Free to surrender your freedom.

I recently have read about new business ventures in residential solar panel installation that I find disturbing.

It seems these enterprising companies are offering home owners an "opportunity" to afford solar technology by installing the solar panels and additional components, collecting the federal and state tax rebates, and charging the home owner a monthly fee for energy usage.

As much as I want to see individual home owners taking responsibility for sustainable, alternative energy and solar panels are certainly part of that equation, I am appalled at the thought that we would be exchanging one home "energy czar" (power company for solar installer?) for another.

One of the joys of being sustainable and being self powered ( and empowered) is that you owe no individual or company for your electrical energy use, and more importantly, no one has the ability to cut off that power but you. That is true energy freedom.

Please think twice about entering into any deals for home solar power installations that does not offer you total and complete ownership and control of the power generated. Remember also that any extra power that you generate can be sold back to most electrical providers, under the solar "rental" plan this would belong to the installer.

Brett