Interview with Charlie O’Dowd from Westcap Energy Inc.
March 15, 2010
Tucson, AZ
My Local Home Show (MLHS): Why did you get into the solar business?
Charlie: The green building movement inspired me to want to spread the word about solar energy as a renewable energy resource that is so abundant in the desert. It is so suitable for this area of the country that we live in. Being in the solar business is in sync with my values of being more earth friendly.
MLHS: How does solar energy help?
Charlie: Locally we’re a high energy consumption area because of all the air conditioning we use during the hot summer months. Because our high energy usage is in the summer months when the sun is shining the longest and hottest, we are an ideal area to harvest and use solar energy to reduce our high consumption rates of non-renewable fuel sources.
We are the best area in the country to capitalize on solar energy because Arizona has the longest hours of sunlight of which solar energy can be generated using photovoltaic technology.
MLHS: What are some of the ways solar energy can be used?
Charlie: Solar Thermal is when solar energy is used to heat up hot water tanks. It is an ideal use of solar energy since we average 358 days of sun annually in Tucson.
MLHS: What impact do you see the use of solar energy having on our environment and economy in the future?
Charlie: Carbon emissions should decrease. Universal use of solar energy should bring about an overall lowering of energy consumption in the same way dieting makes you aware of your eating.
MLHS: What are some of the challenges and benefits of converting over to using more solar energy?
Charlie: Locally, the state of Arizona and utility companies are also offering financial incentives and tax breaks for people to convert their water heaters over to solar thermal units. These tax breaks help offset some of the initial up front investment costs required to convert over to solar energy systems.
MLHS: Do you think the costs of installing solar energy units will eventually go down as we use it more and more?
Charlie: When homes are built to accommodate solar and other renewable energy sources, the costs will logically be considerably less than having to retrofit existing homes without these systems already in place. So, yes, in the long run, solar technology will become more affordable as we use it more.
The great American theory of competition should also drive down prices as demand increases. As more people and businesses compete to supply solar energy systems, and the demand becomes an imperative the costs will decrease.
MLHS: What’s going to happen if we don’t convert from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy?
Charlie: The lights will go out.
MLHS: What other sources of renewable energy are there?
Charlie: We currently generate 93% of our energy fuel from using petroleum products.
Of the 7% that remains, solar energy is only 7 % of that. The other renewable energy sources are wind energy, hydrovoltaic- making electricity out of water, geo-thermal- tapping into the earth’s core to use steam energy, natural gas as well as methane gases- harvested from land fills and the our good old fashioned favorite bio-mass energy from burning wood.
MLHS: Why did you chose to go into the solar business as opposed to a business in any of the other renewable energies?
Charlie: It is easier and more practical in its ease and benefits for individuals to contribute to their own conservation efforts. Their roof is all they need in order to help reduce their energy bill as well as become part of the solution. It is the easiest way to create enough energy for peak power usage per hour. Tucson requires 400 square feet of roof space. That’s 20x20 feet, about the size of an average living room. What’s great is that on off peak hours the excess energy feeds back into the grid, actually adding energy back into the system rather than using more. You get off the grid and start producing more than you are using. That’s good for the planet as well as your wallet.
MLHS: What’s “the grid”?
Charlie: The utility grid is the system of lines of power and power distribution nationwide. If we don’t have the power here, it can be shipped to us through the grid but is far more expensive than using our own home grown local energy from the sun.
If individuals can contribute to the grid locally, the need to import power is decreased and costs less for consumers. It reduces our dependency on foreign oil. Therefore, it benefits our economy and our ecology. And the space is already available for everyone to generate their own solar energy. It’s on everyone’s roof top!
MLHS: How does ecology and economy relate to each other with regard to energy use and production?
If we wanted to create a separate facility to produce photovoltaic energy, it would require hundreds in not thousands of acres. Using our own roof tops is space efficient and accomplishes the same result. My prediction is that is will just happen because sooner rather than later utility costs from using non-renewable sources of energy will skyrocket and become cost prohibitive. We will be forced by diminishing supply and increased cost of non-renewable fossil fuels to find cleaner, healthier, earth friendly forms of energy.
Solar energy will be a huge part of the economy and it will happen at the residential level.
It will happen on 80 % of our roof tops! I want to encourage people to use their roof tops to cover their power needs!
MLHS: Thank you so much Charlie for sharing your expertise about the benefits of using solar energy for ecological as well as economical reasons.
For more information about Westcap Energy Inc please visit their booth at www.mylocalhomeshow.com or their website at www.westcapenergy.com.
Interviewed by Deborah Brightstar with My Local Home Show.
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