California becomes first state to require solar panels on new homes

Adds $12,000 to cost of every home https://t.co/zvnfJfkscq

— Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) May 11, 2018

California becomes first state to require solar panels on new homes https://t.co/driXnI4z1p pic.twitter.com/iXnaGF97xC

— The Hill (@thehill) May 10, 2018

Consumers are getting burned by a taxpayer-subsidized solar power plant in California’s Mojave Desert.

Consumers are getting burned by a taxpayer-subsidized solar power plant in California’s Mojave Desert. https://t.co/OpCuz2qTKd

— Heritage Foundation (@Heritage) September 25, 2016

An immensely wealthy consortium owns the plant. Government regulators approved a contract forcing consumers to pay four to five times the going rate for electricity produced by the plant.

And the energy, because of an inordinate use of gas, turns out to be nowhere as “green” as folks thought they’d get....

The owners of the Ivanpah solar power facility received a federal loan guarantee of $1.6 billion, a tax credit in excess of $500 million, and contracts to sell power at four to five times the market rate of electricity. All predicated on the production of solar power.

But Ivanpah is not just a solar power plant. Many solar plants use solar cells to convert the sunlight directly into electricity.

Ivanpah is different. It uses mirrors to concentrate sunlight for generating steam that then drives turbines. These turbines produce energy in a similar fashion to that of traditional coal, natural gas, or nuclear power plants.

However, Ivanpah has a problem those technologies don’t: intermittency. Meaning the sun doesn’t always shine.

For Ivanpah, this is an even bigger problem than it is for plants that use solar cells, because at night the temperature in the desert falls dramatically and the water cools down....

Harry Reid’s home state dealt a lethal blow Tuesday to rooftop solar power

Harry Reid’s home state dealt a lethal blow Tuesday to rooftop solar power https://t.co/MFbyt4prD3 | Getty pic.twitter.com/TU8vc5zG64

— POLITICO (@politico) December 23, 2015

Awkward: Obama administration finally, excitedly begins selling solar leases, and nobody shows up to buy them

◼ The Obama administration has been pretty jazzed about their sweet plans to auction off leases for certain parcels of the one-third of the surface area of the United States they control, largely in the western United States, for the express purposes of developing wind and solar farms to which they hope they’ll be able to point as evidence of the success of their not-quite-”all of the above” energy agenda. - Erika Johnsen/HotAir
◼ BLM holds solar auction for Colorado public lands — and no one shows - Denver Business Journal

The nation’s first federally run auction for a chance to develop solar power projects on public lands was a bust.

No bidders showed up for the auction by the federal Bureau of Land Management, which was held Thursday in Lakewood.

“We did not have any bidders come to the sale and we did not receive any sealed bids on the sale,” BLM spokeswoman Vanessa Lacayo said.

HARRY REID HELPS CHINESE SOLAR FIRM REPRESENTED -- BY HIS SON!

◼ (S)uccess for ENN in finding customers helps Rory Reid, and its failure could cost him a client. It's an undeniable conflict that Harry Reid should keep in mind as he twists arms at the PUC and NV Energy, lest he earn himself an ethics complaint.Las Vegas Review Journal

Reid's office points out developing more renewable power will create jobs in Nevada that can't be outsourced and reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil. (It's also good for the environment.)

And while Reid said in that April interview that "Every day that goes by, the ability to produce solar [energy] is cheaper," the fact is, it's more expensive than coal and natural gas right now. Someday, green power may be cheaper than anything else. But that day isn't here yet, and until it arrives, Reid must mind the costs and the conflicts.

Solyndra #2: Solar company bankrupt despite 'win-win' DOE loan

◼ Another solar energy company supported by President Obama's top administration officials declared bankruptcy today. - Joel Gehrke/Washington Examiner

Solar Trust for America received $2.1 billion in conditional loan guarantees from the Department of Energy -- "the largest amount ever offered to a solar project," according to Energy Secretary Steven Chu -- for a project near Blythe, Calif., but declared bankruptcy within a year. It is unclear how much of the guarantee, if any, was actually awarded....

Uwe Schmidt, chairman and CEO of the company, also argued that Solar Trust was good for the nation. He wrote last year that "the DOE loan guarantee is a 'win-win' for government and the companies involved and will not only advance the cause of energy independence but will create hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country."

The bankruptcy makes Schmidt's attempt to rebuke DOE critics in the wake of the Solyndra bankruptcy particuarly ironic.

"Despite the posturing and finger pointing, the American solar energy industry is alive and well," Schmidt wrote in an op-ed for the Huffington Post, before discussing his company's business plans. Referring to Solyndra, he lamented that "one company's bankruptcy has cast doubt on the credibility of a government program that is otherwise being administered with incredible efficiency."

The list of bankrupt solar companies has grown since Schmidt scolded Solyndra investigators. How many more might go bankrupt? Secretary Chu won't say.

(ECO:nomics) California Gov.: Solyndra Failure is Part of Learning Process

◼ California Gov. Jerry Brown said the September bankruptcy of California solar-panel maker Solyndra LLC provided a learning opportunity and will help companies do better. - Cassandra Sweet/Wall St. Journal

“I thought failure was part of the process,” Mr. Brown said, speaking at The Wall Street Journal’s ECO:nomics conference in Santa Barbara, Calif. “Hell, I was out of office for how many decades? You gotta try things.”

Mr. Brown pointed out that the collapse of Fremont, Calif.-based Solyndra was a sign that solar-power prices were falling, which benefits California, the largest solar-power market in the U.S.

“Solyndra thought the market was one price, and the price was lower; Hallelujah! California installed 500 megawatts of solar last year and we’ll do more this year.”

Mr. Brown said there’s a lot to learn from the Solyndra debacle, including how politics influences energy. But he notes that Solyndra’s failure—which left U.S. taxpayers on the hook for more than $500 million—was “chump change” compared to the recent mortgage meltdown and financial crisis.