The Solar Wars - 10/27/14 05:46 PM
There is an article in the latest Scientific American (Nov. 2014) about the solar energy wars. It seems that as solar power panels get cheaper the energy companies are getting worried because a lot of people are starting to install them. This is cutting into their profits. So far solar power isn't really making a huge difference, but it is growing, and as solar gets cheaper it is going to grow even faster. The claim by the power companies is that when people go solar they stay connected to the grid to serve as back up at night and during bad weather. This means that they aren't paying as much, but the costs of maintaining the grid continue and the solar customers aren't paying their fair share of that cost. The power companies are working to get a surcharge placed on the charges for people who use solar power. This is working in many places, including here in Oklahoma. This of course makes solar power somewhat less attractive.
Of course there are a lot of people who argue that the extra cost should not be passed on to people who are trying to help the planet. There are studies pointing both ways, depending on whether they were prepared by the power companies or others.
This is also bringing about some strange political combinations. There are some splits in the Republican party. The party is conservative and thinks you should get the government out of our lives, but at the same time they support big business, such as the power companies. In Georgia a grandmother by the name of Debbie Dooley formed the "Green Tea Coalition". Based on Tea Party principles they are allied with organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club to fight the restriction of solar power by power companies. That's different, tree huggers and tea baggers working together.
Bill Gill
Of course there are a lot of people who argue that the extra cost should not be passed on to people who are trying to help the planet. There are studies pointing both ways, depending on whether they were prepared by the power companies or others.
This is also bringing about some strange political combinations. There are some splits in the Republican party. The party is conservative and thinks you should get the government out of our lives, but at the same time they support big business, such as the power companies. In Georgia a grandmother by the name of Debbie Dooley formed the "Green Tea Coalition". Based on Tea Party principles they are allied with organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club to fight the restriction of solar power by power companies. That's different, tree huggers and tea baggers working together.
Bill Gill