To the editor: The {photograph} of Sammy Roth’s column, “How I Discovered to Cease Worrying and Love Rooftop Photo voltaic,” exhibiting a employee putting in photo voltaic panels atop a clay tile roof ought to make readers query why there.
The creator explains the battle between rooftop photo voltaic vitality and the destruction of desert landscapes by large photo voltaic farms. However there are higher choices for combating local weather change.
Research present that cities with fewer bushes and shade turn into warmth islands, and having acres of asphalt parking tons in every single place simply makes issues worse. Some colleges and companies have begun integrating photo voltaic panels with parking zone shade buildings that each produce vitality and cut back warmth absorption. Business buildings have massive roofs the place photo voltaic panels could be simply put in.
Photo voltaic set up corporations have used subsidies to generate earnings by luring residential clients to threat the integrity of their very own roofs in trade for short-term vitality financial savings. There are extra environment friendly methods to make use of photo voltaic panels and higher locations to place them than on prime of homes.
Les Corridor, Santa Ana
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To the editor: Proper now the rooftop photo voltaic is in an unsure state.
The latest selections by the California Public Utilities Fee haven’t solely dealt a critical blow to renewable vitality, however have additionally put the state’s local weather objectives in danger. It’s clear that the CPUC prioritizes the pursuits of personal utilities and buyers over Californians, particularly deprived communities, colleges and farmers. The digital internet metering determination is a stark instance of this bias.
These selections by the CPUC have induced a drastic drop in photo voltaic gross sales and an exodus of jobs. Governor Gavin Newsom should take decisive motion and advocate for local weather motion, environmental justice and fairness.
It’s time to recalibrate the CPUC’s focus towards a sustainable future that advantages all Californians. Let’s not compromise our local weather objectives, jeopardize the well-being of Californians, and witness the additional deterioration of our state’s once-promising rooftop photo voltaic panorama.
Andrea León-Grossmann, Los Angeles
The author is Deputy Program Director within the West for Vote Photo voltaic.
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To the editor: In his slightly lukewarm endorsement of rooftop photo voltaic, Roth says placing panels over parking tons, canals and warehouses will not be sufficient to keep away from the necessity for large photo voltaic farms.
In accordance with a presentation by Pitzer School professor Susan A. Phillips in the identical situation, the Inland Empire has 1.6 billion sq. ft of space for storing. That will help an terrible lot of rooftop photo voltaic panels—sufficient, I would think about, to utterly energy the warehouses with clear vitality, together with charging stations for a fleet of electrical supply vans—and cut back the necessity for habitat-destroying photo voltaic farms.
Any extra vitality produced might be given free to the encompassing residents, thus offsetting among the environmental injury Phillips mentions. A win-win for everybody – together with desert tortoises.
Kathy Barreto, Culver Metropolis
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To the editor: The issue of world warming requires greater than the measures taken to this point. Quick reductions in greenhouse gasoline emissions require tasks that may be constructed rapidly and provide essentially the most bang to your buck.
I agree that the development of large-scale photo voltaic and wind farms within the quick time period ought to take priority over residential photo voltaic with battery storage. However to encourage property homeowners to transform to scrub vitality, federal and state residential and business constructing tax credit have to be elevated.
Additionally, decrease revenue residents who can not afford the price of photo voltaic shouldn’t need to pay larger utility payments to offset decrease utility revenue.
In the long run, our nationwide objectives ought to embrace superior, safer nuclear reactors just like the prototype below development in Wyoming, funded by Invoice Gates.
Larry Naritomi, Monterey Park
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To the editor: Kudos to Sammy Roth for his complete, erudite and balanced article on rooftop photo voltaic. He made the complexity of this situation very clear and subsequently drew his conclusions, with which I strongly agree.
I sit up for extra articles on the surroundings from this very tremendous thinker.
Tamra Nelson, Los Angeles