The Greens urged us to follow China in going solar:
Just as Australia finally puts a price on pollution, China is powering ahead quadrupling its target for solar power to an astonishing 21 gigawatts by 2015. If we don’t start to build a clean energy economy in Australia, we’ll be left behind swiftly.We should follow this?
Li Fei, the owner of Chengxing Solar Company in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, committed suicide by jumping off a building, alarming the debt-ridden photovoltaic industry, reported First Financial Daily in Shanghai.
Li ended his life after Chengxing was unable to repay a 20 million yuan (US$3.15 million) loan taken by another photovoltaic company called Zhongxi, for which Chengxing was the guarantor.
The incident was a sign of the imminent collapse facing the Chinese photovoltaic industry, because of its lack of liquidity and mounting debts, noted First Financial Daily…
Most companies in the industry were burdened with high debts, according to the newspaper. For example, Suntech Energy reported a debt of US$2.26 billion in the first quarter of this year, the same as the last quarter of last year, while Trina Solar’s debt grew 9.7% to US$1.13 billion.
This is one race I’m glad that the US is losing.
“When the world wide war is over and done,
And the dream of peace comes true.
We’ll all be drinkin’ free bubble-up,
Eatin’ that rainbow stew.
When they find out how to burn water,
And the gasoline car is gone.
When an airplane flies without any fuel,
And the sunlight heats our home.
One of these days when the air clears up,
And the sun comes shinin’ through.
We’ll all be drinkin’ free bubble-up,
An’ eatin’ that rainbow stew.”
- Merle Haggard