Reporter's Notes: Big Solar on the Ballot
Proposition 7 is one of the green propositions – in more ways than one.
The amount of cash that’s being spent on this so-called Big Solar initiative is prodigious. It is one of the most expensive measures on the ballot. On one side you have a little more than $5 million to pass the proposition, all from Peter Sperling, the son of the man who created the online college, The University of Phoenix. And on the other side, three utility companies have pitched in well over $27 million to defeat it.
Interestingly, the companies that stand to profit from this initiative – the many small companies that make up most of the solar and wind energy industry – are actually against the bill.
PG&E and Southern California Edison are the two biggest donors, chipping in more than $13 million apiece. To see a list of spenders, for and against proposition 7, click here.
For more on the debate, check out this discussion from KQED’s Forum.
Listen to the Big Solar on the Ballot radio report online.
Why are we wasting the efforts and energy of small, local producers? This proposition SCREWS them. Alameda county has shown the way: we are now a net-energy-producing county! This model should be copied everywhere and expanded to include agricultural waste. After all, what can’t methane power better than gasoline and coal? It’s much more transportable than hydrogen and off-the-shelf, inexpensive technology. I drive a Ford Econoline and enjoy dramatically superior performance in every way: cheaper [$2.89/gallon equivalent] cleaner [less CO2 than a Prius], quicker and faster: methane is 128 octane. 17 mpg is great mileage for a ten-year-old, full-sized van.