A Citizen Initiative

[Perknose]

That simply makes sense.

The goal behind municipal financing is to eliminate perhaps the largest disincentive to installing solar power systems: the enormous initial cost. Although private financing is available through solar companies, homeowners often balk because they worry that they will not stay in the house long enough to have the investment ? which runs about $48,000 for an average home and tens of thousands of dollars more for a larger home in a hot climate ? pay off.

Whoa, there, you pinko-communista freakazoid:

But public financing of solar power also has critics, who say government is essentially subsidizing and encouraging a form of energy production that would otherwise not be cost effective.

. . . Because energy costs from traditional sources won't spike severely with the next military confrontation!

And they won't RESUME their inevitable skyrocket rise immediately upon the eventual recovery of our world economy, no matter how lame or pallid that turns out to be!

Down the street, Debbie and Chris McNicol have a different take. Mr. McNicol used to be part of a professional drag racing crew and still races as a hobby on weekends. Their garage houses its own set of speed mobiles, including a 24-foot-long purple-and-yellow gas-guzzling dragster that goes up to 180 miles an hour. After installing solar panels, their first monthly energy bill dropped to $1.89.

Mr. McNicol is elated: ?We can use the money we?ve saved to race new toys.?

Yasssss, and, of course, there's alway THIS:

?It can seem like a large and intimidating task,? said Valerie Van Winkle, a bank manager and a friend of Mr. Clark, who persuaded him and three other neighbors to take the solar plunge.

Ms. Van Winkle said the environmental cachet has also been fun. ?I don?t even know anybody who voted for Obama,? she said.

Still she has become a proselytizer for solar power. ?It just makes so much sense,? she said. ?And, you know, I am happy it?s also good for the environment.?

Hyuck, yeah, that, too. :laugh:

 

[Moonbeam]

A viral infection that started in Berkeley. It's the end.

 

[newnameman]

The advantage of this system over private borrowing is that any local homeowners are eligible (not just those with good credit)

Wow, I'm glad to see we've learned our lesson from the housing crisis!!! :thumbsup:

 

[bobsmith1492]

The only energy costs that will spike with military confrontation are gas and oil which do not compete with solar electric power.

>95% of our electric grid runs on:

Coal
Natural gas
Nuclear
Hydroelectric

These are all natural resources abundant in the United States. Adding solar power will NOT benefit us energy-wise. A few new nuclear plants would be a much more efficient use of resources.

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: Perknose

But public financing of solar power also has critics, who say government is essentially subsidizing and encouraging a form of energy production that would otherwise not be cost effective.

. . . Because energy costs from traditional sources won't spike severely with the next military confrontation!

Did coal spike during the last war?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

I am not against some form of tax incentives for solar. I really think we have a lot of untapped potential there sitting on our homes. But the argument about oil price spike in the event of war is wrong.