Greetings! My name is Dennis Meizys and I’ve been working in various fields of energy generation for decades. Ok, for a little over two decades actually.
The early part of my career was spent in the very lucrative fossil fuel industry, marketing and commissioning very profitably systems meant to solve the peak energy problems utilties experience on hot summer days or cold winter “polar vortex” events. You see, due to fracking of fossil fuels, energy supply is very cheap. That’s not the problem. Getting the energy to you is the real issue.
Our energy transmission and distribution systems are ancient and overloaded. In fact, it’s a matter affecting our national security.
My solution involved placement of huge diesel and natural gas peaking plants near large government and commercial consumers. These plants circumvented EPA regulations, and when called into action, as I witnessed during the testing and commissioning phases of these projects, they would belch out clouds of noxious, black smoke which left me coughing even after I returned home.
My first daughter was a toddler at the time, and would ask me why I worked, and if I accomplished anything good, which got me thinking about what is really “good.”
I started to feel guilty about the legacy I was leaving for future generations. Yes, I was solving a problem the utilities were having getting power to their customers through the bottlenecks of insufficient infrastructure they were so loathe to upgrade, but I was involved in an industry causing a bigger problem for the world: pollution.
You notice I didn’t mention climate change or global warming? I really don’t care if you don’t believe in the objectivity of worldwide average oceanic temperature measurements and you attribute the height of mercury in the thermometer to your ideological bias, but facts are facts and air pollition is real, more people are dying of asthma and other cardio-respiratory diseases than in the past, and cans of tuna fish have labels printed with warnings to pregnant mothers and children about the dangers of mercury levels present in the fish, admonishing them to moderate their consumption of these products.
So if nuclear fuel is your solution to lower CO2, NOx, and SOx emissions, then research the news about radioactive fish in the Pacific, years after the Fukashima disaster.
This led me to take a pay cut and work in renewable energy to protect the environment, because I thought protecting the Earth for our children and grandchildren is worth it.
What I am looking for is people of a similar mindset to join the rebellion. No, it’s not necessary to make a sacrifice to go green these days. Renewable energy has reached parity in pricing with coal and nuclear-generated energy.
That means you can choose to reduce your pollution and save money on energy at the same time. You would think that is a no-brainer, right?
With solar energy power systems available for $ 0.00 down, and the monthly costs of financing the system lower than the cost of the utility energy being replaced, resulting in immediate net savings and ownership of your energy system (something you don’t get with your utility even after decades of paying them), the advantages of going green are pretty strong.
However, due to various design factors, not everybody will save an equal amount. Yet, it is very disheartening to hear someone say that they would rather pay more for dirty, polluting coal-powered energy than save with solar energy.
Do you consider that an affront to your safety and well-being also?
I invite anybody who is willing to comment, share articles, and even contribute to what I hope will become a lively community discussion on what our goals are, why we believe what we believe and what, if anything, is preventing people from taking action now.
Do you consider it an urgent matter, and if you do, are you taking action or are you waiting for the government to do something?
I hope to use this blog to inform and educate the public on my area of expertise, solar energy. However, I intend to keep an open mind to considering other solutions and hopefully someone will demonstrate better ones.
My goal as a solar consultant is to show what’s available to consumers and how to best utilize the incentives for adopting renewable energy. If a consumer chooses my competitor, I still consider it a victory for the public. If I cannot offer the best possible solution, I’ll refer a customer to someone who can. We’re all on the same side against our primary enemy which is pollution.
Nevertheless, whether you are with me or against me, I welcome you to join the discussion.