The subsidies have not stopped. I knew this was not a new story, but it opened an old wound for me. The ten of us in my biofuels business had all read AS. I was actually one of the last to do so. When Obama got elected, we put our business on the market. We sold it shortly after I heard that Solyndra got its cash infusion (long before the scandal hit them).

I can understand the Brit's enthusiasm. Solar is very heavily subsidized in other parts of europe as well. There have been cases in Spain where they powered UV lamps from the grid, shining onto the panels at night to sell the "solar" power back to the grid. Even with the energy losses, the subsidy-inflated price they sell the solar power at made it profitable.
(This story was from years ago, so I would hope it has been stopped now, but with the right kickbacks who knows!)

"It was definitely a time to tell the AS story, so I did (in part). "
Very good. It reminds me of AS.

This sounds very very bad.

A billion here, a billion there--pretty soon you're talking about 'real' money.

PETA must have determined that roasting 20,000 birds at 800 degrees is ethical, I guess.

Thompson, Taggart, Boyle, Meegs et al are alive and well.

On a side note; this plant kills 20,000 birds a year. Where is PETA?

And to think Obama's going all in on solar was the final blow for my biofuels business. I told everyone who was there at the time (and the ten of us at dinner last night that the return on investment for solar panels was 90 years if unsubsidized). The new British boyfriend of one of my wife's friends was trying to convince people of the return on investment of solar power in the UK (about 8-10 years when subsidized by the taxpayers). It was definitely a time to tell the AS story, so I did (in part).