Koch brothers are a sun block

And surprise, surprise, they lie to do it. See this article. Solar capacity is up 418% since 2010 due to some States providing tax incentives. And also because of the rapid decline in the cost of solar panels. Like Rifkin suggests, this allows these individual solar producers to reverse their bills when the produce more than they use. Since solar is finally feasible enough to start providing competition to big oil the latter through the Kochs are trying to stop it dead in its tracks.


They are doing so by getting some legislatures to impose a tax on solar production. And lying that these solar producers are freeloading on the grid and costing it and the taxpayers money. When in fact the opposite is true. I know, facts have never been their strong suit. The solar producer "helps reduce the demand for peak power in mid-summer allowing power producers to avoid costs for building new power plants to meet peak demand. Moreover, power distributors not in the generation business are able to avoid paying for the most expensive peak power."

Their only sin it seems is in offering a competitive alternative. And in the world of the Kochs competition and the free market are only catch phrases hiding their real motive, monopoly. Their rationalization is this particular case is along the same lines as the bullshit that we need voter ID laws because of virtually nonexistent voter fraud.