Feb. 21, 2024

The Solar Heist, or How I Got into the Solar Business, Part 11: Rewind

On the next Probably True Solar Stories, we conclude our limited series, "The Solar Heist, or How I Got Into the Solar Business." It's about two neighbors who unexpectedly form an odd friendship and work to uncover a solar energy crime syndicate. But arresting the syndicate’s leader turns out to be more complicated than they expected.

Previous Solar Heist episodes:
Listen to Part 1 here.
Listen to Part 2 here.
Listen to Part 3 here.
Listen to Part 4 here.
Listen to Part 5 here.
Listen to Part 6 here.
Listen to Part 7 here.
Listen to Part 8 here.
Listen to Part 9 here.
Listen to Part 10 here.

True Solar Takeaways (Spoilers!)

  • Yes, there is a Department of Energy unit called the Office of Intelligence and Counter Intelligence. Look it up.
  • No, the Department of the Interior does not have a DFM--a Defence of Fossil Fuels intelligence agency. As not as far as I know, the DFM is fiction, but... you never know.
  • Solar projects are often built on landfills because solar projects built on landfills, brownfields, and superfund zones get a bonus 10% investment tax credit.
  • Energy is and always will be a part of politics, war, and corruption.  There's a reason that the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet patrols the Arabian Peninsula...Follow the money. 
  • The Italian mafia has invested in solar projects in the past, but the existence of a modern solar money laundering syndicate is 100% fiction... as far as I know.

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