SOLAR TODAY Blog

By Corey Dahl
SOLAR TODAY Associate Editor 

 Renewable energy enthusiasts who expect big deals to come from the United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen this December might be in for some disappointment.

During the closing general session at Solar Power International this morning, several leaders -- including New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and SunPower CEO Tom Werner -- weighed in on what they expect will happen at the summit. Most agreed: nothing incredibly significant.

"It's going to be hard to ask China to do things when they can say, ‘Why are you telling us to put caps on carbon when you haven't?'" Richardson said, pointing out that significant climate change legislation in the U.S. will likely be delayed for some time now that health care reform has taken center stage.

All said they hope to see some smaller, incremental steps taken at the summit, though, and Richardson said he believes a new Kyoto-type treaty is possible as early as 2010.

Richardson and the five solar business leaders present at the session also advocated for increased education efforts aimed at both policymakers and the public. Richardson urged people to push their states to pass renewables-friendly legislation, which can then drive federal lawmakers to act. The business leaders said the industry needs to work harder to reveal the true cost of coal to consumers and debunk myths about solar.

"We need to start talking to people about the true costs of other forms of energy," said Ron Kennedi, vice president of the Solar Energy Solutions Group at Sharp Electronics. "People get really outraged about deficit spending in other areas, but they don't realize all the deficit spending that occurs when it comes to coal."

Despite a tough year due to the nationwide recession, all of the business leaders present said they expect rapid growth to continue in the solar industry for the foreseeable future.

"We're not where we want to be, but I believe we're going to pick up the pace, right where we left off, in 2010," Kennedi said.

Their optimism isn't unprecedented: This year's Solar Power International was the largest ever, with more than 23,500 participants and more than 900 exhibitors -- double the number that exhibited last year. Next year's conference will be held in Los Angeles, Oct. 12 - 14.