Oil Glut and Oil Crisis

We applaud Woutat’s excellent series of articles regarding our nation’s current energy outlook and the policies which will lead to new energy crises in the 1990s. However, we believe that Woutat overlooked one of the most promising solutions to the problems described in his articles--the state-of-the-art solar energy systems of Luz International Limited (LUZ).

The LUZ solar plants are, by magnitude, the largest solar facilities in the world--either in operation or planned. LUZ has recently turned on its sixth solar plant and has completed its seventh facility. When the two new 30-megawatt systems are in full operation, LUZ’s seven plants will be supplying the Southern California Edison utility grid with almost 200 megawatts of clean and reliable solar-powered electricity--which represents more than 90% of the total electricity provided by solar energy in the United States. LUZ’s systems provide enough electricity to serve the residential needs of over 270,000 people, and our company has contracts to triple our output by 1994.

The LUZ facilities represent one of the few commercially viable and environmentally sound energy sources which respond to the concerns raised by Woutat regarding the future supply of fossil fuels, and the very serious environmental concerns relating to global warming and the “greenhouse effect.” Public policies have an essential role in the development and commercialization of technologies, like solar energy, that will avoid or lessen the impact of looming energy shortages and help us extricate ourselves from our environmental bind.

PAUL B. SAVOLDELLI

Communications Department

Luz International Limited

Los Angeles