Revealed: Saudi Arabia’s grand plan to ‘hook’ poor countries on oil
Revealed: Saudi Arabia’s grand plan to ‘hook’ poor countries on oil
Climate scientists say fossil fuel use needs to fall rapidly – but oil-rich kingdom is working to drive up demand
Saudi Arabia is driving a huge global investment plan to create demand for its oil and gas in developing countries, an undercover investigation has revealed. Critics said the plan was designed to get countries “hooked on its harmful products”.
Little was known about the oil demand sustainability programme (ODSP) but the investigation obtained detailed information on plans to drive up the use of fossil fuel-powered cars, buses and planes in Africa and elsewhere, as rich countries increasingly switch to clean energy.
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Solar is dropping in cost so fast and production is increasing so rapidly that in tandem with available modern connectivity/tech tutorials, I think the practical appeal of sustainable energy will outstrip corporate greed and national conspiracies of the sort mentioned in this article.
practical appeal of sustainable energy will outstrip corporate greed
Nah it'll just migrate to the battery manufacturers
What do you mean?
Battery manufacturers have as much to gain as anybody else from sustainable energy.
I mean corporate greed will not die with the oil companies, it'll live on in whomever takes their place
Let's hope so.
I reallllllly want solar. I have enough roof space that I think it might be entirely possible to offset my monthly usage and then some with the right investment.
Unfortunately, some 3000+ kW/mo costs me ~$170/mo and currently the best solar I could price out was going to run me quadruple that at best, with concessions.
I'm fine if it was...say...double the cost, but at the moment it just doesn't make financial sense.
Problem is...it comes down to timing and then it just feels like trying to time the stock market. I suppose I'll just do it one of these days...
Solar surplus depots is what you want.
The solar surplus stores remove "old" large installations from warehouses or universities and replace them with the newest panels, clean and check the solar panels they removed,put them in their warehouse, and then you can buy these three-year-old panels that still have near 100% efficiency for half the price at maximum, and usually cheaper.
I covered the roof of an RV with 200 watt panels that were $30 each and all five panels are still working today.
150 for 5 panels, 200 for a new inverter, 120 or so for the charge controller, a couple batteries and the RV had 1000kW for about $700 for about 4 years now. You want 3000kW, so your price will go up, maybe $2000 for the equipment, and then you just add installation costs if you're doing grid-tie.
You can call around and see if the handymen in your area know how to do installation for a reasonable fee if you don't want to do it yourself, but a surplus solar depot is the way to get cheap, quality solar.
Holy crap, you are amazing. I had no idea this was a thing! Thank you.
Sure thing. It's even worth it to drive a couple states over if you find a solid reseller, because the savings are so good and none of the technology has moving parts so it all works forever. Good luck, it's so cool to have a working solar system.
Well move to Europe then. 3000kWh will usually cost you (depending on the country) somewhere between $500 and $1500.
Is electricity subsidized where you live or something like that?
Been actually considering it!
I don't know. I live in a relatively rural area. The electricity is quasi-municipal. I know it was 2.5x higher when I lived closer to Portland, OR.
Yeah, your prices are very cheap by the standards of my country. I mean there are "EV" plans where I could maybe get that kind of price for a couple hours a day sometimes between 1am and 5am. But the rest of the day would be significantly more expensive.