I enjoy hearing from thoughtful thinkers …
I own a number of warehouses upon which we have just installed acres of solar panels, but I didn’t do this because the resulting “green power” is cheaper. I did this because our federal government offers me tax credits of 30% of the value of the installation and accelerated depreciation … I also get to include … the cost of reroofing the entire building and you and the good people of the United States get to help me pay for it … But no, we (or those in power) want to increase the cost of electricity and thereby the cost of heating and cooling our homes and the oil that literally is used to create jobs and keep our economy moving. Remind me why it is a good idea for a country that can’t pay its bills to borrow money to give me tax credits (that I otherwise don’t need) and raise the cost of energy to everyone whether they can afford it or not. Thanks for letting me express my views – as politically unpopular as they are.
Simply, it is a good idea for the US taxpayer to help create the renewable-energy industry and market because it creates jobs, which drives markets. Whereas the US is losing oil jobs, the renewable-energy industry is creating them. Creating industry is what our taxes have gone toward in every industrial transformation in US history, beginning in 1792, and look where we are today.
Now, I have a question for you as a business man … If there is no profit in it, why take advantage of the tax breaks at all, especially if moving to “green power” actually costs you money to install and results in higher energy costs?
