There are three main issues with solar panels at the moment.
The are made of some pretty odd materials, and manufacturing isn't easy, so they are expensive.
The cheaper they are, the faster they deteriorate and generate less energy (though they ALL deteriorate over time, even the really good ones).
They need direct sunlight; they still blow ass at getting energy from oblique angles.
Once all of these problems are overcome, you'd be an idiot NOT to buy them. IMO, and I know I'll get slammed for this, the best solution would be to legislate that all new homes be built with enough solar power to be completely self sufficient. However, since I know this would kill homeowners, we should have competent scientists determine what the cost of solar panels would be if produced at the scale required to pull the off, and mandate that plus some profit as the price of the panels. Also, in the short term, subsidize companies till they can get to the necessary economy of scale.
By doing this we
Get solar power to the production levels that ACTUALLY create incentives to mass produce, AND improve production costs rapidly.
Give our solar industry a kick in the ass, and tell China to kiss out collective asses.
Reduce reliance on an electrical grid that has proven time and again to be shit.
I got it now. In my defense, if I felt like absolute shit, it would be a significant improvement from how I feel now. However, as there is no excuse for such a miss, I shall wear my propellor cap for the rest of the day.
There are still a lot of trustworthy scientists. Looks who's funding them and what their funding is dependent on and you'll know who is compromised. The problem is that most people, leftists especially, don't understand science. When someone says 'the science is settled" you're probably listening to an idiot. "Settled eh?? Which LAW would you be talking about, because the most tested thing in all of history, which has passed ALL of them, is still a 'theory'. Even relativity could be wrong."
There are three main issues with solar panels at the moment.
Once all of these problems are overcome, you'd be an idiot NOT to buy them. IMO, and I know I'll get slammed for this, the best solution would be to legislate that all new homes be built with enough solar power to be completely self sufficient. However, since I know this would kill homeowners, we should have competent scientists determine what the cost of solar panels would be if produced at the scale required to pull the off, and mandate that plus some profit as the price of the panels. Also, in the short term, subsidize companies till they can get to the necessary economy of scale.
By doing this we
I appreciate the infodump, but the joke went way over your head at a significant fraction of C.
I got it now. In my defense, if I felt like absolute shit, it would be a significant improvement from how I feel now. However, as there is no excuse for such a miss, I shall wear my propellor cap for the rest of the day.
He said solar system, not solar panels.
I wish I were in another solar system.
Solyndra has entered the chat
There are still a lot of trustworthy scientists. Looks who's funding them and what their funding is dependent on and you'll know who is compromised. The problem is that most people, leftists especially, don't understand science. When someone says 'the science is settled" you're probably listening to an idiot. "Settled eh?? Which LAW would you be talking about, because the most tested thing in all of history, which has passed ALL of them, is still a 'theory'. Even relativity could be wrong."