Costs of carbon

SUPPORT FOR solar panels in Georgia came from a surprising point on the American political spectrum. In 2013 Georgia Power, the local electricity monopoly, was reluctant to increase the use of solar panels. That irked Debbie Dooley, a preacher’s daughter and co-founder of Atlanta’s Tea Party, a hard-right Republican faction. She wanted more energy independence, and rooftop solar was one answer. Forming an alliance with the Sierra Club, a green lobby group, she established the Green Tea Party coalition. It helped defeat a bid by Georgia Power to hit rooftop-solar customers with high fees. Since 2013 Georgia’s solar capacity has jumped more than 13-fold.