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Brownfield Man is Told by City He Can Not Have Solar Panels

By: Meredith Hillgartner
Updated: February 21, 2013
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 "He told my land lord that I had to move out because I have solar power," Bruton said.

Curtis Bruton is upset with the city of Brownfield after an inspector told him he count not use solar panels to provide electricity to his home-a school bus he converted into a mobile home.

"I feel they are scared that people will see me living here with this solar panel and other people will get involved and they will lose their business," Bruton said.

Bruton said he thinks it has to do with the city losing money, and he said that is not fair.

"It felt like I was being ripped off," Bruton said. "Cheated and that the city of Brownfield is hating on me because I can produce my own power."

I tried contacting the city inspector several times Tuesday morning, after I could not find the ordinance on the city website.

He did not return my calls but he did get a hold of Bruton.

"About an hour later the city inspector, Mitch, called me back and told me it was not in his regulation city code and I could keep it up."

Bruton said the city inspector told him he would get a ban on solar panels and Bruton could either get city electricity or more out of town.

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Becky I. February 20, 2013 at 3:24 pm


I guess my original post didn't go through. My initial reaction is to feel sorry for this man. It seems someone should be able to be more self-sufficient by providing their own power. We start out being more or less helpless when born and part of growing up is being able to provide for your own needs as much as possible. If we make it to old age or are disabled, we once again often depend on others to help us. Anyway, I suppose a safety argument could be made. Should you have to have a license to set up a solar panel, or should an inspector have to check it out (grid tied or not)? Monetarily, is there a way for a city to better match supply and demand (the more the city supplies it'[censored] own power (either through private individuals and businesses or the city itself) the less it has to buy from outside entities). I suppose existing contracts may make that difficult in the short term, but should a city, like an individual aim to be as self-sufficient as possible? I guess I don't know all the circumstances surrounding this case, but it seems a shame to curtail this man'[censored] initiative.

Nathan L. February 17, 2013 at 3:56 pm


My first inclination is to feel sorry for this man. He seems like he'[censored] trying to live a simple life (at least in some ways), probably trying to save a little money and possibly saving the city resources in terms of electricity (especially if others did the same). It seems there should be a way to match supply with demand-less paying customers- less need to buy outside power. This is probably difficult with existing contracts, but should a city, like it'[censored] constituents aim for as much self sufficiency as possible? It just seems a shame to punish this man'[censored] apparent initiative. If it'[censored] a safety issue, would generators or even propane appliances also be as dangerous? Maybe not... I almost set part of a forest on fire working on a car. Maybe an inspection for solar panels. Of course that costs money too. I guess I don't understand the full reasoning behind the decision to try to enact an ordinance.

Nathan L. February 12, 2013 at 7:27 pm

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