So who exactly owns the rights to the sun or the wind? Is it like the land owned by government (essentially representing all of society)? Should you have total dominion over your land as long as you are not harming a neighbor, or does the government have the right to impose its will for the greater good of society?
This is how I characterize the political debate occurring here in Quebec, as I am sure it has occurred and will occur anywhere the government gets involved in the distribution, creation and allocation of power. This weekend, at a local opposition party’s convention, there was a huge stir created over the “ownership” of wind power. Many of the people attending the Parti Quebecois’ convention believe that, like hydro, wind power should be nationalized. Unfortunately for them, and quite rightly may I add my two cents, their leader, Andre Boisclair disagreed.
it is part of the culture of Quebec to want to cocoon and have the “parent state” control our “national heritage and values”. In so doing, Quebec is one of the lone remaining provinces or states where the ownership of all power for consumption by industry or residents, falls within the mandate and control of a nationalized entity, called Hydro Quebec. Since nationalization of the power industry in our province, there has been little change to the method of generation. An overwhelming percentage of our power comes from hydro, which is interestingly promoted as “clean energy”. While I may agree that its generation is clean, I am not sure about the animal and human communities which are dislodged from otherwise peaceful habitats in order to generate that power. Hydro-Quebec clearly positions itself as caring about the environment and has itself begun to install wind power in certain areas under smaller scale to begin with.
Now of course, this brings me to solar power, and how they might attempt to wrest control of solar power as they are trying with wind. Who owns your roof? Who owns your neighbor’s? What if your roof could generate the power you needed and even give back to the grid? See where I’m going with this?
Technology of solar power can help to change the realities of politics, and vice versa. We live in a society which is transformed as new technologies enter, and it is up to us to embrace new technologies that serve the general good of our planet and communities. The issue is clearly one of control.
There are “good” reasons for control such as ensuring equity of availability, quality control on the solar power systems installed…and then there are “bad” reasons for control such as preventing a legacy industry from being challenged, control of revenues through old business models that a particular society is unwilling to change, protection of polluting industries due to strong lobbies for oil companies, etc…
The question for our society is…how long do you retain control for “bad” reasons while denying your community the chance to participate in an exercise which benefits all of mankind?
Sass