State shouldn’t waste public money on impractical photovoltaic cells

ARIZONA – About 30 years ago, a great wave of interest in solar energy swept through the state Legislature. Being a former engineer, I realized that the numbers didn’t quite add up. But I went along with the near unanimous vote to set up several solar-energy programs, hoping that economies of scale would kick in and make the programs feasible.

Grants, rebates and credits flowed profusely, and the only result was that the state and many of its citizens lost many millions of dollars. The cycle has been repeated several times, the most famous being the alternative-fuels disaster that could have bankrupted the state.


Now it looks as if we’re poised for another round.

Repeating history has demonstrated that whenever politicians act with undue fervor or without sufficient knowledge, slick operators will appear to take the money and run.

The media must be especially careful because solar energy is such an intriguing concept and because people so powerfully want to believe in it.

Arizona Daily Star