I'm sure there will be lots of glitches along the way, as with any new program like this, but I think overall it's an excellent idea. I think the financial aspect of greening one's home is a large part of the reason many people don't, even when they're aware of the ultimate benefit.

Well I think perfection is yet to be seen but the plan quite a bright idea.

This should have been done decades ago! My mom was telling me that in the '70s this started to become popular because of the energy crisis then and once things started to bounce back, the efforts stopped. It's too bad. Things would be different now if efforts continued back then.

ExactOmundo! girlA All of these so called alternative technologies we know today would be old hat by now. This is precisely why we have to learn to read our History. Our misturns in the yesteryear's will guide a clear path to the future but for whatever reason we collectively ignore the obvious.

What an interesting idea..it's nice to see communities proactively working for alternative methods of energy. If it proves to be successful I'm sure it will start to catch on other places.

Unfortunately, it proved to be successful years and years ago, but priorities shifted and we lost out on something great.

I wish Arizona would jump on this! This is a excellent idea and one I'd jump on in a heartbeat.

-- great start!!

I think that it is a great idea! The city will (albeit slowly) profit from the interest. We would never have this opportunity in Southern California....I can not picture Orange, Riverside or LA counties getting involved in something like this.

This is such a great idea!

ahh...duh...about time, solar has been around for ages. Most just blew it off as 'ugly' or too much trouble. (okay they were huge and ugly BUT useful)
It's like you never miss the running water until there's a storm and they shut it off! mi-ser-a-ble...
I don't want them to keep waiting until my electric bill rates goes up another 6% next year!

How effective are solar panels now? I had heard that they weren't cost effective in the 70's which is why they didn't catch on. Hopefully the technology has improved enough to make them more cost effective.

All I know is they heat up my pool pretty darn well

i wish i owned a house so i could get in on this, it's a great idea. berkeley's doing the right thing.

If only there were enough sun in New York:(...

Based on the headline, I thought the city was going to pay for them. A loan seems like a much better idea, imo.

It heated up a neighbor's pool very well here also. But do they generate enough electricity to be worth the cost?

Pink this is for you-

"In a revolutionary leap that could transform solar power from a marginal, boutique alternative into a mainstream energy source, MIT researchers have overcome a major barrier to large-scale solar power: storing energy for use when the sun doesn't shine."

It's very long...see link!
www web mit edu/newsoffice/2008/oxygen-0731 html

(replace spaces with dots..they hate links..takes to long to post!)

"This project was funded by the National Science Foundation and by the Chesonis Family Foundation, which gave MIT $10 million this spring to launch the Solar Revolution Project, with a goal to make the large scale deployment of solar energy within 10 years."

Imagine what they could do with some of that BUSH GOP RAISED MONEY!
*sigh*

I think it's an absolutely great idea...hopefully it is successful and the concept spreads to other sunny locales.