Solar Power Is Booming in Emerging Markets | Hacker News Reader

Solar Power Is Booming in Emerging Markets

oilprice.com

With less legacy infrastructure to connect to and to support, solar makes sense in developing markets, especially as prices continue to decrease.

This leaves the oil and gas industry with a clear disadvantage and begins to tie their survival to maintenance of local advantages. That means they are incentivized to spend lots of money to preserve the status quo where they could be spending that money to pivot to a better world for all. As the market for their product condenses to a few developed nations with compliant leaders they will soak users even more so that profits can be maintained while they fund propaganda campaigns to improve their public image.

All subsidies currently designated for energy infrastructure should be focused on sustainable sources of energy and any monies currently dispersed to the oil and gas industry should be clawed back so that the damages already done and in progress can be partly remediated by the ones who caused it.

Why? Because solar power is way cheaper. Cheaper to install initially but also way cheaper to operate over the long run --- no fuel costs.

Fossil fuels are a competitive disadvantage for AI and manufacturing.

I would argue it is also because the energy prices in those markets are higher compared to, for example, Europe and the energy consumption is lower.

Speaking from a developing nation. Upfront solar costs aren't cheap. Reasons why people invest in solar include unreliable grids which result in power cuts from lack of maintenance or capacity. For new buildings bureaucratic processes are so cumbersome and often there is lots of corruption for you to get connected to the grid so people rather just invest in solar and have nothing to do with often hostile local government officials looking for a bribe to get you connected to the grid. It can take years to get connected to the grid.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com