This is part of our Cardinal Way project on promoting civil discussions. Here, David Wiley of Roanoke shares his experience with solar panels and an electric car. What about yours? If you don’t have any, what questions or concerns do you have? Tell us what you think by filling out this brief survey.
We read that Virginia now imports more energy than any other state (Cardinal News, Jan. 21, 2025), paying a rate 10 times higher for imported power than just one year ago. Governor Youngkin has recently made the case that we will need to double energy production in the next 10 years. With the massive data centers coming online, largely concentrated in Northern Virginia, the thirst for energy will continue to create strain on the grid and our supply — and likely a further burden on each of us as consumers. As a consumer and a Roanoke city resident, I want to share my positive experience with residential solar. First, I have had panels on my house since October 2023. These have more than met my energy needs and allowed me to “export” extra power directly back into the grid to be used by other customers. These panels reduce the amount of energy needed to be imported or generated by power plants. This, paired with a 100% electric vehicle with over 300 miles of range, has been a satisfying combination for our family.
I observe the misinformation surrounding electric cars with seemingly little fact-checking or even common sense. My wife and I have had an electric car for over two years, and it has been one of the most satisfying purchases we have ever made. First, it is 100% charged by our rooftop panels, making it far better for the planet, and it is just a much better vehicle than anything else we have owned. The car has required zero maintenance (other than tire rotation provided by our local Hyundai dealer). The only cost I have incurred in two years is a gallon of windshield washer fluid. I note that Hyundai is building a new giga-plant in Georgia for cars and batteries, creating new American jobs. Before we installed our battery backup system paired to our solar panels, I used the car (as a 120-volt powerplant) for three days to power my appliances and internet and to stay warm when the grid went down in a storm. So this combination of solar and electric vehicle gives us safety, security, and even energy independence. Are those not values we want to promote and encourage? Please remember that electric cars produce no deadly carbon monoxide, and their batteries are not “way more likely to burst into flames” (Kelly Blue Book: 25 fires for every 100,000 electric vehicles sold, compared to 3,475 for hybrids and 1,530 for gasoline).
I encourage our legislators to keep in place the current tax incentives for solar power and electric cars that allow homeowners like me to make my own energy investments, by my own choice. We chose to hire a local company like Solshine Energy (locally owned, only a few miles from home) to install American-made panels and power inverters. We are thrilled with the local products and service, and my neighbor even made the leap and has been satisfied as well. And you may also be pleased to know that on our family farm in Floyd, the cows blissfully coexist with our pole-mounted panels.
Now, more than ever, we need to give consumers more choices, and I realize that not everyone can make the investment in solar or electric. But let’s keep choices wide and costs to consumers low here in the Commonwealth. Let’s keep partisan politics out of this as much as possible, and promote the values of energy independence and efficiency, creating a system and a cost structure that will also protect the most vulnerable among us. And in so doing, we help our ailing planet.
