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Planet Forward Original Webisodes
Rolling out the Red Carpet: First Up, Solar Leasing
Planet Forward is gearing up for the April 2011 PBS special. Take a look at one nominee and find out how you can weigh in on the idea and have your comment appear on national television
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On January 27th, 2011 at 9:30 pm Krisanne Baker Said:
Hi Planet Forward,
Love this idea for Earth Day show. Yes, the CA company leasing solor panels is fabulous. The problem with solar is the start-up costs for average people like me (single parent – one income family or even two income families). Leasing to buy makes it all possible. This should be a national program!
As climate change is an on-going problem, my thought is to have something similar for people to re-roof their homes and buildings with the shingles that each is an individual solar panel and then hooked into a system which could provide energy, hot water, and heat for underfloor radiant heating systems. I’d love not to have to buy oil or gas to heat my home in the winter. Also, many roofs are black and throw heat back into the atmosphere. A good deal of that can be eliminated by having solar shingles instead of black asphalt roofing.
I’ve been researching this – I know that Dow makes a solar shingle, however, I don’t want to buy from a company that produces harmful non-sustainable chemicals that pollute us and our environment. Maybe you know of some other companies that are in the process of developing such a product as solar shingles. Please let me know if you come across any US green companies in production.
In the meantime, I will keep making my public service announcements about water quality where I focus my activist energies.
Best,
Krisanne Baker
Ecological Art Activist
Waldoboro, Maine
On January 27th, 2011 at 11:14 pm Mark Lackey Said:
With only 24kbaud dialup, I can’t watch the online video, but yeah, rooftop solar sounds like a great idea. With so many rooftops of mostly unused area catching, and wasting, sunlight all day every day all over the world, it sounds like a vast untapped resource, ripe for the taking.
On January 28th, 2011 at 11:51 am Carrie Winans Said:
Pricing in solar energy has always been one of the biggest concerns. There is a lot of talk currently about making it cheaper. SunRun and others have focused a great deal of effort into making it more consumer happy. Until then, Climate Central has provided readers with an explanation as to why there is such a break in pricing between the current energy standard and the new clean energy, please enjoy! http://www.climatecentral.org/news/ethical-dilemma-profoundly-sways-economics-of-climate-change/
On January 28th, 2011 at 11:53 am Carrie Winans Said:
Hey Mark! I’m sorry that you aren’t able to watch the video due to your connection. However, if you’re looking for more information on the amazing potential of solar power, I would suggest going to the SunRun website. It’s well-organized and very informative. Thanks for commenting!
On January 31st, 2011 at 9:08 pm Susan Said:
I want to build on Krisanne’s request for solar service programs to go national. I work for a company similar to the one profiled above, and we’re based in California but also operate in 6 other states: HI, AZ, CO, MA, NJ, and PA. Expansion is top of mind, but we only want to do it if we’re able to make solar affordable there for the homeowner. Two factors that play a key role are: 1) are the state policies for solar rebates favorable? and 2) how much do people currently pay for traditional electricity? If electricity is cheap, it’s harder to undercut it. BUT, industry groups are working together to try to bring down those costs! For example, my company recently found that permitting inconsistencies can add $2,500 per install! See the report here: http://www.sunrunhome.com/cost-of-solar/solar-panels/local-permitting.
Another challenge: showing people just how dirty traditional power sources are and inspiring them to make the change. Here’s a video from Planet Forward that helps explain this: http://planetforward.org/idea/create-a-clean-affordable-solar-power-service-to-supply-energy/. I’d love your thoughts on how to reach more people with this message!
-Susan (full disclosure, I work with home solar company SunRun, which is why the links come from our site)