People should be upset to learn that taxpayer-funded solar collectors for hot water systems were irresponsibly installed in shade, or with such sloppy workmanship for a Maine Housing Authority project that it actually increased fossil energy consumption (Dec. 21).

Those unacceptable results are an extremely limited sample of solar hot water installations, so it would be reckless and irresponsible to tar Maine’s entire solar energy industry with one brush.

When designed and installed by skilled professionals, a properly sized solar hot water system can save more than 300 gallons of oil per year and eliminate more than 5,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually on a single home. With 450,000 Maine homes heated with oil and unnecessarily burning millions of gallons of oil to make domestic hot water when the sun is shining, it is imperative that the state continue to support the installation of high-quality, solar hot water systems.

Since the last of MSHA’s systems were installed in 2008, Maine solar companies have installed more than 2,000 high-quality solar energy systems throughout the state.

We welcome a rigorous assessment of these installations to prove that when done correctly, solar hot water is a cost-effective remedy to reduce fossil-fuel energy consumption and the associated emissions. Maine, after all, is the most oil dependent state in the U.S. and it has the highest per-capita carbon dioxide emissions in New England.

Phil Coupe, Portland

Co-founder, ReVision Energy