Carolina Journal – Hitting benchmark would depend on hoped-for gains in battery storage technology and tax subsidies, for starter. The town of Hillsborough and Orange County have turned the holy grail of environmentalism into official public policy. They want to transform into 100 percent renewable energy-powered communities.
But beyond the attention-grabbing headlines, and a 2050 deadline, details matter.
Would sprawling, utility-scale solar power plants be built, and where would they go? Would homeowners be forced to install rooftop solar panels? Will municipal vehicle fleets be powered by renewable fuel, and would drivers have to buy renewable-powered vehicles? Is it possible to store enough electricity to power street lights and traffic signals, hospitals and factories, at night and on cloudy days, when there’s no sun to fueling those solar panels?
Neither government can say how it plans to accomplish what even green energy proponents say would be an extraordinarily expensive mutation of energy policy. Nor have they defined phases or outlined fine points of the changeover.
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