Gouging?

Almost all of the attention surrounding the rising costs of energy has been directed at Big Oil, and the price rises are attributed to their greed. Were they less greedy in the past, when prices were lower?

But what about Big Sun? According to the experts over at Solar Buzz, the price of Photovoltaic modules was decreasing until June 2004, and has been rising since (see image and their extensive statistics).














How does that compare to what oil has been doing?













It looks like prices were steady on the oil front until late 2003, and decreasing in the PV industry until June 2004, and since then both have been climbing. There are at least two ways to look at it:

• Bad: Energy costs impact people of limited means (poor people, retired people on fixed incomes) hardest.
• Good: Rising energy costs mean more conservation, more searching for oil, more searching for alternatives.
  

Which one you favor or emphasize depends on whether you more heavily weigh the short or long term, respectively. You might also quibble with how Solar Buzz creates their statistics, but I think the overall trend is sound. Whether you invest in oil production or solar production, profits are improving in both sectors and look to continue doing so for the foreseeable future. Given the situation in the world, and the fact that we are not nearly ready for the 100% (or even the 5%) solar solution, oil looks to be the stronger investment opportunity for some time to come.

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