Posted on 01/13/2015 6:20:43 PM PST by jazusamo
Solar panels are being installed on the roofs of homes and businesses all across America at a record pace. The fad is the latest way for families to "go green" the energy equivalent of blue recycling bins.
The Solar Energy Industries Association likes to tout the industry's "amazing success" but it's holding a "Shout Out For Solar" social media event Friday as it sees an "uncertain future."
That's because its continued success depends on a cascade of government subsidies, including a 30% federal investment credit that expires at the end of 2016.
Guess what? Taxpayers are paying for it and through the metaphorical roof.
Thanks to the slew of solar industry subsidies, homeowners can effectively contract with solar leasing firms that will install those panels for free. But they often get gouged later, as do taxpayers in one of the great corporate welfare scams of modern times.
Shady Solar Leasing Firms?
Congress is investigating if the industry is ensnaring homeowners in green energy "teaser" loans.
Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., and a member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, plus 11 House colleagues fired off a letter last month to the Federal Trade Commission asking if the booming solar leasing market a "new industry with a limited track record and little regulatory oversight poses a "considerable risk" to homeowners.
Some leasing companies "sold large numbers of subprime mortgages to unsuspecting homeowners in the runup to the subprime mortgage crisis," the investigators have found.
California and Louisiana homeowners have filed class-action lawsuits vs. solar leasing companies alleging fraudulent marketing campaigns that don't warn customers of true costs and risks.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.investors.com ...
I’ll be forwarding your message to my husband. I’m sure he will understand it all better than I do. He’s the electrical/mechanical/heavy lifting half. I’m the common sense/ organized half. ;-) Ha!
Much good information on AC water well pumps (for example, with a portable generator and cistern setup), other components and systems can be found at the following (in PA). They’re even great with answering questions on the phone.
I have no pecuniary interest in the business but did get much information there.
For solar slow pump installations, much information can easily be found elsewhere through a search.
Very good. Thank you, again.
Hahahaha!
Well we are just going to have ours installed but I don’t care about the tax subsidy anyway. We just don’t want to be in the dark when the grid goes down and you just know its going to at some point. I think its great that you know how to install it yourself.
Yes. True. Even outside of hurricane country, there are many conditions that could cause prolonged power outages.
Thank you for this information. Appreciate your taking the time to respond to my request.
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