FLORIDA says NO WAY IN HELL for Solar. (They have tons of sun but say NO to Solar - dumb.)

http://grist.org/climate-energy/no-solar-please-were-florida/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Daily%2520Aug%252012&utm_campaign=daily

I will have 20 solar panels fully installed in OREGON this Thursday.  (Note:  We DO NOT get the sun that Florida or Arizona gets but I save a significant amount of money on electricity.)  I am getting considerable tax breaks for my solar panels.  I pay about 50% of the cost and tax breaks pay for the rest - IN OREGON.

But all is not victory in solar-land. This Saturday, the Los Angeles Times told the tale of the potential sunbaked goldmine where solar companies fear to tread: the South. Specifically, sunny Florida.

Writes the Times:

The business models that have made solar systems financially viable for millions of homeowners in California, New England and elsewhere around the country are largely illegal in Florida, Virginia, South Carolina and some other Southern states. Companies that pioneered the industry, such as SolarCity Corp. and Sunrun Inc., do not even attempt to do business there.
“We get all kinds of inquiries every day” from the South, said Will Craven, spokesman for SolarCity. “People there want to be our customers.”
Florida, in particular, is known as the “sleeping giant” of his industry, Craven said. “It has a ton of sunshine, a ton of rooftops,” he said.

There are many ways that solar is blocked in the South: some states ban or restrict leasing arrangements or power purchase agreements (PPAs), which are popular among people who don’t have several thousand dollars lying around to install their own panels. South Carolina Energy & Gas blocked a PPA that would have installed 80 solar panels on local schools and churches. Other states add taxes or fees for the use of solar arrays.