by Graeme » Thu 05 Aug 2010, 18:17:30
Energy Firm's £1bn Solar Power Giveaway
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A') new energy firm is vowing to install £1bn worth of solar kits for free.
HomeSun wants to enable people to produce their own power by offering their system in return for a share of the savings they make on their electricity bills.
The firm can do it because the previous Government introduced "feed-in tariffs" on April 1. They act as a financial incentive for those who create their own electricity.
One of the first consumers to benefit is John Arnold who now has a series of panels fitted to his roof in a quiet cul-de-sac in Petersfield, Hampshire.
sky
Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
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Graeme
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by Outcast_Searcher » Thu 05 Aug 2010, 20:41:11
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')The firm can do it because the previous Government introduced "feed-in tariffs" on April 1. They act as a financial incentive for those who create their own electricity.
I don't see what all the negativity is about. This sounds great, in theory for the user, and how can it hurt the earth?
The concern, IMO, as a libertarian, is that the incentive is based on a government program, thus the company who is planning on making these profits may well get TOTALLY SCREWED.
Kind of how people who buy a hybrid better read the fine print / consult their tax person, if their incentive is the U.S. tax credit. Kind of how some of these "green" futures (i.e. tradable carbon credits) get totally screwed over when the government changes the rules. I was reading about one a while back in the WSJ which had hit about $1600 a unit a few years ago, and had recently plummented to 3 bucks and was expected to go to zero on a rule change. (These weren't carbon credits, but something of that ilk).
Counting on government regulation for profits -- you better be confident your buddy in power will take care of you. Ayn Rand wrote very convincingly about this in "Atlas Shrugged" back in 1957.
Given the track record of the perma-doomer blogs, I wouldn't bet a fast crash doomer's money on their predictions.