Wind vs. Solar: If I Had A Million Dollars…

8 by David Wescott on September 18, 2009

energy-solar Tim Hurst, Maria Surma Manka, Jeff McIntire-Strasburg and I got together for the first of what we hope will be a series of podcasts. In each edition we try to answer a single question about issues facing green business.

Today's question: If you were forced to invest a million dollars in the wind industry OR the solar industry, which would you choose and why?

It's an overly-simplistic question, but it's only intended to be a discussion starter and we offered more nuance in the podcast. As we mentioned in the podcast, you shouldn't take this discussion as investment advice. (In fact, if you did take it as investment advice, we'd say you need to have your head examined, but then you'd probably take that as medical advice and we're not doctors either.)

The audio is 15 minutes and 37 seconds long. Enjoy. [Note: We are still ironing out a few audio wrinkles with these podcasts—particularly mine—and promise to have everything up to par for the next installment. -TH]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Disclosure: Tim has a position in Ascent Solar (ASTI), First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green ETF (QCLN), Broadwind (BWEN), Green Street Energy (GSTY), Nacelle Energy (NCEN), GE (GE), Beacon Power (BCON). Maria has invested in Vestas and Woodward Governor. Jeff and I don't have any direct investments in energy companies.

http://www.mariahpower.com Amy Berry

Great debate! While obviously we are a little biased to the wind side, we really think a smart investment is in both PV and wind. The two technologies are very complimentary to each other. I would like to note that wind can be flexible if you think of it in small wind terms and not just the big megawatt turbines.
David Wescott

Thanks Amy – I think we all feel that both technologies offer important benefits and there are a lot of advances yet to come. We’re looking forward to continued leadership from you and others in the industry.
http://emilianojordan.com Emiliano

Insulating buildings (efficiency) and wind. And a million dollars doesn’t get you anything these days. The song now would be “If I had a trillion dollars.”
http://www.jetsongreen.com Preston

Great podcast … what are y’all using to record this?
David Wescott

Hey Preston – we just used call graph to record a skype conference call. pretty simple, really…
Craig Druitt

In L.A. Harbor those of us boaters who are using renewable power sources seem to be employing solar first and adding wind. As your podcast mentioned, a mix of suitable sources based on local environment is a smart choice. Your comment on thin-film got me excited, as it holds such promise in just about any local. Squeezing more power out of less movement and space is the critical mass needed for both.
http://thesolarpanelsforhome.com Issac Maez

Now the sun is a bit lower in the sky my solar hot water panels don’t get hot enough quick enough . Two options to increase the temperature are. 1. A reflector to concentrate the heat from a couple of square metres down to a small heating coil.
http://emilianojordan.com Emiliano

I guess that was too quick of an answer considering I’m “forced” into wind or solar. Answer is “it depends.” I’d chose solar in an urban environment. Roof top solar seems to me to solve a lot of problems. One is the obvious RE, but the second is there is less loss of energy than transporting electricity hundreds of miles from a power (be it wind, solar, coal, nuclear) plant.

For a rural area with a fairly constant wind I’d probably go wind for it’s (from what I can gather) easier maintenance.