Send this story Print this story

Adjust text size

Mountain View is on an ambitious solar path

by Bruce Karney

Google's new 1,600-kilowatt solar array is the largest on a corporate campus in the U.S., and it will triple the amount of solar power produced in Mountain View when it becomes operational. Based on research I've conducted, I believe that Mountain View will then have more solar generating capacity per capita than any other medium- or large-sized city in Northern California.

The explosive growth of the solar energy industry is happening just below the threshold of public awareness. If I asked you to name a large solar company, you'd probably draw a blank. Yet companies you know, like Sharp, Sanyo and BP, are all major manufacturers of solar panels.

Closer to home, at least a dozen local companies install solar arrays. Solar installation jobs can never be outsourced. Many positions do not require a four-year degree and are likely to be filled by individuals who grew up here. The new Kirsch Center for Environmental Studies at De Anza College offers many classes for individuals who want to train or re-train for a career in solar energy and other environmental disciplines.

But the real benefit to the local economy won't come from manufacturing or installation. As always, our region's biggest contribution will be innovative technology start-ups, because we provide world-class technical talent and superior access to venture capital. Fresno is hotter, Los Angeles has more sunny days, but Silicon Valley is where the great new American solar companies like Nanosolar, Miasole, SunPower and many others are being born. None are household names yet, but in 10 years one is almost sure to be.

Giant solar installations at Microsoft and Google have propelled Mountain View to its place at the head of the solar pack, but purchases by homeowners will keep us there. I've formed the Mountain View Solar Buyers Group, which has obtained a 25 to 30 percent discount on solar installations by pooling the purchasing power of local households. Forty-five families have already signed up, and there's a good chance that 90 will participate, which would equal the number who have installed solar arrays in Mountain View in the last eight years.

With a discount this large, solar power actually costs less than most homeowners pay for electricity from PG&E. For my two-person family, an investment of less than $12,000 will offset all but $5 per month of our electricity bill for the next 30 years.

To learn about the financial and environmental benefits of going solar, please attend the MV Solar Buyers Group's final public information meeting at 7 p.m. April 17 at the Mountain View Community Center, 201 S. Rengstorff.

Bruce Karney has lived in Mountain View since 1981. He is blogging about the Solar Buyers Group at mvsolar.blogspot.com.