Good Morning my name is John Christensen, I am a long time resident and taxpayer of the 

great state of WV and I am living proof that a retired ship's engineer of 30 yrs. can transition 

into a renewable energy job utilizing the same principles to keep the lights on while employing 

a different power source, namely the SUN. I work for a small solar company that designs, 

procures, and installs solar energy systems for our neighbors, businesses, and government 

buildings in eight states and the district of Columbia. We want to grow with the industry at a 

steady pace but we want to branch out into business heretofore thought to be out of our 

comfort zone. Our work is a direct result of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math 

curriculum that has been emphasized in our high schools lately. We hire local college grads, 

teach them how to do solar installations, permitting, customer assurance, customer care, 

troubleshooting and problem solving with a team spirit that gives them a sense of how to 

succeed in business and be part of a growing trend in America today. We started with 3 people 

only six years ago and have grown to employ as many as forty during a particular busy time last 

year. We have been honored to win several awards in business in this short time and have 

trained several former employees to be able to start their own businesses in direct competition 

with us and we are proud that we trained them and got them started. There is plenty of work 

to go around in order to ramp up our industry to become the guiding force for future energy 

production in America. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, only onequarter of residential and commercial rooftops in America are suitable for solar. That creates a 

big opportunity for crowdsourced and community solar, two models that are gaining traction in 

the country. Clean Energy Collective, a Colorado-based community solar developer, suggests 

that shared solar could more than triple customer access to PV in the U.S. But with only 50 

megawatts of community and crowdsourced solar installed, it will take a lot of regulatory and 

policy change to unlock that market potential. Think of all the empty rooftops on buildings, 

warehouses, stadiums, big box stores and the potential for growth is literally overwhelming. We 

are in the midst of something special here and I am glad I have lived during the time of solar 

energy expansion like no other time in the sixty year history of solar energy in America. We 

invented it, we researched and developed it, we lowered the price through technological 

advances and economies of scale and we almost gave it all away to China during the BushCheney Administration. The solar industry has thrived during this administration. When it 

came time for goverument help we see what goverument can do when it puts its collective mind 

to it. The DOE has given competitive grants and have helped to pave the way for lower costs 

and faster, safer installations. , the USDA has also provided much needed grants to small 

business and agriculture in hard pressed regions and the 30% tax credit uncapped has given the 

industry and its customers a much needed shot in the arm to compete with traditional energy 

sources. The president through the federal trade commission has stopped the illegal dumping of 

Chinese panels on our domestic markets. This is a goverument that is doing its job. 

Lets look at some amazing numbers of late. 
In 2006, U.S. solar installers were putting up a system every 80 minutes. This year, according to 

GTM Research, they installed a system every four minutes. By 2016, there could be a solar PV 

system deployed in America every 80 seconds. 

In 2011, the global solar industry had 50 gigawatts of capacity installed. By the end of2012, it 

had surpassed 100 gigawatts -- with more regions outside Europe becoming increasingly 

important. By the end of2015, global solar capacity is expected to reach more than 200 

gigawatts. 

With 930 megawatts of installations in the third quarter of20l3, America has already surpassed 

I 0 gigawatts of cumulative capacity-- joining a small club of four countries that have reached 

the milestone. And for the first time in fifteen years, the U.S installed more solar PV than 

Germany. 

Twice this past year, Germany's wind and solar installations provided 59 percent of power in the 

middle of the day, while also providing more than a third of generation throughout the entire day. 

On one occasion in October, solar peaked at 20.5 gigawatts of capacity and wind reached 16.6 

gigawatts, with both providing more than 436 gigawatt-hours of electricity. That forced 23 

gigawatts of conventional power plants to ramp down. And as GTM Editor Eric Wesoff pointed 

out, the grid did not explode. And this is only the beginning. 

We decided early on to use American Made modules, inverters, and hardware when we install 

our systems. and bid our jobs accordingly. We are proud to install Solar World panels and we 

are proud to promote and emphasize ownership to our customers. Instead of renting power 

from conventional sources or leasing solar panels for a specified time period we want our 

customers to own their source of energy, and in order to cut down on system size thus cost to 

the consumer we emphasize energy efficiency before the job of installing solar is ever started. 

If we conserve our energy and then make only what we need then we have reached a state of 

carbon neutrality thus minimizing our carbon footprints. When Americans invest in their own 

best interests like buying a home why not include a sticker price for how much the home costs 

to operate? If a home is energy efficient and produces its own power on the roof it stands to 

reason that its more valuable than the home next door which doesn't do any of these things. 

Higher value, means higher taxes to support the local economy. 

My personal story sounds like it is unusual but not for us. Our company decided early on that 

electric cars were going to be a big hit and powered by the sun made it even better. I can 
produce most all of my residential power needs and I drive an electric vehicle which I charge 

from my rooftop panels. My savings are noticeable, about a hundred and forty dollars a month 

on electricity and two thousand dollars a year on not buying gasoline, what's not to like? My 

loan payment is an investment in the power system I own and my car runs about 8 times 

cheaper than buying gasoline. I no longer rent my fuel, I own it. 

To deny the existence of climate change in the face of overwhelmingly convincing facts is not in 

the best interest of humanity, the planet will survive, we humans may not. I stand in support of 

the new carbon rules issued by our Environmental Protection Agency in Washington DC. Unlike 

the politicians from my state that have agreed with the COAL industry WAR ON COAL rhetoric, 

MANY Thousands of WV citizens are disappointed and embarrassed by the claims of our 

elected leaders in support of their benefactors through a legacy of lucrative campaign 

contributions, they do what they are told in order to continue to receive the largess of polluting 

industries, on the ships we called this making blood money. Most folks I talk to today are 

disgusted in the lack of progress on climate change legislation in congress while keeping in tact 

all the subsidies for fossil fuels which outweigh renewable subsidies significantly. The future is 

brighter thanks to your new rules, let the people breath cleaner air and drink fresh pure water 

and watch our economy thrive and become healthier once again. Let the deniers be damned! 

John Christensen 

512 Stoney Lick Rd. 

Martinsburg, WV. 25403 

410-499-4873