EDITORIALS : Solar systems
Posted on Friday, May 9, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Editorial/225167/
HELLO ? Arizona ?
Well, howdy right back at-cha. Yes, yes, it’s been a long time. How’d you know it was Arkansas on the line ? Oh, caller ID. We really must catch up to the 21 st Century someday. Thanks for asking. We’re doing as well as we can be, considering. These storms and floods and twisters... they never end. We just about get all the trees off the houses and all the yards cleaned up, when—BAM !—the sirens start going off again.
A twister ? Well, yes, those things are scary, indeed.
You know what ? That’s sorta why we’re calling. The climate and weather and all that. We noticed a story in the Christian Science Monitor a few days back about how y’all are having problems with the idea of turning Arizona into the Solar Capital of the World. It sounds like a wonderful idea. But we understand the feds are holding things up ’cause of some kind of tax credit thing. The story we’re looking at says:
“The subsidy in question is the federal Investment Tax Credit. The U. S. government boosted the ITC from 10 percent to 30 percent for solar systems in 2006, meaning that 30 percent of the cost of building and installing a system is returned to the investor in the form of a tax credit. But that rate is set to expire at the end of 2008.”
That tax credit is critical, right ? Why would the federal government, with all its talk about finding alternatives to fossil fuels and so eco-wisely on, want to do that ?
Why not renew that sucker ? We’ve heard the plant planned near Gila Bend, Arizona—sounds mighty inhospitable to those of us used to shade, we have to admit—would cost about a billion dollars to build. A 30-percent tax credit for a billion-dollar solar-powered plant doesn’t seem unaffordable, considering that Businessweek just ran an article that said the feds are giving Big Oil a not inconsiderable $ 17 billion in tax breaks between now and 2011.
Yeah, we’re scratching our heads, too.
Well, that’s what we’re getting at. The federal government is all of us. Arkansas can help. We’ve got two U. S. senators, same as you. (Even if one of them isn’t running for president at the time, you lucky devils. As in Sun Devils. ) Our senators are Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln. You might give them a call.
Arkansas also has four congressmen. They are... uh... give us a minute.... Oh, yeah, Vic Snyder, John Boozman, Mike Ross and Marion Berry. You know, they could help you pull some strings in Washington. Because as soon as you make solar energy profitable—keeping air conditioners humming all over Arizona—then maybe you could help Arkansas set up a few of those solar farms for our own selves. We’ve got plenty of sun in addition to shade. After all, we’re family.
So let us ask you a question, cuz. It says here that Arizona has about 325 days of sunshine every year. True ? That’s amazing ! The Monitor’s story quotes one official as saying Arizona could theoretically power the whole United States with a 100-square-mile solar farm.
Right. Pipe dream. We understand. Sometimes our Arkansas pols use a little of the ol’ hyperbole, too. But we gotta admit, with energy prices what they are, every little bit of the hypertalk helps. How about just a 50-square-mile solar farm, and power half the country ?
Glad to see you’ve got a sense of humor. Beats the folks in Michigan. We had a little run-in with ’em a few weeks back. Nothing much, really. We just had an issue with Mr. MI using certain photos of Arkansas to promote tourism up there, so we.... Well, it’s a long story. We’ll just blame the whole affair on the winters around the Great Lakes. They’d drive anybody crazy. You ever talked to somebody in Chicago in February ?
Anyway, next time you’re over this way, bring your golf clubs. In the meantime, we’ll try to get our congressional delegation to see your point of view on this tax credit thing. What a small price to pay for an important investment.
Certainly ! McCain-Huckabee does sound like a fine ticket. Almost as fine as McCain-Jindal. We’ve had this weakness for Louisiana politicians since Huey Long came up here to campaign for Hattie Caraway in ’ 32. Anyway, we’ll bring the barbecue and you bring the Tex-Mex.
Oh, you’re welcome. Anything we can do to help a cousin, the environment, the dollar, and folks’ electric bills.
We’ll see you around. Don’t be such a stranger.