Thoughts on Solar

Yesterday I posted the eight Rights from the Solar Bill of Rights introduced by SEIA President Rhone Resch during his speech at last week’s Solar Power International conference.  Over the next several days I will be discussing these rights in greater detail.  Let’s start today with number one:

1. Americans have the right to put solar on their homes or businesses.

Well, of course they do - what is holding them back?  Aside from a weak economy, there are a number of things that make putting solar on a home or business more difficult than it should be.  For example, some utilities make the entire rebate process so confounding that the public becomes confused and intimidated.  Some communities charge excessively high fees for permitting and inspecting a solar power installation.  (Kudos to PWP here - they actually include the cost of the permit in their rebate payment.)  Some local jurisdictions impose “guidelines” as though they were binding regulations without ever bothering to hold a public hearing and pass an authorizing ordinance.

All of these things conspire to make adding solar more complicated, time-consuming and expensive than it should be.

What can be done?  The key, as President Resch made clear during his speech, is for solar advocates to speak up and start demanding their rights.  This involves writing letters to the editor, advocating solar with elected officials - and keeping solar in mind when going out to vote.

In the weeks and months ahead, we will be highlighting opportunities for action in these pages - stay tuned!