Today's Charlotte Observer got our hopes up on the development of solar power:
>> A rapt audience heard a new way Wednesday to boost renewable energy in the Charlotte region: Follow the example of Gainesville, Fla.
Gainesville became the first U.S. city to adopt "feed-in" rates to boost solar power. Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan described how it works at a forum hosted by the N.C. Sustainable Energy Association.
The city contracts to buy solar power from local generators at guaranteed rates. The rates are initially high to encourage solar development and subsidized by electric customers, adding about 70 cents a month to residential bills.
In return, the city expects to steadily increase its use of a free, nonpolluting resource. The program's first nine months saw new solar capacity nearly double that of the previous 28 years. The rates it pays solar generators should fall over time as costs drop. ... <<
Forum explores Charlotte's solar power future
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