11–20 of 329 posts
When you say you want housing policy to be controlled by the $CURRENT_LEVEL +1 government this is what you risk getting. The entrenched interests just dig themselves in at the next level up as well.
Rather, the government should invest in research so solar + storage (let's call it green energy) becomes cheap enough that people want to use it.
This is not because its better that people want to do it, or because capitalism is glorious.
This is because you want the incentives in the right place. If green power were cheap enough, that would mean you solve the latency problem, the efficiency problem, the distribution problem and the waste problem.
Simply mandating rooftop solar might make some of these problems worse.
So I guess putting up shade trees to reduce cooling costs isn't a thing any more? Is it net positive to use solar panels? Trees and houses just won't go together any more?
If the government had mandated that everyone had to buy an ENIAC, would that have made computers smaller and faster? Rather, the government should invest in research so solar + storage (let's call it green energy) becomes cheap enough that people want to use it. This is not because its better that people want to do it, or because capitalism is glorious. This is because you want the incentives in the right place. If g…
So I guess putting up shade trees to reduce cooling costs isn't a thing any more? Is it net positive to use solar panels? Trees and houses just won't go together any more?
Saw this in my rss this morning: https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2018/05/ro... > I just became aware in the last few days of the proposal in the new building energy efficiency standards rule making to mandate rooftop solar on all new residential buildings. I want to urge you not to adopt the standard. I, along with the vast majority of energy economist, believe that residential rooftop solar is a mu…
In an ideal world SB827 makes sense, but it was rejected. So I'm glad CA is trying something more pragmatic instead of waiting for a 'perfect' solution. Even if something similar to SB827 is passed in the future - worse case, we'll end up a bunch of rooftop solar installations. That's not so terrible.
If the government had mandated that everyone had to buy an ENIAC, would that have made computers smaller and faster? Rather, the government should invest in research so solar + storage (let's call it green energy) becomes cheap enough that people want to use it. This is not because its better that people want to do it, or because capitalism is glorious. This is because you want the incentives in the right place. If g…
The research has already been done. Generation and consumption of renewables still requires regulation to align incentives.
There is a role for regulation but a carbon tax is the way to go.
So I guess putting up shade trees to reduce cooling costs isn't a thing any more? Is it net positive to use solar panels? Trees and houses just won't go together any more?
That's a good point... and pretty sad actually... Edit: And I can't help but think of the driven up cost of roof repairs. So 10-15 years down the road when you get a leak in your roof.. now you got to pay labor to pull the panels before you can even repair the roof...
Given how little PV costs compared to an average new build, I’m surprised it took this long to be a requirement anywhere. The cells themselves are, what, US$920 for 4kW? And most of the rest is installation cost which is much lower if it is an alternative to rather than a bolt-on to a normal roof? Sure, it’s more for batteries and inverters, but PV or thermal should’ve been standard even a decade ago.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The research has already been done. Generation and consumption of renewables still requires regulation to align incentives.
Well, storage is still too expensive. There is a role for regulation but a carbon tax is the way to go.
I agree a carbon tax would be ideal. It seems politically impossible though, so you achieve what you can.