Walmart heirs working to kill affordable rooftop solar power

[eridani]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/10/09/1335430/-Walmart-heirs-working-to-kill-affordable-rooftop-solar-power

Walmart is an environmental disaster, despite its claim to be moving toward renewable energy. But Walmart's majority stockholders, the Walton family, are going above and beyond, actively working against rooftop solar power, according to a new report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

The Waltons' anti-solar efforts fall into two categories. Since 2010, they've given at least $4.5 million in donations to organizations like the American Legislative Exchange Council and Americans for Prosperity that are trying to weaken clean energy policies at the state level. These donations are part of a widespread corporate attack on policies that allow homeowners to use rooftop solar panels not just to power their own houses, but to sell excess solar power to utility companies. These utility companies might not be against solar power, but they're definitely against losing business to household-level solar. The logic is a familiar one:

[littlemissmartypants]

1. The bastards. eom

[TRoN33]

2. Huh? Then walmart heirs are biggest hypocrites because...

Their own irrelevant supercenter near my home have their own massive rooftop solar power enough to power other nearby small town of 2,000 ten times over yet it doesn't get to send the excessive power into the grid. It's only for their own store.

[7962]

3. I wondered the same thing. Seen it on a store near me too.

[bigbrother05]

4. Willing to bet Wally World got a special deal

They can make money on their excess, but not the little people. All that excess capacity shouldn't go to waste and it is large enough to be "economically viable" for the power company to take it.

The powerful always do insider deals.

[pipoman]

5. Until they find a way to make them in India

And offer kits from their stores....

[LynneSin]

7. Cosco sells kits

see my link below yours. Although from what I read they are made in Oregon.

[LynneSin]

6. Yet I could buy a Solar Panel Kit from Cosco

http://www.costco.com/Grape-Solar-5170-Watt-Grid-Tied-Solar-Kit.product.11630267.html
http://www.costco.com/Grape-Solar-1250-Watt-Expandable-Solar-Kit.product.11755521.html
http://www.costco.com/Grape-Solar-500-watt-Expandable-Solar-Kit.product.11755530.html

Another reason to ditch Wal-Mart for Cosco.

[marble falls]

8. Just another reason to shop Costco and keep passing WalMart by.

[djean111]

9. Noblesse oblige.

The rich couldn't get rid of solar by scaring us with burnt bird stories. Or, my personal favorite, telling us that investing in solar would hurt nuke and coal and power company stocks, which IS A DIRECT ASSAULT ON YOUR NEIGHBOR'S PENSION!!!!! As if pensions could not invest in, say, solar or anything else.
So.....ALEC will be oozing its scummy path to dealing with solar on a state by state basis (here in Florida, Rick Scott will just rubber stamp anything from, say, Duke Power or ALEC), and meanwhile - solar for the corporations will flourish. And they will brag about how green they are, but deny the same to the 99% as much as they possible can. Or make it as expensive as they possible can, by, say, raising the cost to connect to their grids. Which, hopefully, will inspire better storage solutions and/or local grids. The gigantic grids always seemed, to me, to be a huge security risk.

A friend of mine dated a gentleman who was very wealthy due to his invention of some sort of lamp or light. She traveled with him a bit - he was elderly, she was around 50, said no to proposal because she didn't quite feel comfortable, sigh of relief from children, of course. Anyway, she said one of the things she noticed was that the very rich comp each other for everything they can, not much money actually changed hands. All a club.