There’s a battle brewing right now in our state over who owns the sun. Is it the sole property of California’s major utilities, or do each of us have the right to capture its energy to electrify our homes if we wish?
Long derided by these quasi monopolies as hippie pipedreams, the solar cells that compose solar electric panels have now become the cheapest generators of electricity throughout the world. In contrast to every other power source, owing to their modular nature, solar-generating systems can be placed onsite wherever electricity is needed and tailored to meet the needs of each user. Combined with state-of-the-art batteries and other semiconductor-run equipment, the use of solar radically changes the relationship between us and the utility — from total dependence on distant, huge power stations to a two-way street with each of us becoming a producer. Historically, utilities have found this equal relationship a bitter pill to swallow.
Now they wish to spit out this pill once and for all by monopolizing all solar generation through the elimination of the rooftop choice.