Shanghai solar project: Nice idea, if supply can meet demand
The Chinese city of Shanghai is apparently studying the idea of putting solar PV systems atop 100,000 buildings to relieve power shortages and reduce dependency on dirty coal-fired plants. A feasibility study being conducted by Shanghai Jiao Tong University is nearly complete. The goal would be generation capacity of about 300,000 kilowatts — at least when the sun is shining.
Give them credit for being bold. And remember that China has a way of doing what it says. One of the few benefits of state-controlled societies, I suppose.
Funny, if Shanghai is serious about this project, and if this one plan is representative of others throughout power-starved and polluted China, you’ve got to figure there will be a dramatic impact on an already under-supplied global solar market. Sounds eerily similar to arguments around oil supply.
That said, if solar PV manufacturers can ramp up supply and overcome a shortage that has been primarily caused by demand from Germany, Japan and Spain, perhaps we’ll begin seeing solar prices that average Joe Torontonian can afford. It may take a few years, but clearly the solar boom we’re seeing today has staying power.
It’s part of the reason why we’re seeing so much venture capital dollars flowing toward solar startups who are making head-way with flexible solar, integrated solar and thin-film solar technologies. It’s also why some of the more interesting IPOs we’ll see over the next year or so will be solar-focused. (See Cleantech Investing post)
Tyler Hamilton is editor-in-chief of Corporate Knights magazine and a business columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper. In addition to this Clean Break blog, Tyler writes a weekly column of the same name that discusses trends, happenings and innovators in the clean technology and green energy market. This blog is a personal project started in April 2005. It is not an official blog of the newspaper.
