Harry Thomason - Solar Energy
(Page 11 of 13)
November/December 1979
By Richard Freudenberger
PLOWBOY: So when did you finally see a "new improved" version?
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THOMASON: Many months later ... about the same time that my attorney and I demanded-under the Freedom of Information Act-that the full test study be supplied to us. We actually received the new report on May 8, 1978.
PLOWBOY: And was that a satisfactory report?
THOMASON: Just barely. The study did prove that the system would provide from 59 to 72% of the home's heating needs, and documented the fact that it only cost $4,368 . . . with an additional $600 for air conditioning.
PLOWBOY: Were there any other tests made on your system?
THOMASON: Yes. the DOE and the University of Virginia-under a $66,000 federal grant-tested our earliest panel collectors for two years. They found them to compare favorably with the higher-technology-and higher-cost-flat plate collectors. Also, the Department of Agriculture tested the new units in Maryland. They operated them right next to another set of solar collectors costing almost three times as much. The Solaris systems produced almost the same amount of heat as did the expensive units.
PLOWBOY: So what you're really saying is that the federal government definitely has all the "proof" it needs to go ahead with a full-scale, nationwide effort to promote low-cost solar energy . . . or at least make the sun power option more attractive to the public?
THOMASON: Yes, exactly . . . the least that government agencies could do is simply tell the truth about it. One thing that particularly bothers me, though, is that the solar energy tax incentives-although a step in the right direction-only apply to the first owner of a house. There should be an amendment to that law which would allow a new resident, or a landlord, to retrofit his or her building and get a full or partial tax credit for doing so. I think many homeowners would look to solar energy today if such a credit were offered.
PLOWBOY: But it would take some convincing to get an amendment like that approved. After all, the changed law would apply to literally millions of people across the country.
THOMASON: Sure it would . . . and that's exactly the kind of exposure we need. Right now, the United States only has a handful of legislators who are honestly in support of a drastic change in the government's attitude toward solar energy. On the other hand, though, we have the Solar Lobby right here in Washington, and also the benefit of generally favorable media coverage. All we're asking is that the public be given half a chance to try solar . . . to be exposed to it.
Tax incentives across the board-or possibly long-term, low-interest loans to consumers of solar equipment-would do a lot to help people of low and middle income make use of the sun's "free" energy. And the same type of program would completely avoid the problem of solar welfare.
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