Stories have been done recently about new carports made of solar panels. This NYT contribution spends a fair amount of space on the argument in California about the esthetics of PVs versus their environmental logic. It’s somewhat ironic given California’s penchant for all things solar and their historic lack of energy independence (read Enron).
Significantly fewer words are spent on the esthetic debate in New Jersey where solar carports are also going up. That might be because in New Jersey, esthetics have gone the way of 29-cent-per-gallon gasoline and solar development is considered way more important than blocking the view of a chemical plant or oil refinery. California is arguably one of the most beautiful and environmentally diverse states in the union. But carports? Esthetics?
When Californians are all driving electric cars in the next 25 years and charging them off their roofs, the whining “defenders of esthetics” in California will probably have moved away or passed on. One thing is certain. No one will remember what they were complaining about.
