In the Aug. 27 issue, you printed a letter to the editor from Anthony Marolda entitled: “Solar Power a Good Deal?”. At first, I thought to myself, what a shame that this project wasn’t cost-efficient over the long run. However, in looking at Mr. Marolda’s numbers, I thought to myself that they couldn’t quite add up—so I ran a quick check.
Mr. Marolda must have made an error. He says the solar units will save Carlson Orchards approximately $56,000 a year. He goes on to say that the energy savings over 25 years will be $790,000. But using Marolda’s numbers, 25 times $56,000 equals $1.4 million, which is certainly more than his quoted $1.1 million cost. Mr. Marolda tells us that $1.1 million minus $790,000 equals a loss, over 25 years, of $310,000. Using the numbers given, it would seem that there would be a net gain of $300,000—which would, by necessity, reverse his conclusion.
Given that our entire highway system is funded by us—the taxpayers—and that this system currently encourages (and subsidizes) our huge petroleum-based energy usage, I would not mind supporting other energy sources that would not require us buying Mideast oil. However, either Mr. Marolda made an error in his calculations, or I am entirely confused, as my calculations based on Mr. Marolda’s numbers would seem to indicate that this project will pay for itself in the long term.
Either way, it will certainly add to the competitive ability of a local business.
Mark Buell
Littleton County Road
