Ausra CEO Robert Fishman talks about funding solar  

The SF Chronicle has an interview with the CEO of solar thermal power company Ausra - Robert Fishman talks about funding solar.

Q: Banks have pretty much stopped lending, and renewable power projects are having a hard time getting financing. How do we break the logjam?

A: It's going to require some action from the federal government, and I think the stimulus package in the form it's taking will help. There's a lot of good stuff in there; we're just hoping it gets out of Congress in one piece.

Q: What specific provisions in the stimulus package would help?

A: There's a lot of versions floating around, but one of them is letting the tax credit (for solar projects) become a grant. It's kind of like getting your tax refund up front. The net cost to the government is the same. It just allows the tax credit to become something more liquid to get projects moving.

Q: Can renewable power keep growing now that oil and natural gas prices are low again?

A: The real question that people have to ask themselves is not what the cost of renewable energy is compared to natural gas-fired energy. It's what are you really trying to solve here? We're trying to solve security issues with imported energy, and solve climate change and create jobs. Also remember, energy prices at the moment are artificially low because of the low economic activity.