I heard a story today that really discouraged me today.
I've a friend who owns an upscale home in Arizona, and when
I mentioned solar energy, he told me his experience that completely discouraged
me.
He has a solar-electric system which he leases from a
company who installs and maintains the system.
I asked him why not buy, and he said the overall cost was the same. The system collects data by the hour, and the
company emails the data to him daily.
I didn't write the exact numbers down, but generally in
2011, the system generated ~9500 kWh. The
first discouraging news was, his investment for the year … his monthly lease
payments … totaled about $800. Added to that, the company from he buys his electricity charges him about $150 per year for the extra equipment he needs to be able to connect his system to the grid. Net, it
cost him about $0.10 per kWh … the same as he pays the company from which he
buys his power from the grid.
Second, he (anyone) is only allowed to install generating
equipment that equals 50% of the total usage.
That was the state law in 2011, and he thinks it may have been increased
to 60% now.
Third, yes, he can 'sell back' anything over his hourly
usage back to the power company, however, they only pay wholesale, so whatever
goes back to the grid, only gains him $0.02 per kWh.
Finally, I asked him about the tax incentive for adding such
equipment … he said 100% of the tax credit goes directly to the solar panel
company. They say they discount the cost
of the equipment by that amount. Of course,
one can build their own, or one can install their own, but most folks can't or
won't, so that becomes the norm.
Bottom line … where's the incentive? At least by Arizona's laws, I can only
install as much generating equipment that supplements my requirements by 50 or
60%. My cost per kWh is the same, so my
net gain is zero, and I have no cash incentive in the form of a tax credit.
It all seems so counter intuitive.
I must add, that all this is second-hand to me, but I know
this guy. He is honest, and he had the
data.
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