Dear Diary,
After recently reading a New York Times article, we started thinking about home solar power
politics. You see, although solar power is gaining popularity as a
renewable energy solution for home, it will never become mainstream
without the backing from the federal government.
A poll by the Nuclear Power Industry revealed that the number one
choice for generating power was not from nuclear, coal or natural gas,
but from solar energy. However, at the time the poll was taken solar
only provided for about 0.01 percent of America's power supply. Solar
power is popular, but there's not enough investment!
In Washington, where the energy policies are signed, solar power
lobbyists generally work with small budgets in the tens of thousands of
dollars. Now when you compare it to the tens of millions of dollars
that nuclear, coal, gas and oil lobbyists have available, you can only
guess which energy policies gain approval by our beloved politicians.
But when you look at mini
pneumatic cylinder countries like Germany and Japan, their
government policies have increased solar power implementation beyond
what was thought possible. With the support from government not only
have the manufacturing costs decreased because of economies of scale,
but solar technologies have also rapidly advanced.
We know government regulation is not very popular in America, where
many of us believe our capitalists markets should be left alone. But
according to Vinod Khosla, a partner at one of the world's biggest
venture capitalist firms - VC Firm and major investor in green
technologies:
"...Market-driven improvements are not happening fast enough to put
solar technology beyond much more than a boutique investment".
We agree with Mr Khosla. Until the American solar industry gets
backing from the federal government, our solar power costs and
technology will always lag behind the rest of the world. And as long as
that happens, solar power will never gain mass-market appeal in the US.
However, with the new change of government there are 3 distinct
factors taking place that give us assurance that home panel solar power
is about to take off in America.
1 - The new president-elect Obama and his administration is putting
big coal and oil aside, and giving green technologies higher priority.
Furthermore, their new laws will help limit the power and influence
wealthy lobbyists have on new energy policies.
2 - Some states, such as California and Hawaii are not waiting for
Washington to pass the new energy policies. Instead they are taking
initiative. Governor Schwarzenegger's "Million Roof" campaign will not
only create a new industry, but also lower global warming and create
thousands of jobs.
3 - And lastly, we, the home panel solar power users have the
biggest role to play. All the energy policies and campaigns would be
useless if the population did not embrace solar power at home. But,
from the poll and what was said by Mr Khosla, that is not a problem.
The America people are not only very interested in solar power, but are
also supporting it with investment.
And although it can take years to pay off the solar power cost,
people still invest. And when cost is a concern some are so interested
in getting involved that they learn to make and install their own home solar power. So, let us continue moving towards solar and supporting the politicians and corporations who promote green technologies.