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Interesting discussion on the diffusion of solar energy around the world and especially in the US. The main point is: is solar energy a valid energy source, and is just in need to have some economies of scale and learning to kick in? If so, government subsidies may be helpful... but don't they bring the risk of locking us into a wrong technology, or simply the wrong technological generation?

"Green" energy is a trickly field for innovation. Energy is a pure commodity, and the market will never choose green over carbon-based energy unless it is cheaper. But green technology will not get to that point of maturity unless government introduces subsidies and/or carbon taxes. True, this is a cost for today, but also a potential driver of economic growth for the near future and for even greater benefits further on. The problem - of course - is in balancing benefits and cost.

Photovoltaic panels are apparently following a nice s-curve, with 100% year-on-year growth. But this has happened  mostly because of public  subsidies, which are about to be reduced, also because cash-strapped governments will not be able to bear the burden of generous feed-in tariffs in the future. The impact is likely to be critical for highly-levered operators, who will find it difficult to service their debt, and for PV makers, who are likely to discover that the industry has a serious problem with oversupply. Add the likelihood of some breakthrough innovation leading to a new generation of cheaper and/or more efficient cells, and you see a critical investment case.