[mrb]

"it won't last long without subsidies from the government"

This is a fantastic example of how government subsidies can help. Had there been no subsidies, the demand for solar power would have been smaller, the industry would not have been compelled to compete that much on improving solar power, and this Harvard researcher's prediction (solar not cheap enough in the near future) might have turned true.

He said these subsidies make no sense because solar is far from being competitive, yet they are the very reason solar became competitive.