Hi Roger. You are correct, PGE is not in the Morongo Basin, but PGE and SCE are the two largest investor owned utility companies in California. As such, these megaliths play an oversized role in affecting California's energy legislation and rule making. The speaker from CALSSA presented a very compelling case for how these entities are overtly lobbying to squash rooftop solar - which was rapidly becoming affordable as incentives rose and a new economy of scale started lowering the prices of solar equipment. She pointed out that an enthusiastic rooftop industry began developing but its early success was perceived as threatening to wick a portion of consumer dollars away. Those incentives are now in various stages of roll back. On the other hand, industrial scale solar (yikes, much of it in desert areas) would keep nearly all consumer spending headed to investor owned utilities plus provide opportunities for large profits in the creation of infrastructure. There are so many more layers to this, but I hope that this adds clarity. Thanks for reading.
I didn't realize PG&E is in the Morongo Basin.
Hi Roger. You are correct, PGE is not in the Morongo Basin, but PGE and SCE are the two largest investor owned utility companies in California. As such, these megaliths play an oversized role in affecting California's energy legislation and rule making. The speaker from CALSSA presented a very compelling case for how these entities are overtly lobbying to squash rooftop solar - which was rapidly becoming affordable as incentives rose and a new economy of scale started lowering the prices of solar equipment. She pointed out that an enthusiastic rooftop industry began developing but its early success was perceived as threatening to wick a portion of consumer dollars away. Those incentives are now in various stages of roll back. On the other hand, industrial scale solar (yikes, much of it in desert areas) would keep nearly all consumer spending headed to investor owned utilities plus provide opportunities for large profits in the creation of infrastructure. There are so many more layers to this, but I hope that this adds clarity. Thanks for reading.