Don’t be Fooled by Solar

8 Replies to “Don’t be Fooled by Solar”

1. This is a huge issue and it will have to be addressed at the regulatory level. I’m a major market fan but the market works against a solution in this case. Our existing electrical grid market structure is designed to purchase the lowest cost electrical energy at any particular moment. The nature of solar or wind energy is that it is virtually free to produce once the capital has been invested. That means that a market entity will tend to sell the energy at any price just to generate cashflow because their variable cost of production approaches zero. Combining that with a grid purchase system that defaults to the lowest cost producer at any given moment means that so-called renewable energy will drive the grid price towards zero when those sources are available. But the grid can’t function on 100% “renewables” because those sources are so unreliable. Unless we compel the so-called renewable suppliers to provide a stable supply 24/365 we are going to destroy our power grid over time. There is simply no incentive to invest in stable long term (petrochemical or nuclear) sources.

2. The Motley Fool has lost more money for more naive, inexperienced investors than any other “investment” website / newsletter I know of. It’s a pump & dump website for those too lazy to do their own due diligence. ALWAYS IGNORE EVERYTHING THEY PROMOTE.

3. I will believe solar power is viable when Elon Musk uses solar powered rockets for his Space-X project.

4. Remember … that it is time America …”gets off its high (reliable energy) horse” … Nobel Laureate Mssr. Obama scolded us that … “energy prices must necessarily rise”. I might add that the citizens of Tucson need learn to live with energy blackouts at nighttime. Too bad. They need to swelter during a hot summer night, or freeze during a cold winters night … while waiting for their solar panels to warm up in the morning. The citizens of Tucson have NO RIGHT to more or cheaper energy than any 3rd worlder has. Make no mistake … THIS is the eco-lefts “answer” to all the mathematics and charts that they’ll never understand. And since their audience of science-retarded American citizens will never understand the charts and graphs either … they will only listen to leftist shills for FREE ENERGY. Oh … and of course the big bad BIG OIL are the only ones fighting ” clean, green” energy.

5. Centralized power grids are vulnerable to all kinds of outage. No government regulation can protect it. If your betting on bongo to keep you warm…
   Individualism = survival once the grid starts to fail. You need your own system (solar). Central power grids are a concept who’s time has past.

6. Fifteen year simple payback?
   Great, except you are going to be replacing batteries a hell of a lot more often than that. Good quality flooded lead acid batteries have a quoted twenty year life. Then you get in the real world. My experience is you are replacing stand by batteries every 12-15 years. These batteries are coddled, and only cycled every two years during testing. Throw in nightly cycling every night, you might get ten years? Or Five years? It depends on how deep you cycle them, and how often. VLRA Batteries are even worse.
   What is the lifetime of the solar cells themselves? How soon will they reach 80% or even 50% output capacity? Do not forget to Add in maintenance and testing of the DC to DC and DC to AC electronics. Replace Electrolytic Capacitors every 7-10 years, and electronic circuit cards every 10-12 years. Maybe more often if you do not air condition the electronis. A few days operating at 120 degrees (~50C) like what is forecast this week, and you might end up with burnt out electronic scrap. You are going to need someone just to dust the acres of solar cells regularly and keep the vermin out of the installation too.

7. yep.
   also, Im still waiting for a solar espouser to tell me the plan to deal with the fact the shingles *under* said panels need periodic replacing depending on quality and weather.
   so, when the panels gak, do you reshingle the roof every time? when the shingles gak before the panels, do you likewise replace everything? where do the costs go then?
   Im still waiting for common sense answers to the above.
   tick . . . . . . tick . . . . . . . tick . . . . . . .
   still waiting . . . . . . . . .

8. I think everyone on the left should invest all their life saving in these alternate energy companies. Don’t forget to pick up some of the grand daddy of them all, Sun Edision. Now is the time to beat conservatives into this promising industry.