In case anyone missed in McNearny, the alternative energy expert who was elected in California, has a Ph.D. in mathematics.

Usually my reaction to people too closely associated with alternative energy is initial skepticism until they prove themselves to be reasonable. This is unfortunate as developing greenhouse gas free power sources is vitally important but far too many renewable energy enthusiasts (the laypeople not the experts) have ridiculously optimistic beliefs about how the whole grid is going to be powered by solar panels on home roofs and use this as an excuse to oppose other alternative sources of power (nuclear, hydro, geothermal).

However, I tend to believe that someone who has a math Ph.D. is probably more hard headed than this. Kinda scary how much trust a math Ph.D. evokes in me. Actually, I suspect that alternative energy professionals are nothing like the enthusiasts. Seeing the numbers in details tends to make people more realistic.

As an aside I tend to think this whole decentralized power business is way oversold. I’m all for competition in the power business including a system where third parties can sell power to the grid but the hope that it will come from individual homes anytime in the near future seems hopelessly misguided. The problem is not the technical feasibility but simply the problem of maintenance. What happens when the home power system gets fucked up? Who fixes it when the solar panels on the roof get hit by a branch? Most homeowners wouldn’t keep their system properly maintained and it just wouldn’t be economical for the power companies to do it for them.

Don’t get me wrong, I think requiring the power company to pay for power given back to the grid is a great idea. Schools, businesses and government agencies that have large roofs might be able to make such a system economical and just opening up electrical supply to competition could have wonderful effects. However, for the foreseeable future the cost of sending technicians out to individual homes all the time seems likely to exceed the cost of purchasing up some empty land in the dessert and setting up solar cells there.

Ultimately it seems to me this decentralized power enthusiasm has more to do with an anti-corporate, pro-self-reliant sentiment than a rational comparison of the benefits. Now I could be very wrong and if McNearny sent me an email saying the calculations worked out the other way I might be inclined to believe him but the whole thing just smells of a failure to take into account real world concerns like maintenance.