April 12, 2007

Signs of Progress

As seen in front of Al Gore's Lynwood Boulevard mansion in Nashville's posh Belle Meade neighborhod this afternoon. I wonder if Gore himself will be at the zoning board meeting to make the case for why he should be allowed to put solar panels on his house.

A helpful reader provided a link to the Belle Meade Board of Zoning Appeals meeting agenda.

No details on the size of the solar panels, how much power they'll generate, or whether or not they'll be tied into the grid via a "net metering" arrangement so Gore can sell excess power to the grid. Tennessee is not a mandatory "net metering" state, though the local electric utility that serves Gore’s house does offer the option for customers who generate their own power.

Nashville Electric Service, which distributes Tennessee Valley Authority power, allows customers to sign up for TVA’s "Generation Partners" program, which buys customer-generated "green" power (from solar panels or wind turbines) at a rate of 15 cents per kilowatt hour.

No word if Gore himself will be at the zoning board meeting to make the case for why he should be allowed to put solar panels on his house.

For all the grief - I believe deserved - that I and others have given Gore for his use of "carbon offsets" to pretend to be "carbon neutral" rather than actually personally living the he preaches that others should live, it’s good to see him trying to "walk the walk" with solar panels.