STUPID: Donald Trump brags about solar panel idea for border wall... that doesn't work

During his really today in Iowa, Donald Trump oficially said what was a mere rumor; that he wants to put solar panels on his border wall to help pay for the cost. And he even bragged about him coming up with that idea. Problem is, that idea not only doesn't work, but it shows how stupid Trump's ideas are. But before we get into that, here's the video. Enjoy:

Trump to put solar panels on Wall, to help Mexico defray the costs.

File Under: Why Didn't I Think of That?pic.twitter.com/sNDQhz1phb

— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) June 22, 2017

Now let's see why this is a stupid idea:

First of all, apparently Trump thinks the solar panels would cover the SIDES of the wall (since he says the higher the wall is the more valuable it is because it will produce more energy). Problem is, that's now how solar panels work. For a solar panel to work in the northern hemisphere, it has to face true south and it has to be angled pointing up at an angle calculated by multiplying the latitude of the place where the panel will be installed by 0.76 and then adding 3.1 degrees.

Which means you CAN'T put the solar panels on the sides of a wall. You can put them on top of a wall, but that's about it.

But let's assume for a moment Trump were to put the solar panels on the sides of the wall. On the northern side there wouldn't be enough sun light and the whole thing would be a waste of money. That leaves only the southern part of the wall. If that's the case, how exactly is Trump going to install the panels on the southern side of the wall of that's the Mexican side of the wall? And how is he going to give them maintenance if they are on the border with Mexican territory?

By the way: if somehow Trump were able to generate electricity with solar panels, that would mean less use of fossil fuels to generate electricity, which means less use of coal.

Which means more coal miners out of work.

But no; there won't be a border wall, and there won't be any solar panels on it. That would mean allowing an electric company using federal property for gain.

Finally; Trump claims the solar panels would reduce the cost for Mexico. Except Mexico isn't paying a cent for that wall. And claiming the cost for Mexico would be reduced only means Trump is admitting the US taxpayer will pay for the wall.

UPDATE: You know what's really SAD about this? The fact that the people who went to the Trump rally actually applauded him. That means those people are just as ignorant as Trump is. Or more.

UPDATE 2: Turns out Trump stole the idea for the solar wall. According to Newstalk, Trump told congressional Republicans earlier this month about the idea for a solar wall and also told them they could mention it only if they said it was Trump's idea. But guess what? Trump actually stole the idea from one of the companies who sbumitted proposals for the solar wall. From the Newstalk article:

As reported by Associated Press, the Las Vegas-based Gleason Partners indicated that panels could power "lighting, sensors and patrol stations along the wall".

Electricity generated could also be sold, the company argues, allowing the cost of constructing the wall to be covered "in 20 years or less".

In a Huffington Post article last December, activist Homero Aridjis and researcher James Ramey encouraged Mexico to build a solar border, claiming it would be a "truly beautiful wall - a symbol of unity, visible even from space".

So not only the solar wall is a stupid idea, but it isn't even Trump's idea to begin with.