Why Utah Solar Panel Projects Matter: 10 Timeless Quotes from Legends

Utah solar projects matter for many reasons, but the inspirational quotes below demonstrate why better than any company ever will.

Clean, renewable energy sources like solar are about more than corporate interest: They’re about the future we build today, and the future we will leave behind for our children.

Not only do the following quotes apply to Utah solar potential, but also the other areas in which solar panels and solar in general has not yet reached its brightest potential.

So, without further ado, here are the top 10 quotes from influencers about the solar industry, and why these aphorisms matter more to the inter-mountain west than ever before.

10. Thomas Carr on the Etymology of Challenge

“The word ‘energy’ incidentally equates with the Greek word for ‘challenge.’ I think there is much to learn in thinking of our federal energy problem in that light.”

We don’t love the things that put the most effort into us. Rather, we love the things into which we put the bulk of our own energy.

Carr reminds us that anything worth fighting for requires effort, especially when it comes to challenging ourselves to be more responsible consumers of energy resources.

Unfortunately, Carr’s statement has not been reified to the extent it could be, primarily because of what Aristotle coined as the “Tragedy of the Commons.”

This theory suggests that which is most common to all has the least care bestowed upon it, which is unfortunate for the environment, as everyone shares a piece of it merely by existing, therefore placing a comparatively less amount of care on it than necessary.

However, our savings as individuals are not common to all, and Utah solar projects can help homeowners save dozens of thousands of dollars over the course of a mortgage’s history.

So, not only do Utah solar projects capitalize on individual incentives, but the broader environmental incentives as a whole.

9. Carl Sagan on the Multiplicity of Light

“Every time you look up at the sky, every one of those points of light is a reminder that fusion power is extractable from hydrogen and other gas elements…”

As the most famous astronomer of all time, Carl Sagan understood stars—including the sun. And, aside from the fact your bones are literally made of stardust, Sagan gives us yet another reason to appreciate the lodestars of light in our sky—their energy potential.

The sun comprises 98 percent of the mass in our solar system, and is made primarily of hydrogen and helium, with slivers of nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon. As Sagan reminds us to view the extractable power from hydrogen in our sky, we can’t ignore the power-generating hydrogen held within the sun.

Utah serves as a perfect backdrop to stargaze and look up at the sky as Sagan suggests we should, given some of its more remote locations.

8. Piyush Gayal: On the Costs of Solar vs. Fossil Fuels

“Renewable energy isn’t more expensive than fossil fuels when you factor in life-cycle costs.”

As the Minister of Railways in India, Mr. Gayal, in a sense, is correct and wrong all at once in making this statement.

He’s correct in stating that renewable energy is less expensive than fossil fuels when factoring in life-cycle costs, but he’s omitting the other areas in which renewable energy resources like solar projects can save money, such as state-based financial incentives like rebates and tax advantages.

In a conservative state, Utah has a steeper hill to climb in advocating solar power, but an understanding of solar power’s dynamism in both financial incentives and practical application over the course of a home’s solar-powered existence can reduce the misunderstandings currently plaguing the minds of Utahans.

7. Bill Nye: On the Future of Solar Panels and Renewable Energy

“We can and should convert sunlight into solar energy with silicon wafers. This is one of many frontiers on the horizon of renewable energy resources.”

As a venture capital funder of a startup using particle accelerators to make solar panels 60 percent cheaper, Bill Nye the Science Guy understands the import of solar energy from Utah to the East Coast, and is striving to increase the public’s understanding of solar energy on a daily basis.

From Bill’s quaint insights to his advocating of solar power, it’s hard to ignore his estimable grip on the future of energy. The solar panel industry as a whole should be proud to have him on its side.

6. Ralph Nader: On the National Solar Imperative

“The use of solar energy has not been opened up because the oil industry does not own the sun.”

Sometimes it’s easier to recognize the brilliance of alternatives when you understand the political constraints placed upon them.

Say what you want about Ralph Nader, it can’t be argued that he’s failed to speak up when it matters, even if other renewable energy resource advocates fail to do so.

As a champion of consumer wellbeing, Ralph Nader has tackled the tough issues on all things politics from driver safety laws to renewable energy resources in the form of solar power, solar panels, and solar scalability.

Although Utah is a state with conservative values used to upholding economic traditionalism, the desert climate and clean air problems make it a perfect location for the solar industry to begin burgeoning in the intermountain west.

5. Scott Sklar: Solar-powered Analogies and Truisms

“Solar is going to revolutionize the energy industry in the same way the internet impacted communications.”

There is not a single person on this list who’s done more for the growth of the solar industry and solar panel adoption in Utah than Scott Sklar.

As an internationally recognized and acclaimed solar energy leader and previous director of SEIA, Scott Sklar is one of the most decorated policy formers in the history of solar panel installation and lobbying. He is also an expert in energy storage.

Additionally, as one of the most prolific writers on solar power, Sklar served as an impetus for solar power adoption to grow in the western states of Utah, Nevada, California, and Texas.

4. Frances Beinecke

“Whether it is salt farmers in India embracing solar power or wind companies creating tens of thousands of jobs in America, people are providing a future for the vision of clean energy.”

As former president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, Frances Beinecke has devoted her entire life to politically salvaging renewable energy resources, including solar-powered initiatives.

3. William Ruckelshaus

“Nature provides a free lunch, but only if we control our appetites.”

Ruckelshaus became the very first head of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, and his aphorisms about the environment remain true sources of inspiration to those powering the solar industry today.

As one of the first to fly a sustainable energy flag in the face of economic conservativism, Ruckelshaus was irascible—constantly spoiling for the fight worth fighting.

2. Thomas P. Kay

Solar is cost effective. When you consider the cost to our health from air pollution, solar is just as competitive as any other resource.

If financial incentives cannot turn us toward the sun, perhaps health concerns may. Given Utah’s poor air quality, one of the biggest reasons to go solar is because of the positive environmental impact it can have on the domestic economy, mitigating potential health effects that would harm citizens over the long haul.

1. Bjorn Lomberg

We need to invest dramatically in green energy, making solar panels so cheap that everyone wants them. Nobody wanted to buy a computer in 1950, but once they got cheap, everyone bought them.

Bjorn Lomberg brings up a very interesting point regarding solar panels. They are, in a sense, much like commercial computing. After solar battery power evolves to account for reduced expenses, solar became more popular.

And, if solar panels and Utah solar projects in general are anything like commercial computing, they will not just be “nice to haves,” but essentials in the world of clean energy production, cost savings, and environmental responsibilities.