Each time I see the above images of solar panels being added to the White House, I become incensed knowing that Ronald Reagan removed them after taking office. Some in this polarized country may long for Reagan’s willingness to compromise on budgetary matters, but he was the beginning of lunatics running the asylum. From Giles Parkinson’s Guardian report about rooftop solar in Australia counteracting the call for coal:

“Last week, for the first time in memory, the wholesale price of electricity in Queensland fell into negative territory – in the middle of the day.

For several days the price, normally around $40-$50 a megawatt hour, hovered in and around zero. Prices were deflated throughout the week, largely because of the influence of one of the newest, biggest power stations in the state – rooftop solar.

‘Negative pricing’ moves, as they are known, are not uncommon. But they are only supposed to happen at night, when most of the population is mostly asleep, demand is down, and operators of coal fired generators are reluctant to switch off. So they pay others to pick up their output.

That’s not supposed to happen at lunchtime. Daytime prices are supposed to reflect higher demand, when people are awake, office building are in use, factories are in production. That’s when fossil fuel generators would normally be making most of their money.

The influx of rooftop solar has turned this model on its head.”