Solar Power's Future is with Free Enterprise

This disclaimer: I have no financial interest or investment in the companies discussed below. My point of view is a personal one as a consumer only.

I just ready this article in Bloomberg Businessweek about what the magazine describes as a "Bright spot" in a solar power industry troubled by scandal, over-promising and under-delivering. One of the companies mentioned is SunRun. We weren't surprised as we worked with SunRun on the solar power installation at our house.

Solar panels are priced to move, and companies like SunRun have figured out a way for solar power to work for their business model, and more importantly for folks like us on Main Street USA. We installed a 24 panel system at our house, but instead of buying the system, we're leasing it from SunRun. No money upfront and the monthly cost is half of what our power bill used to be. During the lease, SunRun pays for all warranty and maintenance. We can pay off the lease anytime we like, but right now it makes sense not only on the financial bottom line, but the environment as well.

No money up front, reduce cost of electricity and cut emissions. Ka-ching.

Here are the stats for this past January, our first full month with solar power:

• We generated 460 kWh of power, more than we consumed.
• Saved 652 pounds in Carbon Dioxide emissions.
• Saved 1.66 pounds of Nitrogen Oxide emissions.
• Saved .59 pound of Sulfur Dixoide emissions.

A "Clean" sweep!

All this during the shortest times of daylight of the year. As the days grow longer, we'll generate more power. I should also note that we've had a couple of 2-foot snowfalls which cover the solar panels and on those days you don't generate much if any power. The key is total generation each month.

REC Solar did the install and it just took a few days. The roof of our two story home is quite high so you can't even see the panels from the street. An advantage we have is the side of the roof where the panels are installed face due south, so we get 98% exposure to daylight and the height keeps the panels clear of shade from trees etc. The system even cranks out power on cloudy days, but it's the sunny days where you really generate the juice and we get about 350 days of sun here in Colorado.

The company provided all the technical information, installation diagrams etc for our HOA which approved everything in less than two days. In fact both SunRun, REC and Xcel have been terrific before, during and after the installation.

Three meters are installed, two by Xcel Energy and one by RunRun. The first two measure net power use and that generated by your system. When you generate more than you use, we'll get credits back from Xcel. We're selling power back to the power company! In our basement is what's called the inverter, which is about the size of a mini-fridge and mounted on a wall out of the way. You can also measure system production there along with RunRun's website where you can log on and monitor:

• Daily/Monthly power generation
• Total power generation of the life of the system
• Emissions savings
• Projected vs actual power generation
• Projected weather for each day

Just like the hybrid SUV we drive, we went solar because it just makes sense. The technology and business model have reached the point where you save money from day one. We didn't need some massive government program telling us to do it, it just made good economic sense.

Companies like SunRun are generating jobs, saving people money and are a classic example of identifying a challenge, then making it work for them and us. Something our government has proven incapable of. (Over and over and over)

Free enterprise IS the future of solar power. As stated in the Businessweek article, companies like SunRun are proving it.

Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant
Conversation Starters Public Relations

When Dogs bite Anchors.

The first point I make when talking about crisis management to businesses and organizations is that bad things happen to good people. It's not in our nature to wake up each day and think about all the bad things that could happen to us. But they do.

An example, and it's a sad one, is the incident this week in Denver where a dog bit 9News morning anchor Kyle Dyer.  It all happened live. The dog, named Max had been rescued the day before when it fell through the ice while chasing a coyote of all things. The Denver news pool helicopter covered the rescue. The story was quickly picked up nationally both by traditional media and of course, Social Media. People posted video of the rescue on YouTube. What we call a "Warm and fuzzy" story.

Little did we know.

As a follow-up, 9News invited the dog's owner, the rescuer and the dog to do a live segment which Kyle Dyer hosted. Kyle knelt next to the dog during the interview, petting and scratching the animal. Again, all went well right up to the moment Max bit Kyle in the face. Thankfully she'll recover, but will be off the air for several weeks.

But what started out as warm and fuzzy, ended up no-so-much. People posted video of what happened online.

Bad things happen to good people with good intentions. The response, again, was viral. The 9News Facebook page was flooded with comments, many positive, but many negative towards Kyle. An example that the good thing about Social Media is everyone has access to it, but the bad thing about Social Media is everyone has access to it. Who knew there were so many "experts" on doggy behavior out there? To be fair, most of the comments were of sympathy and good wishes for all.

I think Channel 9's public response was totally professional. Unlike most businesses and organizations, they had a crisis plan in place. When you cover the news, you have to have a crisis plan because bad things often happen when you're least equipped to cover them. News organizations are also in the business of covering news, not being the news. In this case, what happened to Kyle became news.

Everywhere.

9News responded both on-air and via Social Media with the facts. VP and News Director Patti Dennis went on the air to update the latest and again state the facts. Patti is one of the most respected news executives in the industry. That evening, co-anchor Gary Shapiro posted the latest on Kyle's condition on Facebook after visiting her in the hospital.  9News also included a post from the dog's owners on their Facebook page.

As for Max, the dog is in quarantine to make sure there are no health issues and the owner has been cited for not keeping shot records and not keeping the animal on a leash. In the owner's Facebook post he did say the dog's shots were indeed up to date. It looks like that both Kyle and Max will be OK.

All this of course, combined for a bit of a Social Media firestorm. Of those taking sides in all this, some blamed the dog, many blamed Kyle. I've had several clients guest on the morning broadcast and the entire team is very professional and gracious. As for Kyle, she's the same warm and caring person in person that you see on the air. Not a phony bone in her body. She genuinely cared for the animal, but in this case the animal bit her quite severely. Who knows what's in a dog's head after a traumatic experience followed up by studio lights the day after? But it happened.

A good story, covered with the best of intentions with the worst of outcomes. Bad things happen to good people. Then some people with nothing better to do weigh in and say bad things, about the bad thing. At the very least, this will have stations across the country that do pet segments re-thinking how they do them moving forward. Lessons learned.

But his is an object lesson for all of us, regardless if we own a business or run a non-profit. Are you prepared should something bad happen to you? Do you have a crisis plan? If something bad happened to you, how would you handle it? Could you handle it?

Something to ponder when you see all the attention surrounding one news anchor who went from covering the news to being the center of it and ...what everyone is still saying about it days later.

Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant
Conversation Starters Public Relations