Host Frank Stasio talks with former Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers about his book, his idea to power the world and his thoughts on the future of energy. “Gov. Jack Markell and the legislature have championed a lot renewable energy policies”.

“For solar providers and wind providers to compete against such low costs is tough”, Rogers says.

Jim Watson, the director of the UK Energy Research Centre, estimated that the average bill-payer shells out £10 per year to subsidize solar. A slowdown in solar installations could mean a slowdown in hiring for electrical contractors and in clean energy investment in the state.

Proponents of the standards elimination say the costs associated with renewable energy are too high. This transition will create jobs, spur innovation, lower costs for families and businesses, provide a healthy environment by reducing pollution and drive the kind of economic growth that benefits all Iowans.

But solar power advocates on Thursday warned that the state’s solar growth could be halted unless the state lifts the cap on the amount of solar power than can be sold back to the grid by consumers through what is known as net metering.

Lastly, with solar bids becoming highly competitive and the rapid fall in prices, we believe that the government should focus on supporting development of fully integrated solar photovoltaic manufacturing facilities that needs to start with polysilicon manufacturing. “Easier to compete in New York, where the prices are high, but difficult to compete in North Carolina”.

“Solar, on the other hand, can be built very close to load centers without investment and construction lead times of transmission lines”, he opined. There is a 100-150 gw of opportunity to replace the current 25-30 million irrigation pumps in the country with solar water pumps which not only saves the diesel/electricity cost for the farmers, but also gives them a predictable supply of water, increases land utilisation and crop efficiency. Instead, Rogers envisions smaller-scale microgrids meant to power remote villages on its own. The company is experimenting with in-house financing, however, which may allow it to provide a more streamlined financing process for those interested in solar power.

“It is going to be a great source of energy, especially in far flung rural areas of the country”.

However, these numbers shouldn’t scream “the US shouldn’t invest in green energy”. Wind power generation is mostly in the southern states, such as Tamil Nadu; hydroelectricity is generated mostly in the northeastern states; while solar is mostly concentrated in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Without a cooperative Congress and a progressive president, investment in solar energy could plummet if the tax credit expires.

“The issue to me is not whether you have solar, it’s how it fits in the mix along with everything else”, Rogers says. During the first five months of this year, those two sources provided 5.5 percent of our electricity nationwide, four times the portion they produced in 2008.

Renewables play a big role in the future of America’s power, but they also are vital to electrifying the world.