Distribution of Power                                                                             #236

By Hank Silverberg

There's a strong probability that many of you have been approached over the last year or two by a company trying to sell you solar panels for your roof. Solar power produces about 3% of all the electricity in the United States, and the industry is growing. Large solar panel farms are cropping up on fields across the country, and almost every neighborhood now has some rooftops with solar panels on them.

The $700 billion Inflation Reduction Act, which the President Biden just signed, includes a 30% tax credit for homeowners who install solar panels to provide electricity for their own homes. The companies selling these panel installations have a good pitch.  You will produce your own electricity and never have to pay an electric bill again. And once you pay off the loan that you will need to pay for the panels, you will save some big bucks while contributing to the fight against Climate Change.   

But here's why I turned them down. Panels on my roof will produce much more electricity than I will ever use. So yes, I wouldn't be paying the electric company (Dominion Power) any money. 

But what happens to that extra power that those panels produce, and I don't use? I would like it to charge a backup battery on my property that I can use if there is a power outage in a storm. I'm told that's not an option.   

 The extra power the solar panels on my roof produce would go back into the local power grid. Okay, that's fine, it will help reduce the cost for everyone else. BUT, if the power is being produced by solar panels on my roof that I pay for, why don't I get paid by the utility company for any power my panels produced that I don't use, which end up going into Dominion's power grid? Dominion will charge someone else for using that juice. 

That's the flaw in the system and discourages me, and I suppose others, from going through the expense of installing solar panels.     

I love the idea of renewable energy, but until they make it fair for the average consumer, I have no intention of producing electricity and giving it away for free to any large power company. They get paid for the electricity they produce. Why shouldn't I? 

Worrisome Poll  

Americans are not happy with the state of things, and neither party really seems to please them. A new NBC News poll out this weekend shows three

quarters of those responding believe the country, in general is moving in the wrong direction. 

In addition, 58% say "America's best years are behind us."  

With the election campaign expected to heat up as usual after Labor Day, only 42% approve of President Biden, pretty much unchanged from October of last year (45%).

Former President Donald Trump doesn't fare much better. A majority, 57% of voters questioned, think the investigations into the former president should continue, though that number is only 21% for Republican voters. But 49% also said Trump was soley, or mainly responsible for the January 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.  

And 54% said they have "somewhat negative" or "very negative" feelings towards Trump. 

So, what's the biggest issue for all voters going into the mid-term elections? Despite all the talk about a recession it's not the economy. Only 14% put that at the top of their list. 

Only 6% listed crime and only 8% said abortion is the nation's biggest issue.  

"Threats to our Democracy" topped the list of issues at 21%. There is a message there for those running for office this fall. 

The poll of a thousand voters was conducted between August 12th and 16th as news of the search of the former President's Florida home was breaking. The margin of error is 3.1%.

 https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/first-read/nbc-news-poll-57-voters-say-investigations-trump-continue-rcna43989

Troubled Waters

Seven more bodies of water in Virginia have been added to the "impaired waterways" list this summer.  The "dead zones" are attributed to heavy algae blooms--the result of a combination of pollution and the excessive heat.

(Lake Anna, VA) 

The algae blooms are formed when nitrogen and phosphorus combine with warm water. Those toxins can affect the health of people, pets, fish and shellfish. 

 Among those added to the list this summer, which bans swimming in the waterways, is the13,000-acre Lake Anna, which cools the Dominion Virginia Energy's North Anna Nuclear Power Plant. The lake is surrounded by hundreds of homes.

Toxins in fish tissue, bacteria and dissolved oxygen are the most common causes of waterway impairment.    

Recent surveys have shown about 70% of lakes, ponds, reservoirs and coastlines in the U.S. are impaired along with 90 % of the Ocean near coastal areas. The EPA says 55% of all rivers and streams are in poor condition. 

https://fredericksburg.com/news/local/lake-anna-put-on-state-impaired-water-list/article_7b24394f-1ce8-5f15-b053-a9a72a3520a4.html

Dumbest Quote of The Week!

She's back. I have lost count of how many times she has been featured in Dumbest Quote of The Week, but this week's quote tops the list. Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who IS running for re-election, was speaking to a group in Forsyth County about energy initiatives in the Inflation Reduction Act. Here is what she said on August 9th. 

"Thank God for air conditioning. Let’s talk about refrigerators. I personally like my refrigerator. I know you all like yours. What about washing machines and dryers? Lord please God don’t make me scrub clothes in a bucket and have to hang them out on a line when we switch over to wind turbines and solar panels. I’m gonna be really pissed off about that. I mean, how absurd is this? I like the lights on. I wanna stay up later at night. I don’t wanna have to go to bed when the sun sets. It’s so silly! I mean, all of this is absolutely insane."

The quote shows just how uninformed Greene is on energy use in the average home and the power produced by wind generators and solar panels. 

(Texas windfarm, courtesy of HPPR) 

For the record, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency, the average American home uses about 893 kWh per month. 

An average array of solar panels on your roof can produce just about that much.   

As mentioned above, in 2021, 3% of the total electricity in the United States came from solar power, and it's growing. Wind power produced 9.2% of all electricity in the U.S.     

While those numbers seem small, the industry is growing fast, and no one is suggesting we cut off all other ways to generate electricity. 

Hydroelectric power stations, another renewable energy source for example, produces another 9.2% of the country's electricity.   

I hope Georgia's voters are paying attention. 

 https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/marjorie-taylor-greene-solar-wind-power/

 (Your suggestions and comments are welcome)

(My book "The Campaign" can be purchased at the links below. Or you can buy a copy by emailing me at:

HankSilverberg@gmail.com for instructions on how to get a copy at a reduced price and with my signature.)                       

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084Q7K6M5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-campaign-hank-silverberg/1126429796