Visionary Solar Power Page

Sun is on all day. Wind is not.(20%max.?)

Sun is clean. Windmills are dirty

Solar panels are energy & land efficient.  Windmills are not.

Solar Panels are quiet. Windmills are noisy.

Solar Panels are low maintenance. Windmills are high maintenance.

Solar Panels don't pollute & kill. Windmills do.

Solar Panels produce cheap power. Windmills produce high priced power.

05/18/05

Wow!! local inventor creates a solar powered 2 ton Air Conditioner

04/29/05

04/29/05

CA senate passed SB1 out of energy committee.SB1 will give Californians 10 years of incentives to put solar panels on their home's and business's. Click here for the story.  Thanks to Bill Effenger for the link.

04/28/05

This letter from Steve Sobotta is well worth the read.  He has some very excellent points!  I bolded some of the juicer portions.

Thanks, Steve for your continued dedication to DHS!

SOLAR ENERGY INDEPENDENCE IS WELL WITHIN OUR REACH
(Based on a recent editorial by Steve Sobotta to the Desert Sun)

In recent years, many Coachella Valley folks have been working very hard to bring to the public's attention that viable solar energy alternatives can become a reality for all Coachella Valley residents. Proponents have included individual citizens such as forward-thinking visionaries like Dick Cromwell in DHS when he headed-up Sun Line Transit, private companies and a small handful of elected officials promoting alternative energy. Unlike the national political scene, our hope has been that on a local level that the push for energy independence, as characterized by solar power opportunities, would minimally be interfered with by local opportunistic politicians. Our Valley's need for the development of cottage industries in the area of solar energy technology, can not allow itself to be be "married" to, or held back due to irrelevant political considerations unrelated to the positive benefits that research and development have thus far achieved.

In stark contrast with the controversial problems windmill are associated (i.e., concerns about contamination of our aquifers, bird kill, noise, aesthetic destruction of the Coachella Valley scenic vistas, et al), the development of solar alternatives offers a multitude of opportunities that if implemented can really set this Valley apart from other places (340+/- days of sunshine per year), with plenty of land available for this purpose. No negative issues have ever been associated with solar arrays destroying the visual appearance of an area, or the killing of endangered species, or contaminating water. Solar industry research suggests that 100 acres could conceivably accommodate enough solar panels to power around 43,000 homes. Of course, the cost of the solar panels must be taken into consideration, however volume purchasing would assure lower costs, and a 100-acre piece of land could provide the power supplies of most of Desert Hot Springs, Palm Springs, Cathedral City. This means that there would be substantially less reliance on traditional electric providers for all areas of the Coachella Valley.

Unlike conventional energy providers, there is no monopoly on solar array production with many different manufacturers. No doubt, this reality would prompt more interest by the larger energy providers, Edison, PG&E, San Diego Electric and Power, etc. Individual Valley communities, or through joint powers agreements could create their own municipally (publicly) owned solar farms to energize their communities, or they could be privately owned to service individual subscribers. With energy independence, just consider a major improvement in the quality of life for all Valley residents, knowing how many residents would enjoy a return to year-round heating of our swimming pools minus the punishment of prohibitively high heating costs. Complaints are heard from one end of the Valley to the other about the deluge of windmills inundating the pass and the western Coachella Valley. Growing sentiment suggests that Valley residents are no longer content in simply containing the proliferation of windmills (that offer little or no benefit to Valley residents, economic or other), but rather their being phased-out entirely that is possible by attrition through amortization, non-renewal of conditional use permits (for non-compliance), with gradual replacement with non-threatening solar farms.

The bottom line is that unlike political problems on a state or federal level that we may not be able to influence, at least on a local level in the Coachella Valley, "We the People" can make some significant steps to regain control of our surroundings and quality of life. Valley residents need to closely monitor the actions of their locally elected representatives and to frequently remind them who elected them and who they are to serve. Aware of these very critical and very obvious quality of life issues, especially our currently energy dependency, our elected officials should be abundantly proactive in favor of research and development of viable alternative energy sources that will give back our residents some semblance of energy independence. Our elected representatives should be in the front lines vigorously supporting every possible opportunity to once again make our valley an exceptional place to live. Again, we may not be able to do much about the ill-effects of renegade politicians on a state or national level, but if the public is made aware of the wonderful opportunities that we have available at our fingertips, surely we can make a difference locally and make a positive difference that we can all live with.

Visionary Solar Power Page

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