Solar Technologies Coming to San Diego
Today, Mayor Jerry Sanders announced the formation of CleanTECH San Diego, a non-profit trade association that will foster and build an energy and environmental technology cluster in the greater San Diego region.
Mayor Sanders said,
“CleanTECH San Diego will nurture and accelerate the growth of companies with environmentally friendly technologies and foster sustainable development and green enterprises. That will allow San Diego to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, combat the effects of global warming and create cleaner, safer workplaces and living environments.”
David Saltman, CEO of Open Energy added,
“As a representative of an environmental company headquartered here, I am honored to join the CleanTECH Board of Directors, and to support its agenda. San Diego is one of the most beautiful and biologically diverse regions in the world, with internationally recognized biotech and IT companies, renowned universities and research institutions, and progressive communities that can work together to generate jobs and protect the environment. Clean tech is here to stay, and San Diego can lead the way.”
I’m hopeful that this will be a good thing for San Diegans. I’m absolutely in favor of going green, and willing to put my money where my mouth is, whenever possible.
For example, I’ve traded in my SUV for the most fuel-efficient minivan available; my husband did one better and traded in his Grand Prix for a Prius. We’ve replaced our water heater with a tankless, and our home’s central heater with a new energy-efficient model. We open doors and windows and enjoy the ocean breeze, rather than running an air conditioner (which we don’t even have). On the few really hot days of summer, we turn on the ceiling fans.
As our appliance wear out, we replace them with Energy Star models. (I’m not saying we’re at all unique in any of this; most of our friends are doing the same things.)
We’ve even gone so far as getting estimates from several companies to put solar roofing on our home to run the whole house on solar energy. That’s where we ran into problems.
Each solar company promises that it will cost no more than we’re currently paying for electricity. They come out, take measurements, and explain the many benefits of going solar. They discuss why we’re ideal candidates - We have a broad tile roof that’s unobstructed by trees or anything to block the sun; we’re facing Southward, which is the best direction to face.
After talking, laughing, and becoming new best friends, they present an estimate that costs hundreds more per month than we’re currently paying on electricity! The end, right?
Wrong. When we explain why we won’t be purchasing solar from them, they go into how we should finance it all with a second on our home, how electricity rates can go up at any time, so we might be paying that much in the future anyway, how important it is that we act now, yada yada yada.
I would LOVE to go solar! I truly would! I just wish that there were a more affordable way to do it. Perhaps CleanTECH San Diego will find a solution. Maybe they’ll come up with new, less expensive technologies. Perhaps they’ll find a way to get California or the Feds to provide better tax incentives to bring the costs down.
If anyplace on earth should be taking advantage of the sun and going solar, where better than San Diego?! Good luck, CleanTECH. San Diego needs you.
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