To the Editor:
There is an understandable local opposition to the construction of large solar “farms” in rural Colorado. The greatest demand for electricity is, after all, in urban areas and the resulting miles of transmission lines, while once seen as a sign of progress, are now regarded as unwelcome intrusions upon a growing environmental aesthetic of open, untrammeled land in the West. Rural communities over and over see their valuable resources, be it water, oil and gas, their children, and now treasured vistas, being drained into the seemingly insatiable metropolitan lifestyles they eschew. Apparently overlooked by the power brokers is that there are thousands of acres of roofs, already connected to the grid, in the very areas in need of additional electricity. A combination of private and governmental incentives and directives could create a modern, state-of-the-art, decentralized power generating network that would both serve our needs and preserve our Colorado landscapes. Germany, a country with far less sunshine than here, has done exactly this with remarkable success.
RP