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Solar Panel Opponents in California's Ventura County Fear Negative Effects on 'Beautiful' Parking Lots
Green Technology Featured Articles
March 12, 2013

Solar Panel Opponents in California's Ventura County Fear Negative Effects on 'Beautiful' Parking Lots

By Tracey E. Schelmetic
TMCnet Contributor

Alternative energy installations have a number of factors weighing in against them. Besides cost and the difficulties of permitting, residents have not often been on the side of the projects, whether they are wind turbines (“they are ugly and give me and the birds headaches!”) geothermal projects (“they cause earthquakes!”) or hydroelectric installations (“they are ugly and kill fish!”). While fewer people have had objections to solar panels, there are always exceptions.


Now, a residents’ group in California has set its sights on a new solar panel installation, claiming they will ruin the beauty of the area’s parking lots. (You can’t make this stuff up.)

Thousand Oaks, a wealthy suburb in Ventura County, California, hopes to install solar panels in four parks in Thousand Oaks. The project, under the auspices of Conejo Recreation & Park District, is currently awaiting final approval after its board of directors unanimously approved the plan in November, according to the Ventura County star. The goal is to cut the high use of non-renewable energy by the parks considerably, said Tom Hare, park administrator for the district.

“One of our goals is to offset the reliance on fossil fuels and to be more of a ‘green’ district and set a good example in the community,” Hare told the newspaper. “Another benefit is saved money. We spend $250,000 a year for electricity.”

But the plan isn’t sitting well with everyone, particularly those most concerned about the aesthetic pleasures of the park, including its lovely parking lots.

 “The parks in Ventura County are absolutely spectacular, and parking lots are beautiful, and the district is going to ruin it with the solar panels," Eileen Casanova, a resident of Thousand Oaks, told the Ventura County Star. "It’s really, really sad."

Most of the eight objections the Park District has received center around a proposed solar carport at Dos Viento Community Park.

The solar installation at the parks, if ultimately given the go-ahead, are expected to generate about 80 percent of the parks’ energy needs and save the district $47,000 the first year and $3.4 million over the life of the contract, according to the newspaper.




Edited by Brooke Neuman


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