A Letter from SolarWorld Spokesperson Larry Hagman

Dear friends,

Lately, I've been worrying more about the passage of time, of our history, of our opportunities as a country. As a man closing out eight decades, I believe it's time for the country to make a cool, businesslike reckoning of its energy destiny. I say we look back a few years, anticipate the next few, then deliberately adjust our course.

For 14 years, I played an oil magnate, J.R. Ewing, on the primetime TV hit "Dallas." J.R. could be mean, but his power came from logically registering the facts, then turning them to advantage for himself and his clan. Today, I suggest it’s time for this country to do the same thing – now, today.

When I began starring as J.R. in the late 1970s, U.S. manufacturing work was peaking. We didn't know it then, but those jobs were about to start a long decline as factories moved overseas. The country was weathering its second price shock tied to foreign oil, about 45 percent of the nation's supply, in less than a decade. First was the Arab oil embargo of 1973-74. Then 1979 brought the Iran hostage crisis, which lasted 444 days. The ravages of our over-dependence on fossil fuels had spread over the landscape, and scientists were starting to agree that carbon exhaust was warming the climate and threatening catastrophe.

Yet, there was a twinkle of light: Some U.S. manufacturers were pioneering production of solar panels to harness free, clean, limitless energy from the sun. The technology spawned another in a long line of American-original industries, this one based on silicon devices invented within the research unit of Bell Telephone. This country had plenty of sunshine, so the energy alternative held a lot of promise.

By 1990, the security of Americans had further declined, as a march of fossil-fuel mishaps unfolded. The nation struggled to clean and litigate a spill along Alaska’s shoreline. We committed to the first of two Persian Gulf wars. Manufacturing kept shifting offshore, narrowing job prospects for returning soldiers and making the nation more reliant on products made to substandard quality, labor and environmental standards.

Meanwhile, American ingenuity was ramping up the solar industry. With nearly half of the world's solar business, the U.S. continued leading the industry well into the 1990s. But that would dwindle as other countries began reasonably compensating rooftop solar systems for the power they contributed into the grid, attracting consumers in much higher numbers. And creating jobs – lots of jobs. Plus, Americans began buying solar technologies on the cheap from overseas producers, turning once again to a foreign energy source.

Today, U.S. soldiers returning from two Mideast conflicts encounter too few job prospects. Manufacturing jobs, even from the solar industry, continue to move out of the country, and the U.S. accounts for just 5 percent of the world's solar. Foreign oil dependence has climbed to 60 percent. Oil that gushed from a spill for more than 10 weeks is soiling American shores. Alarm about climate pollution has gone mainstream.

It’s been nearly two decades since I retired my portrayal of J.R. The year 1991 was a good time to quit, too, because, in hindsight, the heyday of the U.S. oil industry was so 1980s. Since then, I've gone solar, establishing the largest combined residential system in America at my farm in Ojai, Calif. It's reliable, economical and clean – with no fuel transport, no emissions and no moving parts.

For spills and other such trends, some people blame this or that oil company. Others blame the government. But both mostly do what we ask them to do. In that light, it’s certainly unrealistic to expect that any government or oil company could, if you will, suddenly pull a genie out of a bottle.

In fact, Americans are the ones who have the power to seize the country's energy, economic and environmental security. Only a few renewable-energy technologies are proven. Solar is most affordable, and it is most widely applicable at homes and businesses where the power is used. It's up to Americans to take the initiative. Yet, in going solar, they need to do so smartly, securely and sustainably -- by choosing reliable, high-performance products made by American workers according to U.S. standards.

As J.R. would have plainly seen, the safe money is on Americans building power and financial security one rooftop at a time, relying on sunshine, technology and workers operating on U.S soil. The people of this country – the former and next great solar power – must, as they say, think globally by acting locally.

We must see that it’s time for Americans to rise up – and shine, baby, shine!

– Larry Hagman