If solar and wind power are tobreak out of their present tiny niche positions, they will need to achieve systems parity with traditional energy supplies.
By this point the sunshine in which the match started had given way to cloudy skies, a fairly strong wind and gentle rainfall, and break-point opportunities were few and far between.
Another issue is finding the right tubing that is flexible enough towind up on a spool but resilient enough to not bend or break, either from internal fluid pressure or by being cut by plants and rocks on the landscape.
The credit, which gives a tax break of 2.2 cents for every kilowatt-hour of energy produced by wind, was set to expire at the end of 2012 and will now include projects that complete construction in 2013.