By Stacie Chan
MOUNTAIN VIEW—Bruce Karney wants all Mountain View residents to see the light.
With the federal government offering solar energy tax credit incentives to homeowners, the local activist wants to expand provisions of the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005. The law currently provides homeowners with a 30 percent tax credit on their solar panel purchases. However, it excludes apartment and condo-renters.
“Because 50 percent of Mountain View residents rent their property, I thought, ‘We should be able to extend this to everyone, not just the homeowners,’” Karney said.
To offer savings to apartment and condo-renters too, Karney proposed the bill “Solar For All” to his assemblymember, Paul Fong.
“This bill is exactly why Assemblymember Fong ran for office,” said Andrea Graham, Fong’s chief of staff. “It’ll really help everyone have access to solar energy.”
If it passes through the Assembly in September 2010, the bill will allow apartment renters to lease solar panels on solar farms. These farms, scattered in various remote locations throughout the country, contain hundreds of panels available for rent. The energy generated from the panels would then offset the apartment or condo renters’ electricity bill, earning them a tax rebate.
“Passing this bill is not going to be easy,” Fong said. “It’s a radical concept, but it seems like he’s up for the challenge. He’s got a lot of depth and endless knowledge in this area that will take us to fruition.”
Karney is an energy expert who has worked at three solar companies. But the Stanford graduate held several jobs before entering the green technology sector. For 24 years, he worked at Hewlett Packard Inc. in various departments from sales to management and at Marsh Insurance Co. as a senior vice president in development knowledge management.
The impetus for his career change came in 2007 when he and his wife viewed former Vice President Al Gore’s climate change documentary, An Inconvenient Truth.
“‘This is it!’ I thought. I saw a problem equivalent to a war,” Karney said. “And the climate army needed volunteers.”
Karney said he was willing to make the financial sacrifice and took a 33 percent pay cut to start a new career that would reduce global warming.
Originally, a startling statistic motivated him to seek ways to reduce wasted energy: every year, Americans waste 3 percent of gasoline fuel because of underinflated tires.
“If every car in America had properly inflated tires, it would be equivalent to every car in Illinois being electric,” Karney said.
With this statistic in mind, in 2007, he attempted to assemble a team of teens who would go door-to-door in Mountain View checking whether residents had properly inflated their tires.
But the project fell flat largely due to the lack of interest.
“So my dream of thousands of teens wearing my company logo was trashed,” Karney said.
The failed project didn’t discourage Karney, who then ventured into the solar industry.
“I love solar because it’s very visible. It raises consciousness about sustainability. If you drive down the street, [the solar panels] are like little ads for renewable energy. I really believe solar is going to be the winner of all the renewable energy sources.”
Karney is well-known in the Mountain View community, having made an unsuccessful bid for a City Council seat in 2000. In 2007, he partnered with SolarCity, Inc., a solar energy company in Foster City, to host an informational meeting. He publicized the meeting and was able to help SolarCity sell panels to 119 homeowners.
“We trusted his opinion. We had seen him around the neighborhood,” said Steve Lacy, a Mountain View resident who purchased panels from Karney. “He’s well-known in the community and he had done the research.”
SolarCity quickly offered Karney a full-time job as a salesperson.
“I found Bruce’s advice on solar to be invaluable,” said Ted Lawson, another customer. “When he sold me the panels, he wasn’t looking to make a sale. He was helping me look at the big picture of how I could help the environment.”
Karney then started a solar blog and Yahoo group “MV Solar” to further communicate the benefits of solar energy.
“Bruce was instrumental in getting the group organized,” said Ed Taub, another customer. “I think he did everyone a favor and put Mountain View on the map.”
In 2009, Karney was laid off due to budget cuts and then joined Sungevity, Inc., another solar company in Berkeley. He subsequently joined Skyline Solar, Inc. located closer to his home in Mountain View.
The State Assembly is due to take up “Solar For All” in January 2010.
Meanwhile, Karney remains active in the fight against global warming, attending speaker series to learn more about what he can contribute to this long-term battle. He is determined to rally his generation behind him, dismissing the idea that only the younger generation can actively combat climate change.
“If the 50 to 70-year-olds who vote in City Council and in elections don’t take charge, then we’re not getting anywhere. Many young activists say that environmental issues are ‘our generation’s challenge,’ but I’d like them to be my generation’s challenge too.”
