Chinese announcement a huge boost for solar companies

Anybody out there still think solar is a pipe dream? Certainly not China, nor the Dow Jones today following an announcement by China's Ministry of Finance that it will offer a $2.93 per watt subsidy for projects over 50 kilowatts.  In a (stop me if you’ve heard this one) bleak stock market picture, solar was a huge winner today with Chinese solar manufacturers gaining >40% almost across the board.  Local manufacturer Solarworld, which has a recently opened factory in Hillsboro was up more than 11% on the news.

Although there seems to be some measured caution by analysts about whether the subsidy applies to traditional PV solar panels (that can be added to existing buildings) or restricted to  building-integrated PV, or BIPV, cells (that can’t), this could represent a huge, green step forward.

How about here in the U.S.? Certainly we’re more progressive than China about our energy right? Not exactly. This site provides a pretty good breakdown of what’s out there.