I thought I’d highlight a couple of nice reader comments from the past week today to give them more eyes. Check out these two comments from Andrew’s “U.S. Solar Industry Adds at 6.8% Pace” piece, if you haven’t already seen them over there:
“When you buy a car for $40,000, it never pays you back. The rate of return on money invested [in solar] is usually 15-30%, WAY higher than any stock market investment or other investment return rate…. Even if it took 15 years to pay back, it is worth it to insulate yourself from utility rate hikes.”
and
Lets see, 6.8% job green growth versus 2.0% fossil fuel job lose.
Math looks simple, drop the $4 billion in special tax breaks the US goverment gives to oil each year. And use that to put PV panels on all the flat roofs of goverment buildings. Say the panels have to have a certain portion of US content. The installers are all local. If you run out of goverment building rooftops, then start adding them to public schools. Include energy efficiency projects on the federal buildings and schools.
Cost neutral, but creates jobs! Who could not support that?
Yes, I would be more agressive than that, would add a greenhouse gas emitters tax. But that will not fly in today’s DC environment.
Thanks, guys. Love to see such clarifying and progressive comments helping to move us along.
About Zachary Shahan
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