Sierra Club ED makes case for Solar Panels on Your Roof

[liveonearth]

http://sierraclub.typepad.com/michaelbrune/2011/06/rooftop_solar_panels.html
"rooftop revolution"

Coming Clean
The Blog of Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune
06/21/2011
Every Rooftop Matters
never been a better time for homeowners to add solar panels to roof: easy, affordable, and beneficial

5 reasons
1. green power
2. more affordable than ever, material costs have fallen, federal and state incentives
3. solar-leasing programs: rent or purchase power from a system for 10 to 20 years, put solar on roof for cheap or free, locked-in electrical-utility rate (how exactly does this work??)
4. support U.S. economy
5. can charge a hybrid of EV using it

Sierra Club's solar pilot program
http://action.sierraclub.org/site/PageNavigator/solar.html?s_src=611FBLMB
in California
starting with 2 vendors, 1 state, expanding nationwide later this year

Comments

[ford-prefect42.livejournal.com]

On the day that the first item on that list is not "environment", but "economic" without any form of subsidy, I will agree that they are worthwhile.

Here's the thing, dollars and carbon emissions are fungible. What I mean by that is that *if* electricity from a given source costs $.12/kwh, then it emits half the co2 compared to electricity that costs $.24/kwh. This is true because, when you ponder the ultimate destination of the money, it is almost invariably to carbon emissions that the money goes (more on that at request). It does not matter *who* pays the money, the true cost is the only thing that matters. Subsidies, tax credits, etcetera... all of them are engineered to mask the true cost, which ultimately harms the environment.

At current, rooftop PV generated electricity costs around $.25/kwh, or twice the national average of $.12/kwh at the consumption level ($.03-$.05 at the production level).
http://solarbuzz.com/facts-and-figures/markets-growth/cost-competitiveness

Essentially... It makes no economic or environmental sense at this time to install rooftop solar.

[liveonearth.livejournal.com]

I pretty much agree with you here. The ED's case is terribly weak. There are a few regions where sunlight is so ample that you'd be a fool not to incorporate passive solar design into any new structure, but that's another matter.

[ford-prefect42.livejournal.com]

Yes, I agree that in most (shading to all) climates, it's remarkably foolish not to incorporate passive solar design, that's really nothing more than designing the homes to suit the environment in which they are going to be built!