Friday, June 11, 2010

Solar Panels Upset Neighborhood

The NASD plan to install a solar farm in Lower Nazareth has upset neighbors who are complaining that the installation of the alternative energy source is being done at the expense of green, recreation space according to an article in the Express-Times (read the article here).

I’ve mentioned this before, the math simply doesn’t add up. The state provides a grant of $1M, the school district gives land (leases) to a privately held, Florida company, that invests $3M ($1M is from PA state taxpayers), and the district saves $50,000 per year as a result.

So how much money does the privately held out of state company earn, must be a fair amount if they are willing to invest $2M.

Posted via email from Ross Nunamaker

5 comments:

SueBDynamo said...

I'm originally from NJ and i work in NJ so I don't understand the "out-of-state" argument.

RossRN said...

I have no problem with people living in pa, working in nj or ny, I did it. I also don't care if someone was born in PA or some where else and moves into PA.

The point is that PA taypayer funds are being given to out of state companies. Give the money to PA companies, if it must be given.

NazoRanter said...

I agree with keeping the money in state as much as possible, but, that presumes that there is a solar company in PA that will to make the same deal with the district, otherwise, go with the best financial deal you can get.

In essence, the money saved will directly benefit the NASD taxpayer to the tune of about $50K per year per the article, which adds up quickly. the real trick will be to keep the spend happy administration from spending that savings and actually make it a savings to the taxpayer.

Now, for the people complaining about losing open space. I suggest you take a look at the amount of open space around LNES, of which only a fraction is ever used. Other than soccer, it is rare to ever see anyone, especially kids, anywhere but on the playground.

Even with the solar farm, there will still be tons of open space that will never get used, so putting it in and saving tax dollars is nothing but a benefit.

Jake Barnes said...

How is anyone going to solve any problem if every solution is rejected because someone doesn't like it? It is the banana factor: Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything (or Anyone)

If the majority no longer rules (if every special interest must be accommodated), then America is immobilized and can resolve nothing.

We've fought and won two major world wars, but cannot agree on any course of action to maintain the peace and create an effective future.

And don't tell me about change we can believe in: so far, this crew in DC is worse than previous ones.

SueBDynamo said...

Hold on, I'm pretty sure this issue hasn't gone up to the national level yet! I do believe they are reviewing and not rejecting just yet.

Thanks for pointing out what i was trying to say "Naz". I couldn't believe a "Keystone State" business would have anything over a "Sunshine State" business regarding solar energy. Just how I figured things worked.