We saw the same thing, and it is like deja vu all over again.
And I totally agree on this part: ". I think any government related "gift"
always brings more problems than they are worth, as sooner or later there
will be more forms to fill out, more fees, inspections, approvals, and other
strings that are always attached.."
Subsidies and "gifts" always distort the true market, inviting profiteers
and fly by night operations. We are seeing them already. This applies to
solar panels just as much as it does to ethanol, corn, or oil.
And the increased government regulation started hitting at least two years
ago. We will be stuck with those regulations forever, but eventually the
subsidies will go away. While panel prices have dropped somewhat, we have
seen a huge increase in things like permit costs, general (often useless)
red tape, etc.
..................................................................................................
Northern Arizona Wind & Sun - Electricity From The Sun
----- Original Message -----
From: " Jeff Yago" <[email protected]>
To: "RE-wrenches" <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2009 10:30 AM
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] future market crystal ball
Being in the solar business during the first solar tax credits during
Jimmy Carter, I see the same things going on again now with the new tax
credits. I think those who do not know history will repeat it. On one hand
solar tax credits increase interest and "buzz" with the general public and
will cause the fence-sitters to finally make the purchase. But I also
think this will only affects the fence sitters, so after the initial
increase in sales as a result of the tax credits, the market will settle
back to sales based on actual need. Tax credits also have a downside, like
bringing some marketers and installers into the market who have little or
no experience, who do poor quality installations that get highly
publicized, and who will use tax credits to hide their much higher profit
margins. I think any government related "gift" always brings more problems
than they are worth, as sooner or later there will be more forms to fill
out, more fees, inspections, approvals, and other strings that are always
attached - there are no free lunches and no free tax credits.
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