Letters: California isn't making the most of rooftop solar

"All these programs, measures and laws concerning solar energy, specifically in California, will continue to fall short of the ultimate goal to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels and reduce the high cost of electricity for all of us. Also, the use of valuable land to install solar farms is not the best idea either. Like I've suggested before, every commercial and residential rooftop should be utilized in some type of state or federal program to place, at low cost to property owners, solar panels"

"to place, at low cost to property owners, solar panels and storage batteries to solve this not-so-difficult problem. Another advantage of this is that all of these structures are already connected to the grid, so no need to build more long-distance transmission lines. Think of the not-too-long-ago national programs to build out telephone, electricity, interstate freeways, etc., to modernize and improve our country."

"Seven years ago, I moved from Silicon Valley to Austin to be near my grandchildren in Texas. This year, in mid-cycle, the Texas Legislature changed the shape of my congressional district to one that extends from a suburb east of Austin almost to the New Mexico border, a distance equal to that of San Francisco to Los Angeles. They sliced the Austin area into such thin strips that an 8-mile stretch of I-35 that runs straight north of Austin now spans five congressional districts."

Widespread rooftop deployment of solar panels and storage batteries is proposed as a low-cost solution to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and lower electricity costs. Rooftop systems avoid using valuable land for solar farms and leverage existing grid connections, reducing the need for long-distance transmission. The proposal envisions state or federal programs that place equipment at low cost to property owners, similar to past national infrastructure efforts. A Texas resident describes extreme mid-cycle redistricting that stretched a congressional district across vast distances and split Austin into thin strips, urging a temporary suspension of independent redistricting. A perspective also notes Vice President Harris' 107 Days as a well-written account and expresses surprise at perceived double standards in reactions.

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