Build that panel.
Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
President Trump has a new idea for how to pay for the massive wall he dreams of building on the border between the U.S. and Mexico: Cover it with solar panels and let the electricity flow.
Trump, who has an irrational hatred for renewable energy, reportedly pitched the idea to lawmakers at a Tuesday meeting at the White House, where he insisted that they give him credit if they discussed it publicly, Axios reports.
So that’s what they began immediately doing.
“The president is committed to building the wall and securing the border and I commend him for it. He’s continuing to fight and following through on that promise. One idea he is looking at is a wall that would actually function as a solar panel to ultimately pay for itself,” House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) told The Hill after meeting with Trump at the White House.
Of course, the idea that solar panels could offset the $25 billion or so in construction costs for Trump’s 50-foot wall is far from reality. The Financial Times dug into the idea in February and concluded that it’s a “non-starter,” a “complete waste of time,” and “nonsense.”
