27
‘Smart Grid’ Not Smart Enough
By Eve Zibel
Fox News
President Obama visited the small town of Arcadia, Florida today, population 6, 671, to tout solar energy and efforts of the Economic Recovery Act to bring jobs to Florida, but Republicans on the hill say the President’s proposals for energy and in particular solar energy, won’t do enough for the 11.2% unemployed people in Florida.
<pThe President visited DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy center, billed as the largest solar photovoltaic center in the country. The company's 90,500 solar panels are able to generate about 42,000 megawatt hours each year, but the project cost $150 million to build and only provides power to 3,000 homes, prompting critics to say the administration doesn't have an overall energy strategy.
Washington Representative Doc Hastings, the Ranking Member on the House Natural Resources committee said it’s not nerves that are causing pause on Capitol Hill. It’s the plan itself, and the taxes it will impose on Americans that are the real problem. “Another day, another empty promise from the President to support ‘comprehensive’ energy development,” he told Fox News.
For more, read the full post on Row 2, Seat 4.
October 29th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
People should be embarrassed to work on a project that generates electricity for homes at an upfront cost of $50,000 per home! But instead of saying, “let’s not do this, it’s a dumb idea” they say, “Yippee! We got a federal grant!”
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:13 am
The plan is to spend a LOT of money, and then use the numbers to show the economy is growing. A real PLAN would involve natural gas, which we have in the USA. What is not smart enough are American voters…
November 2nd, 2009 at 4:12 pm
It costs $20,000 to install a state-of-the-art solar electric backup power system on a single large home. Double its size and you can own your own electric utility and still save $10,000.
Bottom line: another one of Obama’s unconstitutional programs ripped off the taxpayers again. Questionable investments like this only demonstrate the founding fathers were wise to prohibit the federal government from doing such things. Oh well, constitutional law was never one of Obama’s strong subjects.
November 2nd, 2009 at 4:47 pm
WastingtonDC: The simple energy independence, right now, solution is to build diesel electric, and CNG hybrid truck based vehicles, right now, instead of micro mini Plug In electrics that will overload the grids, and never save enough fuel to put OPEC terror financiers back into their caves. Working people’s trucks use 30 to 60 percent of our imported petroleum fuel, and are thus perfectly positioned save a large part of that imported fuel. A Plug In and Out hybrid, using bio diesel, or CNG, would allow every truck owner to feed the grid, from home or at work, and take cash, or electric power in exchange for his feeding the grid during “peak electric use, and cost” periods. Of course, a family of truck based light medium and heavy vehicles would be able to carry enough current technology batteries, in frame, or slung under their trailers, to operate most of the time on electric power, and these vehicles get 3.5 MPG to 6-10 MPG, not the 30 MPG that present mini cars get, with standard fuel engines. Some 80 million working Americans must have a mild to total Plug In and Out hybrid truck based vehicle, to carry our materials, our crews, and our generator trailers, when the SinoRussianIranian energy blackmail alliance inevitably shuts off the Straits of Hormuz, or simply reduces production, next time. Of course, if the truck is Plug In and Out, most generators will be replaced with the hybrid in Plug Out mode, to run our off grid homes, farms, work sites, and feed the grid, to pay for the extra cost of a large hybrid vehicle. Elimination of those thousands of diesel generators, on decades old tires that look new, and pass inspection, but blow apart and cause accidents, due to age and sidewall weakness, and their carbon footprints are another great unintended consequence, of building a family of hybrid truck based vehicles, even if they only save 25 to 35 percent of their imported fuels, since at 3.5 MPG fuel only, the savings is enormous, and will end production of fuel only trucks, within a generation, and make the US energy independent as well.
November 4th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
We are currently having solar installed, we are not buying rather leasing. It will lock our bill in for 18 yrs, with a small $1000 start up fee and $170 p/mth. Perhaps a Gov. program is responsible for this lease(rebates-tax credits, etc..) But I believe the tax credits are only in the range of $12,000 and the unit will supply approx. 72% of our electricity. We do need the Gov. to help with rebates/credits etc.. but they need to do so in a responsible way that actually benefits rather than simply spends.
November 9th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Donald,
Tax credits? Rebates? subsidies? You, my friend are another person that believes that the government is an almighty, all creating entity. The government creates money to give away in your eyes, when in truth, it takes from the true wealth creators.
You are the same person that believes it is better to have a house payment for the interest tax deduction than it is to pay the home off.
Basic mathematical skills are all that is needed to understand what this country needs to do.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
We just finished having a solar system installed that is sized to produced roughly 90 percent of our electricity demand. It cost roughly $44,500 with a state-mandated $39,690 rebate from our utility. Tax credits should reduce our costs to somewhere around $3,000. That should provide a relatively quick, 3 – 4 year payback. We, of course, are happy but without the mandated rebates and tax credits, it would have have been installed. Colorado is looking to build a green energy economy, laudable, but it based on goverment- mandates and tax credits. Jobs are being created but what happens when the mandates and credits expire. The market should determine the feasility of technology, it has worked in the past and it will work in the future. In the mean time, we will not feel too guilty about taking advanage of these programs but we do know who is paying for them!