Converting Seattle to Solar

Let's Start a Solar Bank

opinion by Martin Nix, Free Press contributor

here are thousands of patents in solar and other alternative energy, and the good news is that most of the Jimmy-Carter-era patents are now expiring, and anyone can use them. That is part of the reason for some technology becoming commonplace, like solar-powered calculators.

The technology is there, and so is the industry: solar preheaters for heating water, small wind turbines on top of street lights, and photovoltaics that convert sunlight and make your electric meter run backwards! There are solar-powered smelters and solar-powered toilets. There are rooftop solar collectors that pump sunlight into fiber optics so you can sunlight your basement or grow trees in caves.

We shouldn't fall behind. Already, there are 1.5 million homes in Tokyo with solar water heating, more than in the entire US. Japan invested $130 million in photovoltaic research and development in 1996, while the US only invested $63 million, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, an organization of US solar businesses.

Seattle government has not been involved in solar development programs to the extent that Sacramento, CA has. The reason for this is that Seattle has mostly depended on hydropower, which is still the lowest-cost option. Right now we even export power to San Francisco.

But there is a downside to heavy dependence on hydropower. What happens if there is a drought? Solar collectors work very well in summertime droughts. And by lessening the demands on our hydropower dam generators, we can alleviate the negative impacts on salmon and other fish.

Seattle City Light is well aware of the drought threat. Thus the utility is eight percent owner of a coal plant in Centralia. We could sell this portion for perhaps $200 million and use the revenue to establish a "solar bank." This bank could finance rooftop solar collectors, greenhouses, water heaters, and windturbines. We could even finance solar collectors built on top of Fred Meyer parking lots. We could buy our drought protection with solar and wind technology.

Earthquakes are another reason for solar power. The lesson of the last Bay Area earthquake in California is clear: solar collectors and rapid transit systems work after an earthquake, whereas highways and natural gas pipes are easily damaged.

Utilities are the good part of government. They make our lives work. Now let's get in that ballot box and start voting for pro-solar candidates, or we will all become solar-cooked turkeys!