Because they value oil industry profits over individual freedom and clean, renewable resources, Oklahoma lawmakers, elected officials and energy utilities have been doing whatever possible to slow the adoption of solar energy use in Oklahoma.
So far, they've been pretty successful in these efforts. For example, the City of Edmond recently voted to allow a whopping 1% of residents to put solar panels on their homes.
Via News9.com:
The City of Edmond is giving residents the right to go solar.
After months of debate, the City is allowing customers to put solar panels on their homes and save power they don’t use.
Solar Power of Oklahoma President JW Peters successfully lobbied Edmond Electric for allowing one-to-one net metering.
You can bank and get credit for solar electricity when you aren't using it. OG&E has had a similar policy for years.
But due to contracts with the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority, only 1% of Edmond Electric customers can go solar.
Only 1% of Edmond residents are allowed to get solar? That's pathetic, but it is kind of funny to see some Edmonites finally get left out of the 1 percent.
Here’s more:
“Unfortunately, 250 customers isn’t a big enough sampling of people that should be able to do solar,” said Peters.
Peters said Oklahoma is a top 10 state in solar potential, but near the bottom in solar power produced.
The website www.Solarpowerrocks.com gives Oklahoma an “F,” ranking it 49th on solar policy.
Always good to know that we’re still leading the charge in the “race to the bottom” state challenge. Plus, are we sure we can trust www.solarpowerrocks.com? Was www.kissmyassyouoilbaronbastards.com already taken?
There’s no denying that Oklahoma needs to wean itself off volatile resource that are destroying the planet, and I guess allowing one percent of Edmond residents to get solar power is a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, solar energy adoption in Oklahoma probably won't become mainstream until the sun engulfs the earth.
