Only 45 Days Left!

Today's date means that there are only six weeks left for the Foster City solar purchase program discount. Furthermore, the state rebate is expected to be lowered sometime in March and this is the last year of the federal 30% ITC, which is why businesses are jumping on the solar bandwagon in 2008. I was just checking out the eBay campus--rooftop after rooftop of solar panels have just been installed there.

To date, only two FC homes have signed up to go solar, which isn't much, but to put it into perspective, there were only nine solar permits issued in Foster City in all of 2007. I've been monitoring other Bay Area solar community programs going on right now and am happy to say that they are doing very well with sign ups.

There are two dozen site evaluations scheduled in Foster City, many have already been completed, so I am hopeful of a more positive result for our city in the weeks ahead.

There are a couple of things we should all keep in mind--first, the time is past to be worried about aesthetics, our planet needs our help and solar panels look a lot better than wind turbines on our roofs. Second, comparing the cost of solar power to today's dirty energy rates from PG&E has little to do with the energy rate levels in the next three to five years and beyond. Power goes up every year, especially the higher tiers, which is a huge profit center for PG&E. The PUC seems to let them get away with charging whatever they want as a way to punish higher electric energy home users.

The cost for solar amortized by lifetime kWh generated is around 20 cents per. This compares favorably to the higher tiers that PG&E charges, which is more like 30 cents per kWh. The latter number will only be going up and historically, much faster than inflation. Solar power rates are locked in for 30 or more years, perfect for those expecting to be on a fixed income at retirement age.

If solar power didn't make longterm economic sense, it wouldn't be used in new, low income housing developments in cities such as Oakland. Or at the Oakland Zoo. Or at more and more schools and government buildings and factories.

I do not want to look a child in the eyes and tell them that I didn't give much thought to their time on our planet after I'm gone. Please consider solar power for their future.

Dirty Houses!

When people think about causes of pollution, usually the first thing that comes to mind is emissions from our cars. We know that burning gasoline is a big source of C02, but what about our homes?

Well, it turns out that our homes account for about half of our carbon footprint. Our electricity needs account for a large part of the C02 emissions in the air. 70% of U.S. electricity produced is derived from the burning of fossil fuels. Only 12% of the energy we get from PG&E comes from clean, renewable sources that don't impact the environment severely. Every time we turn on the coffee maker, flick on the light switch, watch the big plasma TV or run the microwave, we are using dirty power.

Solar power can make a big difference. We know that we need electricity, but why not harvest it right from our roofs? It's clean, local, low maintenance and even costs less per kilowatt hour than PG&E power when we are spending $150 per month or more on our power.

Many speak of energy sources such as coal and other fossil fuels as being inexpensive and plentiful. That sort of statement doesn't take into account the health costs of dirty air, the resources expended to mine and drill, refine, burn, generate and deliver these nonrenewable, polluting energy sources.

Our home's solar power system(see picture above) is expected to generate 8,300 kWh of electric power and provide a reduction of 6,700 lbs. of C02 emissions every year. That's just one house, one family. Imagine how much we could do if we all went solar!