There are two articles in today’s Austin newspaper about solar farms.
“Planned Travis Solar Farm Still an Empty Field as Company Tries to Land a Major Customer” by Kirk Ladendorf, Austin American-Statesman, December 22, 2011.
“Webberville Solar Array Begins Producing Power” by Marty Toohey, Austin American-Statesman, December 22, 2011.
The first article is about a solar farm to be built in the ETJ of Pflugerville. The second is about a solar farm producing power for Austin. In both cases, the cost of electricity to be provided is apparently expected to be high so that there is a question about cost effectiveness.
The rationale for producing electricity at high cost may be at least partly based on the goal of avoiding carbon dioxide emissions, but after the appearance of the revelations made in Climategate 1 in 2009 and later in Climategate 2 just last month, any confidence in the reliability of the prediction of the occurrence of catastrophic anthropogenic global warming in this century would be expected to decrease substantially.
There are some indications that interest in solar energy has begun to subside.
Please see, for example, “Back to Petroleum! – BP Shuts Down Solar Business – ‘Also in Germany Solar Industry Faces Collapse’” by P. Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, December 21, 2011.
Added December 23, 2011:
“More Bad News for the Anti-Energy, Green Greed Brigade” by James Delingpole, The Telegraph, December 22, 2011.
Bohls Neighborhood Talk 