Fox news, sages of wisdom they are

[johnsonma]

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/02/07/fox_news_expert_on_solar_energy_germany_gets_a_lot_more_sun_than_we_do_video.html

I want to say I was surprised but turns out I wasn't.

 

[wanamingo]

Americans trust Comedy central more than they trust Fox news.....

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

Yea, such brilliant moves, not seen in the senior MSM sites, but sorta does remind me of this http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/07/aurora-abc-draws-possible-tea-party-connection-129568.html , just not as inflamitory

 

[johnsonma]

Yea, such brilliant moves, not seen in the senior MSM sites, but sorta does remind me of this http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/07/aurora-abc-draws-possible-tea-party-connection-129568.html , just not as inflamitory

I think the word you were looking for was just not as idiotic.

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

Watch out Gretchen, Als trying for your job

And no, inflammatory is the word, as it made several wrong conclusions each of which have terrible implications.
Ones stupid, the other is a bigoted ignorance

 

[johnsonma]

What about this one? More or less idiotic? And to think this guy almost became President.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMrxC-qEHb8

Same amount, both have no idea what they are talking about.

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

Like Diane sawyer said "its as if mother nature was mad at us" on the oncoming blizzard out east.
Now, if she'd said, its as if Gods mad at us.......

 

[chunkymonster]

Sadly, what they got right was absolutely correct i.e.; solar energy is slowing down because stimulus dollars are drying up, 1/10th of 1% of electricity comes from solar, and that billions spent on promoting solar achieved a very poor return on investment.


Two of the dumbest things they said were...

Germany has more sun than America and solar would work in California but on the East Coast...

WHAT?! Huh?

Oh good grief!

 

[riser]

Germany and many European countries are land locked which is a main reason why solar is taking off over there. Whereas in the US, we have plenty of land to build, sprawl, and otherwise disperse our energy use.

Solar won't work well for large cities; it simply can't produce enough energy for so much in such a small space. It can help, but the price point for a place like NYC, DC, Baltimore, Atlanta, etc, is that it just isn't worth the investment for the small return.

I don't know crap about the sun. I can't watch the video, but in reading it sounds like it was said more tongue in cheek than as a matter of fact.

 

[johnsonma]

The "analyst" was as serious as it gets riser. The sad thing was the other two people went along with it no problem.

 

[johnsonma]

Some interesting points about developing a solar power market.

 

[riser]

A major issue with Solar Panels/Solar Power is that most of the manufacturing plants are not located in the US. They are located over seas in Maylasia or something. A few are located in Europe since that's a major market.

In the US, Congress and others would demand the production be in the US where the price point is not ideal. The cheaper labor force makes the product affordable and worthwhile. One of the largest, if not the largest solar panel producing facilities in the US pays well. Plant floor employees make $12-$22/hour while the white collar positions pay anywhere from low $40k and up into six figures easily. The issue is their main production plants are not in the US. The US based plant is there for development and design and once ready, the process it shipped overseas to a cheaper workforce to do the repeatable tasks.

When Americans find out their solar panels aren't made in the US and they're still expensive, they'll whine. In Europe, they just want cheap power and don't care where it is made.

 

[johnsonma]

They are not that expensive, prices have dropped recently. Thats why those subsidized companies went out of business. We just don't have a market that is saturated enough to take advantage of this.

The military is transitioning to solar power:

http://www.borderstan.com/10/solar-power-gets-the-might-of-the-u-s-military-behind-it/

Lessons to be learned from germany:

http://cleantechnica.com/2013/02/09/germany-solar-power-lessons/