacy group. After that, the solar investment can lead to real reductions in home bills, he said. Sun vs. wind: Round 3 Despite the advantages, Hawiger still questions whether that state's solar initiative is a good deal for Californians. He calls the $3.3 billion addition to home rates one of "the most regressive forms of taxation" and notes that most of those installing the panels are businesses, not residences. "Our residential customers are subsidizing commercial customers who are already getting a much better tax break for solar installation," he said. Like the effects of gravity, you just can't escape math. Even given the potentially high transmission costs and other disadvantages, wind power still remains much cheaper to produce than solar, said Severin Borenstein, director of the University of California Energy Institute. He estimated solar power's long-run average production cost at 25 to 30 cents per kilowatt hour -- not including government subsidies and tax credits -- as compared to 5 to 9 cents for wind power. "Solar is four times as expensive than wind -- or at least three times as expensive -- even when you count transmission," he said.
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