Solar, 2012, SC, A good choice

Could it be that 2012 will be the year South Carolina begins to actively promote solar energy mining?  I have spent a fair amount of time trying to explain the benefits of solar to legislators and people around the state.  There was so much more I could have done, so many missteps, lost opportunities to forcefully argue what is clear to me, solar is a safe bet.  As much time as I've spent at the state house, ( I believe I could give tours now) I still have no idea if we'll get it done.  Despite many meetings and requests to be on the calendar we're not there yet?  I have literally talked to 100's if not thousands of people in South Carolina ALL of whom like the idea of solar but were reticent to invest because of the cost.  Cost is what prompted me to work on making it more affordable and widely available.  I can't manufacture solar panels (yet) so I worked on the straightest line I could see, State policy.  For three years I have gone to the state house any time I could to make the case and its a good one.  Economic development, local jobs, domestic energy, stronger grid, sustainable.  Now it comes down to thirteen legislative days.  If we pass out of committee we still have the full senate vote needed, back to the house for amendment consolidation and then the Governor's signature.  We have 13 legislative days left.  This is such a tall order.  I hope one day to look back on this post and ask myself why I ever doubted the right decision will be made.  Wish us luck.  So you know,George Carlin had a hilarious comedy routine about how we pamper kids.  He was right to some degree but he was wrong in that without leaving a solid legacy of caring for each other and our home and hunting grounds we are denying ourselves the enjoyment of "I tried hard, I left nothing on the table and I can leave in peace."

Politics at the state

So this has been a difficult week, solar tax credit was stricken froma H4478 bill in Senate sub committee. The bill is by house speaker Bobby Harrell. So we thought it would pass. We will see. The logic for striking it was not physically possible but I had no recourse but to squirm in my seat and wonder what my next career choice was to be. In 5 seconds my ability to sell enough solar to feed my family was erased. BLIP. Without scale and commercial/utility size jobs solar will never have a real impact. The real Irony of the whole thing is that if the state ever had 100 companies max out the proposed tax credit, we would have close to $1 billion in direct economic impact in the state. 100's if not thousands of jobs created at considerably less than we gave Boing upfront to move here?! $250 million is currently impossible as we have a cap of 100kw systems as opposed to the 1000kw or 1MW systems the stricken matter was referenced to in economic impact.

What is a working boy to do?