Hawaii is going solar. The New York Times reported May 31 that nearly one of every three single-family homes has installed solar panels. That’s over twice the percentage in California and it’s expected to grow sharply in coming years.
Sure, Hawaii has lots of sunshine but so does the entire southern half of the United States. Yet only about 1 in 25 homes in the US have gone solar, according to CBS News, even though the cost of solar panels has dropped by 70% in the last decade, while improving their efficiency at the same time.
Even northern homeowners are going solar. CBS quotes a Massachusetts homeowner who says he is saving $3,000 a year on energy bills with an expected break-even point at 7 or 8 years. The government even gives customers a credit for any excess energy the panels produce, called net-metering.
Germany is a cold country – with a latitude completely north of the contiguous US, but it now produces over 50% of its electricity with wind and solar.
Why aren’t we Americans doing the same?
One big impediment is utilities in some states have fought against giving full credit to homeowners for their energy buy-back. Florida, ironically nicknamed the Sunshine State, seems to be the worst offender with a new bill from its Republican-led legislature that will benefit the utility companies by cutting the net-metering buy-back by 75%, according to the Washington Post. Such a financial penalty is a severe disincentive for consumers to invest in solar.
Other states have also put up financial and regulatory obstacles for folks to go solar. That’s the way to stay in the fossil fuel-burning past. But when Hawaii reversed its course and supported homeowners to buy panels, sales of solar skyrocketed.
The federal government has an important role to play. To stimulate sales, President Biden has paused the tariffs on importing solar panels, according to a June 7 New York Times article. There are serious problems with China, the world’s leading panel producer, like selling their panels at a loss, which could put American manufacturers out of business. Biden has pledged to help domestic suppliers with sales by ordering the Department of Energy to expand use of American solar equipment.
Fair-Trade issues are important and China is a chronic cheater. Let’s hope the United States and other democracies can whip the Chinese dictatorship into proper behavior so the urgent need to go solar can proceed.
How overdue are we to get serious about solar? In the 1970s, President Carter had solar panels installed on the White House roof. In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan had them removed. That was a symbolic start of the anti-environmental attitude adopted by Republicans. Now it’s high time we saw the light from the sun. Voters must demand action from politicians ,and people must take actions themselves.
Assuming that supply chain issues settle down, the financial and ecological reasons for folks to invest in solar are in sync. We can plan our personal and planetary future by doing our part and installing solar panels on our roofs.
Frank Lingo, based in Lawrence, Kansas, is a former columnist for the Kansas City Star and author of the novel “Earth Vote.” Email: lingofrank@gmail.com. See Greenbeat.world
From The Progressive Populist, July 1-15, 2022
Blog | Current Issue | Back Issues | Essays | Links
About the Progressive Populist | How to Subscribe | How to Contact Us