WIND HAS BOONE, SUN HAS J.R.

A Famous, Scheming Texas Oil Baron Is Promoting Solar Energy
Todd Woody, July 13, 2010 (NY Times)

"J. R. EWING returned to the small screen…and the boys down at the Cattlemen’s Club just might need a double bourbon when they hear what he has to say…Larry Hagman, the actor who played the scheming Texas oilman on the long-running (1978-1991) television show Dallas, is reprising his role as J. R. in an advertising campaign to promote solar energy and SolarWorld, a German photovoltaic module maker."

[Hagman as J.R. Ewing:]“In the past, it was always about the oil…The oil was flowing and so was the money. Too dirty. I quit it years ago…But I’m still in the energy business…There’s always a better alternative….Shine, baby, shine…”

"In real life, Mr. Hagman, 78, lives on an estate in the Southern California town of Ojai, where he installed a 94-kilowatt solar system, thought to be the world’s largest residential array, several years ago. The rooftop system, which includes SolarWorld panels, cost $750,000, although Mr. Hagman said he received a $310,000 rebate…

From ChristiesRealEstate via YouTube

"He said the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico prompted him to bring back the J. R. character…Mr. Hagman also serves on the board of the Solar Electric Light Fund, a nonprofit group that builds solar systems in poverty-stricken areas of the world…SolarWorld donated solar panels for the fund’s work in Haiti after the earthquake there…[and will] give an additional 100 kilowatts of panels to provide electricity for at least five health clinics…In return, Mr. Hagman made the commercials for SolarWorld…

"Mr. Hagman acknowledged rather gleefully that his advocacy of renewable energy might create some cognitive dissonance for those who associate him with a rapacious Texas oil baron. But he noted that there were barrels of money to be made from the sun as well…"

[Hagman:] “Since Sarah Palin is saying, ‘Drill, baby, drill,’ I’m saying, ‘Shine, baby, shine.’ It’s a lot cheaper and cleaner…[and] these solar panels are manufactured domestically and can provide a lot of jobs for soldiers returning from all those wars…”