Re: [Staffslug] Free solar panels

Hi, This is not about solar cell efficiency, it's about huge government enforced subsidies (buying solar cell electricity at 30p per unit) being exploited by big business and the costs being passed on to the consumer. There is already plenty of research into solar cells, and cost effective ones are being developed. The government enforced subsidies encourage the use of the current technology which is not cost effective. If anything, it removes the need for further research! What matters for big business is the return on capital, and current solar cells guarantee a big loss on any unsubsidised investment. The government calculates the feed-in tariff so as to guarantee at least a 5% return for individual home owners. With economies of scale, big business sees a much larger GUARANTEED return and jumps in. There have also been stories of farmers converting their fields into solar power generators. By the way, I love my solar power garden lights. But I wouldn't fill my garden with them to power the house. They're very expensive. Or rather, conventional electricity is so cheap. Ted