The Losing Economics of Solar Energy

I continue my objection to government use of taxpayer money to support ridiculous projects. The present case involves subsidies for solar energy. It makes no difference whether the subsidy is in the form of loan guarantees,(Solyndra), grants, tax credits or any other form of subsidy, it's a atrocious use of taxpayer money, especially in these times of budget deficits and tremendous national debt.

To support my position, I refer to an article in the December 19 issue of Chemical and Engineering News,. The article is entitled, "Polysilicon Makers Shrink Capacity".

Before I present the detail, let's have a little primer on solar energy. The basic idea is to use sunshine to generate electricity. This is done by a process, which scientists called photovoltaics. However, it is simply a process by which sunlight shines on a photovoltaic material, such as polysilicon. Some of the sun's energy is converted into electricity. However, to make a practical system, one needs to insert the polysilicon into a manufactured device, subject the device to the sun's rays, and lastly channel the generated electricity to a usable location such as lighting or electric motors.

One of the major problems with solar energy generated in this manner, is that the sun does not shine continuously. It doesn't shine at night nor does it shine during rainy or cloudy days. At those times, there is no generation of electricity, and in order to have continuity in use, it is necessary to have battery storage, which is both expensive and space consuming. Collectively, the whole process of generating solar energy and using it is considerably more expensive than the average consumer purchasing his electricity from a power generating station, usually operated on burning coal and using steam to run turbines for electricity generation.

With that cost limitation in mind, we can now refer to the detail of polysilicon makers' shrinking capacity. Wacker Chemie will close its Hikari, Japan plant in 2012 and move a portion of this operation to Singapore and Portland. It will put 500 people out of work. MEMC will reduce its workforce by 1300 jobs, including 250 jobs in the US. This is part of a program involving a 6000 ton per year polysilicon plant in Merano, Italy, which also may ultimately close. Both of these operations are in response to weakening demand for polysilicon wafers used in the manufacture of devices to generate solar electricity.

If the world market for polysilicon devices to generate solar energy is so weak, how do we justify continually pumping in taxpayer dollars to support this losing operation?