“Wind and fossil fuels are, in the long run, on their way out … solar is on its way in. Oh … and just how will governments figure out a way to “tax” sunlight?”
Wind is generating 50% of all electricity on some days now. More and more wind farms are planned.
Solar is just a few percent of power generation and more and more solar farms are being built.
However, half of US electricity comes from NG fired generating stations - and since the sun doesn’t shine at night, and there are no immediate facilities by the GW to convert ‘excess’ solar which we don’t have…into hydrogen or other fuels…that’s going to be a long long long way off in the future.
They already tax utility bills.
You’ll still need NG fertilizers from NG and the thousands of chemicals and products from oil and natural gas. Otherwise, you won’t be making solar panels and wind machines or EV cars. Or houses. Or roads. Bridges.
Lower graph on Page 3…
Wind was between 30% and 40% from midnight to about 6 am. Then, as the system load ramps up, wind generation ramps down. By 2 pm or so, wind was only 5% of total generation. No way is wind at 50% of total load for the entire day.
You missed the mark by a country mile as companies like Amazon, a service like the US Postal service and manufacturers such as Ford and Rivian are putting pickup trucks on the road as we speak. The USPS has already committed to buying 10 of thousands of electric delivery vehicles.
We were up in Maine this past weekend and have already seen a Rivian RT1 truck in a business parking lot.
Very well designed and the owner of the truck told us so far os good.
“Rivian reaffirmed its 2022 annual production target of 25,000 units (over 2,000 per month on average), which would most likely require triple the rate in the second half of the year (to over 3,000 units per month.”
maybe…probably going to fall far short due to ‘supply chain problems’.
The Post Office is ordering more ICE vehicles than EVs. The jury is out on EVs and of course, major renovations are required to recharge entire fleets of EVs overnight. There are probably 40 or 50 delivery trucks in my suburb…at 8 different post office facilities…and all of them RENTED. They’ll have to work with landlords to get entire parking lots dug up, new electrical facilities installed, new service entrance and metering, etc…at each of the RENTED Post Office buildings. It will also tie them down for leases making it near impossible to move to different buildings at any point.
Most if not all of our post offices are located in buildings owned by the USPS and some are over 100 years old. Our local post office has just 6 delivery vehicles all parked in a row behind the building so the installation of recharging stations will be a piece of cake.
, just add a surcharge item on your income tax if you have solar panels. — And the IRS is going to drive around to every house to check the roof?
The IRS has never depended upon 100% audits. In addition, it shouldn’t be terribly hard to cross-check satellite photos with addresses and tax returns.
How artificial intelligence spotted every solar panel in the U.S. www.pbs.org/newshour/science/how-artificial-intelligence-spo….
Stanford University engineers have developed a way to find every solar panel in the contiguous United States…Without thorough data, utility companies can’t plan their energy needs, solar installers don’t know the ideal areas for more panels and lawmakers can’t incentivize adoption of renewables.
“And the IRS is going to drive around to every house to check the roof?”
no, but if you generate excess electricity and get paid for it, the electric company will likely send you a 1099 or equivalent form which is entered into the BIG IRS computer and your return will get bounced if you don’t include it.
No, they can’t tax your ‘personal consumption’ any more than they can tax you for burning firewood in your fireplace, or opening the windows when it’s 70 degrees outside.
Of course, if the POWER COMPANY installs them, it’s a matter of record.
If you buy them and install them, then want the 35% rebate…well, you’re in the system.
If you buy them and install them, then want the 35% rebate…well, you’re in the system
First, the rebate is for money you already spent and does not get reported to the federal government.
Second, how will the government track when the panels are in use? If I am on vacation the panels will be inactive with regards to home power draw vs recharging my home power backup system? How will the government know if I don’t have the power company installing my panels because are several different companies here in the North East that do installs and I don’t have to sell my power to the electric company?
Besides if I do pay a 20% Income Tax when I sell the excess power but save 100% on my electric bill it seems like a really good deal.
Your arguments against solar panels sound like utility company propaganda.
"First, the rebate is for money you already spent and does not get reported to the federal government.
Second, how will the government track when the panels are in use? If I am on vacation the panels will be inactive with regards to home power draw vs recharging my home power backup system? How will the government know if I don’t have the power company installing my panels because are several different companies here in the North East that do installs and I don’t have to sell my power to the electric company?
Besides if I do pay a 20% Income Tax when I sell the excess power but save 100% on my electric bill it seems like a really good deal."
I’m sure that rebate money is declared and noted to a specific address in case of audits…and there are likely to be audits…
The gov’t will assume the panels are in use - if you sell power to the power company, which might even send you a 1099 form each year- and copy to gov’t - electronically. Likely the power company will report on ‘all power generators’ they use, cost to buy , how much, etc.
If you don’t sell power to the power company - fine - no ‘income’ no tax.
Of course, if you make extensive use of that battery at night, after 10 years you’ll be replacing them for $10,000 or more…