Sometimes, a newspaper critic can provoke a person's feelings or perhaps writing a letter to a publication. How often does it end in a £100 bet, over
green energy?
This
home energy feud - maybe it classes as 'Solargate' - began with George Monbiot criticising a government idea to give incentives for investing in the micro-generation of renewable energy, branding it inefficient and arguing that it wouldn't be affordable for the home energy market.
"Tosh", says Jeremy Leggett, chairman of solar solutions company Solarcentury. He asserted that solar photovoltaic (PV) power will be "no more pricey" in three years' time than conventional electricity.
He claims that
"feed-in tariffs", rather than be inefficient, can be a "market-building mechanism" and said that the template is already in use across the world.
He added: "More than 40 governments now have feed-in tariffs and it is clear that many people believe them to be the best way to grow renewables markets fast."
Leggett had people in his corner with the Guardian's letters section airing the opinions of Professor John Twidell and the World Future Council's Jacob von Uexkull.
Professor Twidell said that Mr Monbiot knew "more about losing friends than about solar electricity", pointing out that Mr Monbiot visited a university, which the professor supports, last month that uses only micro-generation including solar power.
Furthermore, Mr von Uexkull suggested "he has lost the plot" and, like Professor Twidell, pointed to Germany already exploiting renewable energy as a viable market.
It appears that there are strong arguments in favour of the government's current plan for solar energy but it seems to have left some people confused since Solargate began.
Actually, one reader wrote in to the Guardian's own green agony aunts Ask Leo and Lucy asking whether it was the right time at all to invest in green energy solutions for the home like solar panels.
Money experts said it was a good idea with a seven to ten per cent tax return for those who invest in home renewables. One half of the green agony aunts, Leo Hickman, said that now is the "best time ever to consider installing" a form of home green energy generator.
But enough about why it's good for homeowners. Could Solargate escalate in an arm wrestle as the pair redefine the term eco-warrior? The loser of the £100 bet on the success of solar PV donates the money to African charity, Solar Aid.
Watch this space!
