We all use electricity. For too long, we have used electricity without thinking much about it, believing that electricity is best made by others, by experts, by “the powers that be.”
We are now entering a new era, one where we can take control of our future, including the important choice of how our power is generated.
I am proud to be part of the growing solar power industry. Every day, companies like Third Sun Solar are busy building new clean solar power plants, including solar for households, businesses, government buildings, military facilities… and even libraries.
Solar technology is simple, reliable and efficient. There are no moving parts. The panels are solid state, modular and scalable. More panels make more power, and the amount of power they produce is a function of their specifications and their location. To make equal amounts of electricity, you might need 10 solar panels in the desert southwest and 12 panels in Ohio, maybe 15 panels in western New York state. The point is, solar panels work anywhere.
The nation’s second-most solar state is New Jersey. Germany is a shining example of a modern industrial nation that is well on its way to a clean, renewable power grid. The key point here is, solar can work anywhere the sun shines. There is no technical barrier to a solar powered U.S.A.
Is solar cost effective? Yes, solar panels also make sense financially. Solar costs have dropped by 80% since 2007 — just as we saw with personal computers and smartphone, as a new industry scales up, costs come down. So with long-term financing a solar system can cost less than conventional retail power, with no fuel costs–sunlight is free fuel. There is no economic barrier to a solar powered U.S.A.
As I said… My company and many of my friends in the solar industry are hard at work turning on system after system for folks that are choosing clean energy. But there are also many entrenched power interests that benefit from perpetuating the status quo — that want us to keep burning coal, oil, and natural gas and throwing pollution up into our delicate atmosphere. Aging, inefficient and highly-polluting power plants are being kept online simply to maximize profit. This has to stop.
There is STILL a political barrier to a solar powered U.S.A.
At Third Sun Solar, our company mission is to accelerate the shift to clean energy. We need to move forward, both installing clean solar and wind power as quickly as we can, while also retiring the dirtiest, oldest power plants as quickly as we can. We salute and support Environment Ohio in calling on Senator Sherrod Brown to support the EPA’s new Carbon Rule.
