I am amazed why there are not more people going solar. Anyway you look at it and at any order of magnitude, for residential electricity users, the incentive situation creates a “no-brainer”.
We were recently contracted by an existing client to install a 40 kw solar generation system on a remote location of their residential property. The system will generate enough electricity to achieve a net zero consumption with the local utility over an aggregated year of use. Excess power generated during the day and especially summer days will spin the meter backward allowing electricity onto the grid and balance with excess consumption during the night and especially winter months when days are short.
The thing driving the installation lies in current state and federal incentives. The feds allowed for a 30% of system installation federal tax credit with a cap of $2000 until January 1, 2009. Beginning this year, the cap was lifted and the credit became unlimited. In addition, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) pays an incentive of $0.22 per kwh generated for the first five years of generation.
The combination of the two incentives creates a reduction in the cost to the home owner and even with projected energy cost increases, the new system will pay for itself in 8.5 years. From that point forward, the client will generate cost-free power for 16.5 years for at least the 16.5 remaining years on the 25 year solar system warranty.
It is a no-brainer. But if you decide to install this kind of system, make sure that your contractor has experience and knowledge of how you can make the most of your new investment.
