By David Ranii, The News and Observer, Raleigh, N.C.

July 09--A Durham advocacy group contends that solar power already is cheaper than electricity generated by new nuclear plants and will be cheaper still.

A report released Thursday states that solar developers already are offering to sell utilities electricity for 14 cents per kilowatt hour or less. Yet Duke Energy and Progress Energy are moving forward with plans fornuclear plants that would generate electricity at a higher cost: 14 cents to 18 cents per kilowatt hour.

"The bottom line is: Solar power is now cheaper than new nuclear power, particularly in North Carolina," said Jim Warren, executive director of the N.C. Waste Awareness and Reduction Network. The report is the organization's latest salvo in its campaign against new nuclear and coal-fired plants.

The report was written by John Blackburn, a former chairman of Duke University's economics department as well as the university's former chancellor. He also has written two books on renewable energy.

Blackburn said the cost of generating solar energy has fallen by half over the last dozen years and is projected to fall another 50 percent in the next 10 years. At the same time, he said, the projected cost of generating electricity from new nuclear plants is rising.

Progress Energy doesn't dispute that solar costs are declining, but comparing the cost to nuclear is comparing apples to oranges, spokesman Mike Hughes said. "One produces electricity a small part of the time and the other continuously," he said.

"Importantly, actual experience in North Carolina to date indicates that solar ... plants are producing electricity about 16 percent of the time," he noted.

"We expect that number to grow, but our customers do not only use electricity when the sun shines, so we have to invest in many technologies, including solar, biofuels and new nuclearenergy."

Charlotte-based Duke Energy is "making significant investments in solar energy. But any assertion that solar energy can replace nuclear energy is just misleading," spokesman Jason Walls said.

Solar energy enjoys tax benefits that lower the cost to customers, WARN's report notes. Still, it contends that the cost of producing solar electricity is declining and is projected to be cost-competitive without subsidies during this decade.

In addition, the report states, nuclear plants also benefit from subsidies.

"Right now the biggest barriers to solar energy are the electric utilities, who expect to make substantially greater profits from the proposed nuclear plants," said John Runkle, WARN's legal counsel.

According to the report, "solar installers complain that Duke Energy has turned down a host of competitively priced proposals [to sell it electricity], and that Progress Energy generally considers only small-scale projects."

Getting financing for the installation of a large solar project requires showing the lender that the developer has a contract to sell power to a utility, Blackburn said.

WARN is urging Gov. Bev Perdue to look at ways other state governments are helping homeowners adopt solar energy. The up-front cost of installing solar equipment, after deducting federal and state tax credits, is $8,000 to $20,000, Blackburn said.

A sobering thought for consumers in the report is that both new solar power and new nuclear power will cost more than the prevailing cost of generating electricity. Most costs will be passed along to ratepayers.

"In any event, electricity rates in North Carolina will go up," Blackburn said. "Our contention is it will go up more if new nuclear plants are built."

david.ranii@newsobserver.com or 919-829-4877

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