investors in solar are don't you?
Big Energy's Big Bets on Solar
Everyone from Wall Street analysts and short-sellers to big oil companies and my next-door neighbor have questioned solar power. And this Fool has written countless (OK, you could probably count them) articles trying to educate Foolish investors on how solar stacks up against traditional energy, how much it really costs and where the industry is headed.
Not enough to convince you? I can see that skeptical look in your eye. How about if I told you some of the biggest players in oil were making some of the biggest bets on the solar industry. It's no longer just venture capitalists looking for a home run or tree huggers who want to save the world who are investing in solar power. It's time to admit the threat to fossil fuels is real.
Big Oil and solar
Some Big Oil companies such as ExxonMobil dismissed solar power a long time ago as an energy source that wouldn't amount to anything. But some major oil producers are starting to put some serious dough behind the future of solar power.
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2011/06/30/big-energys-big-bets-on-solar.aspx______________________________
http://www.africagoodnews.com/business/trade-and-investment/1822-morocco-solar-plant-draws-big-investor-interest.htmlInvestor interest in phase one of Morocco's $9 billion solar power scheme has exceeded expectations with about 200 firms submitting expressions of interest, the head of Morocco's solar power agency said.
The Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN) is inviting bids from investors interested in building a solar power station near the southern town of Ouarzazate with a capacity of 500 megawatts (MW), or enough to power about 90,000 homes.
The agency set May 24 as the deadline for would-be investors to submit their expressions of interest in the station, which is intended to export its surplus electricity to customers in power-hungry Europe
http://www.africagoodnews.com/business/trade-and-investment/1822-morocco-solar-plant-draws-big-investor-interest.html________________________
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2011/08/renewables-investment-breaks-recordsRenewables Investment Breaks Records
By Renewable Energy World Network Editors
August 29, 2011
Global investment in renewable power and fuels set a new record in 2010, according to a new analysis commissioned by UNEP's Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE) from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Investment hit $211 billion last year, up 32 percent from a revised $160 billion in 2009, and nearly five and a half times the figure achieved as recently as 2004.
The document, Global Trends in Renewable Investment 2010, an Analysis of Trends and Issues in the Financing of Renewable Energy, reports that the record itself was not the only eye-catching aspect of 2010. Another was the strongest evidence yet of the shift in activity in renewable energy towards developing economies. Financial new investment, a measure that covers transactions by third-party investors, was $143 billion in 2010, but while just over $70 billion of that took place in developed countries, more than $72 billion occurred in developing countries.
This is the first time the developing world has overtaken the richer countries in terms of financial new investment - the comparison was nearly four-to-one in favour of the developed countries back in 2004. It is, however, important to note that in two other areas not included in the financial new investment measure, namely small-scale projects and research and development, developed economies remain well ahead.
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DUBAI | Mon Sep 26, 2011 6:05pm IST
DUBAI (Reuters) - The emirate of Dubai is poised to unveil a big solar power plant as part of a push to get five percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030, Saeed Mohammed al-Tayer, vice chairman of Dubai's Supreme Council of Energy, said on Monday.
Under Dubai's Integrated Energy Strategy 2030, the Middle East emirate plans to reduce energy imports and climate warming carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent by 2030, using its own solar power and nuclear power imported from neighboring emirate Abu Dhabi to reduce reliance on gas.
"In line with Dubai's energy strategy the plan is to have 5 percent of renewables in the electricity supply mix. This is mainly going to be solar," Tayer, who is also chief executive of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), told a news conference.
"Soon we will have a very big (solar) project in Dubai we are trying to find a date to announce it. We have identified the place."
http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/09/26/us-dubai-solar-plan-idINTRE78P1FG20110926