Wind energy and solar energy — we need them both
Two recent editorials, Greg King’s earlier this summer in the North Coast Journal and Ken Miller’s on Sept. 27 in the Times-Standard, argue that solar energy is preferable over wind energy. Both writers claim that we don’t need the Terra-Gen wind project proposed for Monument Ridge near Scotia, that solar energy could serve our renewable energy needs. That’s a big misconception. Don’t get me wrong. Solar energy is wonderful and important; it’s been my life’s work to teach people about solar energy and get it deployed. But solar doesn’t come close to providing the renewable energy we need for our county. Here’s the energy arithmetic. The Terra-Gen project is projected to produce 407,000 megawatt-hours per year of electricity, almost half the county’s total electricity use. For comparison, the two large solar projects that the Schatz Energy Research Center and local partners have brought to Humboldt County — the photovoltaic array installed at the Blue Lake Rancheria and the array th