I don’t see solar ever competing dollar for dollar with nuke or nat gas, much less coal.
Right now and for the foreseeable future it is going to be a niche business without heavy subsidies, and this country is flat broke, any way you cut it. As is most of the Western world.
When everything hits the fan, having spent a premium dollar on some level of self-sufficiency on solar power will prove cheap indeed.
Unless you don’t believe that wont happen.
- I get your point, but I beg to differ.
Compare a Western nation like France to an ordinary household (anywhere within the OECD) with a hefty mortgage loan that ‘owns’ the house they live in.
A comparison would lead to the conclusion that the average household in the OECD is deeper in debt than France is.
A married couple who borrow $/£/€ 200 000 to buy the house of their dreams while earning an annual income of say two thirds of that amount is no big deal. So why should it be a big concern for anyone if France or any other country has a national debt that is close to its GDP?
Contrary to the married couple, France run no risk of losing a job, ending up disabled and France will not retire.
Even the once “close to bankruptcy” economies of Greece and Ireland display economic growth today (Irish economy is presently growing by 7.7% at annual basis!!) and so is American economy.
Governments should strive to reduce national debt. But a large national debt as such isn't the end of the Western world.
At this point, can solar produce more energy than it consumes to manufacture the equipment? I have not heard data on that in a long time.