Sometimes BIG IS better

Working with the solar panel group got me thinking about renewable energy in general. While we were talking to Professor Snowden-Ifft, he mentioned how the rebates for solar energy are the highest they have ever been and will ever be and we should be taking advantage of it. This makes a lot of sense when we talk about a project as big as the one oxy is trying to put together. This array would provide 25% of oxy’s energy consumption. When you think about oxy’s energy bill (one million dollars per year) 25% really makes a difference, not only financially but also environmentally. However, these rebates are also offered for smaller costumers, like households. My first reaction to this fact was excitement. In my mind, having your own personal solar panel sounds pretty amazing. However, once the excitement is gone, you are left with the real issue: is it really viable and productive to give all this rebates to small projects?

To the best of my knowledge, the reason why our array is 2.3 MW is because this is the largest array we can have and still get a rebate. On one side, 2.3 MW is pretty big, and it would be the biggest array in the city of Los Angeles, but on the other side, if we are putting all this effort and time into this project isn’t worth it to make it as big and effective as possible? Wouldn’t it be more effective to focus on big projects that will actually make a difference instead of giving rebates to residential costumers?

I guess in my mind spending resources, money and time in a residential project is kind of a waste, since more is going in than coming out. Fabricating and installing solar panels is neither simple nor cheap and a lot more would be accomplished if we focused on big projects that would actually have an impact on many people, this way we would be making sure that they are financially and environmentally efficient.

Kliah