Solar Energy

Hey

I recently bought shares in a solar energy firm named First Solar. There was a Reuters article written today that discusses the strong possibilty that these companies will be able to offer consumers power at the same rates without subsidies in the next few years. The article is below. Even though there is a risk associated with the share purchase, I feel I have done the research to know which of the multitude of new firms have both the ability to get the job done and the outlook to continue to develop this technology.

http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20070621:MTFH16663_2007-06-21_19-23-14_N21391988&type=comktNews&rpc=44

With summer in full swing, don't forget to purchase the flourescent light bulbs instead of conventional. It will help with the electric bill as you are blasting the air conditioning!

I also saw this little tidbit on a recent bill in Congress. Look at the comment about the taxes hurting production. Recently I wrote a post about how the oil companies just finished testimony about how production isn't the problem but refining capacity is full. I don't believe there was much more production when their taxes were slashed! Priceless

I wonder if and how any of the Democratic Presidential candidates voted on this bill as Ohio and Pennsylvania are major targets.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked a $32 billion package of tax breaks for renewable energy that would have been financed mostly by new taxes on major oil companies.Democrats came three votes short of overcoming a threatened GOP filibuster that was keeping the measure from being attached to a broader energy bill. Republican senators argued that the nearly $29 billion in additional taxes on major oil companies would have led to reduced production and higher gasoline prices.Because of Republican opposition, Democrats needed 60 votes to allow the package to come up for a vote, but fell short, 57-36. With a number of senators not voting, Democrats could resurren with or without the tax measures. ``There are still good things in the bill,'' he told reporters before the floor vote.The Senate later voted 61-32 to proceed further with the energy legislation.