Monbiot vs. Leggett II

I got nothing. 

Leggett conceded defeat in a lame article today. If the math is on his side why'd he give up? I have a theory. A businessman can't very well claim solar has hit parity when the Feed-In Tariff payment rates are still north of 19 p/kWh compared to retail rates down around 15 p/kWh? If Leggett claimed that solar was at parity he'd be giving the government a perfect excuse to go in and trim the FiT rates. He likes the FiT rates where they are so he says we're close to parity but not quite there.

If Leggett were a normal business man selling coffee on the corner there'd be no reason for him to open up his books even a little. But Leggett isn't a normal business man, he's a business man working in a highly subsidized field. The subsidies are part of a social contract that solar businesses have made with the public.

Public:We'll help you get your shops up and running but don't overcharge us.

The social contract compels Leggett to tell the truth about the costs of solar - to honor the public's generosity. Unfortunately it looks as though greed has gotten the better of Leggett.