Let's hope this passes.
Sun power rises from the West
Robert Redford Monday, August 9, 2004
Last week, the California Environmental Protection Agency announced its proposed Million Solar Homes Initiative. This bold plan, prompted by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign promises of increased use of solar energy, is just the kind of forward-thinking leadership that California, and the nation, deserve.
The plan would help 1 million Californians install solar-energy systems at no net cost -- in other words, homeowners would save more money in reduced electricity charges than they would pay for the system. The Million Solar Homes Initiative would achieve this goal by dedicating $100 million a year for the next 10 years for solar incentives, which would create 2,700 megawatts of clean power. That's equivalent to 36 polluting "peaker" power plants, according to Cal/EPA, and would prevent 50 million tons of carbon- dioxide emissions from being released. And because solar produces the most energy when demand and prices are highest, Cal/EPA estimates that for every dollar spent on solar, ratepayers will save $2 to $5 in peak-power purchases.
This kind of policy matters, given the choice we face. Our homes in California can be a part of the problem, requiring costly and polluting new power plants, or a part of the solution, generating their own electricity cleanly and cost-effectively. Californians want the latter. The latest poll by the Public Policy Institute of California shows that 82 percent of Californians support policies that would increase solar-energy use on homes. Now it's up to our leaders to make it happen.
Given global and national events, this initiative arrives at a critical moment. The Bush administration has failed to lead the nation away from our unhealthy and destabilizing dependence on Middle East oil and imported natural gas even when we know that renewable energy sources are the only option for making us energy-independent in the long term. Global warming, meanwhile, has worsened; scientific evidence mounts every year that this looming crisis will threaten our public health, our food production, our ecosystem and our economy unless we act now to reduce emissions.
The real leadership on renewable energy, rather than coming from Washington, has instead come from the state and local level. And no one should underestimate the potential of a state like California to drive clean technologies such as solar power into the mainstream.
The proposal being considered by the governor can create a tipping point, because solar photovoltaics are already on the cusp of becoming competitive with conventional power. Solar energy's costs have gone down by 80 percent since 1980, according to the California Solar Energy Industries Association, and the technology, which has a 30-year-plus design life, is getting better every year. Once we reach the volumes necessary to bring costs down competitive with fossil fuels, the solar industry will take off and never look back, a moment that could be compared to the arrival of affordable Model Ts almost a century ago. Millions of people will want clean energy produced on their own rooftops.
This will happen soon only if we make ambitious, forward-thinking choices today. The proposed Million Solar Homes Initiative -- especially if combined with similar efforts on larger, commercial roofs -- will position California as an industry and government leader in this effort. We must seize this moment. But the solar proposal is just that -- a proposal -- until the governor approves it and helps it through the Legislature. Many forces who don't believe solar energy should be a priority will work to oppose the Million Solar Homes Initiative. It's up to all of us to let our political leaders know that we want to bring solar energy into the mainstream -- and make the sun rise from the West. |
