I'm working on a bigger story about Longmont Power's solar rebate offer ( Times-Call story here) and the May 12th Twin Peaks Mall Area Public Meeting ( Times-Call story here) , but wanted to do a quick take on a combination of these two stories.

I've written in the past about my research into alternative energy, specifically solar for water heating and electricity generation here and here. And some of my opinions of the Twin Peaks Mall and its future here and here. Much more on all of that later, and a more in depth report of the above mentioned meeting with some quotes from citizens as well.

But I did want to address one comment about building the mall 'green'. I'm all for conservation and I've been walking that walk (another link here) for some time now. But I'm also aware of bottom lines. So, knowing Panattoni is a fairly regular reader of my pearls of wisdom, I asked them about this specifically.

For you that aren't aware, Longmont Power does a fairly decent job of delivering electricity at a somewhat reasonable rate, comparatively speaking. Don't mistake me for a cheerleader for them; I'm not happy that they don't offer the same incentives and rebates that Xcel offers to people outside the City of Longmont, which is substantial. But from a business point of view, since Longmont makes electricity reasonable, it just doesn't pay to shell out the considerable expense for solar panels on top of the mall.

I sort of knew that answer before I asked, but asked anyway. They pointed out there are parts of the nation, the Northeast for example, that offer to erect panels galore for basically nothing to help ease some of the demand put on the grid. That's a no brainer. But in Longmont's case, it's tougher to justify. And the " feel good" factor, well, doesn't really factor in much.

So, until the price point and efficiency of solar panels improves, and the incentives get a little sweeter (for businesses and consumers), it's pretty slim that part of the mall will be green. Even with the price of oil as it stands today, although from what I've been told we're mostly coal powered here anyway.

©2008 Chris Rodriguez/Longmont Advocate LLC
(Chris Rodriguez is a Longmont resident, and the publisher and broadcaster of Longmont Advocate, a community website and podcast that raises local issues to increase public awareness and interest)