Nice timing, Bill: As Germany's solar industry impodes, Bill Clinton tries to convince Kentuckians to emulate the German solar industry

Bill Clinton at Rupp Arena: Protecting environment can boost economy » Evansville Courier & Press

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton said Monday that the most effective way to protect the environment is to show that it can be good business, giving some Kentucky students a pragmatic lesson in combating climate change and promoting sustainability...“Don’t say, ‘These are a bunch of idealistic kids, and when they grow up, they’ll know better,”’ Clinton said. “They’re on to something. This is good economics. Changing the way we produce and consume energy and deal with local resources is the single most important thing we can do to create jobs in America today.”

Clinton, the last Democrat to carry Kentucky in a presidential election, said that to make inroads in curtailing climate change and making sustainability more mainstream, the country needs to be sold on the economic value of such initiatives.

“We are not going to address this adequately unless we can develop an economic model that proves it’s good business,” he said...The Germans created hundreds of thousands of jobs with the country’s focus on solar panels, he said.

Clinton offered some suggestions for projects in the U.S. that he said would create jobs and reduce energy consumption.

Retrofitting schools and local government buildings was one suggestion. Another would be to apply white paint to every flat-roof building covered in black tar. That alone would reduce summer air-conditioning bills by up to 20 percent, he said....Clinton offered some assurances to Kentucky’s coal sector.

“We’re not going to stop using oil, we’re not going to stop using coal, we’re going to be glad we’ve got all this natural gas,” he said.

The Great Green German Solar Depression – Green Revolution Brings Massive Layoffs

First Solar will shut down its plant in Frankfurt (Oder) and cost the economically depressed region 1200 jobs by the end of the year – a massive blow because the company was by far the region’s largest employer. The plant was opened barely 5 years ago amid much hoopla and proclamations of how it was the industry of the future. Klimaretter writes that at the time, everyone heard comments like:

Establishing First Solar at Frankfurt (Oder) is a prime example of successful climate protection and economic policy in Germany.”

Now, less than 60 months later, not only will the company close its solar plant in Frankfurt (Oder), but also its sales HQ in Mainz, costing another 150 jobs. The people who gave us these promises of “jobs for the future” are the same who insist that the projections of climate models can also be taken to the bank.

First Solar follows an entire series of solar industry collapses in Germany, led by Solon, Solar Millennium, Q-Cells, and Solarhybrid, to name a few. Call it Merkel’s Miracle.

In total, the tens of billions of euros in subsidies have produced only massive economic misery and dashed dreams – and forget about changing the global climate. First Solar is a prime example result of a scientific farce.