The Solar Heist, or How I Got into the Solar Business, Part 10: Timing

Explicit content warning

02/14/24 • 35 min

On the next Probably True Solar Stories, we continue with Part 10 of "The Solar Heist" series. Mrs. Prout returns to Mazz and Charlie’s house to give them a warning. But Mazz and Charlie are already in Chico. Despite her efforts, it’s just bad timing for Sylvia, and really, for everyone...
If you missed any of the previous Solar Heist episodes:
Listen to Parts 1-6 here.
Listen to Part 7 here.
Listen to Part 8 here.
Listen to Part 9 here.
True Solar Takeaways (Careful! Spoilers!)

Building solar projects on landfills or brownfields can be extra profitable for solar developers and owners. Under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), solar projects built on these and other distressed properties will receive a bonus 10% investment tax credit. The standard tax credit is 30%, so the solar project could receive a 40% investment tax credit, plus other bonus tax credits.
The U.S. Department of Energy does have a unit called the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence. According to its website: "The Office protects vital national security information and technologies, representing intellectual property of incalculable value. Our distinctive contribution to national security is the ability to leverage the Energy Department’s unmatched scientific and technological expertise in support of policymakers as well as national security missions in defense, homeland security, cyber security, intelligence, and energy security."
I completely made up The Defence of Fossil Minerals (The "DFM") agency. At the same time, I wouldn't be surprised if the Department of the Interior had an intelligence agency that protects the interests of fuel and minerals on public lands.

-----

Visit ProbablyTrueSolar.com to sign up for the newsletter to learn about new episodes and live solar storytelling events.
Support the show by visiting the merch store and buying a tee shirt!
Learn how sponsors can be a part of Probably True Solar Stories and tell their own creative stories.
Follow @SolarFred and/or @ProbTrueSolar on Twitter to discuss episodes
Don't forget to:
- Subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast streaming service
- Rate
- Review, and
- Share!

Building solar projects on landfills or brownfields can be extra profitable for solar developers and owners. Under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), solar projects built on these and other distressed properties will receive a bonus 10% investment tax credit. The standard tax credit is 30%, so the solar project could receive a 40% investment tax credit, plus other bonus tax credits.
The U.S. Department of Energy does have a unit called the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence. According to its website: "The Office protects vital national security information and technologies, representing intellectual property of incalculable value. Our distinctive contribution to national security is the ability to leverage the Energy Department’s unmatched scientific and technological expertise in support of policymakers as well as national security missions in defense, homeland security, cyber security, intelligence, and energy security."
I completely made up The Defence of Fossil Minerals (The "DFM") agency. At the same time, I wouldn't be surprised if the Department of the Interior had an intelligence agency that protects the interests of fuel and minerals on public lands.

-----

Visit ProbablyTrueSolar.com to sign up for the newsletter to learn about new episodes and live solar storytelling events.
Support the show by visiting the merch store and buying a tee shirt!
Learn how sponsors can be a part of Probably True Solar Stories and tell their own creative stories.
Follow @SolarFred and/or @ProbTrueSolar on Twitter to discuss episodes
Don't forget to:
- Subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast streaming service
- Rate
- Review, and
- Share!

Previous Episode

The Solar Heist, or How I Got into the Solar Business, Part 9: Chico

On the next Probably True Solar Stories, "The Solar Heist" series continues. Charlie goes to Chico, California to hunt for "CATs," --certain awful things--buried at a landfill that’s about to become a new solar farm. Meanwhile, Mazz tries to calmly educate the solar farm’s opponents without doing ... certain awful things.
To catch up with the previous episodes:

Listen to Parts 1-6 here.
Listen to Part 7 here.
Listen to Part 8 here.

True Solar Takeaways

As part of the solar project development process, solar project developers have to get approvals from authorities having jurisdiction, better known as the AHJs.
The AHJs vary from county to county, but it's often the zoning board or planning commission.
Zoning boards and planning commissions deliberate about their solar project approvals during public meetings that are often attended by residents who are concerned about the solar projects' effects on the land, agriculture, land value, and public health, as well as the environmental waste after the project's end-of-life.
Here are some FAQs dramatized in this episode:
- Do solar panels or projects cause cancer? No. Read this.
- Do solar projects decrease land value? Not in Texas, a conservative state. Read this. There was also a recent NREL study that showed that solar projects had a negligible impact.
- Are mysterious activist groups spreading misinformation about solar? Yes. Read this article. Are they backed by fossil fuel interests? Seems like it.

-----

Visit ProbablyTrueSolar.com to sign up for the newsletter to learn about new episodes and live solar storytelling events.
Support the show by visiting the merch store and buying a tee shirt!
Learn how sponsors can be a part of Probably True Solar Stories and tell their own creative stories.
Follow @SolarFred and/or @ProbTrueSolar on Twitter to discuss episodes
Don't forget to:
- Subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast streaming service
- Rate
- Review, and
- Share!

Next Episode

The Solar Heist, or How I Got into the Solar Business, Part 11: Rewind

On the next Probably True Solar Stories, we conclude our limited series, "The Solar Heist, or How I Got Into the Solar Business." It's about two neighbors who unexpectedly form an odd friendship and work to uncover a solar energy crime syndicate. But arresting the syndicate’s leader turns out to be more complicated than they expected.
Previous Solar Heist episodes:
Listen to Part 1 here.
Listen to Part 2 here.
Listen to Part 3 here.
Listen to Part 4 here.
Listen to Part 5 here.
Listen to Part 6 here.
Listen to Part 7 here.
Listen to Part 8 here.
Listen to Part 9 here.
Listen to Part 10 here.
True Solar Takeaways (Spoilers!)

Yes, there is a Department of Energy unit called the Office of Intelligence and Counter Intelligence. Look it up.
No, the Department of the Interior does not have a DFM--a Defence of Fossil Fuels intelligence agency. As not as far as I know, the DFM is fiction, but... you never know.
Solar projects are often built on landfills because solar projects built on landfills, brownfields, and superfund zones get a bonus 10% investment tax credit.
Energy is and always will be a part of politics, war, and corruption. There's a reason that the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet patrols the Arabian Peninsula...Follow the money.
The Italian mafia has invested in solar projects in the past, but the existence of a modern solar money laundering syndicate is 100% fiction... as far as I know.

-----

Visit ProbablyTrueSolar.com to sign up for the newsletter to learn about new episodes and live solar storytelling events.
Support the show by visiting the merch store and buying a tee shirt!
Learn how sponsors can be a part of Probably True Solar Stories and tell their own creative stories.
Follow @SolarFred and/or @ProbTrueSolar on Twitter to discuss episodes
Don't forget to:
- Subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast streaming service
- Rate
- Review, and
- Share!