Denver Museum's Solar Panels, Touted As Part Of A "Green Economy" During Obama's Stimulus Tour, Won't Pay For Themselves For 110 Years

Todd Shepherd, the Independence Institute's investigative reporter and co-founder of CompleteColorado.com, has an outstanding followup to President Barack Obama's vaunted Denver visit in February to sign the "stimulus" package:

Before signing the $787 billion stimulus package into law on Feburary 17, 2009, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden toured an array of solar panels on top of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. The photo-op allowed the President to once again extol the virtues of the coming “green” economy.
. . .
A 2008 article in the Denver Business Journal sheds further light on the subject. The article notes the total price of the solar array was $720,000. And Dave Noel, VP of operations and chief technology officer for the Museum, was quoted as saying, “We looked at first installing [the solar array] ourselves, and without any of the incentive programs, it was a 110-year payout.” Noel went on to say that the Museum did not purchase the solar array because it did not “make sense financially.”

Additionally, most solar panels have an expected life-span of 20 to 25 years.

The article really is worth your time--the obstinacy from the DMNS on transparency surrounding the solar array is really quite unsurprising.

Shocker.