On the California Valley Solar Ranch/Power Plant

Take a good look at it, people, 'cause this is your tax money in action; $1.6 billion in state and federal subsidies (refer to Lipton and Krauss, New York Times, 2011). And here are some additional stats; an exorbitant $6.4 million per megawatt, 1,500 acres of space (far removed from the point of actual usage), a pitiful operating capacity of 22%, and a belief by most folks that the sucker will never turn a profit long term (yes, there will be money made due to the subsidies and the usual suspects of course will be reaping the benefits;  the likes of Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, G.E., Google, etc.)...............................................................................................And of course there are other options, for Christ sakes. I mean, just take a quick look at natural gas; the fact that those plants can be set up on as little as 10 to15 acres (and in much closer proximity to the actual usage), operate at close to 90% capacity, and cost just $1.5 million per megawatt. That, and the carbon footprint (if in fact you're worried about such things - I'm not) is probably similar to Solar when you take the time to figure in the extremely important concept of resource intensity (the amount of energy, resources, etc. to bring it to market). But, yeah, I know, natural gas doesn't fit the template and so we'll probably have to empty out our wallets for more of this cronyism well into the future.