Tucson closely watching Berkeley's plan for going solar

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.mohavedailynews.com/articles/2008/01/21/news/state/state2.txt

Tucson closely watching Berkeley's plan for going solar

By TOM BEAL/Arizona Daily Star

Sunday, January 20, 2008 11:35 PM CST

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Count on Berkeley, Calif., to bring solar power to the people with a plan to make 20-year funding available to folks who want to put solar panels on their roofs and pay for them in their property-tax bills.

The plan, approved by Berkeley's City Council in November, gets around solar's biggest stumbling block, which is not the Bay Area fog, but the high upfront cost of buying and installing photovoltaic systems.

Solar has been a hard sell hereabouts as well, even with sunnier skies, utility subsidies and federal tax credits available, because most Tucson residents can't wrap their minds around paying for technology that won't fully pay for itself through lowered electric bills for up to 20 years.

That's why the city is looking closely at the Berkeley model and considering its adoption here.

...

[jwirr]

1. It is good that they are going to go solar but they need to be looking

into water issues at the same time. If the water issue destroys them they will need to rethink all other issues.

[diane in sf]

2. This is very useful for those who can't pay upfront, now how about something

for renters? Especially in California where the high prices ensure that a lot of people will rent who could own if they lived elsewhere. Maybe thin film solar on the windows...