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Post by trbixler on Sept 7, 2011 18:16:47 GMT
Spend that money for no good reason. "'SMART METERS' - THE NEW SILENT KILLER" ""To evaluate the technical capabilities and reliability of the advanced metering system, state regulators previously approved a limited study of 10,000 meters. Between June 1 and Aug. 31, 2009, CL&P tested the meters on 1,251 residential and 1,186 small commercial and industrial customers, who volunteered and were paid for their participation in the study. The company reported its results to the DPUC on Feb. 25, 2010. "The pilot results showed no beneficial impact on total energy usage," Jepsen said." " www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd507.htm
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Post by w7psk on Sept 8, 2011 18:24:42 GMT
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Post by AstroMet on Sept 8, 2011 18:32:16 GMT
The 'Green Industry' still has plenty of value but has never taken the direction it should have 40 years ago. What is also interesting is that this company is said to have been 'outbid' by cheaper manufacturers overseas, "But Solyndra, like other companies in the nation's solar energy, fell on hard times. The price for solar panels has tanked, in part because of heavy competition from Chinese companies, dropping by about 42 percent this year."Again, this goes to show that when government often gets into private sector areas like solar, it just messes things up. I'm sure we will find that the U.S. government somehow 'encouraged' and 'subsidized' China's solar companies so they could make a killing on the Green Market paying their workers pennies on the dollar to work 12-hour, six-days a week shifts.
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Post by trbixler on Sept 8, 2011 19:34:13 GMT
We may find out about this or maybe not. Mr. Green at work. Who would have guessed. "Solyndra officials made numerous trips to the White House, logs show" "According to White House visitor logs, between March 12, 2009, and April 14, 2011, Solyndra officials and investors made no fewer than 20 trips to the West Wing. In the week before the administration awarded Solyndra with the first-ever alternative energy loan guarantee on March 20, four separate visits were logged. George Kaiser, who has in the past been labeled a major Solyndra investor as well as a Obama donor, made three visits to the White House on March 12, 2009, and one on March 13. Kaiser has denied any direct involvement in the Solyndra deal and through a statement from his foundation said he “did not participate in any discussions with the U.S. government regarding the loan.”" dailycaller.com/2011/09/08/solyndra-officials-made-numerous-trips-to-the-white-house-logs-show/
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Post by slh1234 on Sept 8, 2011 20:43:46 GMT
Spend that money for no good reason. "'SMART METERS' - THE NEW SILENT KILLER" ""To evaluate the technical capabilities and reliability of the advanced metering system, state regulators previously approved a limited study of 10,000 meters. Between June 1 and Aug. 31, 2009, CL&P tested the meters on 1,251 residential and 1,186 small commercial and industrial customers, who volunteered and were paid for their participation in the study. The company reported its results to the DPUC on Feb. 25, 2010. "The pilot results showed no beneficial impact on total energy usage," Jepsen said." " www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd507.htmOkay, it's time for a "keep it real" moment here. That article is nothing more than a hysterical fear mongering piece, and posting it in support of your view does more damage than good to your cause. There are a few doozies in the article even beyond pushing unsubstantiated fears as scientific fact. Here are a couple that jump out quickly: Yes, yes, and ATMs are stagnating the economy because they are costing jobs ... I'll say he may not be exaggerating about the millions of Americans being up in arms, but if he isn't engaging in outright exaggeration, it's because he just became another example of one of my favorite quotes: "87.6% of all statistics are made up." The pattern of "I know ... but due to <insert reason here> cannot be more specific/cannot reveal sources" is the blogger equivalent of the old redneck story lead-in of "now this ain't no shit ... " and you can be pretty sure in both cases that this is exactly a lot of shit. I think the author really doesn't know much about what a smart meter is or what kinds there are, nor about the theories/theses being implemented in the smart grid, nor how smart meters figure in to that. With that in mind, I'm certain that there is a lot of cherry picking of quotes to support his viewpoint. One such cherry-picked quote is the one you pulled out from the ct.gov site. The quote seems to be accurate, but it not from the study itself. It is a quote from the state attorney general about his interpretation of the study, and if the description of the study is accurate, then it is certain that it does not save power because the study itself it flawed. I posted early in this thread about the purpose of smart meters and their place in the smart grid. If you read even that much and no deeper, I think you can understand why I say it is fundamentally flawed. There is plenty of reality that is biting the green industry, but this article is not representative of that, mostly because it isn't sound in any way I can find.
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Post by commonsense on Sept 8, 2011 21:18:15 GMT
This thread brings up a big issue. Green technologies are generally not mature yet. With that in mind, is it better for us to accelerate the R&D without implementing it in the field instead of rushing to put things in place? A good example is wind power. The best sites are chosen for initial development, but that means that those sites are saddled with what soon becomes obsolete. Older wind turbines are less efficient and kill more birds and bats. By rushing to put things into the field, do we just maximize the ill effects and minimize the good?
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Post by slh1234 on Sept 8, 2011 21:55:58 GMT
This thread brings up a big issue. Green technologies are generally not mature yet. With that in mind, is it better for us to accelerate the R&D without implementing it in the field instead of rushing to put things in place? A good example is wind power. The best sites are chosen for initial development, but that means that those sites are saddled with what soon becomes obsolete. Older wind turbines are less efficient and kill more birds and bats. By rushing to put things into the field, do we just maximize the ill effects and minimize the good? That may be a good point, but until you implement something, you don't learn about the realities of implementation. I think implementation and engineering on any new technologies has to be done looking forward to implementing the lessons learned, and that may mean planning to replace the early stages and implementations earlier than you would on a mature technology. I think you also have to plan for the possibility of failure because maybe the idea just wasn't as feasible as it looked when it was all theoretical, or in lab conditions.
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Post by trbixler on Sept 8, 2011 22:33:50 GMT
A more balanced article. As an aside when my partner and I started our tech company we did it with our own money, that was 35 years ago. How about you common? "FBI Searches Solyndra Offices" "Federal Bureau of Investigation agents on Thursday raided the headquarters of a California solar-panel maker that filed for bankruptcy this week and left U.S. taxpayers on the hook for as much as $527 million. The law-enforcement action at Solyndra LLC's headquarters in Fremont, Calif., came unexpectedly and jolted Washington, where Republican lawmakers have criticized the Obama administration's support for the company." online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903285704576558560085902774.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
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Post by trbixler on Sept 10, 2011 2:10:14 GMT
Mr. Green and skyrocket working together for their future. Feds Visit Homes of Solyndra CEO, Execs "Federal agents have expanded their examination of the now-bankrupt California solar power company Solyndra, visiting the homes of the company's CEO and two of its executives, examining computer files and documents, iWatch News and ABC News have learned. Agents visited the homes of CEO Brian Harrison and company founder Chris Gronet and a former executive, according to a source who agreed to speak only on the condition of anonymity because of the legal sensitivity of the situation. " abcnews.go.com/Blotter/obama-officials-sat-solyndra-meetings/story?id=14476848
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Post by trbixler on Sept 12, 2011 14:40:07 GMT
Mr. Green and the promise of fool's gold. Translation send the government checks here send the jobs somewhere else. "Promises of green jobs withering on vine" "Despite billions of dollars in federal investment and cheerleading from President Obama, even the most ardent supporters of a transformed, job-generating energy sector based largely on wind, solar and other renewable sources acknowledge that their dreams have not translated into reality. The records for other countries chasing green employment opportunities have been equally unimpressive." "Mr. Kish and many others think large-scale wind and solar projects are inherently unprofitable, largely as a result of the unpredictability of when the sun will shine brightly enough and when the wind will blow. Without government subsidies, he said, such projects would have no chance of competing with oil, natural gas, nuclear power or coal. “This is a government-created bubble. I don’t blame the companies trying to rip off the government. What I blame are politicians who refuse to look at the facts,” he said." www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/sep/11/promises-of-green-jobs-start-withering-on-vine/
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Post by curiousgeorge on Sept 12, 2011 18:02:00 GMT
Mr. Green and the promise of fool's gold. Translation send the government checks here send the jobs somewhere else. "Promises of green jobs withering on vine" "Despite billions of dollars in federal investment and cheerleading from President Obama, even the most ardent supporters of a transformed, job-generating energy sector based largely on wind, solar and other renewable sources acknowledge that their dreams have not translated into reality. The records for other countries chasing green employment opportunities have been equally unimpressive." "Mr. Kish and many others think large-scale wind and solar projects are inherently unprofitable, largely as a result of the unpredictability of when the sun will shine brightly enough and when the wind will blow. Without government subsidies, he said, such projects would have no chance of competing with oil, natural gas, nuclear power or coal. “This is a government-created bubble. I don’t blame the companies trying to rip off the government. What I blame are politicians who refuse to look at the facts,” he said." www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/sep/11/promises-of-green-jobs-start-withering-on-vine/Last paragraph from the above story: "Solar and wind “are not cheap,” Mr. Kish said. “They’re not reliable. And over the long run, frankly, they’re a drag on our economy and our way of life. By the time this is done, I would be very surprised if some people don’t end up behind bars.” "
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Post by trbixler on Sept 14, 2011 6:27:16 GMT
More on Mr. Green's White House. You really do not need to review this just get the loan signed, we have to look good now! "White House pressed on $500 million loan to solar company now under investigation" "The Obama White House tried to rush federal reviewers for a decision on a nearly half-billion-dollar loan to the solar-panel manufacturer Solyndra so Vice President Biden could announce the approval at a September 2009 groundbreaking for the company’s factory, newly obtained e-mails show. The Silicon Valley company, a centerpiece in President Obama’s initiative to develop clean energy technologies, had been tentatively approved for the loan by the Energy Department but was awaiting a final financial review by the Office of Management and Budget. The August 2009 e-mails, released to The Washington Post, show White House officials repeatedly asking OMB reviewers when they would be able to decide on the federal loan and noting a looming press event at which they planned to announce the deal. In response, OMB officials expressed concern that they were being rushed to approve the company’s project without adequate time to assess the risk to taxpayers, according to information provided by Republican congressional investigators. Solyndra collapsed two weeks ago, leaving taxpayers liable for the $535 million loan. One e-mail from an OMB official referred to “the time pressure we are under to sign-off on Solyndra.” Another complained, “There isn’t time to negotiate.” " www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-pushed-500-million-loan-to-solar-company-now-under-investigation/2011/09/13/gIQAr3WbQK_print.html
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Post by trbixler on Sept 14, 2011 14:04:09 GMT
Contrary to what some here believe. "House probing $528M loan to failed solar company" "" It is not the role of government to pick winners and losers in the market," said Republican Reps. Fred Upton of Michigan and Cliff Stearns of Florida, in a joint statement. Upton is chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, while Stearns oversees the committee's investigations and oversight panel." www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/09/14/general-us-solar-manufacturer-investigation_8678142.html
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Post by curiousgeorge on Sept 14, 2011 14:30:45 GMT
People have been fooling around with solar since 300BCE. Ignoring all of that ancient history, in 1954 Bell Telephone Laboratories produced a 4% efficiency silicon PV cell, and later accomplished 11% efficiency. Today, PV under optimum lab conditions, is 24.2% efficient. Nearly 60 years to double the efficiency. Given the above, my question is how long are we supposed to fund, and wait for, the promises of the solar power industry to be fulfilled? library.thinkquest.org/17658/sol/solhistoryht.html
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Post by trbixler on Sept 15, 2011 3:19:29 GMT
Mr Green with hand in till how shocking! "Former CFO of 'green' group pleads guilty to fraud" "NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The former chief financial officer of a Knoxville nonprofit group that promotes energy from renewable sources has pleaded guilty to skimming federal funds. Cameron J. Potter worked for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy." www.wsmv.com/story/15460759/former-cfo-of-green-group-pleads-guilty-to-fraud
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