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Related: About this forumThom Hartmann: Will Solar Power Doom U.S. Utility Companies?
Ignore the Right - Wing lie machine - Solar power is here to stay.
The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann on RT TV & FSTV "live" 9pm and 11pm check www.thomhartmann.com/tv for local listings
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Once the people figure out that solar is good now. that it it cost less and we go to rooftop solar we can take the energy cos out of out lives. But, all anyone talks about is large, (Corp controlled) projects when we should be subsidzing rooftop solar.
Downwinder
(12,869 posts)Somebody will have to maintain the grid an distribution system.
Generation, distribution and billing have already been split up in many places.
Vogon_Glory
(9,086 posts)Despite the fact that I believe that the benefits of solar are way oversold and I seriously doubt that solar and renewables can supplant the role currently played by oil, gas, coal, and nuclear in keeping our electricity grid operating, I seriously doubt that solar panels will doom the utility companies. Solar will help cut down the need for extra generators during heat waves and during cold snaps, but the electric grids are still going to be needed to power many businesses and industries.
I suspect that what yanks the utility companies' chains about solar is that it would make it harder for them to manipulate energy prices the way that Enron did during the California brownouts not-so-long-ago, and that's why they and their pet politicians and media hacks are against it.
baldguy
(36,649 posts)Just hate the competition.
gejohnston
(17,502 posts)but I don't see it happening. So far it seems like a mixture of individual roof tops and centralized "sun farms" like wind farms owned by the utility companies.