The Solar Revolution

Recently, I read Senator Bernie Sanders’ blog entitled It’s Time for a Solar Revolution. He writes about how he and 10 of his colleagues (Senators Whitehouse, Cardin, Gillibrand, Merkley, Lautenberg, Leahy, Boxer, Menendez, Specter, and Harkin) are introducing the Ten Million Solar Roofs Act. The bill calls for 10 million new solar rooftop systems and 200,000 new solar water heating systems over the next 10 years. The idea is a knock-off of the “million roofs” program in California. Essentially the plan is to create 30,000 megawatts of solar power in ten years by offering consumer rebates for the purchase and installation of solar systems. So far the California program is on track to create 3,000 megawatts of solar power by 2016. What makes Senator Bernie’s bill different is that it is a Federal bill that supplements and complements state and local solar efforts. The idea is a good one, using a distributive approach, however the bill is but a small step in creating a full-scale solar revolution, but it is certainly an important one.

Jeff Wolfe groSolar CEO

Ten million roofs is certainly a great start for a solar revolution, but it reflects limited thinking. My friend Jeff Wolfe, the founder of groSolar, made a presentation over a year ago entitled Thinking as Big as Oil. Jeff pointed out that as strong as growth has been for the solar industry, the entire industry’s revenues equal less than two days of ExxonMobil’s revenues. We have a long way to go to be as “Big as Oil.” Jeff gave several examples of where the solar industry was, perhaps, limiting itself in its goals and vision. And then he made a statement that should resonate with every member of the solar tribe: “I, for one, am not in this game to play; I’m in it to win ‐‐ to accomplish our mission for our company, for our country, and for our planet.”

Rhone Resch SEIA CEO

Thinking as Big as Oil is certainly worthy of being called a Solar Revolution, but a revolution needs many, many passionate people with a shared conviction. Al Gore likes to talk about political will being the only thing missing, but more importantly that political will is a renewable resource. Unfortunately, the obstacles in this arena are as big as Oil. Obstacles mean opportunities. These obstacle/opportunities lie in the areas of technology, politics and basic human behavior and create exciting potential for history-changing achievements. The next step in building and advancing our movement, it seems to me is about increasing the general awareness. The ARRA program certainly is helping. Rhone Resch’s declaration of a Solar Bill of Rights is another step.

There a few trail-blazing non-profit organization for us to get behind and support. I love Vote Solar. Their mission is “to bring solar energy into the mainstream.” I couldn’t have said it better myself and their every single action is doing exactly that. Vote Solar works at the state, federal and local level to implement programs and policies that allow strong  solar markets to grow — working to remove serious regulatory roadblocks impeding solar adoption — and pave the way for a transition to a renewable energy economy. SolarTech is a PV industry consortium focused on creating a Solar Center of Excellence in the Silicon Valley. Their goal is to identify and resolve the inefficiencies inherent in the delivery of solar PV systems. This last January Solartech hosted a Solar Leadership Summit to Address Solutions that Cut Procedural Red Tape by 75% and Reduce Costs for Solar Customers and followed that up by announcing the launch of a new, free resource for solar professionals called SolarHub. In Solar Nation’s own words, Solar Nation “is the place where solar citizens live “  and “where citizens rally and convince their leaders to make America a true solar power.” There are probably many more similar organizations that part of the solar revolution. If you know of some, please let us know in an email: info@whole-solar.com. And if you are not familiar with Vote Solar, Solartech and Solar Nation, please check them out and get involved.

A solar revolution starts with you and me. As I heard Buckminster Fuller say, “each one reach one; each one teach one.” To quote Vote Solar’s website: “The clock is ticking. Join the Team” or, perhaps a paraphrase is in order — Join the Solar Revolution.

How Do We Change the Way the Culture Thinks of Solar Power?

Jeff is the CEO of groSolar, one of the fastest growing solar companies in America. He has put together a great team of professionals and recently acquired Borrego Solar’s residential operations. In addition to that, Jeff is one of the good guys in the industry. His point-of-view is to be much valued, as he is on the cutting edge of what’s happening in the industry. So when Jeff speaks, I listen. “Changing the Culture” is a pretty big order. How do we do that? What exactly is involved? Let’s try to break it down.

Well, to start with, the regular Joe or Jane on the street just isn’t thinking about energy. They aren’t thinking a whole lot about their future, or the future of their kids. But let’s keep the discussion just about Joe or Jane thinking about there own future. As I mentioned in my earlier blog, three years ago, I was right there with them. Fortunately for me, I got a wake-up call and jumped into action. So how do we wake up Joe and Jane? What does it take to make a cultural change? As Jeff stated, what is needed is “a concerted effort.” We’ve got to change “people’s thoughts on what is valuable.” Many years ago I heard Buckminster Fuller recommend that to bring about change it needed to be an “Each on, teach one” proposition. Hopefully, we can do this by many of us blogging and tweeting. I’m always in search of other blogs that further this cause and I have listed the ones I’ve found elsewhere on this page. Solar Fred has been blogging about how much sense it makes and how easy it is to “go solar.” He has a passion to which I can relate, he’s not on anyone’s payroll and integrity is just as important to him as going solar is. If you know some good blog sites, please shoot me an email at roy@whole-solar.com

Financing needs to be more readily available and easier to access. This is an area that holds great interest for me. I believe there are great investor opportunities to be had in solar in the down-market and I’m personally trying to put together some ideas that will be good to help change the culture. The 1BOG model of bringing community activism into the process to converting community energy to solar at a big purchase discount is definitely going to help change the culture in the communities they reach. The Berkeley First is another idea whose time has come, and more programs along these lines will advance the change in how we think of solar. The Duke Energy model of renting rooftops and installing solar panels has me scratching my head wondering why there are not more utilities following this course. I believe there are people like Mary Shields, and her new company UR Solar Power, who are focused on pushing the possibilities in this arena. All of these separate initiatives will undoubtedly make contributions to the change that is needed…and inevitable.

But for us, right on, let’s stay with the idea of “Each one, Teach on” or as I said in my last blog, “pass it on.” In the process, Joe and Jane will become more fully informed.