Solar

Dear Mr. President, first of all, I would like to express my gratitude for all that you do to help protect our precious environment and for your work to ensure a sustainable and healthy economy. Regarding Big Solar: I acknowledge the depth of knowledge of your advisors regarding clean energy issues, but as "a little guy" I humbly ask you, in spite of my ignorance of perhaps not getting it exactly straight, to please consider the following. I am all for clean energy, but please pay attention to what is happening to our pristine desert areas of the southwest.  Big solar is not as clean as it seems, I admit it can be a transition away from our nation's dependency on fossil fuels, however the push to develop these huge solar facilities puts our pristine desert lands at risk. Here are what I see as some of the problems, one of the main ones being impact on water usage.  Many of these proposed facilities would employ a wet cooling method that uses a lot of water, which of course impacts the already over-consumed groundwater and watersheds of the arid southwest regions.  Dry cooling methods, using far less amounts of water, still may cause strain on the regional hydrology.  Another issue that bugged me was most of the proposed sites are on our pristine federal lands. These huge facilities essentially require a scraping clear of the landscape.  The impact on our wildlife and native plants in these areas can be tremendous. Think the desert tortoise - a popular animal for promoting desert conservation - is only one of a number of native plant and animal species whose habitat will be affected.  If we must have big solar facilities, why not use already disturbed lands, such as military sites, etc.'  And, the mitigation being discussed thus far is looking weak at best.  Perhaps an even bigger question is, why not have PVC solar along the transportation corridors such as I-15 between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, the two largest metropolitan areas most likely to benefit from these huge facilities in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts.  Why not push for PVC solar panels on every commercial, public and residential roof top as well as on commercial and public parking lots in these densely populated areas'   Of course, big solar means more roads for putting in those unsightly and EMF-leaking huge transmission lines.  Big solar will have very little benefit to our local desert economies. A few jobs sure, but most of the profits may not even stay in the region, let alone the country.  These facilities are being backed by federal dollars.  Many of the technologies being proposed for big solar are new, and yet the technology is advancing so quickly that there is a risk of the technologies being used will be virtually obsolete by the time these facilities are up and running for a few years.  And yet our federal government is carrying most of the risk with our taxpayer dollars by insuring these sites.  So if the big solar company doesn't see the profits they want, they may pull out, leaving the American public to foot the bill.  We would then have these huge and unsightly facilities on now-barren land, remaining behind as a potential legacy of imprudent and rash decision making in the name of environmental good.  So my question is, why are we so fast to put all of this stimulus and other federal cash up to support huge multinational corporations that are part of the old paradigm of the centralized energy generation'   Why is there no dialogue about our stimulus dollars instead going to "Joe the Solar Installer", that is the little guy, our out-of-work neighbors and family members, who could install good old PVC panels on every building and parking lot, and along major highways'  Innovations in PVC technologies are proving to be more and more viable and cost effective, and no or very little transmission lines needed. Much more efficient wouldn't you agree' It certainly would help us all be more in touch with the reality of where our energy comes from and we would all share in the visual impact of it.   So please, I urge you, and all of our partners who care about the long-term health and vitality of our environment and economy, to start a dialogue about these issues.  Otherwise, we are just supporting a new face for the same old status quo. Let’s give the power to the people, literally! Respectfully, Andrew Lonich