Solar bad investment at half price

Buried in a story on how China had cut the price of solar panels in half is this:

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China’s commitment to solar energy is unlikely to make a difference soon to global warming. China’s energy consumption is growing faster than any other country’s, though the United States consumes more today. Beijing’s aim is to generate 20,000 megawatts of solar energy by 2020 — or less than half the capacity of coal-fired power plants that are built in China each year.

Solar energy remains far more expensive to generate than energy from coal, oil, natural gas or even wind. But in addition to heavy Chinese investment and low Chinese costs, the global economic downturn and a decline in European subsidies to buy panels have lowered prices.

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I think it will continue to have limited applications in areas that are off the grid or where transportation makes other resources more expensive. The military may become one of the biggest users for distance FOBs where the cost of transport of diesel for generators may be too expensive in terms of getting it there and the human cost of doing so.