Desperate times lead to desperate measures, and this is one of the good ones. Ohio lawmakers plan to introduce a bill to mandate solar panel installation on all schools to cut electricity costs, stimulate the market, tap into the 30% federal tax credit, and boost the states green energy industry.
This isn’t a mandate so much as it is a tactic of survival. The downturn of the economy and all of it’s business hardships have proven one thing for sure. Alternative energy is where it’s at, there is growth, there are jobs, and there is hope with alternative energy.
A mandate is change, something which people are always so hesitant to do. But change is what is exactly needed for this country. We cannot keep draining fossil fuels from the ground to produce energy that can be just as well or better done with solar panels. Solar energy is free energy, non-polluting energy, sustainable energy, and an energy source that is slated to grow in leaps and bounds for decades to come.
Mandates for Ohio schools should be taken nationally and enforced on a federal level to have all schools across the country mandated for solar power. How many millions of jobs would that type of mandate bring about, as well as how many billions of dollars would be saved getting our energy from solar as opposed to coal of petroleum.
The facts must be faced, fossil fuel to power our needs must be stopped. We are at the mercy of those that pump oil or mine coal, instead of taking the reins in our own hands, mandating solar use across the board, and being free of the fossil fuel nightmare, along with all the pollution, high prices, and wars that are fought.
Fossil fuels are a dead end, while solar power and other sustainable fuel sources are the true shining light. The sooner and faster we get out from underneath the fossil fuel scourge, the better off this planet and economy will be, even if that requires mandates to do it.
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Good call-
This is an opportune time to start looking into solar-
Prices are sliding this year and as financial markets recover solar will be an attractive part of the Sustainable Energy Transition.
See developing solar price details at:
http://setenergy.org/2009/04/06/solar-prices-creep-lower-apri/
-Dennis of SETenergy.org
With the abundant solar and wind power in New Mexico, it seems idiotic not to put this to use. We are “saving” money today by not installing renewable energy equipment, and spending our environmental future.
We’re hoping this becomes a reality soon. I’ve done some recent calculations and for every home that that installs a 100% energy coverage system, they can expect to offset 1.37 cars from the road. With 112 million homes in the US. Just think what a 5% adoption rate would do for the planet.