It’s a shame so many rural NIMBYs are opposed to more solar development. After subsidizing fossil fuels so heavily for 80 years it seems unfair that a few brainwashed suburbanites would altogether ban any new solar development in their counties.
I guess the anti-environmentalists hate playing fair and hate free markets; they prefer Big Government to keep favoring oil and gas.
SUPPORT SLAVERY and Genocide! Go CHINA#1 CCP Slave MFG SOLAR! Show off your SLAVE SOLAR ROOF!===When Clean Energy Is Powered by Dirty Labor==Most solar panels come from China, and using them to fuel a clean energy transition risks reliance on Uyghur slave labor in Xinjiang. https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/04/12/clean-energy-china-xinjiang-uyghur-labor/
Is there any hard information out there on the effective life of solar panels? For instance have the price drops in panel capital cost come at the cost of longevity? Is longevity consistently measured? I’d need to know all this if I was to consider an investment in rooftop solar.
As if the Fossil Fuels economy was not funded by War, taxpayers money and all sorts of private wealth. What a jackass point of view. One way or another the destruction of the earth goes on, and you count money.
The FF economy was partly funded by war. The taxpayer money is almost exclusively tax treatment of operating costs, like many small businesses (depreciation, amortization of equipment, plug & abandonment costs, etc.
That's different than grants, loans, investment tax credits (sun) and production tax credits (win).
Hi. You say "was" and that too in a simplistic sense. The fossil fuel industry or say the empires of extraction are the backbone of the global civilization. Without which the system will collapse. So let it collapse some people say. However, all that you speak of is economics, which itself is totally divorced, contrary to nature, science and biophysical limits. Try abandonment costs, yes. From this sick gutted civilization itself. Adios
Contrarian views and disagreement always welcome here.
The team here - all seasoned environmental industry professionals - has done more to improve human health and the environment than you could ever know. Each of us, for decades.
We read some of your posts. We have a different perspective.
Your field of work was never questioned. Do your best I believe. Your business is energy and that itself is anti-ecological. As experts of "human health" - Please look into, read, Limits To Growth by Donella Meadows. And the concept of Biophysical Limits.
For the record, our business is not, and has never been, energy. Our business is reducing risk to human health and the environment. Our interests are environmental, energy and economic policies and the impact on human advancement and prosperity.
environMENTAL is our attempt to push back against fear mongering, greenwashing optics, reckless policies hurting the world's poorest the most that are immaterial to human health and the environment, and the sad, dangerous abrogation of the scientific method.
We understand the "limits to growth" and "biophysical limits" arguments and find some merit to them, conceptually. But humans are not microbes and earth is not a petri dish. We understand how this might be counter-intuitive to some/many.
Thanks for a great article. I had never considered the rude awakening someone with solar disease must get when the rubber hits the road. Expensive piddle power is a lesson we all need to learn to slay them green vampires.
On similar theme, few people see the full context of energy density. Years ago, when the chatter was about inhouse charging stations for one's electric car and they mentioned the power requirements I did the calculations. That 200 amp service to your house give you 48 Kw to play with. Considering that there's few cars that do much without 100 hp and that translates into 74.6 Kws, well, sort of makes one appreciate the number of ponies running around in one's gas tank. 'Course the golf ball of uranium that will power you for life make automobile gas look like puny power. If a few more people could clearly see the full energy picture, I speculate many charlatans would be seen on street corners holding beggar cups.
Another great piece in your library of pulling back the curtain on subsidized businesses. Whether it's "renewable" energy, anti-gravity boots, perpetual motion, or the fountain of youth, tax dollars are easily burned to feed the grifters. With the politician's track record on "investments", it should make people vomit each time one of the enlightened says they know best. They know nothing.
I see on EnergySage that home solar cost for a 10kW Solar Panel System was $2.98 per watt July 2019, $2.76 July 2021, $2.77/w Jan 2022. So this crap they are always telling us that Solar PV price is rapidly decreasing, Moore's Law B.S. just ain't true.
No kidding! Don't stop them though, they invented a new fable called Swanson's Law.
Why don't you invent a new law that describes how Solar prices must increase once the vast raw materials inputs Solar needs and the low EROI energy cliff take effect?
Great piece! Between these shenanigans and the fact that more solar on the grid results in diminished prices for solar power producers and you can see a trainwreck developing.
Rooftop solar is an under reported story. Thanks for bringing it to the fore. It's mind boggling that the Carpoff story was never picked up by magazines/ news outlets that purport to undertake serious, investigative journalism - Rolling Stone, NYT, New Yorker, The Atlantic, etc
Our government is an easy target in terms of exposing stupidity, but “Inflation Reduction Act” may be the ultimate in Monty Pythonesque humor. Mind numbingly absurd.
Better than "Build Back Better"? 'Cause that's largely what "IRA" is with a new letterman's jacket wrapped around it. The sleight of hand fooled no one.
It’s a shame so many rural NIMBYs are opposed to more solar development. After subsidizing fossil fuels so heavily for 80 years it seems unfair that a few brainwashed suburbanites would altogether ban any new solar development in their counties.
I guess the anti-environmentalists hate playing fair and hate free markets; they prefer Big Government to keep favoring oil and gas.
That’s an interesting take. Thanks for the comment.
That’s not a take, it’s just irrefutable, historical fact.
Awesome article Mental, as usual. I enjoy the sarcasm, dark humor, and industry insight. Keep up the good work
Thanks, Psych! We're glad when folks enjoy it as much as we do.
Fantastic piece!
Thank you!
SUPPORT SLAVERY and Genocide! Go CHINA#1 CCP Slave MFG SOLAR! Show off your SLAVE SOLAR ROOF!===When Clean Energy Is Powered by Dirty Labor==Most solar panels come from China, and using them to fuel a clean energy transition risks reliance on Uyghur slave labor in Xinjiang. https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/04/12/clean-energy-china-xinjiang-uyghur-labor/
Yeah but are they cheaper? (just kidding. not a buyer)
Is there any hard information out there on the effective life of solar panels? For instance have the price drops in panel capital cost come at the cost of longevity? Is longevity consistently measured? I’d need to know all this if I was to consider an investment in rooftop solar.
Not sure, believe it has a lot to do with types of systems put in, inverters, etc. Believe 20 years is about avg, some supposedly can go 25 yrs.
Not just PV panels, thuough. Also issues with inverters failing prior to design life.
Complicated.
As if the Fossil Fuels economy was not funded by War, taxpayers money and all sorts of private wealth. What a jackass point of view. One way or another the destruction of the earth goes on, and you count money.
The FF economy was partly funded by war. The taxpayer money is almost exclusively tax treatment of operating costs, like many small businesses (depreciation, amortization of equipment, plug & abandonment costs, etc.
That's different than grants, loans, investment tax credits (sun) and production tax credits (win).
Hi. You say "was" and that too in a simplistic sense. The fossil fuel industry or say the empires of extraction are the backbone of the global civilization. Without which the system will collapse. So let it collapse some people say. However, all that you speak of is economics, which itself is totally divorced, contrary to nature, science and biophysical limits. Try abandonment costs, yes. From this sick gutted civilization itself. Adios
Contrarian views and disagreement always welcome here.
The team here - all seasoned environmental industry professionals - has done more to improve human health and the environment than you could ever know. Each of us, for decades.
We read some of your posts. We have a different perspective.
Your field of work was never questioned. Do your best I believe. Your business is energy and that itself is anti-ecological. As experts of "human health" - Please look into, read, Limits To Growth by Donella Meadows. And the concept of Biophysical Limits.
For the record, our business is not, and has never been, energy. Our business is reducing risk to human health and the environment. Our interests are environmental, energy and economic policies and the impact on human advancement and prosperity.
environMENTAL is our attempt to push back against fear mongering, greenwashing optics, reckless policies hurting the world's poorest the most that are immaterial to human health and the environment, and the sad, dangerous abrogation of the scientific method.
We understand the "limits to growth" and "biophysical limits" arguments and find some merit to them, conceptually. But humans are not microbes and earth is not a petri dish. We understand how this might be counter-intuitive to some/many.
Great article. Also see:
Burning Coal and Trees to Make Computer Chips and Solar Panels
https://tucoschild.substack.com/p/burning-coal-and-trees-to-make-computer
Thanks for a great article. I had never considered the rude awakening someone with solar disease must get when the rubber hits the road. Expensive piddle power is a lesson we all need to learn to slay them green vampires.
On similar theme, few people see the full context of energy density. Years ago, when the chatter was about inhouse charging stations for one's electric car and they mentioned the power requirements I did the calculations. That 200 amp service to your house give you 48 Kw to play with. Considering that there's few cars that do much without 100 hp and that translates into 74.6 Kws, well, sort of makes one appreciate the number of ponies running around in one's gas tank. 'Course the golf ball of uranium that will power you for life make automobile gas look like puny power. If a few more people could clearly see the full energy picture, I speculate many charlatans would be seen on street corners holding beggar cups.
We want our uranium golf balls with wings and a magic carpet that can carry an F-150 pickup bed worth of gear.
i live in CA and STILL get regular calls from solar robots - no surprise i guess w newsom at the helm...
Environmental,
Another great piece in your library of pulling back the curtain on subsidized businesses. Whether it's "renewable" energy, anti-gravity boots, perpetual motion, or the fountain of youth, tax dollars are easily burned to feed the grifters. With the politician's track record on "investments", it should make people vomit each time one of the enlightened says they know best. They know nothing.
I call Bull****!
Thanks!
Cannot "Like" or quote this post enough!
Grateful for the support!
I see on EnergySage that home solar cost for a 10kW Solar Panel System was $2.98 per watt July 2019, $2.76 July 2021, $2.77/w Jan 2022. So this crap they are always telling us that Solar PV price is rapidly decreasing, Moore's Law B.S. just ain't true.
Moore's laws does not apply to photovoltaic efficiency improvements.
No kidding! Don't stop them though, they invented a new fable called Swanson's Law.
Why don't you invent a new law that describes how Solar prices must increase once the vast raw materials inputs Solar needs and the low EROI energy cliff take effect?
Great piece! Between these shenanigans and the fact that more solar on the grid results in diminished prices for solar power producers and you can see a trainwreck developing.
Thanks!
Rooftop solar is an under reported story. Thanks for bringing it to the fore. It's mind boggling that the Carpoff story was never picked up by magazines/ news outlets that purport to undertake serious, investigative journalism - Rolling Stone, NYT, New Yorker, The Atlantic, etc
It was actually The Atlantic that gave a pretty good effort describing the story. It was linked in our post.
Our government is an easy target in terms of exposing stupidity, but “Inflation Reduction Act” may be the ultimate in Monty Pythonesque humor. Mind numbingly absurd.
Better than "Build Back Better"? 'Cause that's largely what "IRA" is with a new letterman's jacket wrapped around it. The sleight of hand fooled no one.
I think it fooled many and continues to do so
I’ve always preferred “Capital Destruction Act”.
Inflation Acceleration Act
If you have not seen it, watch this interview with Nobel Laureate John Clauser on CO2's effect on "global warming." The entire war on fossil fuels (of which the solar energy subsidy scam is a part) is based on fraud masquerading as science. https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/nobel-laureate-john-clauser-there-is-no-climate-emergency-climate-models-miss-one-key-variable-5486017
Good catch. We'll do. We're familiar with his work, and background.