The WaPo reports:
After nearly three years, the White House began installing solar panels on the First Family’s residence this week, a White House official confirmed Thursday.
The Obama administration had pledged in October 2010 to put solar panels on the White House as a sign of the president’s commitment to renewable energy.
It makes much less economical sense than the calculations here when you consider that electricity should and would be much cheaper absent the enviro war on concentrated energy that’s been ongoing for some decades.
The conversion rate for Obamabucks to Papiermarks will eventually become 1:1.
“Considering the energy used in manufacture, transportation, delivery and installation, not to mention maintenance of the system it is a net loss economically and energy use. It is a total fail.”
Yes, precisely, at least at this point in solar technology.
To tag onto your economic point: the cost of an item is a reasonable, though less than rigorous, estimate of its environmental footprint. That means that alternative energy is actually harder on the environment — “browner”, one could say — than conventional energy.
Well, if we can safely say it was a bit more than $18,000, then the math says the payback is a bit more than 8 years that the White House claimed. I’ve scoured the www and can’t find quoted cost to install. But my $$ says it’s more than 18k.
Average cost per solar panel is between $350.00 to $500.00. These are not the high end wiz bang ones either. Nor do they include the mounting hardware, inverters, and controllers required for minimum operation. The panels alone will cost some where between $7,000.00 for 20 panels at $350.00 each to $25,000.00 for 50 panels at $500.00 each.
Considering the usable lifetime of such panels before they degrade to the point of replacement is 10 to 15 years mainly dependent on latitude. The result is they will never, ever, ever pay for them selves. Considering the energy used in manufacture, transportation, delivery and installation, not to mention maintenance of the system it is a net loss economically and energy use. It is a total fail.
Solar Panels have legitimate uses and that is where electricity is not available or other factors such as location, on top of a tower, make it the logical choice. This is what happens when politics gets in the way of simple engineering practices.
I’d like to hear the details also. They say that 87.9% of all numbers quoted in political rhetoric are made up.
I don’t see any cost estimate anywhere–where does the “multimillion dollar project” claim come from?
Responses are lame…just asking for details
The cost of Obama’s posturing is quite real. This is the guy who had his dog brought to Martha’s Vineyard in an Osprey. Even if the Osprey had a real load in addition to Bo, somebody had to drive Bo to meet the plane, after all.
The most ignorant President in US History has created a scam with the help of Gore and his other corrupt researchers who peer review their lies!
That might actually be a better financial deal than this.
At least Obama isn’t burning actual $1 bills to generate heat and electricity.
Need total cost of installation, but even at 1 million $, payback is 435 years. at $100,000 it is 43.5 years. To get it down to the ‘8 years’ that they claimed the entire installed cost would have to be about $18,000. Unless someone is giving panels, controls and variable speed fans away, we have yet another case of Democrat Math.
Can you provide the justification for the cost numbers quoted in the title?
For their next trick, the First Family of Feel-Good Foolishness will install a condensing dryer on the back porch. (h/t Gene…) Can’t have that ugly clothesline knockin’ down the breeze when we get the windmills installed next spring, can we? 🙂