'Romantics and hopeless optimists' who may well have been right

Enthusiasts of solar energy have largely been dismissed as green romantics or hopeless optimists, according to the editor of Renew Economy, Giles Parkinson, writing on “Inside Story”.

Giles Parkinson.

His story headed: “Gone Solar” said: “To quote the Edison Electric Institute, a trade group that accounts for most of the utilities in the United States, the industry that once considered itself indispensable and untouchable has found that its business model is being trashed.”

“Consumers are realising they don’t need the power industry at all,” says David Crane, the head of NRG – the largest generator of power in the United States, Parkinson wrote.