Erik Hansen: Big solar project great, but why can’t I get solar at my home?

Re: “Patterson warehouse goes solar” (Page A-1, April 11): The article about Sierra Pacific Warehouse Group, based in Modesto, had the 100,000-square-foot array installed atop a warehouse it built in 1987. It’s great that they were able to that, yet I’ve been working with Solar City since late September only to be told in December that they’ve stopped approving new solar installations. I realize Sierra Pacific most likely started its project long before I did. Yet, once again, I feel as though it’s about the haves vs. the have-nots.

I ask the Turlock Irrigation District Board of Directors to do the right thing during this severe drought and allow those of us who can help offset the cost of using our precious water to produce electricity which uses about 20 percent of the water that flows through the hydroelectric power station. Solar uses little if any water, and doesn’t “use up the sun” to produce electricity. There must be a way to send any excess power produced into the larger grid to help prevent brownouts and the like.

This story was originally published April 14, 2015 at 1:11 PM with the headline "Erik Hansen: Big solar project great, but why can’t I get solar at my home?."