Bernie Sanders
Related: About this forumSanders Introduces Solar Initiative
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday introduced legislation to make solar energy more accessible to low-income families.
While the cost of solar panels has gone down in recent years, it is still out of reach for millions of low-income families that need it the most, said Sanders. Families across this country struggle to pay electricity bills and access to solar energy can help reduce these costs.
The Low Income Solar Act of 2015 was introduced on the same day the White House proposed an initiative to make solar power more accessible to households and businesses. The Sanders bill would provide $200 million in loans and grants through the Department of Energy to offset the upfront costs for solar arrays on community facilities, public housing and low-income family homes. These projects would be required to prioritize loans for woman- and minority-owned small businesses and set aside funding for developing solar arrays in Appalachia, Indian tribal lands and Alaskan native communities.
While low-income families are the hardest hit by rising utility prices, they are also the hardest hit by the impacts of climate change. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the poor spend more than 60 percent of their income on basic necessities including electricity and food, compared to less than 45 percent for wealthy families. Helping low-income families use solar power addresses both of these issues.
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http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/recent-business/sanders-introduces-solar-initiative?utm_content=buffer6dd73&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Snotcicles
(9,089 posts)one great idea after another.
BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)Homeowners and landlords should all be urged to adopt solar. Europe is doing that already and we are behind.
Snotcicles
(9,089 posts)BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)TheNutcracker
(2,104 posts)they are working to change that....bypassing the legislators that are owned by the energy companies.
Check out
Floridian's for Solar Choice
http://www.flsolarchoice.org/
Go Bernie!!!
BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)And I mean that in the nicest possible way. The fact that public officials will get fired for uttering the words "climate change" means you aren't going to get there anytime soon. And this from a state whose major city is going to be underwater soon!
Babel_17
(5,400 posts)Yes, let's campaign on that!
notemason
(299 posts)for Bernie
azmom
(5,208 posts)daleanime
(17,796 posts)brett_jv
(1,245 posts)to receive at least some 'help' affording solar from the government.
I would like to see something like a sliding scale as we have for subsidies under ACA, where a couple making up to almost 100K/year can get some kind of assistance (subsidies + federally-funded low interest loan program) for solar installation ... only I think the scale should go even higher than that, esp. families w/kids.
There is a clear overriding NATIONAL interest in getting people off fossil fuels ... plus it's past time to tell Big Oil to shove off, and to get them out of control of our US government to the level that they are (esp. when R's are in charge).
I don't care if solar isn't 'cost-effective' when you just consider raw $/BTU, cause that sort of calculation doesn't even come CLOSE to properly calculating the numerator of that equation when it comes to fossil fuels.
Kudos for the idea, but I'd like to see something even more aggressive, and not purely focused on poor people. That's just a recipe to come off looking like you're into class warfare, esp. when you call yourself a socialist on top of it. It's not going to play well with a lot of people who WOULD otherwise love the idea. Like me ... a homeowner in Phoenix who's not really 'low-income', but doesn't make enough to afford the upfront costs ... but also would LOVE to go SOLAR!!!
Expand it to EVERYONE Bernie, then you'll have a real winner! All I need is a low-interest loan and a decent-size subsidy and I'm totally down!