Massachusetts Represents Huge Solar Energy Opportunity

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http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/061120/sfm061.html?.v=73

BOSTON, Nov. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Massachusetts represents one of the U.S.'s best locations for making solar energy an economic success, according to a recently released study by the Topline Strategy Group, a leading technology consulting and market intelligence firm. According to Jonathan Klein, founder and general partner, a modest state subsidy program for funding solar installations would enable Massachusetts to become a leader an industry poised for explosive growth in the next 25 years.

The study turns upside down the conventional wisdom of solar power being most attractive in southern, sun-belt states. The economics of solar power are based on a combination of geographic latitude, cloud cover levels, and electricity prices. However, state subsidies of 26 to 69 percent are still required to encourage consumer adoption of the technology by making the cost of adopting solar power competitive with the costs that consumers pay to traditional power utilities for their electricity. California currently is the most economical place in the United States for solar power, where state subsidies of 26.4-percent are required to make it cost effective. Massachusetts' high electricity rates and favorable amount of direct sunlight would require only a 26.8-percent subsidy, making the state the next most attractive area for solar power.

The Solar Energy Industry Association projects solar energy installations to grow from a capacity to generate 650 million kilowatt-hours of electricity to 380 billion kilowatt-hours in the next 25 years -- a 58,000-percent increase "Massachusetts has a real opportunity to establish a leadership position in this hypergrowth industry, attracting significant investment and creating thousands of new jobs," said Klein. "The area is already a leader in solar research and has a strong investor base. The only missing ingredient is a subsidy program."

"Massachusetts is well positioned to lead the increasingly important alternative energy and clean tech industry," said Jim Matheson, general partner at Flagship Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts that focuses on creating and financing early stage companies in technology and life sciences. "To realize this potential, it is critical that the Massachusetts business and technology communities work closely with government leadership to design and implement programs that support alternative energy and clean tech start-ups, and to provide meaningful incentives for businesses and consumers to adopt these technologies."

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