To: President Donald Trump, Dominion Power Corporation, Georgia Power, Delmarva Power, The Virginia State House, The Virginia State Senate, Governor Ralph Northam, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
Convert Current Power Bills into Solar Jobs.
Power Utilities should install solar panels and solar water heaters on the homes of owners who choose to opt-in for reduced power bills.
These solar installations would create jobs from day one, and be paid for by paying current or reduced power bills.
The solar panels would be metered by the power company, and the solar water heaters would automatically save around 20% of a homes power bill.
Solar Systems would be owned by the power company. After power bills add up to maintenance and the price of installation, ownership would revert to the homeowner.
Why is this important?
Power corporations could sell 30 year bonds to pay for installing solar power and solar water systems on homes to be paid off by current power bills.
As noted by one of the signers a version of this has already passed in New York State recently, and in smaller communities in different forms.
http://www.longislandpress.com/2011/06/23/new-york-passes-historic-green-jobs-financing-law/
We need the political demand to supply the answers to our economic and energy challenges.
Government should mandate this happen. Current 30% government incentives could help pay for this.
A program called PACE in California finances energy upgrades through property taxes.
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/Renewable-Funding-Solves-Solar-Financing-Problem/
Many States are adopting this type of approach to make it easier for homeowners to adopt clean energy.
http://www.dsireusa.org/solar/solarpolicyguide/?id=15
Maybe now what we need most is a massive public education campaign to enlist homeowners to take advantage of the programs like this that already exist, and to continue to encourage Local, State and Federal officials to adopt more user-friendly ways for homeowners to create jobs by applying for clean energy upgrades.