Now is the time at SDA when we juxtapose!
Calgary Herald, Nov.10th, 2010 – The City of Medicine Hat is set to announce a $9-million solar power project, believed to be the first commercial-scale facility of its kind in Canada. […] “Private enterprise would be much more reluctant to do something like this because they always look at cost-benefit analysis,” [deputy mayor Ted Clugston]* said.
Australia Institute, Nov.11th, 2010 – Government subsidies for residential solar photovoltaic (PV) energy systems are ineffective, costly and unfair, new research published by The Australia Institute shows. […] It found that despite costing the government $1.1 billion, it will only reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by around 0.015 per cent and failed to generate significant domestic economic benefits.
h/t Paul
* quote attribution corrected
Dumb and dumber live in Medicine Hat now?
Kate, your headline is redundant…
Sorry, an inside Lethbridge joke about the Hat.
Well, I wound up in The Hat for emergency surgery a couple of weeks ago and I’ve got nothing but praise for the hospital staff and doctors. Probably a good thing they haven’t switched to solar power yet, as I don’t think you can do laproscopic surgery using candlelight and an old fireplace bellows.
Let’s play “Complete the quote”
“they always look at cost-benefit analysis,” [Russ Smith, the city’s manager of energy sustainability] said.”
“But for me, cost is not important because I have unlimited amounts of taxpayer dollars to play with, other peoples money to waste as I see fit”
“Private enterprise would be much more reluctant to do something like this because they always look at cost-benefit analysis,” [Russ Smith, the city’s manager of energy sustainability] said.
What can you add to that? Russ you are Canada’s stupidest human. You know why we in the private sector tolerate government Russ? Because it keeps imbeciles like you from being accidentally hired by one of us, thereby fatally wounding our enterprise. Collectively, the productive can sort of afford idiots like you as the pain is spread among several of us. Please do the country a favour and never open your mouth again.
Sub-Saharan Africa or Brazil I would understand, but Medicine Hat!? Trigonometry is obviously not part of school math curriculum.
Private enterprise would be much more reluctant to do something like this because they always look at cost-benefit analysis
Not in, say, marketing or human resources departments, they don’t.
“Private enterprise would be much more reluctant to do something like this because they always look at cost-benefit analysis”
Russ says that like it’s a bad thing! Unbelievable!
I suppose government is supposed to just follow its ideology blindly, regardless of cost?
Granted it’s in the southern part of Alberta, and excuse my “Yankee ignorance”, but just how many hours of sunlight does Medicine Hat get in the winter? And do they have a plan for clearing the snow off of the panels after snowstorms and blizzards?
“Private enterprise would be much more reluctant to do something like this because they always look at cost-benefit analysis.”
lol. a quote for the ages.
“Private enterprise would be much more reluctant to do something like this because they always look at cost-benefit analysis.”
That line say it all.
btw, the Herald link seems to be bad… but I’m assuming the next sentence was ” Fortunately, by using tax payer’s dollars we can ignore cost-benefit.”
That line is a classic:
Private enterprise would be much more reluctant to do something like this because they always look at cost-benefit analysis,” [Russ Smith, the city’s manager of energy sustainability] said
Measuring costs vs benefits is for wusses. Why on earth should they need to know if the benefits outweigh the costs? Who cares if there are benefits! It’s not their money!
I don’t think they get too much snow. But the occasional plough wind could be fun.
Here’s the correct link to the Calgary Herald:
http://www.calgaryherald.com/life/Sunny+Medicine+announce+ambitious+solar+power+project/3804519/story.html
Forsake God and the punishment is to fall for one
of these sick but expensive little cults.
Solar power? In Medicine Hat?
That’ll be a good trick in the winter.
Medicine Hat is one of the only cities in the world that owns and manages its own electric and gas utility. Built on a massive natural gas field, Medicine Hat has been providing residents and businesses of the city with natural gas since 1904. In addition, a percentage of the revenue for the utilities is given back to the residents as dividends in the form of some of the lowest utility and property tax rates in the country.
http://www.albertafirst.com/profiles/statspack/20375.html
There’s the problem, the public utility rates are too low. Tsk, tsk. Not to worry, the black hole of solar power will fix that.
Chuck: “I suppose government is supposed to just follow its ideology blindly, regardless of cost?”
I think that’s why they call it ideology.
That said, weren’t the two wind farms in SK the first commercial-scale operations?
Also: “It will be an experimental learning project,” does not sound like something commercial, as I understand the word.
Private enterprise would be much more reluctant to do something like this because they always look at cost-benefit analysis
“You don’t know what it’s like out there! I’ve worked in the private sector. They expect results!”
Not to worry. Russ Smith has assured the good citizens of the Hat that staying on daylight-savings-time the entire year will add the extra sunlight to make up for any cost-benefit shortfall.
And what do the lovely taxpayers of the Hat think about this???
Bantario’s got them beat by a mile.
Private Corp just opened the World’s biggest solar farm in Sarnia.
Of course it’s production is being subsidized by us, the taxpayers.
I can see his point, after all, Alberta is bound to run out of gas and oil and coal at some point in this new millennia.
Six or seven hundred years from now, he will look like a man ahead of his time eh?
the dead giveaway is when a city has a manager of energy sustainability…
Those pesky pesky cost-benefit analysis’. Truly amazing that such a thing would stand in the way of “progress”.
Medicine Hat has its own gas wells! It burns clean and they have lots of it.
What the hell do they want with big ugly wind mills? Stupid is as stupid does.
What are the sucker taxpayers saying about this idiocy?
Damn it, Sigivald, you beat me to it!! 🙂
Ougtta be a law from the Ottawa crazee turkeys ‘gainst flyin’ friggin’ windmills.
And, ‘gainst medicine hats.
Where in h*** are Lizard May/Suzooki, et al?
“According to Transport Canada, there have been 1,694 bird strikes in the past three years.”
…-
“Ottawa to airplanes: ‘Slow down'”
OTTAWA — Everyone knows airplanes and birds don’t mix.
And the federal government has now banned high-speed takeoffs for planes — limiting takeoff speed to 250 knots — to reduce the chance and severity of collisions with the feathered flying flight risks.
According to Transport Canada, there have been 1,694 bird strikes in the past three years.
In March 2009, three months after a US Airways plane collided with a group of Canada Geese during takeoff and was forced to ditch into the Hudson River beside Manhattan, the government indicated it would force planes to slow down during takeoffs.
The changes to the Canadian Aviation Regulations came into effect this past Wednesday.”
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2010/11/12/16112771.html
Should be grounds for immediate dismissal. Clearly, a purging is overdue!
Sadly, will more likely result in a bidding frenzy for this wizzard by the enviro-greenie metropolises (li?) elsewhere.
I remember the first time I visited Medicine Hat, my first response was who bombed the hell out of this hole. My opinion didn’t change the second time I stayed there, no worries the Wind Turbine crowd are making a fortune on that energy scam.
Seems like Medicine Hat needs a sweeping forensic audit before any other scam friendly initiatives get going.
The city of Saskatoon is next in line with stupid. 90 million dollars spent on River Landing and still going.
Every level of government has way too much money available to fritter away on mindless projects like these.
Kate, we need a public sector fiscal famine.
Windy in the Brige, dusty too. Anyone who wore the old style contacts will attest to the sheer amount of dust rolling through year round. Um let’s see, chinooks too, freeze melt cycles through out the winter. My guess is the panels will never be clean enough to do squat without an army of Mr. Cleans to wipe them down, at night of course. Someone did not think this through very carefully. JMO
Unless the article is poorly edited, it’s deputy mayor Ted Clugson who deserves a clue bat upside the head, not Russ Smith (who may well deserve one as well but not for the featured quote).
On another point, the article is poorly edited. How hard could it have been to check on the believed to be the first commercial-scale facility of its kind in Canada part? With all the fanfare, back-patting and press release over every “green” initiative, it should be an easy matter to determine whether this one is the first or not.
This Alberta place sounds like a cesspool of rampant socialism to me, thank goodness I live in libertarian, free-enterprise British Columbia.
(been waiting a long time for a chance to say that, too)
“The city of Saskatoon is next in line with stupid. 90 million dollars spent on River Landing and still going.”
Not so stupid. The streets are pot-hole free and in pristine condition, snow is removed from all streets and sidewalks within hours of a snowfall and crime has been all but eliminated.
There is nothing left on which to spend money except for moving the art gallery.
A few days ago on the CTV suppertime news a City of Saskatoon official was interviewed concerning several million dollars worth of solar panels they were installing on a couple of civic centres. Lots of self-congratulation about how “green” we are, and then the money quote “Of course without federal and provincial subsidies there’d be no way you could justify this financially.”
Gosh. I’m so glad those OTHER taxpayers are making up the difference between justifiable and stupidly wasteful.
I think there is a bit of ignorance going on here.
There was no mention of windmills, this is solar project.
The Hat doesn’t get an awful lot of snow in winter and it blows and melts away with warm Chinook winds.
Aside from that … If the city can afford this lunacy, then property taxes must be way … way … too high. As someone mentioned, governments simply have too much money to waste. We are being ripped off to the nth degree.
ok .. between the solar plan, that will cost and not put out, and the solar lights that cost $200,000 for 14 of them, and the highly paid police (3ird highest in Canada) and the crappy esplanade that only seat 700… we have an issue.. I can bitch for days… but I wont.. how do we fix this.. how do we shut this down today!!!!
ok .. between the solar plan, that will cost and not put out, and the solar lights that cost $200,000 for 14 of them, and the highly paid police (3ird highest in Canada) and the crappy esplanade that only seat 700… we have an issue.. I can bitch for days… but I wont.. how do we fix this.. how do we shut this down today!!!!
“Private enterprise would be much more reluctant to do something like this because they always look at cost-benefit analysis…”
Yes, I LOL’d at that just like everybody else here, but the translation is that nobody is going to be held accountable when this thing doesn’t work. What the news story really needs is info about how the suppliers/contractors were selected, how much money they’ll be making, and how much they’ll kick back to city officials.
Why is it that these gov’t igits have to continually put their hands on the stove element when the rest of the world is telling them that they’ll get burned. Are they all that thick???
pkuster; we must do “one thing today to save our planet tomorrow”, don’t you know . Every day on QR there is a nice poofter with his bicycle bell that gives useful tips on how to save the planet. If you people would only listen and heed said poofters advice, we all can (smell, look, act, think, and have all the material things your average ugly bearded pony tailed environMENTAList has. Wont that be fun folks, its an “eco-echo” world out there, listen to the Suzukers and Gorey’s soothing mantra, as they ruin your net worth with this LUNACY! Ed, had better find a set of balls soon and can his embarassing environment minister, or their stubborn adherance to this BS globall warming will let Ed and his band of doofusses have access to their fat pensions quickly.
Don’t worry.
We’re from the govt.
We’re here to waste your money.
Hate it when that troublesome ROI gets in the way of “green progress”.
norm
[….the dead giveaway is when a city has a manager of energy sustainability….]
Yeah and there are 9 million bicycles in Beiging…
Heh. I bet all my relatives in the hat never thought they’d be envious of the government of Toronto… lol.
Have you driven a Ford lately?
Another Mayor looking for funds playing green.
You know, I fail to see the down side of investing 9 million into this project. Yep, it’s tax payers dollars. And yep, it’s a lot of money. But nobody has ever tried this, and MH is the place to try if there was a place to try.
I actually admire the courage to see whether it’s worth putting real money into something like this.
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Lastly…. the disclaimer: For those who enjoy flaming without consideration…. I believe there is no evidence to support the human-caused global warming, I am smart enough to be able to understand that carbon dioxide is no poison, does not need to be sequestered, and that the GW debate seems to have been a state sponsored ponzi scheme of some sort. However, I do not need the organized skeptic movement to think for me, and remain as always my own man.