{"id":354,"date":"2012-11-02T09:42:21","date_gmt":"2012-11-02T13:42:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2012\/11\/the-power-of-going-solar-john-s-quarterman.html"},"modified":"2012-11-02T09:42:21","modified_gmt":"2012-11-02T13:42:21","slug":"the-power-of-going-solar-john-s-quarterman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2012\/11\/the-power-of-going-solar-john-s-quarterman.html","title":{"rendered":"The power of going solar &mdash;John S. Quarterman"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<a title=\"Solar panels on farm workshop --John S. Quarterman\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/98706376@N00\/8147564783\/sizes\/z\/\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b017d3d34d989970c\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017d3d34d989970c-pi.jpg\"  alt=\"Solar panels on farm workshop --John S. Quarterman\"  \/><\/a>\nMy op-ed in the VDT today. Remember\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/10\/when-can-you-vote.html\">to vote<\/a> today or Tuesday.\n-jsq\n<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\nThis spring,\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/04\/university-at-buffalo-installs-solar-array-at-entrance.html\">\nthe University at Buffalo<\/a> turned on 750 kilowatts of\nsolar electricity.\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/10\/solar-college-campuses-far-to-the-north-why-not-at-vsu.html\">\nRutgers U., in New Jersey,<\/a> installed 1.4\nmegawatts in 2009 and started on 8 MW this summer. Down here with a\nlot more sun, how about solar panels on VSU parking lots?\n<\/p>\n<p>\nThere&#8217;s\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2011\/11\/financing-for-renewable-energy-projects.html\">\nplenty of private solar financing available.<\/a> Also in New\nJersey, a company installed 6 MW of solar on high school land and\nleased the power to the school supplying most of its needs win-win.\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2011\/05\/putting-power-on-the-grid-at-wiregrass-solar-commissioning.html\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b017d3cfabd6d970c\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017d3cfabd6d970c-pi.jpg\"    \/><\/a>\nYou can go see a solar farm already working fine here,\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2011\/05\/putting-power-on-the-grid-at-wiregrass-solar-commissioning.html\">\n200 kilowatts at Mud Creek Wastewater Plant.<\/a>\nWhy not do the same\n<\/p>\n<table style=\"float:right;border:none;\"  >\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" marginheight=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/maps.google.com\/maps?f=q&amp;source=embed&amp;hl=en&amp;geocode=&amp;q=Lowndes+High+School,+Norman+Drive,+Valdosta,+GA&amp;aq=0&amp;oq=lowndes+high+school&amp;sll=37.0625,-95.677068&amp;sspn=38.281301,62.490234&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;hq=Lowndes+High+School,&amp;hnear=Norman+Dr,+Valdosta,+Georgia&amp;t=h&amp;layer=c&amp;cbll=30.836627,-83.326974&amp;panoid=1vAVD0pj0rBP99i8t-QN-w&amp;cbp=13,32.78,,0,5.06&amp;ll=30.83609,-83.326964&amp;spn=0.001842,0.00751&amp;z=16&amp;output=svembed\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"100\"><\/iframe><br \/><small><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-align: left;\" href=\"https:\/\/maps.google.com\/maps?f=q&amp;source=embed&amp;hl=en&amp;geocode=&amp;q=Lowndes+High+School,+Norman+Drive,+Valdosta,+GA&amp;aq=0&amp;oq=lowndes+high+school&amp;sll=37.0625,-95.677068&amp;sspn=38.281301,62.490234&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;hq=Lowndes+High+School,&amp;hnear=Norman+Dr,+Valdosta,+Georgia&amp;t=h&amp;layer=c&amp;cbll=30.836627,-83.326974&amp;panoid=1vAVD0pj0rBP99i8t-QN-w&amp;cbp=13,32.78,,0,5.06&amp;ll=30.83609,-83.326964&amp;spn=0.001842,0.00751&amp;z=16\">View Larger Map<\/a><\/small>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/06\/solar-lowndes-high.html\">\nat Lowndes High School,<\/a> where all the world on I-75 could see,\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2011\/08\/lets-put-lowndes-county-on-the-clean-economy-map.html\">\nattracting business to our community?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1kvRUlPOa4w\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<p>\nWhy not?\n<\/p>\n\n<!--more-->\n<blockquote>\n<p>\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/05\/in-georgia-competitive-is-not-for-you.html\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b0163065b575c970d\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b0163065b575c970d-pi.jpg\"   width=\"250\" height=\"163\"  \/><\/a>\nBecause\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/05\/in-georgia-competitive-is-not-for-you.html\">\nthe 1973 Territorial Electric Act<\/a> makes that illegal in\nGeorgia. Same reason you can&#8217;t get financing to install solar panels\non your roof and sell your excess power on an open market: you can\nonly sell to a single electric utility pre-determined for you by\nthat Act, at a rate set by that utility.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nA February attempt to change that failed in the legislature after\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/02\/georgia-power-peddling-old-disinformation-about-solar-power.html\">\nutility lobbying.<\/a>\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/10\/southern-companys-three-legged-nuclear-regulatory-capture-stool.html\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:left;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b017d3c80c4e1970c\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017d3c80c4e1970c-pi.gif\"    \/><\/a>\nThe same utilities that are building\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/10\/southern-companys-three-legged-nuclear-regulatory-capture-stool.html\">\ntwo new nuclear reactors on the Savannah River, financed by<\/a>\ncharging Georgia Power customers for construction\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/05\/who-voted-for-georgia-powers-nuke-rate-hike-cwip.html\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b017743c0d744970d\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017743c0d744970d-pi.jpg\"    \/><\/a>\n(the legislature approved that\nstealth tax in 2009\n[voting for: Sen. Tim Golden (Turncoat-8),\nRep. Ellis Black (Turncoat-174),\nRep. Amy Carter (Turncoat-175),\nRep. Jay Shaw (D-176)]),\nplus cost overruns (already almost a billion\ndollars) passed through to customers (approved by the\nPublic Service Commission in 2011),\nand an $8.3 billion federal loan guarantee.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nPeople tell me of $200 and $300 a month power bills for single homes\naround here. My biggest power bill this year was $44.49, because of\n15 kilowatts of solar panels on my farm workshop roof, even though\nmy utility only pays me less than half as much for my power as I pay\nthem for theirs.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/02\/enabling-a-commodity-market-in-solar-power-dr-smiths-electric-meters.html\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b01630355958a970d\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b01630355958a970d-pi.jpg\"    \/><\/a>\nImagine if we spent all that nuclear boondoogle money on\nretrofitting homes and deploying solar power instead! Imagine if we\nsimply got that 1973 Act out of the way so private financing could\nput panels on people&#8217;s roofs. You could get a lot more for your\nsolar power from buyers in Atlanta or points north, and your utility\ncould take a percentage for carriage: win-win-win.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nYou can vote for new Georgia Public Service Commissioners\nand\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/10\/videos-of-candidates-aauw-2012-10-24.html\">\nlegislators<\/a>\nwho can imagine solar power here in the south Georgia sun.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nJohn S. Quarterman\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.okraparadisefarms.com\/\">\ngrows pine trees and vegetables<\/a> in Lowndes County\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\nMy title was &#8220;Time for solar in south Georgia&#8221;.\nOther than that and a different picture,\nthe VDT\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo.php?fbid=10100298313185243&#038;set=o.119560808079273&#038;type=1&#038;theater\">printed it<\/a> as I sent it.\nHere I&#8217;ve illustrated it, added links to sources, and spelled out [some names],\nplus\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1kvRUlPOa4w\">\na video version,<\/a>\nand here&#8217;s a list of who&#8217;s\nrunning who might imagine solar power in the south Georgia sun.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nFor GA PSC, both David Staples and Steve Oppenheimer have\nspoken here in Lowndes County.\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/10\/streetlights-and-georgia-power-hahira-2012-10-01.html\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b017d3d34d994970c\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017d3d34d994970c-pi.jpg\"    \/><\/a>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/steveforgeorgia.com\/\">\nSteve Oppenheimer<\/a>\naddressed the Hahira City Council and\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/10\/streetlights-and-georgia-power-hahira-2012-10-01.html\">\ndiscussed streetlights afterwards,<\/a> including a solar option.\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/10\/ga-psc-questionnaire-answers-steve-oppenheimer.html\">\nOppenheimer wrote:<\/a>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\nThe PSC must set a precedent of fighting for the average Georgian\nNOT for the utilities\u2014we as ratepayers should expect high\nquality and timely construction in ALL construction proposals that\ninvolve expense to the ratepayer&#8230;.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nWhen the Solar Bill was in play during the last General Assembly,\nthe silence from the PSC was deafening. The PSC should convene\npublic hearings on this topic: \u201cWhy does 3rd Party financing\nworking in 45 other states and not Georgia?\u201d\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/10\/solar-yes-nuclear-expansion-no-david-staples-for-ga-psc.html\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b017d3d34d996970c\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017d3d34d996970c-pi.jpg\"    \/><\/a>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.votestaples.com\/\">\nDavid Staples<\/a>\nsaid at Rainwater Convention Center in Valdosta\nthat he is\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/10\/solar-yes-nuclear-expansion-no-david-staples-for-ga-psc.html\">\nfor solar<\/a> instead of nuclear.\n<a href=\"\/blog\/2012\/10\/ga-psc-questionnaire-answers-david-staples.html\">\nStaples wrote:<\/a>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\nFrom what I&#8217;ve read, it appears to me that most of the money\ncollected as CWIP isnt necessarily going towards prepaying the\nfinancing costs, but instead is going to Georgia Power as extra\nprofit. As I stated earlier, I don&#8217;t approve of guaranteed profits\nfor any business&#8230;.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nThe drought issue is actually one of the greatest benefits of solar\nto Georgia I believe. It is those hot summer days where the\ntemperature reaches past the 100 degree mark where air conditioners\nall over the state are kicked into high gear that solar is readily\navailable to meet that need.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\nLocal challengers running for the statehouse who did not vote for\nthat stealth tax hike on Georgia Power customer bills are:\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLshUv86fYkiGdPyB52TQS9590kNWA_UYn&amp;feature=view_all\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b017d3d34d998970c\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017d3d34d998970c-pi.jpg\"    \/><\/a>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLshUv86fYkiGdPyB52TQS9590kNWA_UYn&amp;feature=view_all\">\nTeresa Lawrence for House District 174<\/a>,\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLshUv86fYkiEnfXcE750uW7HBTVLuzLGO&amp;feature=view_all\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b017d3d34d99b970c\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017d3d34d99b970c-pi.jpg\"    \/><\/a>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLshUv86fYkiEnfXcE750uW7HBTVLuzLGO&amp;feature=view_all\">\nJ.C. Cunningham for House district 175<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li>\nFor the new House District 177 the candidates are:\n<ul>\n<li>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLshUv86fYkiFdes6xvJlLtJLJ-J0AFhqr&amp;feature=view_all\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b017d3d34d9a2970c\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017d3d34d9a2970c-pi.jpg\"    \/><\/a>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLshUv86fYkiFdes6xvJlLtJLJ-J0AFhqr&amp;feature=view_all\">\nDexter Sharper (D)<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=YGlxnz9bjtE&amp;list=PLshUv86fYkiFn2rG8KpNO3jJmUnpcMmA9&amp;index=16&amp;feature=plpp_video\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\" class=\"at-xid-6a0120a58214e4970b017d3d34d9a8970c\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017d3d34d9a8970c-pi.jpg\"    \/><\/a>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=YGlxnz9bjtE&amp;list=PLshUv86fYkiFn2rG8KpNO3jJmUnpcMmA9&amp;index=16&amp;feature=plpp_video\">\nJ. Glenn Gregory (R).<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLshUv86fYkiGbK7NtE88CUtFxupEBWUOo&amp;feature=view_all\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right;border:none;\"   src=\"https:\/\/i4.ytimg.com\/vi\/OtSxQMarjF4\/default.jpg\"><\/a>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLshUv86fYkiGbK7NtE88CUtFxupEBWUOo&amp;feature=view_all\">\nBikram Mohanty for Senate District 8<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\n-jsq\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"My op-ed in the VDT today. Remember to vote today or Tuesday. -jsq This spring, the University at Buffalo turned on 750 kilowatts of solar electricity. Rutgers U., in New Jersey, installed 1.4 megawatts in 2009 and started on 8 MW this summer. Down here with a lot more sun, how about solar panels on [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[97,40,14,15,49,17,8,18,2,19,20,104,21,22,23,24,133,134],"tags":[8736,1231,1369,712,8814,8717,1229,8704,8705,8721,1230,8707,1449,8701,8708,8699,8709,577,1375,1368,1448,8702,8710,1446,963,12,7,279,647,33,8819,8737,8711,107,8712,1447,8713,1445,1437,8714,108,1367,1233,6,8742,8743],"class_list":["post-354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-activism","category-community","category-economy","category-education","category-elections","category-ga-psc","category-georgia","category-georgia-power","category-government","category-history","category-law","category-nuclear","category-planning","category-politics","category-renewable-energy","category-solar","category-vdt","category-vsu","tag-activism","tag-amy-carter","tag-bikram-mohanty","tag-boondoggle","tag-buffalo","tag-community","tag-dexter-sharper","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-elections","tag-ellis-black","tag-ga-psc","tag-general-assembly","tag-georgia","tag-georgia-power","tag-government","tag-history","tag-house","tag-j-glenn-gregory","tag-j-c-cunningham","tag-jay-shaw","tag-lake","tag-law","tag-legislators","tag-lobbying","tag-lowndes-area-knowledge-exchange","tag-lowndes-county","tag-lowndes-high-school","tag-monopoly","tag-new-jersey","tag-new-york","tag-nuclear","tag-planning","tag-plant-vogtle","tag-politics","tag-public-service-commissioners","tag-renewable-energy","tag-rutgers","tag-senate","tag-solar","tag-southern-company","tag-teresa-lawrence","tag-tim-golden","tag-valdosta","tag-vdt","tag-vsu"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p585fK-5I","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}