Isn't it amazing what we humans can come up with to improve things instead of destroy? I like all the plus's we'd gain from this endevour. I did note that they were made of glass, so if they break, they logically could flatten tires,etc. but we have ways around that too. Great posting!

Solar PV panels take more energy to manufacture than they produce over their entire lifetime - a net loss. That's the simple ones. And your tax dollars subsidize the companies that build them at a loss.
PV panels aren't an alternative to the tar sands, they are more of the tar sands.

With the right political spin I'm sure the public would love these things. They think those huge solar farms and wind turbines are a good idea too.
The truth is that the power they make costs 5x more than what you officially pay. The power can't be made on demand, when it's produced it must be used or dumped. Nobody else is stupid enough to pay the 40+ cents per Kw/hr so we end up dumping the excess at 2-3 cents per Kw/hr. A massive loss on the investment. That's without the grants and subsidies to install them in the first place.

The Ontario Liberals are great at selling the "feel good" green energy while robbing you to pay for the true cost and it serves them to keep everyone happy and stupid.

Solar PV panels take more energy to manufacture than they produce over their entire lifetime - a net loss. That's the simple ones. And your tax dollars subsidize the companies that build them at a loss.
PV panels aren't an alternative to the tar sands, they are more of the tar sands.

Can you back that statement up with some hard evidence ?. My impression was that solar panels has gone down in production cost even here in Ontario where there is quite a few local manufacturers. Panels today compared to even two years ago are able to generate much more energy per panel so I am a bit surprised by your seemingly factual statement. But I am always willing to learn if you can educate me not just tell me.

Solar PV panels take more energy to manufacture than they produce over their entire lifetime - a net loss. That's the simple ones. And your tax dollars subsidize the companies that build them at a loss.
PV panels aren't an alternative to the tar sands, they are more of the tar sands.

Can you back that statement up with some hard evidence ?. My impression was that solar panels has gone down in production cost even here in Ontario where there is quite a few local manufacturers. Panels today compared to even two years ago are able to generate much more energy per panel so I am a bit surprised by your seemingly factual statement. But I am always willing to learn if you can educate me not just tell me.

I like the way you think Jensen. It is hard to believe that the statement could be true but I too am open to proof of such a claim. In retrospect, we waste energy making products that should last a life if made properly and they have a lifespan of only a few years instead due to our throw away society. Many claim that today's solar panels are good for 30 years and that means we haven't designed them to crap out yet at 5 years like so many other things. To not consider solar a decent alternative to fossil fuel is a more apt scenario where we are serving the upper echelons over the betterment of human kind IMO. If every house adapted themselves for even partial solar energy, we could opt out of nuclear and coal powerplants and finally reduce our carbon footprint instead.

Heh, there a 50% chance I'm wrong.

all the solar panels online around the world last year produced enough energy to make up for the energy it took to make them, researchers are able to say with more than 50 percent confidence.

Oh I totally understand the money issue...most people who have gone solar would agree that they will never see a return on the investment.
But sometimes it's not about the money. In fact, cheap energy is part of the problem...oil was cheap when it was popular. So cheap in fact that it didn't pay to insulate your home. But as we see now, all that cheap oil comes with consequences in the form of pollution.
Also to keep in mind, the days of cheap oil are over.
As manufacturing goes up with demand, the price of solar will come down...
I remember my first PC...an XT with turbo...well over $1000. Now, we have PCs that are faster, better, and due to mass production, much cheaper!
Sometimes doing what is good for humanity comes with a price.

And the irony is that we could make even a computer last alot longer if we tried. I ran a CNC laser table that still used the 8088 processor that was equivalent in the XT (but commercial grade) while we were operating 486 DX laptops(10 years newer). We don't have to have the latest gadget just because they make it, but we replace so much just because we figure we deserve it. Many buy on credit that which they don't need, just want. We now buy large houses and have small families. Work longer hours and all just trying to pay fro that which we didn't really need.

Those solar panels do look expensive and they wouldn't work too well when the snow covered them up, but they are still a step in the right direction.