Dear Editor,
The US is in a Golden Age – not the sheen of a gold brick, but the golden glow coming from right above your head. A recent Semafor News article entitled: ‘New top US solar lobbyist sees a ‘golden age’ under Trump’ details how solar power combined with battery storage represented 91% of all new energy addition in the US; how solar energy is by far the cheapest way to generate electricity in the US right now; and how the deployment of this renewable energy is happening faster (surprisingly) in ‘red states’ than in ‘blue states’.
I would add two other points made obvious by our ongoing war in Iran. Solar power is not a geopolitical bargaining chip – as some pundits have put it, electrons do not get stuck in the Strait of Hormuz. Solar is often generated locally, requiring far less infrastructure compared to fossils fuels that require extraction/processing/shipping. Solar panels are also a durable ‘set it and forget it’ form of energy; plop down a panel, and barring unforeseen bad luck, you have 20-30 years of clean energy flowing to you without much other intervention.
Renewable energy is the future; the Trump Administration can only hold it back so much, no matter how hard they try to cut subsidies and discourage buildouts of solar farms. If I may, one more solar pun – businesses and ordinary citizens are finally starting to see the light.
Sincerely,
Nathan Dombeck, Janesville, WI