Thank you for Ahrens-Balwit’s thoughtful opinion piece on the benefits of the IRA and the promise of solar energy , “ Going solar is practical, not political. Clean energy brings real independence ” Dec. 9.
Solar has been a long time c oming of age . Farrington Daniels, former Chair of the UW–Madison Chemistry Department, experimented with and became the global spokesperson for solar energy after WW II — a crazy pipe-dream back then.
Advances in battery technology and storage, innovations in smart-grid technology, and regional energy markets make solar a no-brainer for most of Wisconsin — especially when the multi-faceted benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act that Ahrens-Balwit cites are considered. This takes on new urgency viewed through the lens of Trump’s avowed agenda; and the dismissal of facts, distrust of science and scientists, and denial of the cause of our own experiences, not only in Washington but even in Wisconsin, is frightening.