Comments by Holger Meyer

Commission District: 1

Climate change is the very real urgent threat to our way of life. Any policy and certainly any energy policy has to take this fact into account. We have to completely change to renewable energy, immediately stop further extraction of fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal) from the ground, and stop burning fossil fuels. To this end the use of wind and solar should be encouraged as much as possible. In Wichita distributed generation through rooftop solar is the most important part to make that happen. Larger commercial ground based solar installations such as the one in operation now by Westar can also play a role and should also be encouraged. Kansas is made for wind energy. The turbines are quiet, generate revenue for land owners, and generate electricity with low maintenance. Neither solar photovoltaics nor wind require fuel shipped in by the trainload each day as is the case with coal. They do not generate nuclear waste as is the case with the Wolf Creek nuclear plant. They don't require cooling water and don't heat up the surroundings like coal and even gas plants do. The city of Atlanta is one of many municipalities committed to become 100% renewable by 2035. (https://nawindpower.com/atlanta-city-council-green-lights-100-clean-energy-plan) Sedgwick county should adopt a similar plan. If Atlanta can do it with their higher population density, then certainly Sedgwick county can do it. We need reliable, modern, efficient, clean energy in Sedgwick county now.