What Just Happened in Solar Is a Bigger Deal Than Oil Exports

[Norgy]

I still feel Norway's clean, non-polluting oil would be preferable.

[Barrister]

I still feel Norway's clean, non-polluting oil would be preferable.

I'd prefer if the US would invest in clean, non-polluting Alberta oil sands oil.

[Admiral Yi]

I'd rather burn some sweet Gaia-loving Venezuelan oil than either of those inferior choices.

[Monoriu]

Nothing wrong with good old Chinese coal.

[Eddie Teach]

Nothing wrong with good old Chinese coal.

You don't have a place to plug in your car.

[Monoriu]

Nothing wrong with good old Chinese coal.

You don't have a place to plug in your car.

Hong Kong's electricity generators burn coal

[MadBurgerMaker]

I can imagine solar being quite useful in parts of the USA. eg Texas in summer when the need for aircon and lots of sunshine coincide. In the UK solar's contribution is confined to periods of well below peak demand, so it just undercuts baseload producers at those times.

I've considered putting solar panels on my roof for this reason, but a) as mentioned a lot of the dealers/people involved always seem a little shady (heh), and b) the homeowners association might freak out.  I haven't asked, but they seem like excitable types.  I need to move out into the sticks or something to get away from those weirdos.  There are several houses out on the edges of Helotes (a town just outside San Antonio that I live right next to) that have these big solar array type things lined up on their property.  Not huge solar farms or anything crazy like that, but much more than what you could put on your roof.

[Monoriu]

Most people live in high rise buildings here, so solar panels or whatnot are not realistic in Hong Kong.  The only individual decision that is relevant is if we buy cars that run on electricity or petroleum.  There is no chance in hell that I'll buy electric. 

[MadBurgerMaker]

There is no chance in hell that I'll buy electric.

No?  Any particular reason?  They seem kind of interesting, or at least the ones I've seen around here do.  Well okay the Teslas I've seen are interesting (they're also extremely fast), even with the kind of weird touch screen that takes up the whole center of the dash board.  The Volts look like standard Chevy cars, which aren't interesting, and I haven't really noticed any other ones so I guess they just blend in. 

E: If you've never seen one, here's what they look like:



It's certainly a different approach to the usual knobs and smaller touchscreens and whatnot that would be there in a "regular" vehicle, it's just a little jarring to me, with a big rectangle screen right there.

[Monoriu]

There is no chance in hell that I'll buy electric.

No?  Any particular reason?  They seem kind of interesting, or at least the ones I've seen around here do.  Well okay the Teslas I've seen are interesting (they're also extremely fast), even with the kind of weird touch screen that takes up the whole center of the dash board.  The Volts look like standard Chevy cars, which aren't interesting, and I haven't really noticed any other ones so I guess they just blend in.

They are expensive, and there is a lack of infrastructure to support them.  I can't recharge them at home.  Owners' committee won't install and won't let anybody install such facilities in the carpark.  I need to compete with others for the recharge facilities at work or in the malls.  In any case, petroleum cost only account for a tiny fraction of the recurrent costs of car ownership.  Like, less than 5%. 

[MadBurgerMaker]

They are expensive, and there is a lack of infrastructure to support them.  I can't recharge them at home.  Owners' committee won't install and won't let anybody install such facilities in the carpark.  I need to compete with others for the recharge facilities at work or in the malls.  In any case, petroleum cost only account for a tiny fraction of the recurrent costs of car ownership.  Like, less than 5%.

Fair enough.  If there wasn't a place to charge them over night without a fight, that would be a pretty major deal breaker for me too.  I know some of them that even aren't all electric essentially require a house and garage because they have this charging station thing that you have to wire up in there (Audi e-tron).  Me, I'm stupidly fanboyishly excited about a possible hybrid F-150 that uses their pretty slick smaller sized ecoboost motor + their new lighter weight aluminum body.     I work like 6 miles from my house and am fascinated by the idea that I might be able to drive there and back on electric only a couple times a week while still having a useful vehicle like my truck. 

[Monoriu]

I'm happy with a used Toyota Corolla that moves. 

[Admiral Yi]

Question just popped in my head: why has Tesla never done any product placement?  Seems like a natural, no?

[MadBurgerMaker]

Question just popped in my head: why has Tesla never done any product placement?  Seems like a natural, no?

They're pretty pricey still, so maybe that has something to do with it.  Regular Joe Sixpack might think it's awesome, but the S is like $70k starting.  They also have that SUV type thing with the super slow automatic gullwing doors, but I think that one is expensive too.  I want to say Musk has talked about making one that is affordable for regular people, so maybe you'll start seeing them in stuff then.  I dunno, maybe the S and the other one will show up in movies or TV shows instead of Lambos or Ferraris or something.

[crazy canuck]

Wow even Bloomberg is using clickbait-style headlines now? 

What's wrong with "Congress to extend green energy tax credits"?

Yeah, not to mention hyperbole.  I am not sure why extending an existing tax credit can be characterized as "an unprecedented boost to the industry".

 
"Unprecedented" is obviously wrong; however the extension is a pretty big deal for the industry.

Sure.  Its an important public policy decision to continue supporting that sector.  A good news story could have been written around that theme.