Tag Archives: Tea Party
Now Al Gore Is Joining The Tea Party — For Rooftop Solar

body-0-1376425473419The former Veep and Inconvenient Truther teamed up with a Tea Party firebrand against utility policies to roll back rooftop solar incentives:

In back-to-back speeches, the political Odd Couple struck surprisingly similar tones on clean energy’s future, even if Gore dwelled on renewables’ role in avoiding catastrophic global warming while Dooley didn’t use the words “climate change” at all, focusing on consumer choice.

“This is a battle that we will win,” said Dooley, a board member of the National Tea Party Patriots group. “I am literally floored with the response I have been getting from conservatives with the right message.”

Tea Party leaders of course never mention the words “climate change” because it “shuts down” the conversation. But solar means freedom and independence for many Tea Party conservatives, which is an important message for solar advocates to drive home.

Ultimately, political inroads among conservatives on issues like renewables will be necessary to build support for the broader policies needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  Let’s see if this movement will translate to Tea Party support for electric vehicles, energy storage and energy efficiency. Now that would really be an inconvenient truth — for climate deniers and the fossil fuel industry.

Tea Party And Evangelicals For Rooftop Solar

body-0-1376425473419Rooftop solar — and the ability to produce your own energy without reliance on utilities — is obviously troubling to the incumbent utility industry. These companies have been trying to strangle solar in the crib for years now, as the technology combined with inexpensive batteries will eventually put them out of business.

But it’s precisely the upstart nature of the solar industry, and the choice it provides ratepayers, that is inspiring some unlikely allies. CNBC profiles Arizona’s Barry Goldwater, Jr., as well as other Tea Party activists and even evangelical leaders who strongly support renewable energy policies, especially rooftop solar:

As a conservative, Goldwater has become a vocal advocate for solar energy in recent years. He currently serves as the chairman of “Tell Utilities Solar won’t be Killed” (TUSK), a solar advocacy group that is pushing for energy independence across the country.

And he doesn’t think there is anything odd about being a political conservative who also challenges utility companies for the right to choose solar over traditional forms of power. In fact, he finds it to be the natural outcome of true political conservatism.

“We promote the conservative philosophy of free market, choice and competition, because as the cost of things go down, the quality goes up,” he said.

The “choice” argument is obviously very alluring to these activists, as are the benefits of decentralizing economic power and energy production to residents. But I’m not sure these anti-government conservatives realize that much of the recent solar “boom” is due to public subsidies and tax credits, both in the United States but also in countries like Germany, China, and Spain, which gave the industry the early push it needed to become cost-competitive with many fossil fuel energy sources.

But no point in quibbling over details, as solar energy will continue to need this kind of bipartisan support to establish its place among the incumbents.