DIYbanter - View Single Post

HeyBub[_3_]

wrote:

There is a big solar push in New Jersey right now. One of my
inspector friends has posted pictures of a couple of big projects
going on in his city, at tax payer expense.
Germany is also doing a lot of this and the cost per KWH is working
out to be about .55 Euro.
That works out to be a .44 Euro green tax per KWH on all the energy
they create this way.
Imagine quadrupling your electric bill for the same usage and you get
an idea of the wonders of solar power. That is more than it costs to
rent, buy fuel and run a 36 KVA diesel generator next to your house.

So, you prefer to keep funding worldwide terrorists? My feeling is
that the cost of reducing oil usage is worth pretty much whatever we
pay. Wars aren't cheap, and they really aren't effective for this
problem, either. Solar power, even with what it costs right now, is a
very cost effective measure to help defund terrorists by needing less
of their oil.

Almost none of the oil used in this country goes to provide heat, light,
electrical generation, etc. Ninety-plus percent of domestic oil usage goes
for transportation. Virtually no amount of greenhouses or solar power will
make a dent in the amount of oil used, whether it comes from terrorist
countries (i.e., Canada is our biggest supplier of imported oil) or is
produced domestically.

Secondly, there is no such thing as "energy independence." Oil is fungible,
that is, can be freely substituted.

Suppose we opened up all our drilling possibilities (ANWAR, off-shore, etc.)
such that we could produce all the domestic oil we needed at the world
price. That would drive down world demand. Lowered world demand would, in
turn, drive down the world price. A lowered price would encourage domestic
buyers to step back into the world market in an obvious feedback loop.

Aside:
Those who say the war in Iraq was about oil feel frustrated because the U.S.
doesn't get much oil from Iraq. This seemingly negates their claim. But, ah
ha! More Iraqi oil on the market lowers the price for everybody, including
the U.S., so those who claim oil was the causes belle for the war could have
been correct!

Still, oil is a classic reason for starting a war. Hitler invaded Russia for
oil, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor as a step to gaining oil from the
East Indies. War over oil happens all the time.