Posted on 08/14/2017 11:30:24 AM PDT by Kaslin
Solar energy is not always a fraud. If you live off the electric grid, and you have a reasonable amount of sunshine, solar power, backed up by batteries, can be a good option for getting a modest amount of electricity. It will not be cheap electricity.
Solar is good for powering equipment in remote locations. It is excellent for powering spacecraft. It is good for direct heating of swimming pools. Passive solar in the form of buildings designed to utilize sunshine for warmth and light can save energy.
But, do not think that it is advisable to put solar electricity panels on your roof. Do not think that it is a good idea for your local utility to build large solar generating farms. Political influence has created subsidies and mandates that prop up the solar industry. The money is extracted from taxpayers and utility customers. The solar industry positions itself as doing a public service by preventing climate change. Even if you believe the climate change theories, the solar industry is a negligible force against climate change.
Utility scale solar in the sunniest climates can generate electricity for about 7 cents per kilowatt hour (KWh). Outside of the sunny south the cost is about 9 cents per KWh. Most of the cost is capital cost, amortized over the life of the plant. Government subsides often cut the price in half for users of solar electricity.
Residential rooftop solar, under the best conditions, may generate electricity for about 15 cents per KWh. Usually the cost will be considerably higher. Not everyone’s roof faces south and not everyone lives in a sunny climate.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
I live in the midwest. The time I need the sun the most to heat my home, the sun isn’t shining. That’s why I need to heat my home; the sun isn’t shining.
Funny how that works out.
BIGGEST PEEVE
Have you ever driven through a neighborhood where people have solar panels on their roof?
IT LOOKS LIKE HELL.
And I think aesthetics count for something.
If the author is opposed to government subsidies for solar, I have news for him about fossil fuels.
Black water pipes on the roof which lead to the hot water heater will save some money and make hot water last longer.
When it’s the new hot technology, it looks cool. When it’s common, it looks like exposed pipes and ducts.
i.e. I’m with you.
Let’s hear that news.
My development just installed solar panels. It is to lessen the electric bill on common areas, not to lessen individual electric bills. I am skeptical. We all got hit with a $1000 assessment. I think the solar panel company guy will be the only one truly making out, $2.5 million government grant or not.
This is the biggest scam in building construction going. There are such high government tax credits available that solar companies think they are entitled to your credit. How do you think solar companies can afford to have guys standing around at Home Depot, Lowes, and Costco? I make a great 6 figure salary as an engineer, but seriously considered going back and getting the training and license necessary to get into this racket.
Anyway, I started looking at other projects, to see how they were laid out, etc. It was interesting that they were all about the same size. Then I remembered how our project was sized - the subsidy was 40% of cost, up to a ceiling dollar amount. So, our project was sized right up to the last matching dollar. And they all are. The uncanny sameness of all these projects is an indictment on their long term pay off. Nobody will pay full freight, past the subsidized cost.
Hence Tesla’s new solar shingles.
Not to mention the fact that homes with solar panels on the roof are complete eyesores. Ugly. An architectural nightmare. Do you suppose Versailles would look better with solar panels? No? Then neither does your home.
can you be more precise about that?
There is everything from container ships to my Lost Pond.
The question is what are you planing to do with it.
Where people error is trying to fit everything into one solution.
Is it news the federal government - and state & local governments - spend billions to outright subsidize + give tax breaks, incentives, etc to natural gas, oil, coal & nuclear energy?
The other sad fact about this industry is that they flourish when electricity prices are high, (like with added taxes) Lower the cost of electricity and the solar systems seem to lose value, even though the efficiency remains the same. My complaint about this is I believe in a future where electricity rates are driven down by low cost fuels and maybe deliberate social engineering. Why would this be good? Because we could run trains and cars from electricity and have the economy benefit from cheaper production and transportation costs. At the same time, the environmental adherents would find that over all, less CO2 was released (due to Nat Gas or nuclear being used to provide the cheap electricity). The solar concept competes with this idea and leaves us with expensive power and higher production costs and so drives the economy down which some environmentalists actually prefer. But it flies in the face of good economy and human drive for a better life.
Windmills far, far worse.
Then you should read the article you linked to where the author describes at least some - but certainly not all - of the subsidies, tax breaks, incentives, etc the energy companies receive.
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