On Mon, 2 Jun 2008 14:50:55 -0400, "Birdog" wrote in
:

Being stupid is a good alternative if you don't want to bother to actually
learn the facts. As is being an environmentalist.

Catering to environmentalists may be more financially rewarding than
it is political. I look for photo voltaics to be the next dot-com
investment vogue. It sure seems to be working for this enterprising
fellow:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006...as_richest.php
China’s Richest Man: A Solar Magnate
by Alex Pasternack, Beijing, China on 11.14.06
Last month, we reported that China’s (and the world’s) richest
woman built her wealth on recycling. In another sign of the
country’s shift from red to green, its wealthiest man (by some
estimates) is making a windfall on solar energy. While Shi
Zhengrong, the founder and CEO of Wuxi-based Suntech Power, is
known as the richest man on the mainland or just China’s
wealthiest energy magnate, his Australian citizenship means he
cannot hold the title of the richest Chinese man according to
Forbes (that just went to Huang Guangyu, an electronics
entrepreneur). But that's a technicality, and who’s counting
anyway?

What counts more are the waves Shi’s making in China. Since 2005,
when Shi’s Suntech became the first hi-tech Chinese company to
make an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, on
the strength of his business savvy and commitment to innovation,
the company’s revenue has zoomed to $226 million last year from
just $14 million in 2003 (it’s made $218 million so far this
year). These days, analysts count Suntech as one of the world’s
top ten producers of photo-voltaic (PV) cells, with a new U.S.
subsidiary and a dramatic cost advantage: its high-efficiency
solar modules go for $3.78 a watt, well below the average global
market price of $4.30. Shi’s story is a nice healthy reminder for
China and everyone else of the link between green innovation and
green backs, and proof of how fast solar energy is bounding out
from the fringes and into the sunlight.

Currently, most of Suntech’s solar cells are sent to the global
solar market, where demand has reached 5 gigawatts (the world can
only supply enough silicon to supply between 2.2 and 2.4 gigawatts
currently). But Suntech is making over half of China’s solar
panels, which are sometimes the only feasible energy option ...



http://www.suntech-power.com/
http://www.suntech-power.com/product...rystalline.php
http://www.suntech-power.com/product...erformance.php
Cost Performance

On average around the world, sunlight delivers a barrel of oil of
energy on every square meter of land every year. At $100 a barrel,
a 100m2 roof is receiving $10,000/yr of energy - a quarter of a
million dollars over 25 years. With photovoltaic systems we can
convert up to 20% of this raw energy directly into electricity.
Unlike traditional power sources whose economics depends on the
ever changing price of fuel, solar energy systems come with a 25
year guaranteed free fuel supply direct from the Sun. While
electricity prices are increasing all around the world, once you
have invested in a solar system you will have little or no
additional costs to pay.

Our building integrated (BIPV) modules are unique building
materials that generate revenue. When compared to other high
quality glazing and cladding materials, a BIPV system is extremely
reasonable. Many other glazing options can be comparable in cost,
while materials such as granite and marble are more expensive (and
produce no income stream!).