Like the free market? Let it work.

Bill Moyers tells us that America is on the verge of a solar power boom.  He links to an October 29 article from bloomberg.com, noting that solar electricity will be cheaper than electricity provided by conventional power plants in more than half the states in the U.S. by 2016.

From the Bloomberg article:

After years of struggling against cheap natural gas prices and variable subsidies, solar electricity is on track to be as cheap or cheaper than average electricity-bill prices in 47 U.S. states--in 2016, according to a Deutsche Bank report published this week.  That's assuming the U.S. maintains its 30 percent tax credit on system costs, which is set to expire that same year.

Even if the tax credit drops to 10 percent, solar will soon reach price parity with conventional electricity in well over half the nation: 36 states.  Gone are the days when solar panels were an exotic plaything of Earth-loving rich people.  Solar is becoming mainstream, and prices will continue to drop as the technology improves and financing becomes more affordable, according to the report.

One would think that the Republican Party, champions of the sacred free market, would welcome the chance for America to lead the world in development of a technology that would save us from dependence on demon foreign oil, while saving their beachfront property from erosion.  But, as usual, the Republicans say one thing and do another.  Bought and paid for by the oil and coal industries, they fight solar and wind power at every turn.

Solar electricity:  It's just one more thing in a changing world that the political right won't be able to stop.  Bloomberg:

Because of solar's small market share today, no matter how quickly capacity expands, it won't have much immediate impact on the price of other forms of energy.  But soon, for the first time, the reverse may also be true:  Gas and coal prices will lose their sway over the solar industry.