Solar trickling down

[billvon 3,114]

San Diego has a large homeless population.  (In some ways one wonders why more homeless people don't head to the places with the nicest weather.)  There are of course as many reasons/types/explanations for the homeless people as there are homeless people, but a two very general categories are the people who live somewhere and the people who are vagrant.

The former stake out a spot.  Sometimes it's a tent on a sidewalk somewhere, sometimes it's a 1970's RV or trailer parked along a street, sometimes it's in a car.  I see them all the time when I ride.  The cops periodically roust them (usually because camping and/or long term parking where they are is illegal) but they always come back.

Lately I've been noticing that the RV and tent homeless people are using more and more solar.  They are almost always those foldable portable panels, but some use older (i.e. smaller) residential PV panels and some use the marine grade flexible panels (which are almost indestructible.)  The trailer people will generally have them propped up outside against something or on the roof (identifiable by the two conductor 12-18ga zip cord coming down from the roof.)  The tent people generally just prop them against their tent.

I have little doubt that these are a mix of discarded, stolen and flea-market systems; none of them look new, and many have yellowed EVA and/or cracks.  And I have no idea whether they are charging a trailer battery or some other battery or just being used directly to run something.  But a small amount of energy - enough to run a light at night, or run a radio, or charge a cheapo cellphone - can make a lot of difference to some of these people.

While waiting for a light down in Mission Bay I overheard two of them talking near one such setup.  I didn't catch the whole conversation, but I did hear one of them say "if he's gonna charge his f*ing vape here, he's gonna pay me for it!"  Which would imply that such energy might even get someone some $$.

It's taken decades for that technology to trickle down that far, but now it's started.  And for someone who can't get any sort of utility service it might represent the only sort of energy available to them.

[kallend 2,147]

Amazing that we can find $705.939 billion to kill people next year (the US military budget) when we aren't at war, and nary a squawk from the fiscal "conservatives", but any attempt to help the homeless and other poor results in howls of protest from those folk.

[JoeWeber 2,938]

4 hours ago, billvon said:

San Diego has a large homeless population.  (In some ways one wonders why more homeless people don't head to the places with the nicest weather.)  There are of course as many reasons/types/explanations for the homeless people as there are homeless people, but a two very general categories are the people who live somewhere and the people who are vagrant.

The former stake out a spot.  Sometimes it's a tent on a sidewalk somewhere, sometimes it's a 1970's RV or trailer parked along a street, sometimes it's in a car.  I see them all the time when I ride.  The cops periodically roust them (usually because camping and/or long term parking where they are is illegal) but they always come back.

Lately I've been noticing that the RV and tent homeless people are using more and more solar.  They are almost always those foldable portable panels, but some use older (i.e. smaller) residential PV panels and some use the marine grade flexible panels (which are almost indestructible.)  The trailer people will generally have them propped up outside against something or on the roof (identifiable by the two conductor 12-18ga zip cord coming down from the roof.)  The tent people generally just prop them against their tent.

I have little doubt that these are a mix of discarded, stolen and flea-market systems; none of them look new, and many have yellowed EVA and/or cracks.  And I have no idea whether they are charging a trailer battery or some other battery or just being used directly to run something.  But a small amount of energy - enough to run a light at night, or run a radio, or charge a cheapo cellphone - can make a lot of difference to some of these people.

While waiting for a light down in Mission Bay I overheard two of them talking near one such setup.  I didn't catch the whole conversation, but I did hear one of them say "if he's gonna charge his f*ing vape here, he's gonna pay me for it!"  Which would imply that such energy might even get someone some $$.

It's taken decades for that technology to trickle down that far, but now it's started.  And for someone who can't get any sort of utility service it might represent the only sort of energy available to them.

And San Diego County hasn't yet figured out how to tax them? Not the San Diego I recall. No matter, there is still time. Tax them, piss them off, and wave goodbye as they leave for Texas. Bada Bing.

[billeisele 130]

It will be interesting to see if the CA proposed changes in solar incentives is adopted. The LA Times article discusses the proposal and other details.

The solar industry is making the typical ridiculous claims that they have made in other states that have rolled back the social welfare incentives. It's estimated that in CA there is an annual cost shift of $3.4 billion from non-solar users to solar users. No surprise, the utilities are supporting the proposal but this time they are not alone. Some of the environmental groups support the change.

A main focus is reducing the net metering payment and adding a grid participation charge. Those two items are the typical issues argued in other states. The grid fee is easy to understand and has been adopted in many jurisdictions.

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-12-13/california-proposes-big-changes-to-rooftop-solar-incentives

 

[Phil1111 1,176]

It appears as if California's solar installs are under threat. NYT "Schwarzenegger: We Put Solar Panels on 1 Million Roofs in California. That Win Is Now Under Threat.

IMO governments should immediately enact building codes to make every new building readily adaptable to solar power. Such that the roofs are orientated to allow solar installation at some future date. To include incentives like the ones outlined by Schwarzenegger for solar use.