there was an amazing story in mercury news this morning.

it says clearly in the first 2 paras as follows.
California property owners are poised to gain yet another reason to go green.
In a decision closely watched by the solar industry, the California Public Utilities Commission recently signaled its intent to award the ownership of credits earned from renewable energy sources to the residential and commercial owners of such systems -- and not to the utility companies.

that's amazing indeed. it is simple as this. i have solar power roof and during sunny days the power meter starts turning back because the power roof feed the grid. now the utility gives some money back for turning the meter back. but this new rules might mean that the end customer whose roof is supplying electricity will be getting credits in cash.

okay then who pays this customer. those who want to go green will be doing so. again from article,
``There are some entities in the country, such as Whole Foods, who pride themselves on using green energy. They are buying these so they can say they are green and they are,'' Cinnamon said about the credits.

way to go california. when the federal govt is in deep slumber on renewables and global warming, california is showing ways of how to proceed correctly.

i was going thro the western ghats some time back and saw monster power lines. the below pictures are that of PUSHEP power lines. PUSHEP project had caused enormous destruction of the western ghats forests. from the linked article,
The Pykara Ultimate Stage Hydro Electric Project (PUSHEP) was yet another disaster. Apart from the expansion of the hydroelectric project in prime forestland, 7000 people were settled in Masinagudi and transported daily to PUSHEP across the elephant corridor. Companies like the Government Cordite Factory, Protein Products India and Needle Industries have also contributed to the degradation of the Nilgiris, by the conversion of forest to factories and the pollution of air, land and water. The consequent population pressure has created slums out of the beautiful hill stations of Ooty and Conoor.

when i saw these power lines bissecting pristine forests and tens of thousands of native shola trees felled for these lines, i can hardly imagine how much destruction the electricity that we take for granted is causing.

india, with its huge sun power, has to go solar so that few remaining eco systems can be left as it is